3 Best all-new Netflix and Prime Video additions for a mid-week binge (Oct 5-9)
This week promises a lot for streaming fans
The crown weighs heavily in the world of streaming – for however long Netflix has been able to call itself the biggest streaming service in the world, it's known the whole time that it can't rest easy. The likes of Prime Video are there in the back of its mind at all times, trying to steal away the status it earned.
Some of us, of course, will just play both sides in this one, and if you're a subscriber to either or both of Prime Video and Netflix, then you're likely curious about what you can expect from the pair of streamers this week. It's actually a really big one for releases, too, with some massive additions rounding out my three picks below. You'll find each with a trailer for some context, along with a release date to plan around.
Animals
- Streaming on: Netflix from 9 October
Ben Affleck's new film looks like a thriller that should have you on the edge of your seat, not least because there seem to be a few different angles on its plot. On the surface, he plays a mayoral candidate in California whose life is upended when his son is kidnapped, driving him to desperation.
Below that, though, there are clearly some sordid details percolating. Affleck's character seems to be hiding more than one secret, and he's not the only one – his wife (Kerry Washington) is clearly at least somewhat compromised too. Throw in Gillian Anderson as a shadowy fixer that comes in to theoretically help things move forward, and you've got a pretty interesting equation for a movie.
Carrie
- Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video from 7 October
Carrie launched the career of a certain Stephen King, which is quite the accolade, and was later adapted into one of the most iconic horror movies of all time, albeit subsequent remakes have generally been fairly dire. Now it's time for a new vision, though, and Mike Flanagan's horror credentials are basically peerless.
He's running this new show, which looks like it'll take a slower-paced view of Carrie's journey into the hellish world of school bullying, and also update it for modern times. Harrowing scenes from the original might be even more troubling in the age of smartphones and cameras, and this looks like it could be quite the addition for Prime Video this week.
Below
- Streaming on: Netflix from 8 October
Back to Netflix we go, though, for my last pick, which sees Josh Hartnett return to our screens for what looks like a supernatural horror-thriller, which is quite the combination of genre flags. Below looks like nothing else we've seen recently, and I consider that an accolade. Hartnett's character is scarred by a confusing event from his childhood, and hopes that it'll never crop up again.
He's left to process his disappointment, then, when a mysterious and giant iceberg floats into the bay of his quiet fishing town, inexplicably, and seemingly starts to fuel odd happenings and unrest. The trailers for this one have been mercifully vague, so I'm looking forward to discovering some big twists about the bizarre plot that Below might offer up when it arrives midweek.
