Hocus Pocus 2, Rob Zombie’s The Munsters, and every other movie you can stream from home this weekend

This weekend Hocus Pocus 2, the long-awaited sequel to the classic 1993 fantasy comedy starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy finally premieres on Disney Plus. If that doesn’t sound like your particular bag of trick-or-treat candy, not to worry — there’s plenty more spooky (and non-spooky) good movies to rent or stream this weekend.

We’ve got The Munsters, the new Rob Zombie comedy film (yes — I’m as surprised at that description as you are) based on the classic 1960s horror sitcom, Andrew Dominik’s biographical drama of Marilyn Monroe starring Ana de Armas, and the adult animated special Entergalactic starring Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi and Jessica Williams (Love Life) all premiering on Netflix. There’s also the supernatural comedy horror My Best Friend’s Exorcism on Prime Video, and the social media horror thriller Sissy on Shudder. Not to mention the black horror comedy slasher Bodies Bodies Bodies on VOD. See, there’s so much to choose from!

Here’s everything new you can watch at home this weekend.

---

Hocus Pocus 2

Where to watch: Available to stream on Disney Plus

Photo: Matt Kennedy/Disney

Hocus pocus, Hocus Pocus is back! Nearly 30 years after the original, Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy reprise their roles as the Sanderson sisters. This time, they’re joined by Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) and Doug Jones (nearly every movie monster you’ve seen for the past decade).

The Munsters

Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix

Image: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment/Netflix

If your first reaction to this is “Rob Zombie made a Munsters movie???” — you are not alone.

The heavy metal singer-songwriter/filmmaker may be best known for his gnarly horror movies (that deserve a better reputation than they have), but he returned to his roots for this low-budget comedy adaptation of the beloved TV series. Zombie’s been a massive Munsters fan since childhood, and there’s nothing like seeing a filmmaker be able to inhabit a world they’ve always wanted to.

Blonde

Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix

Image: Netflix

Andrew Dominik’s controversial adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ controversial Marilyn Monroe book has certainly sparked some conversation. It’s Netflix’s first NC-17 movie (although it is worth noting Netflix does not always get its movies rated), and it stars Ana de Armas as Monroe.

From Oli Welsh’s analysis of the movie’s relationship to its NC-17 rating:

The trouble is that Dominik’s mythologizing tendency, and his insatiable hunger for arresting imagery, undercut his own theme to disastrous effect. He doesn’t have enough interest in Norma Jeane to build a personality for her, or a sense of her achievements, outside of the ceaseless miseries heaped upon her by others. Meanwhile, he indulges a shallow fascination with the iconography of Marilyn, using every tool at his disposal to re-create film scenes and photoshoots with astonishing accuracy. There are constant changes in film stock, aspect ratio, lens and color treatment, alongside liberal use of CGI to blend de Armas into the frame, or to introduce a fantastical dimension to the reenactment. Dominik’s dazzling technique not only fails to distract from the film’s wearying lack of tonal variation, but is in complete thrall to the dehumanizing image factory that the film is supposed to be critiquing.

Entergalactic

Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix

Image: Netflix

Netflix’s latest animated project comes from the mind of Kid Cudi and promises gorgeous visuals along with a ground-level story about an aspiring artist falling in love in New York City.

DC League of Super-Pets

Where to watch: Available to stream on HBO Max

Image: Warner Bros. Pictures

One of the few DC Comics movies to actually get a release this year, this animated movie features many of the pets of the members of the Justice League. The sprawling voice cast includes Dwayne Johnson as Krypto, Kevin Hart as Ace the Bat-Hound, and Keanu Reeves as Batman, among many, many others. We’re still pouring one out for the pets that didn’t make the movie.

From our review:

As with The Lego Batman Movie, the best part of DC League of Super-Pets is the writers’ intimate knowledge of and love for the source material, which they use to keep the movie moving with clever gags and even more brilliant callbacks. A highlight is an inexplicable holographic recording of Krypto’s father, Dog-El, dispensing important counsel like “Don’t eat chocolate.” There are a lot more gags for in-the-know comics fans, like a Justice League hotline asking callers to press buttons based on whether they’re trying to contact Earth-1 or Earth-2, and a Big Belly Burger in downtown Metropolis that gets wrecked in the fighting.

