Autumn is always filled with seasonal joy, and what’s better for celebrating than new things to binge on Netflix while you eat pumpkin-spiced everything? And what’s better, some of them even align with the spooky spirit of the season!
So here are five films, documentaries and series coming your way on Netflix to help you celebrate your spooky side just in time.
1. “Apostle”
Category: Film
Release date: Oct. 12
Currently boasting an 83 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, this thriller is set in 1905 London and is about a man named Thomas Richardson who travels to an island to rescue his sister from a murderous religious cult. Netflix knows what’s up, because cult-based thrillers always draw a crowd.
The reviews make it sound suspenseful and wonderfully gory, and it also stars Dan Stevens and Michael Sheen giving the audience engaging performances. And of course, with the appeal of cults, this movie potentially gives all the scary festiveness that the season requires.
2. “Making a Murderer: Part Two”
Category: Docuseries
Release date: Oct. 19
Nothing says disturbing like true crime. Netflix knows that the real terrors live in reality, giving the watchers plenty of docuseries about murder to binge. Seasons 1 and 2 of this particular docuseries surround the story of Steven Avery, who was convicted for the murder of photographer Teresa Halbach in 2006, though this time around they will explore the conviction process in finer detail, highlighting the logistics and the emotional toll.
In a swirling narrative of conflicted interests, tampered evidence and a previous wrongful convictions, this story out of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, will entice previous fans of the show who already know the story and newcomers alike.
3. “Castlevania”
Category: Series
Release date: Oct. 26
Based on the video games of the same name, this series follows a family of vampire hunters as they take on the monsters that have overtaken the city with a refreshingly complex take on “Dracula.” It’s an anime with all the violence of “Attack on Titan” (though, as I understand, there will be no Titans eating people in “Castlevania,” sorry).
The first of the games the show is based off was released in 1986 and has gone on to release a bunch of other games for a variety of consoles. Its massive popularity led to the first season of the show in the summer of 2017, and now the second season will be released Oct. 26 with the violence and freaky creatures to make this a perfect Halloween binge.
4. “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”
Category: Series
Release date: Oct. 26
Netflix is giving the masses a reboot of the original “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” with Melissa Joan Hart, but this new version looks to be much darker than its fun-loving predecessor. The show is based out of the Archie Comics series that now boasts the show “Riverdale,” and both offer a spin on the bright and friendly comics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR2SFfBBMkI
The trailer for the show’s premiere is perfectly spooky, what with the creepy rendition of “Happy Birthday” and the flashes to other Halloween-esque characters that will definitely appear in the show, either as friend or foe to Sabrina. It stars Kiernan Shipka as Sabrina, as well as Ross Lynch, Michelle Gomez and Richard Coyle, and as a fan of the original show, I am super excited for all this magical spookiness.
5. “They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead”
Category: Documentary
Release date: Nov. 2
If you’re not looking for anything scary but you still want the mystery, look no further. This documentary tells the story of the last 15 years of actor and filmmaker Orson Welles’ life, detailing a movie he wrote and filmed called “The Other Side of the Wind” about an old director attempting to end on one last hurrah before he dies.
Audiences will get to see Welles, the director of “Citizen Kane” and one of the medium’s most hallowed names, through the eyes of his friends in his last days. What was he like, and what’s up with the ominous name of this documentary?
