The weather is getting a little crisper — or, at least, it should be — and people everywhere are shopping for their Halloween costumes — or, at least, they should be — which means it’s October, the month when theatrical releases are kind of a crap shoot and TV studios are bombarding you with all of their “best” new ideas. If all of that is getting to be just a bit much for you, you can always check out these 30 titles that are new to Netflix in October:
Available 10/1
#1
Adjusted Score: 94.449%
Critics Consensus: Daring, provocative, and laugh-out-loud funny, Blazing Saddles is a gleefully vulgar spoof of Westerns that marks a high point in Mel Brooks' storied career.
Synopsis: Vulgar, crude, and occasionally scandalous in its racial humor, this hilarious bad-taste spoof of Westerns, co-written by Richard Pryor, features...
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#1
Adjusted Score: 93.903%
Critics Consensus: Anchored by the exceptional acting of its strong cast, Mystic River is a somber drama that unfolds in layers and conveys the tragedy of its story with visceral power.
Synopsis: Directed by Clint Eastwood, the mysterious drama Mystic River is based on the novel by Dennis Lehane and adapted by...
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#1
Adjusted Score: 90.099%
Critics Consensus: Pee-Wee's Big Adventure brings Paul Reubens' famous character to the big screen intact, along with enough inspired silliness to dazzle children of all ages.
Synopsis: Co-written by Paul Reubens and Phil Hartman, Pee Wee's Big Adventure marks the debut of director Tim Burton, who stamps...
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#1
Adjusted Score: 89.777%
Critics Consensus: Sergio Leone's epic crime drama is visually stunning, stylistically bold, and emotionally haunting, and filled with great performances from the likes of Robert De Niro and James Woods.
Synopsis: Though some viewers might be put off by its length, graphic violence, and absence of likable characters, Sergio Leone's final...
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#1
Adjusted Score: 92.741%
Critics Consensus: Though it deviates from Stephen King's novel, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is a chilling, often baroque journey into madness -- exemplified by an unforgettable turn from Jack Nicholson.
Synopsis: "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" -- or, rather, a homicidal boy in Stanley Kubrick's eerie...
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Adjusted Score: 77.57%
Critics Consensus: Though at times suffering from a narrative overload that undermines the drama, Gotham's fourth season ends strong, focusing on Bruce Wayne's transition into the beloved hero its audience awaits.
Synopsis: Season Four of GOTHAM will witness the emergence of the criminal landscape for which Gotham City is best known, with...
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#1
Adjusted Score: 84.286%
Critics Consensus: A loving and meticulous send-up of 1970s blaxsploitation movies, Black Dynamite is funny enough for the frat house and clever enough for film buffs.
Synopsis: African-American action legend Black Dynamite goes after 'The Man' for killing his brother Jimmy, for pumping heroin into local orphanages...
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#1
Adjusted Score: 82.84%
Critics Consensus: A magical journey about the power of a young boy's imagination to save a dying fantasy land, The NeverEnding Story remains a much-loved kids adventure.
Synopsis: Wolfgang Petersen adapted Michael Ende's children's story for this charming fantasy film that spawned several sequels. Bastian (Barret Oliver) is...
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#1
Adjusted Score: 83.89%
Critics Consensus: Though The Green Mile is long, critics say it's an absorbing, emotionally powerful experience.
Synopsis: Director Frank Darabont, who made an acclaimed feature film debut with The Shawshank Redemption (1994), based on a Stephen King...
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#1
Adjusted Score: 83.224%
Critics Consensus: An entertaining Jackie Chan stunt-fest in which the impressive action sequences overcome the low production value and by-the-numbers plot.
Synopsis: After years as a major star in most of the rest of the world, Jackie Chan finally broke through to...
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#1
Adjusted Score: 81.655%
Critics Consensus: Visually stunning and thought-provoking, V For Vendetta's political pronouncements may rile some, but its story and impressive set pieces will nevertheless entertain.
Synopsis: Based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore, V for Vendetta takes place in an alternate vision of Britain in...
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#1
Adjusted Score: 69.662%
Critics Consensus: Though it is ultimately somewhat undone by its own lofty ambitions, The Devil's Advocate is a mostly effective blend of supernatural thrills and character exploration.
Synopsis: Supernatural forces hover over the courtroom in this devilish drama adapted from the novel by Andrew Neiderman. Attorney Kevin Lomax...
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#1
Adjusted Score: 72.375%
Critics Consensus: Zack and Miri Make a Porno is a modest success for Kevin Smith, due in large part to the charm of Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks.
Synopsis: Lifelong friends and roommates Zack and Miri are facing hard times and a mountain of debt. When the electricity and...
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#1
Adjusted Score: 63.395%
Critics Consensus: Sommersby stumbles as a consistently compelling mystery, but typically solid work from Jodie Foster and Richard Gere fuels an engaging romance.
Synopsis: Based on the French film The Return of Martin Guerre, Sommersby is the story of a presumed-dead Confederate soldier (Richard...
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#1
Adjusted Score: 61.443%
Critics Consensus: She's Out of My League has moments of humor and insight, but it's bogged down by excessive vulgarity and cartoonishness.
