Horror and thriller fans are eating good this week, with the best streaming services rolling out a spread of must-watch movies. This weekend, you can find plenty of new movies on Netflix, HBO Max and Hulu that deserve a spot on your watchlist. So much so that I'm struggling to narrow down just one highlight this week.
My top pick is "Weapons" on HBO Max, an unsettling rabbit hole of a movie that pulls you in and never lets go. For more spooky season vibes, Netflix's "The Elixir" is a promising-looking zombie movie. Or you can get your real-life-inspired scares from "A House of Dynamite," Netflix's Idris Elba-led political thriller from the director of “The Hurt Locker” and “Zero Dark Thirty." It's a tense and bleak watch, but a good one.
‘The Long Walk’ (PVOD)
One of the best Stephen King adaptations in decades is finally on streaming, but if you're looking for a breezy weekend watch, this ain't it. It's like a war movie without the war, like "Stand by Me" meets "The Road" where Mark Hamill spouts cruelly ironic pep talk for 108 minutes and hope flickers but, importantly, is never truly snuffed out. If you've got the endurance for this one, it's easily in my top 5 for best movies of the year.
Starring David Jonsson and Cooper Hoffman, it follows 50 young men selected by a lottery to compete in a deadly endurance contest. They must walk endlessly across the U.S. under the watch of a brutal military commander (Hamill), and anyone who slows down or stops gets executed on the spot until there's only one left. At first, the guys find a sense of camaraderie on their trek, but as the grueling marathon goes on, they helplessly watch exhaustion and terror claim their new friends one by one.
Buy or rent "The Long Walk" on Amazon or Apple now
'The Elixir' (Netflix)
If subtitles aren't a dealbreaker for you (and honestly, they shouldn't be in the year 2025), this Indonesian zombie horror-thriller is at the top of my watchlist this weekend. It follows a tried-and-true formula, i.e., a group of people with the survival instincts of drywall are thrown up against a horde of the undead, but that's part of the chaotic charm.
Instead of wasting time explaining what audiences who watch a movie like already know, director Kimo Stamboel goes all in on what truly matters here: buckets of gore, slick practical effects, and horrific zombie makeup that'll haunt your nightmares. It's big dumb fun, with plenty of gruesome spectacle that's perfect for spooky season.
Watch "The Elixir" on Netflix now
‘Weapons’ (HBO Max)
I was on the fence about Zach Cregger with "Barbarian" (the first half was top-notch, but the ending fell apart for me), but after seeing "Weapons," I'm putting him next to Ari Aster, Mike Flanagan, and Jordan Peele on my shelf of horror directors I'll watch anything from. The story's hook is what piqued my interest: One night, a group of children who are all in the same class flee their homes at exactly the same time. Just run straight out the door and disappear.
Only two people missed the memo about this bizarre rapture: their teacher, Justine (Julia Garner) and one shy boy named Alex (Cary Christopher). As parents (including a fantastic turn by Josh Brolin) demand answers and look for someone to blame, the story jumps between a few different narrators to peel back the layers of this mystery. I won't say anything more to avoid spoilers. Just know that Cregger once again proves his talent for delivering jaw-dropping twists, and the conclusion is one of the most terrifying (and funniest) things I've seen in a long time.
Watch "Weapons' on HBO Max now
'A House of Dynamite' (Netflix)
If you're already checking out "The Long Walk" this weekend, why not make it the bleakest double-feature imaginable with Netflix's "A House of Dynamite"? Fair warning: This tense political thriller isn't exactly the antidote to all the doom-scrolling we've all been doing; if anything, it's a white-knuckle stress test for our unprecedented times, primed to detonate at any moment.
The story unfolds in near real time as a nuclear missile hurtles toward Chicago with only 19 minutes until impact. The president (Idris Elba) and other government officials scramble to respond, and it quickly becomes clear that all the precautions and safety nets in place can't keep someone from crumbling under the pressure in the face of unimaginable terror. Kathryn Bigelow, the Oscar-winning director behind “The Hurt Locker” and “Zero Dark Thirty," delivers another nerve-shredding and deeply topical political thriller that won't leave your mind for days.
Watch "A House of Dynamite" on Netflix now
'Anyone But You ' (Hulu)
Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell's sparkling romcom "Anyone But You" was one of 2023's biggest surprises, bringing together two impossibly attractive leads for a classic enemies-to-lovers formula. At first, sparks fly when Bea (Sweeney) and Ben (Powell) meet, but their magical first date sours the next morning after she leaves without saying anything and later overhears him badmouthing her to his friends.
If it were as easy as just going their separate ways, this wouldn't be a romcom. The two are forced back together when mutual friends begin dating and subsequently announce their engagement. Jump to their friends' lavish destination wedding in Australia, where the pair's constant bickering threatens to ruin the vibe. They decide to pretend to be in a relationship to keep the peace, but their whole "perfect couple" act starts to become less of an act when long-buried feelings begin to resurface.
Watch "Anyone But You" on Hulu now
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