What to watch this weekend October 4, 2024: Movie awards contenders
It’s October, officially known as “spooky season,” a term I just realized I’ve seen a lot less this year than in years prior. Maybe it’s a less spooky season than usual? (Okay, that’s definitely not true.) In any case, “spooky season” means the streamers are putting up a lot of original horror movies this week. Max has “‘Salem’s Lot,” the latest adaptation of Stephen King’s vampire classic; Prime Video has “House of Spoils,” a Blumhouse psychological horror thriller starring Ariana DuBose as a Carmy-esque chef who’s either losing her mind or actually haunted; and Hulu has a period horror movie called “Hold Your Breath” starring Sarah Paulson as a mother in Dust Bowl Oklahoma who thinks there are monsters in the dust storms.
But none of those are our top picks this week. That would be “It’s What’s Inside,” a stylish Netflix horror comedy with a “Certified Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film is about a group of partygoers who use a mysterious device that makes them switch bodies with each other. It starts out freaky for them and gets even freakier. The cast includes Brittany O’Grady (“The White Lotus”), James Morosini (“I Love My Dad”), and Alycia Debnam-Carey (“Fear the Walking Dead”). It was a hit at Sundance and was the biggest purchase of the festival this year. It’s a fun little movie.
Here are some other movies to stream this weekend:
“Didi”: Rising writer-director Sean Wang’s debut, which won the Audience Award at Sundance this year, is one of the most realistic depictions of what it’s like to grow up online to date. The film follows 13-year-old Chris (Izaac Wang) as he flirts with girls online, skateboards, and argues with his mom (Joan Chen) in a Bay Area suburb in 2008. It’s a coming-of-age slice-of-life that will make anyone born between roughly 1990 and 1995 feel old. It’s streaming on Peacock now. “Didi” is technically the most award-worthy movie on this list, but it’s October, you should watch a horror movie!
“The Platform 2”: Spanish dystopian thriller “The Platform” hit Netflix in 2020 and became one of its most-watched non-English-language movies, because its themes of income inequality are relevant everywhere, and also because the design of the futuristic prison where a slab filled with food gets lowered through a tower so there’s nothing left for the people at the bottom looks really cool. The premise is back for a sequel that stars Milena Smit, Hovik Keuchkerian, and Natalia Tena.
“Deadpool & Wolverine”: The biggest R-rated movie of all time is this Marvel-revitalizing team-up that initiates Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) and Logan (Hugh Jackman) into the MCU. It’s a bloody action comedy that has heart when it counts. We’re holding off on making this the top pick until it comes to Disney+; for now, it’s available to rent or buy on-demand.