Synopsis: Kirk, an average Joe, can't believe his luck. He's stuck in a seemingly dead-end job as an airport security agent....
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#1
Adjusted Score: 58.655%
Critics Consensus: While it offers its fair share of violent thrills and tough wit, The Dead Pool ends the Dirty Harry series on an uninspired note.
Synopsis: The Dead Pool is the fifth and (thus far) the last of Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry movies. A sports pool...
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#1
Adjusted Score: 60.639%
Critics Consensus: Though some may find the plot a bit lacking, Blade's action is fierce, plentiful, and appropriately stylish for a comic book adaptation.
Synopsis: British director Stephen Norrington helmed this David S. Goyer adaptation of the Marvel Comics character created in 1973 by scripter...
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#1
Adjusted Score: 55.733%
Critics Consensus: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves brings a wonderfully villainous Alan Rickman to this oft-adapted tale, but he's robbed by big-budget bombast and a muddled screenplay.
Synopsis: This film is a '90s version of the classic Robin Hood story, with Kevin Costner starring as the good-guy thief....
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#1
Adjusted Score: 42.61%
Critics Consensus: Audiences who enjoy Adam Sandler's belligerent comic energy may find him in joyously obnoxious form as Billy Madison, but this thinly-plotted starring vehicle surrounds its star with an aggressively pedestrian movie.
Synopsis: Master of infantilism Adam Sandler stars as the title character, an overgrown rich kid who wiles away his days poolside,...
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#1
Adjusted Score: 47.5%
Critics Consensus: Thought not without its funny moments, Anger Management is ultimately stale and disappointingly one-note, especially considering its capable cast.
Synopsis: A man comes face to face with the rage he didn't know he had in this comedy. Dave Buznick (Adam...
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Available 10/5
Adjusted Score: 101.653%
Critics Consensus: Poignantly repulsive, Big Mouth continues to confront the awkwardness of adolescence with foul-mouthed glee and an added layer of maturity.
Synopsis: Growth spurts, or the lack of it, add to the usual tensions faced daily by the middle schoolers of "Big...
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#1
Adjusted Score: 14.16%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Brother and sister duo Angela (Florence Pugh) and Jackson (Ben Lloyd-Hughes) are nothing more than scam artists. Preying on the...
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Available 10/10
#1
Adjusted Score: 85.776%
Critics Consensus: 22 July offers a hard-hitting close-up look at the aftereffects of terrorism, telling a story with a thriller's visceral impact and the lingering emotional resonance of a drama.
Synopsis: In 22 July, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips, United 93) tells the true story of the aftermath of...
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Available 10/12
Adjusted Score: 99.638%
Critics Consensus: The Haunting of Hill House is an effective ghost story whose steadily mounting anticipation is just as satisfying as its chilling payoff.
Synopsis: The Haunting of Hill House is a modern reimagining of Shirley Jackson's legendary novel of the same name, about five...
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#1
Adjusted Score: 81.121%
Critics Consensus: Apostle resists easy scares in favor of a steady, slow-building descent into dread led by a commanding central performance from Dan Stevens.
Synopsis: London, 1905. Prodigal son Thomas Richardson (Dan Stevens) has returned home, only to learn that his sister is being held...
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Available 10/19
Adjusted Score: 75.216%
Critics Consensus: Toni Collette creates comedy between the sheets in this unlikely sex-drama from acclaimed playwright Nick Payne for the BBC.
Synopsis: After years of respectable marriage Joy and Alan are going to try doing what's right for them....
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Adjusted Score: 101.145%
Critics Consensus: The Man with No Fear returns to top form with a third season that begins tediously slow but gradually generates comic book thrills, immeasurably helped by the welcome return of Vincent D'Onofrio's menacing Kingpin.
Synopsis: A blind lawyer fights crime by day in the courtroom and by night as a superhero with extraordinary senses in...
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Adjusted Score: 73.296%
Critics Consensus: Making a Murderer's return may not yield closure for this maddening saga of crime and punishment, but the series' exploration of the U.S. justice system remains riveting.
Synopsis: Filmed over a 10-year period, Making a Murderer is an unprecedented real-life thriller about a DNA exoneree who, while in...
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Starring:
Available 10/25
Adjusted Score: 85.34%
Critics Consensus: Great News avoids a sophomore slump thanks to its hilarious cast and the welcome onscreen addition of series creator Tina Fey.
Synopsis: Season 2 of this comedy series opens with the crew feeling victorious after breaking a big story, which resulted in...
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Available 10/26
Adjusted Score: 100.045%
Critics Consensus: Castlevania sinks its fangs into vampiric lore during a devilishly fun second season that benefits from an expanded sense of scale and episode tally that allows the series to fully spread its leathery wings.
Synopsis: As Dracula and his legion of vampires prepare to rid the world of humanity's stain, an unlikely trio of heroes...
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Adjusted Score: 98.281%
Critics Consensus: Bewitchingly beautiful and wickedly macabre, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina casts an intoxicating spell and provides a perfect showcase for Kiernan Shipka's magical talents.
Synopsis: This adaptation finds Sabrina wrestling to reconcile her dual nature -- half-witch, half-mortal -- while standing against the evil forces...
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