My Best Friend’s Exorcism

Where to watch: Available to stream on Prime Video

Photo: Eliza Morse/Prime Video

If you love Jennifer’s Body, then you’ll love My Best Friend’s Exorcism, the supernatural comedy horror based on the 2016 novel of the same name. Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade) stars as Abby, a high school girl who must battle with a demon who possesses her best friend, Gretchen (Amiah Miller).

The Greatest Beer Run Ever

Where to watch: Available to stream on Apple TV Plus

Image: Apple TV Plus

Based on a true story, The Greatest Beer Run Ever stars Zac Efron as Chickie Donohue, a brash New Yorker who leaves the U.S. in 1967 to embark on a journey to bring beer to his childhood buddies who are fighting in Vietnam. Chickie’s well-meaning gag transforms into a profound life-altering experience when he is brought face-to-face with the perils and realities of this controversial war, forcing him to reflect on his past, present, and future.

Sissy

Where to watch: Available to stream on Shudder

Image: XYZ Films/Shudder

Aisha Dee (Look Both Ways) stars in the 2022 social media horror-thriller Sissy as a successful social media influencer who is invited out to her ex-childhood best friend’s bachelorette weekend. After being accosted by her childhood bully, who is also on the trip, Sissy is faced with disturbing memories of her past that awaken a long-dormant thirst for revenge.

Fall

Where to watch: Available to purchase for $19.99 on Amazon, Apple, Google Play

Image: Lionsgate

Celebrated action filmmaker Scott Mann turned his talents to this contained thriller about two women who get stuck at the top of a 2,000-foot-tall radio tower. I simply wouldn’t go to the top of a 2,000-foot-tall radio tower, but I guess I’m different.

Bodies Bodies Bodies

Where to watch: Available to purchase for $19.99 on Amazon, Apple, Google Play

Photo: Gwen Capistran/A24

A young woman named Bee (Maria Bakalova) and her girlfriend, Sophie (Amandla Stenberg), are invited out to a hurricane party at a secluded mansion by Sophie’s friends: a spoiled group of rich 20-somethings with a penchant for drama. Upon playing a find-the-killer murder-mystery party game, the group quickly learns that a real killer is in their midst.

From our review:

Bodies Bodies Bodies starts to play like a compressed Scream, sped up as if the filmmakers believe they’re playing to a generation that can’t keep both eyes on a full-length feature film. The filmmakers make the compelling choice to ratchet up both the bloodshed and the absurdity in tandem. Rather than letting satire give way to horror-movie tension, they make the recriminations and defensiveness increasingly louder and more ridiculous as the characters feel more endangered. At one point, mortal peril is interrupted by the equally shocking betrayal that one friend may be hate-listening to another’s podcast.

Bullet Train

Where to watch: Available to purchase for $19.99 on Amazon, Apple, Google Play

Photo: Scott Garfield/Sony Pictures

David Leitch is one half of the superstar directing duo that brought us the massively influential John Wick, and his latest action movie boasts a superstar cast led by Brad Pitt, Brian Tyree Henry, Joey King, and Bad Bunny. A good cast means a good blooper reel.

From our review:

Fights in Bullet Train are brief and full of character, with blows in the place of (or alongside) quips and Jackie Chan-esque prop work. Inspired staging, like a seated scuffle between Ladybug and Lemon in the train’s quiet car (a centerpiece of the film’s trailers), is some of the best of what Bullet Train has to offer, with John Wick-style choreographic precision employed in the service of comedy. The worst of the film is when it abandons that precision for bombast, like in its wildly destructive finale, which is kind of expected, but still disappointing.

Vesper

Where to watch: Available to rent for $6.99 on Amazon, Apple, Google Play

Image: IFC Films

The post-apocalyptic indie sci-fi movie has been getting rave reviews, including from us!

From our review:

Vesper simultaneously plays like a resourceful shoestring-budget indie in the realm of Dual and like Alex Garland’s $50 million passion project Annihilation. It’s a small-scale story, at times so hushed and minimalist that even putting two characters in the same room can feel overcrowded. But in their first movie release since 2012’s well-received sci-fi import Vanishing Waves, [directors Kristina] Buozyte and [Bruno] Samper do an impressive job of creating a plausible, tangible world around these quiet spaces. The scenery tells the story as effectively as any laborious exposition could.