Best new films: quick links
Best new films on streaming this week
Hellboy: The Crooked Man (4 August) – Prime Video
Director: Brian Taylor
Cast: Jack Kesy, Mike Mignola, Brian Taylor
Genre: Horror/Fantasy
Runtime: 99 mins
Similar films: Hellboy (2019), Kraven The Hunter
Hellboy: The Crooked Man, which focuses on a comic book-adapted story about witches and demons set in the 1950s, has been well-received for its faithful adaptation of the original story, while also embracing a darker tone and strong horror elements.
Reviewers on IMDB highlighted the film’s moody atmosphere, practical effects, and clear respect for the source material. Jack Kesy’s performance as Hellboy is also praised for bringing depth to the titular character.
The film’s limited budget is a recurring point of criticism, but many viewers said they still found the story compelling and enjoyable. Either way, this one is definitely for the fans.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (7 August) – Paramount+
Director: Jeff Fowler
Cast: Ben Schwartz, Jim Carrey, Keanu Reeves, James Marsden, Idris Elba
Genre: Action/Sci-Fi/Kids
Runtime: 110 mins
Similar films: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails reunite against a powerful new adversary: Shadow, a mysterious villain with powers unlike anything they have faced before.
With their abilities outmatched, Team Sonic must seek out an unlikely alliance with the villain.
The Critic’s Consensus? ‘With a double helping of Jim Carrey’s antics and a quicksilver pace befitting its hero, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is the best entry in this amiable series yet.’ (Rotten Tomatoes).
IMDB viewers say that the action-packed scenes and bumping soundtrack are highlights, but that Shadow’s backstory leaves much to be desired. Another one for the fans – and most of all, for the kids!
Watch the trailer.
Wolf Man (9 August) – Binge
Director: Leigh Whannell
Cast: Julia Garner, Christopher Abbott
Genre: Horror
Runtime: 103 mins
Similar films: Until Dawn, The Monkey
This Australian-directed horror is one of the best new films in the last five years. From our review:
Consider the werewolf: a half-person, half-beast, prone to irrepressible body-breaking changes that render them a threat to society as we know it – and thus condemn them to life as an outcast.
With that in mind, it makes sense that when facing the socially isolating Covid lockdowns – and a subsequent disappointing response to his previous outing (Invisible Man), Leigh Whannell and his partner in life and film, Corbett Tuck, turned to thoughts of the lonely lycanthrope.
Together, they decided to tackle a remake of 1941’s The Wolf Man. In their version, a married couple and their daughter seek respite from their fraying relationship and workaholism by temporarily moving to the country – but what awaits them there is a nightmare that would prefer they never left.
Read the full review of Wolf Man.
The Iron Claw (10 August) – Netflix
Director: Sean Durkin
Cast: Zac Effron, Harris Dickinson, Jeremy Allen White
Genre: Biography/Drama
Runtime: 132 mins
Similar films: Warrior (2011), Beautiful Boy (2018)
This film tells the true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s.
Through tragedy and triumph, under the shadow of their domineering father and coach, the brothers seek larger-than-life immortality on the biggest stage in sports.
It’s one of the saddest and most beautiful films I’ve ever had the pleasure to watch.
Praised by critics and audiences alike, it ranks high on Rotten Tomatoes due to its commitment to honouring the real life Von Erich family, and the way it crafts a compelling narrative that is extremely empathetic to the subjects involved.
In short? It’ll wallop ya.
I Saw the Face of the Devil (11 August) – AMC+ & Shudder
Director: Julia Kowalski
Cast: Maria Wróbel, Wojciech Skibinski
Genre: Horror
Runtime: 35mins
Similar films: You Won’t Be Alone, The Exorcist
In a small town in norther Poland, a young girl by the name of Majka beings to experience feelings that are out of the ordinary.
Convinced that she is possessed, she decides to meet with Father Marek, a local priest, to perform an exorcism.
While relatively unheard of, this 2023 short film from Poland is worth checking out for horror fanatics and European cinema aficionados alike.
Plus, it’s only 35 minutes long, which means it can easily be tackled in one sitting (before it gets too dark outside).
