A Terrifying and Thrilling Season of Blockbusters – Top

Over here at Cultured Vultures, we love October, because that means we get to dance with horror all month long. There’s Amazon’s Welcome to the Blumhouse series, with four new horror movies released over October. Netflix and Disney have also joined in the fun, with offerings like Night Teeth and Under Wraps respectively.

Non-horror lovers, don’t despair. There are plenty of other options available, like Army of Thieves on Netflix (which is more rom-com than it is horror) and The Guilty with Jake Gyllenhaal (though the original Danish film is still better), and definitely some blockbusters worth checking out as well. Here are the 5 biggest new movies of October 2021.

 

1. No Time To Die | October 8th, 2021

As of now, I’m sure that everyone is privy to the information that this is Daniel Craig’s last movie as Bond, which has all of us rooting for this movie to succeed. We want him to go out on a blaze of glory, and not whatever the hell Spectre was – I jest, it wasn’t all bad.

Looking at the reviews that have been released thus far, it appears that the film has done its job, with a certified fresh score of 82%. Even though the film’s runtime will have us praying our bladders hold up through the entire thing, it’s the kind of movie to make the trip to the cinema for – how else will you enjoy all that action-packed goodness?

In No Time To Die, Bond is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica until his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission? Rescue a kidnapped scientist. But of course, things turn out to be more dangerous than expected, leading Bond to collide with the film’s villain Safin, played by Rami Malek.

 

2. Halloween Kills | October 15th, 2021

After the poor box office performance of Freaky last year, Jason Blum made the decision to have a hybrid release strategy for Halloween Kills, which means it will release both on streaming and in theatres on the same day. In an interview with Collider, Blum said that he approached Peacock, and that it wasn’t the other way around. He wanted the movie to be seen, and figured this was the best way to do it, especially since some fans of the franchise might not be ready to make the trip back to cinemas just yet.

Even though we thought Laurie might have succeeded in finally getting rid of Michael in the previous film, the fact that there is a sequel means this wasn’t the case. He manages to free himself from Laurie’s trap, and resumes his killing spree. Laurie’s stand against him inspires all of Haddonfield to rise up against their unstoppable monster. The Strode women are joined by a group of other survivors of Michael’s first rampage, and together, they form a vigilante mob that sets out to hunt Michael down, to get rid of him once and for all.

 

3. The Last Duel | October 15th, 2021

While all of Haddonfield duels Michael, we have another duel happening here in Ridley Scott land. The director is back with his medieval offering The Last Duel, which boasts a whole cast of talented actors, like Ben Affleck, Adam Driver, Matt Damon and Jodie Comer. The reception of the film is quite mixed at the moment, at a lackluster 67% on Rotten Tomatoes. This number might perk up on release, but a good critical score hasn’t been a constant thing for Scott in recent years. Just like all good directors, there are some home runs, and other films that feel a little underwhelming.

But one thing all the critics have been praising is Comer’s performance, so it’s great to see her slay the big screen after the tremendous work she did in Killing Eve.

Based on actual events, the film traverses into France’s last sanctioned duel between Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) and Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver), two friends turned bitter rivals. When Carrouges’ wife, Marguerite (Jodie Comer), is viciously assaulted by Le Gris, a charge he denies, she refuses to stay silent, stepping forward to accuse her attacker, an act of bravery and defiance that puts her life in jeopardy. All this culminates in a trial by combat, with the three leaving their fates up to God.

 

4. Dune | October 22nd, 2021

I feel like we’ve been talking about Dune since forever, and am truly glad that we will get to see it this month.

Director Denis Villeneuve made headlines for insisting that the movie be seen on the big screen, and requested that no screeners be sent out to the press. If they wanted to see it, they would have to do so on the big screen. Don’t fret, Dune will still be released on HBO Max, though if you want to bask in the visual spectacle that this film will surely offer, then the cinema is the place to do it.

Based on Frank Hebert’s sci-fi classic, Dune (Timothée Chalamet) follows Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people.

 

5. Last Night in Soho | October 29th, 2021

With all these big movies being released this October, it really does feel like Christmas, especially since we waited quite a bit to get some of them. Last Night in Soho is one of those films. Directed by Edgar Wright, whose given us films like Baby Driver and Hot Fuzz, I can certainly understand why there is so much excitement surrounding this film’s release. However, it appears that the film might be a bit of a mixed bag, with most critics transfixed by the first half, and completely lost by the second.

Still, I want to watch it just for the visuals alone, and of course with actresses like Anya Taylor-Joy and Thomasin McKenzie at the helm, it will probably be a decent watch.

Last Night in Soho is a psychological thriller. Eloise (McKenzie), an aspiring fashion designer, finds herself able to enter the 1960s where she encounters a dazzling singer, Sandie (Taylor-Joy). But there is something darker lurking beneath all that glamour.

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