We’re almost at the end of the month and that means a lot of coming and going on all the major streaming platforms. And while there are plenty of exciting films on the way in October with a wide range of scary films to choose from, we’re here to make sure you don’t miss out on the gems coming at the end of September.
To help you end the summer with the best movies possible, we’ve put together a list of the very best movies leaving streaming services at the end of the month, including a unique ghost story and one of the strangest video game adaptations you’ve ever seen have seen, and a few real classics from directors like Michael Mann, Brian De Palma and David Fincher.
Here are the best films available to stream at the end of August.
Editor’s pick: Marrowbone
Director: Sergio G. Sanchez
Pour: George MacKay, Mia Goth, Anya Taylor-Joy
Leaving Hulu: September 30th
One of the most underrated horror films of the last decade, Marrow bones is a slow burn that’s more about mood and mood than outright fear.
The film follows a group of siblings who move to their mother’s ancestral home in Maine in the 1960s. But as soon as they arrive at the house, the father they were trying to escape returns. The film then jumps forward in time to show the siblings still living in the house but fearful of a ghostly presence that they believe has trapped them in the house’s brick attic.
To say much more about the film would be to undercut some of its surprises, but suffice it to say that it’s a lovely, haunting little ghost story that’s dark, moody and tender in just the right amount. Add to that the film’s fantastic cast, which includes George MacKay, Mia Goth, Anya Taylor-Joy and Charlie Heaton, and you have the makings of a hidden horror gem worth tracking down. —Austen Goslin
Image: Columbia Pictures/Everett Collection
Director: Steve E. de Souza
Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Raúl Juliá, Ming-Na Wen
Leaving Netflix: September 30th
If you want a film that faithfully captures the atmosphere of the Street Fighter series, watch the film Street Fighter II: The Animated Film. If you want to see a tournament fighting film, watch one of the Undisputed films or the original Mortal Kombat. But if you want a guaranteed good time watching an absolutely crazy movie, there’s nothing like it Street fighter.
More of a bizarre Vietnam War pastiche than a combat film, Street fighter follows all-American Colonel William Guile (all-Belgian star Jean-Claude Van Damme) as he leads a ragtag team of fighters in an operation against the totalitarian regime of General M. Bison (Raúl Juliá) in Shadaloo City.
Street fighter is a film of contradictions. It features some of the best acting you’ve ever seen (Juliá is absolutely transcendent), and some of the worst (Juliá seems to be the only person who knows what movie he’s in). The costumes and set design are great and fit the setting and source material perfectly, but the difficult production is evident in the hectic editing, and the slow, tedious fight scenes are unrecognizable to die-hard fans of the series.
You’ll wonder what it even means for a film to be good. Now that is Cinema. –Pete Volk
Image: Columbia Pictures
Director: David Fincher
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake
Max leaves: Soon
An undisputed modern classic, there’s really no need to sell it to you The social network is excellent. But even if you’ve seen the film before, the real reminder here is that you should watch it again. I promise it’s a lot better than you remember, even if you remember it being great.
David Fincher’s excellent pacing makes the film more of a thriller than a dialogue-heavy drama, and the central performances from Eisenberg and Garfield remain among the best of this century. Even Sorkin’s script has aged with prescient grace, charting the nascent stages of our bizarre modern world. Everything from the interpersonal disconnects that social media creates to the reckless neglect of Silicon Valley is visible to everyone at its earliest and perhaps least damaging stage.
Unfortunately, Max doesn’t make it entirely clear when the films will be taken off the service. Even though this one is probably only available until the end of September, sneaking in is your best bet Social network rewatch means getting started immediately. —AG
Movies leaving Prime Video
Director: Michael Mann
Stars: William Petersen, Dennis Farina, Brian Cox
Leaving Prime Video: September 30th
Long before Jonathan Demmes The Silence of the Lambs or Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal With his 1986 film, Michael Mann attempted to adapt the novels of Thomas Harris while searing the characters of Hannibal Lecter and Will Graham into the collective imagination of audiences around the world Manhunter.
Based on Harris’ 1981 novel Red dragonThe film follows retired profiler Graham (William Petersen) as he is recruited to help hunt down a serial killer known only as the “Tooth Fairy.” Left with no choice, Graham is forced to turn to Dr. Lecter (Brian Cox), the infamous serial killer he arrested years ago. Although Petersen, Cox and Tom Noonan provide three great performances in the role of the tooth fairy murderer, Manhunter
Films leaving Criterion Channel
Director: Brian DePalma
Stars: John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow
Exit criteria channel: September 30th
Brian De Palma is one of the greatest directors of his generation Blow out Maybe it’s just the best film he’s ever made. Directly inspired by Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1966 film explosionIn the lead role, John Travolta plays Jack Terry, a sound effects technician who makes a career as a sound engineer for trashy slasher films. While filming in a park late at night, Jack accidentally witnesses a car crash into a nearby stream. After rescuing Sally (Nancy Allen), a young woman who was riding in the vehicle and the only survivor of the accident, Jack becomes entangled in a conspiracy that endangers both their lives.
A spiritual contemporary like Francis Ford Coppola The conversation and Alan J. Pakula The parallax view, Blow out is an immaculately well-shot, paranoia-inducing thriller with a final act that’s guaranteed to stay with you long after the credits roll. And yes, it goes without saying that a film that focuses on recording sound effects would itself have great sound design, but seriously, the sound design and score are part of it Blow out is amazing. —THE
