Photos: Everett Collection
There are two things that are certain in life: One is that if October is approaching, it is a requirement to start watching scary movies. And two is that whatever movie Brad Pitt is currently dealing out, I’m all in. With this week’s new movies on VOD, we’re getting all of the above and it’s going to be hard to decide where to start. On the one hand, we have Pitt and a stellar ensemble cast gathered for the action-comedy Bullet Train, which is now out on VOD, and on the other, we have Rob Zombie’s take on The Munsters and Bodies Bodies Bodies, an A24 Gen-Z slasher film that’s the perfect way to kick of spooky season.
Oh, and if you want something totally different, Aubrey Plaza gives another incredible performance (in what’s shaping up to be a career full of them) in Emily The Criminal. In the film, she plays a desperate 20-something with a mysterious past who’s struggling to make ends meet. When she’s offered some fast cash to do an illegal job, she takes it, and then one job turns into another, and another. It’s morally (and legally) wrong, sure, but Plaza’s desperation and the details of the job almost justify her new life of crime.
These are just a few of the titles that are available to watch on Amazon Prime Video, iTunes, YouTube, and through your cable service this week. Check out what movies are available to buy or rent on demand now!
Bullet Train feels tailor-made to suit the acting aesthetic Brad Pitt has cultivated over the years (“charming goof with a particular set of skills” is what I call it): He’s an assassin fresh out of anger management and is really just trying to move on and stop killing people. And, just like every other assassin movie ever, there’s just ONE MORE JOB that only he can pull off, and that’s the premise of Bullet Train. Pitt plays Ladybug, a man hired to steal a briefcase from a Japanese bullet train and then hightail it out of there… unfortunately, the job isn’t so simple and along the way he faces several other ne’er-do-wells, including two ruthless killers hired to protect said briefcase, played by Brian Tyree Henry and Aaron Taylor Johnson. The film blends comic-bookish visuals with action and comedy for seriously high-octane (er, high maglev?) entertainment.
Where to stream Bullet Train
A group of young adults gathers at a house for a fun weekend of partying, and decide to play a murder mystery game where some of the friends actually end up dead. With a premise like that, Bodies Bodies Bodies could have gone for straight horror, but thanks to a sharply funny script and a talented cast that includes Maria Bakalova, Amandla Stenberg, Pete Davidson, Lee Pace, and Rachel Sennot, it veers into and lingers in dark humor for most of the film, with a dash of uneasiness thrown in.
Where to stream Bodies Bodies Bodies
Rob Zombie’s take on The Munsters is a nostalgic nod to the old-school, creepy sitcom family (the one that isn’t The Addams Family) and with this film, he leans into the goofy (if not completely ridiculous) humor of the Munsters. Zombie usually gives us darker, more horrific, zombified fare, but here, you can tell he’s going for comedy and just having fun with it.
Where to stream The Munsters
To Buy:
Bullet Train
Bodies Bodies Bodies
Fall
Christmas On My Mind
Heath Ledger: A Tragic Tale
Fatal Addiction: Marilyn Monroe
Holiday Hearts
To Rent:
The Munsters
Elvis
Emily The Criminal
Nix
Smile (2022)
A Love Song
Preman: Silent Fury
Control
TMona Lisa and the Blood Moon
God’s Creatures
Vesper
Other Monsters
Never Forgotten
Dead For A Dollar
Cinematographer
The House of the Lost On The Cape
Avarice
A Fugitive From The Past
The Great Kidnapping
Haunted Trail
Hollywood Signs
In Isolation
Ten Tricks
The Last Band On Stage
Bring It On: Cheer or Die
Devil’s Workshop
Liz Kocan is a pop culture writer living in Massachusetts. Her biggest claim to fame is the time she won on the game show Chain Reaction.