This week’s new releases across the best streaming services are dominated by horror, particularly horror-comedies, so while Halloween isn’t here yet, you can start spooky season a little early with some of these new flicks.
While my personal highlight is the premium streaming arrival of the excellent “Together,” starring real-life married couple Alison Brie and Dave Franco, it’s hard to deny that the headliner is the Disney Plus debut of “Thunderbolts.” This overlooked MCU effort is something of a return to form for the Marvel franchise and sets up the next “Avengers” movie.
Meanwhile, Netflix has a new murder mystery centered on an unconventional group of amateur detectives. So, if you’re looking to watch something new this week, here are the top new movies across streaming platforms.
‘Together’ (PVOD)
“Together” is a body horror shocker that takes skin-crawling to a whole new level, and even weeks after catching it in the theatre, its hooks remain firmly embedded in me. It stars real-life husband and wife Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a long-term couple stuck in a rut. What I loved most about this highly entertaining horror is that it blends its most shocking moments with a huge helping of dark comedy, making you laugh at some grisly scenes.
Millie (Brie) and Tim (Franco) have been together for several years, but their relationship is on a downward spiral, and the decision to move out of the city so Millie can take up a new position as a school teacher does nothing to fix their simmering issues. When they encounter a mysterious supernatural force in an underground cave, it threatens to tear them further apart, but conversely, it could actually be the thing to bring them back together closer than ever.
Buy or rent on Amazon from August 26
‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ (PVOD)
Legacy sequels to classic horror flicks have been in vogue for ages, so it’s a little surprising it took this long for “I Know What You Did Last Summer” to get the same treatment. But finally, fans of the ‘90s slasher series have been treated to a sequel/reboot this summer. Taking cues from the successful “Scream’ revival, it mixes the classic cast (namely Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt) with a younger generation of Screen Queens, Madelyn Cline and Chase Sui Wonders.
Decades have passed in the city of Southport, North Carolina, but some things never change. This legacy sequel follows a group of young friends who cause a man to swerve off the road in the middle of the night and cover up their part in the accident. A year later, they are stalked by a masked figure using a hook to murder his victims. Now it’s a race against time to unmask this mysterious figure who seems to know more about the group than it would first appear.
Buy or rent on Amazon from August 26
‘Thunderbolts’ (Disney Plus)
“Thunderbolts" (or should that be “The New Avengers"?) is the best Marvel movie of the year. OK, so that’s not the highest praise considering the current declining state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but this is the rare recent MCU movie that I genuinely believe deserved more attention from movie-goers.
It’s got the spirit of Marvel’s glory years with a cast of likeable (anti) heroes banding together to save the world, even if they don’t always like each other. Plus, it directly leads into “Avengers: Doomsday,” so you’ll want to watch it before you and everybody you know rushes the cinema next summer to see that tentpole superhero blockbuster.
The eponymous team is comprised of Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) and John Walker (Wyatt Russell), aka discount Captain America. Also along for the ride is Bob (Lewis Pullman), a seemingly ordinary guy suffering from amnesia. These underdogs might not get along, but to save the world, they need to put their differences aside and become a team.
Watch on Disney Plus from August 27
‘The Thursday Murder Club’ (Netflix)
Richard Osman’s quirky murder mystery novels have become popular best-sellers, and now the charming adventures of “The Thursday Murder Club” are coming to Netflix in this new movie adaptation. While “murder” is in the name and central to the story, the overall tone is extremely cozy with a cast of likeable characters and lots of very British sensibilities.
“The Thursday Murder Club” is comprised of a group of senior sleuths living in the Cooper’s Chase retirement village. When their community is threatened with closure, and one of the co-owners of the establishment turns up dead, the club’s quartet band together to solve the crime, and maybe just save their homes in the process. This Netflix original flick stars Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie, David Tennant and Jonathan Pryce.
Watch on Netflix from August 28
‘Hell of a Summer’ (Hulu)
As noted, it’s a big streaming week for horror, and more specifically horror movies with comedic elements, and “Hell of a Summer” sets its stall out straight away with a tongue-in-cheek title. So if after watching “Together” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” you’re still craving more scares mixed with laughs, Hulu has you covered.
Seemingly poking fun at the long-running “Friday the 13th” franchise, “Hell of a Summer” sees a counselor, Jason Hochberg (Fred Hechinger), and pals terrorized by a masked killer at a lakeside summer camp. It’s hardly the most original idea, but it’s clear the filmmakers are having fun with lampooning the genre. Interestingly, it’s co-written and directed by “Stranger Things” star Finn Wolfhard, alongside fellow young actor Billy Bryk.
Watch on Hulu from August 28
More from Tom's Guide
- "Thunderbolts" review: A shock to the Marvel system
- 5 psychological thriller movies streaming on Prime Video
- New on Disney Plus in August 2025
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