This week marks a noticeable lull in the otherwise unrelenting rollout of summer tentpole hits, with Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City and Celine Song’s Past Lives expanding to more theaters and the looming premiere of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny hovering on the horizon. If you’re looking to stay at home this weekend and catch up on some new releases, we’ve got you covered.
Each week, we round up the most notable releases new to streaming and VOD, highlighting the biggest and best new movies for you to watch at home. This week sees a lot of new VOD releases, as well as a few on streaming platforms.
Evil Dead Rise, the latest installment in Sam Raimi’s venerable horror franchise now helmed by Lee Cronin, comes to streaming on Max. Looking for more horror? Look no further than Infinity Pool, the new sci-fi horror thriller from Brandon Cronenberg (Possessor), which is now available to stream on Hulu. The less horror-inclined might enjoy The Perfect Find, the new rom-com starring Gabrielle Union and Keith Powers that premiered on Netflix this week. There’s tons of other releases to enjoy on VOD as well, including the action-comedy The Machine starring comedian-actor Bert Kreischer and Mark Hamill, the erotic psychological thriller Sanctuary starring Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott, and more.
Let’s dive in!
New on Netflix
Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix
Genre: Romantic comedy
Run time: 1h 39m
Director: Numa Perrier
Cast: D.B. Woodside, Gabrielle Union, Gina Torres
Gabrielle Union (Bring It On) stars in this romantic comedy as Jenna, a 40-year-old woman who, after rebounding into a new job following a high-profile firing, enters into a secret love affair with Eric (Keith Powers), the son of her new boss. Can she manages to balance her professional life with her personal romance, or will something have to give?
New on Hulu
Where to watch: Available to stream on Hulu
Genre: Sci-fi horror
Run time: 1h 58m
Director: Brandon Cronenberg
Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Mia Goth, Cleopatra Coleman
David Cronenberg’s son Brandon (Possessor) took Sundance by storm with this horror satire, which I’ve heard described by multiple people as “the best season of White Lotus yet.”
From our review:
Cronenberg’s script for Infinity Pool is filled with dark, wry jokes, many of them laugh-out-loud funny. (Early on, Gabi says she’s an actress who specializes in “failing naturally” in commercials.) There are a lot of weird touches in this movie, and all of them serve a purpose; even the Leatherface-esque masks seen in the trailer have a dual function, enhancing the sense of depersonalization and evoking the commodification of native cultures. The only issue with the plot is that its climax is inevitable from the moment all is revealed. But, to be fair, the film is trimmed with so many shiny, violent ornaments that an overly complicated storytelling structure would have made Infinity Pool difficult to follow. As it is, the point is clear: A numbed-out cyclone of bottomless entitlement is the ugliest thing an American (or any other nationality) can be.
New on Max
Where to watch: Available to stream on Max
Genre: Supernatural horror
Run time: 1h 36m
Director: Lee Cronin
Cast: Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Morgan Davies
The fifth installment in the iconic Evil Dead horror franchise stars Lily Sullivan (Mental) as Beth, a guitar engineer who decides to pay a visit to her estranged sister Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) and her children after discovering she is pregnant. When a massive earthquake rocks the foundations of Ellie’s apartment complex, an ancient evil is inadvertently unearthed — one that threatens to claim the lives of all those trapped inside the building.
From our review:
Evil Dead Rise is a movie made by sickos for sickos. It’s a fantastic update to the iconic franchise, filled with humor but bringing in Álvarez’s taste for the disgusting and upsetting. The refreshing change in scenery and cast, plus Sutherland’s breakout performance, proves this undead franchise still has a lot of life and fight in it.
At 97 lively minutes, it does feel like it’s over almost as soon as it begins. It’s a perfect onboarding movie for newer audiences who’ve never seen an Evil Dead movie, but for longtime fans, it breathes new air into a classic horror-comedy franchise, mixing Raimi’s old-school approach with the new school of gruesome horror. It proves there’s still a lot to color in within the old dead-lines.
New on Criterion Channel
Where to watch: Available to stream on Criterion Channel
Genre: Period drama
Run time: 2h 23m
Director: Hlynur Pálmason
Cast: Elliott Crosset Hove, Ingvar Sigurðsson, Vic Carmen Sonne
A young Danish priest (Elliott Crosset Hove) is commanded to travel to Iceland in order to establish a church and photograph the region’s people. Challenged by the demands of rural life and his isolation from the townspeople, the priest experiences a dark night of the soul as his faith and very sense of reality are tested.
New on VOD
Where to watch: Available to rent for $19.99 on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Genre: Action comedy
Run time: 1h 52m
Director: Peter Atencio
Cast: Bert Kreischer, Mark Hamill, Jimmy Tatro
Comedian-actor Bert Kreischer re-enacts his viral story about a wild trip to Russia he took as a college freshman which earned him the nickname “The Machine.” Kreischer portrays a fictionalized version of himself who, 23 years later, is kidnapped by a Russian mobster along with his father (Mark Hamill) as part of an elaborate revenge scheme concerning a pocket watch. Yeah, I’m as confused as you are.
You Hurt My Feelings
Where to watch: Available to rent for $19.99 on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Genre: Comedy-drama
Run time: 1h 33m
Director: Nicole Holofcener
Cast: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tobias Menzies, Michaela Watkins
Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars in this comedy-drama where no one seems to be having a good time. Beth (Louis-Dreyfus), a novelist with self-confidence issues, gets into a fight with her husband (Tobias Menzies) after overhearing him pan her latest book. As the couple try to sort through their baggage, they come to a deeper understanding of themselves, their relationship, and how their lives brought them to this point.
Where to watch: Available to rent for $6.99 on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Genre: Erotic thriller
Run time: 1h 36m
Director: Zachary Wigon
Cast: Margaret Qualley, Christopher Abbott
The wealthy scion of a luxury hotel franchise (Christopher Abbott) is determined to enjoy one last fling with his regular dominatrix (Margaret Qualley). Upon learning her client wishes to end their relationship, the dominatrix hatches an impromptu plot to force him to confront both the nature of their liaisons and his own deep-seated insecurities.
Where to watch: Available to rent for $5.99 on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Genre: Western
Run time: 1h 40m
Director: Anthony Mandler
Cast: Letitia Wright, Jamie Bell, Michael K. Williams
Letitia Wright (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Small Axe) stars in this new Western as a freedwoman who impersonates a man in a plot to claim a gold mine. Her journey brings her face-to-face with the legendary outlaw Tommy Walsh (Jamie Bell), whom she holds captive after her stagecoach is ambushed by a gang of marauding thieves and killers. Surrounded also features the final performance by the late Michael K. Williams, who completed filming prior to his untimely death in 2021.
This content was originally published here.
