Every month’s a big one when you’re fighting some of the most powerful platforms on the planet to take your place as the biggest and best streaming service out there, but even by its own standards, Netflix seems to be going big in October. It’s sometimes the case that to round up a month’s new release highlights, I have to scrape the barrel – not this time.
There are so many big new movies and series coming to Netflix this October that I had to leave out some impressive big-hitters (like Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy in Steve, to name an example). So, you can be sure that the list of five highlights that did make the cut, below, is required reading for Netflix subscribers this month.
A House of Dynamite
- Streaming from: 24 October
This might be my most-anticipated Netflix movie in memory – a thriller from Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow. A House of Dynamite takes a hyper-realistic look at what it would actually be like in the minutes before an anonymous ICBM launch hits the continental United States, and flicks between a few different settings to achieve that sense of realism.
It shows us the response inside the US’ own nuclear command, it shows us officials out and about in the real world being fed the information in real time, and it even has Idris Elba as the US President reacting to the news and figuring out if there’s anything at all he can do about it. Prepare for some stressful, but essential viewing.
The Woman in Cabin 10
- Streaming from: 10 October
If you’re into thrillers but want a movie that perhaps demands a little less of you than Bigelow’s, there’s good news – Kiera Knightley is fronting a far sillier and more fun style of whodunit: The Woman in Cabin 10. She plays a journalist invited onto the private yacht of a hugely powerful man to write a puff piece.
What she doesn’t expect is to witness a body fall off the boat and be left behind, and it gets even more baffling when everyone else on the boat insists that she must have imagined it. What follows should be a twisty mystery as Knightley’s character gets closer and closer to the dangerous truth of what she saw.
The Witcher Season 4
- Streaming from: 30 October
I honestly can’t figure out how big or small the wave of interest is going to be in the fourth season of The Witcher, and my feeling is that Netflix is having the same dilemma. After the messy drama that was Henry Cavill’s exit from the show, it’s recast the role of Geralt with Liam Hemsworth, but has been very tight about showing much from the new season at the time of writing.
So, we know that Geralt will be back and the story of his intertwined destiny with Ciri and Yennefer will continue, but whether audiences have fallen out of love with a show that simply didn’t feel particularly well thought-out will be fascinating to see.
The Diplomat Season 3
- Streaming from: 16 October
A show that’s gone from strength to strength, meanwhile, is The Diplomat, starring Keri Russell as the embattled wife of a US diplomat stationed in the US while what’s effectively an international crisis starts to play out behind the scenes. The extra spice that really makes it all work is that her marriage is falling apart at the seams, adding to the sense of tension.
This is a rare big-budget show in that Netflix is actually managing to make it on an annual schedule, so people will be buzzing for its third season. Prepare for a change of guard as a new US President is sworn in after the death of the previous office-holder, and for that bring about another storm of intrigue.
Monster: The Ed Gein Story
- Streaming from: 3 October
Although it arrives right at the start of October, I’ve saved this one for last largely because I think it’s such a surprisingly grim trailer that people probably shouldn’t be jump-scared with it up at the top of this round-up. Charlie Hunnam has stepped into the lead role of the latest Monster series, and it’s going to be as dark a show as Netflix has ever made.
Ed Gein was a horrendous figure, with far more potential crimes than were ever able to be proved, and it’s clear that Hunnam is committing fully to the role, as are the costume designers. I’ll say no more, but I’d recommend only checking out the trailer if you’ve got a fairly strong constitution.
