The Northman, Netflix's Interceptor and more new movies to watch at home

Happy Friday, Polygon readers! There are new movies coming this week on VOD or streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Disney Plus, but we’re still here to go through the options available for home watching.

This week includes The Northman’s Streaming debut on Peacock, a gay modern pride and prejudice Adaptation on Hulu, a new action movie on Netflix, Disney Plus’ star girl Continued and more to check out. Let’s dive in.

The Northman

Where to see: Available to stream on Peacock

Robert Eggers’ visceral historical revenge drama The Northman tells the story of Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård), the son of a deposed king (Ethan Hawke), who flees his homeland after his father was betrayed and murdered by his uncle Fjölnir (Claes Bang). To avenge his father’s death, Amleth travels to Iceland disguised as a slave and carries out his plan of revenge with the help of a sorceress named Olga (Anya Taylor-Joy).

From our review:

The violence that follows (and precedes) Amleth’s arrival in Iceland is gory and graphic, and Eggers films Viking raids on humble villages in impressively choreographed tracking shots that cut through the blood, mud and gurgling death rattles of dozens of sackcloth extras slide. Dialogue similarly mixes savagery with bombast: one character chokes out a killing curse and promises to plague his killer until “a flaming vengeance smothers your flesh.” Another says optimistically to a friend, “Together we will rage on the battlefield of corpses.” Set all of this against the majestic Icelandic landscape and an acoustic backdrop of pounding drums and deep bass vocals rolling in like a thunderstorm, and the effect is suitably impressive.

fire island

Where to see: Available to stream on Hulu

Joel Kim Booster stars in this modern gay Pride and Prejudice adaptation directed by Andrew Ahn and written by Booster. It follows a group of friends who travel to the vacation spot of Fire Island for a life-changing summer. Starring Booster, SNL’s Bowen Yang and Margaret Cho, it promises a hilarious and gay romp.

interceptor

Where to see: Available to stream on Netflix

The American-Australian action drama interceptor Elsa Pataky stars as JJ Collins, a resilient and battle-hardened Army captain who, after being released from the Pentagon, takes charge of a nuclear missile base in the middle of the Pacific. When terrorists launch a coordinated attack on the base, Collins is forced to use her years of tactical training to thwart a former intelligence officer’s schemes and prevent nuclear annihilation.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

Where to see: Available to stream on HBO Max

The corpse of the Harry Potter franchise staggers forward with the third installment in the Fantastic Beasts series. It’s available to watch now on HBO Max.

From our review:

Newt’s convoluted, anticlimactic quest to secure and deliver his precious cargo lacks the joyful curiosity bestowed on the first Fantastic Beasts a much needed bump of charm. A creatively staged set piece pits Newt and his brother Theseus (Callum Turner) against a crustacean leviathan in a panopticon-style prison tower, where the boys go on a silly shrimp walk, reminding viewers that there’s no harm in having fun every now and then to be everyone. Aside from that, Newt’s piece of the plot has the same blandness as its aesthetic: series director David Yates conveys that this part of the story is set in the past, grading everything to a dried-up gray or brown. It’s hard to imagine a real kid being dazzled by this film, and it’s depressing to realize that the intended audience here is likely to be IP loyalists who are too old for kid stuff but not ready to put this universe behind them to let.

Hollywood star girl

Where to see: Available to stream on Disney Plus

Director Julia Hart (Fast color) returns for this sequel to the 2020 Disney Plus film star girl. Like the first adaptation, this one deviates significantly from the source material: Hollywood star girl is a direct sequel to the film and not an adaptation of the original novel’s sequel, Love, star girl. When her mother Ana (Judy Greer) is hired to work on a film, Stargirl (Grace VanderWaal) turns her life upside down and makes new friends in Los Angeles.

fire music

Where to see: Available to stream on Criterion Channel

2018 documentary film directed by Tom Surgal fire music charts the evolution and legacy of free jazz, one of America’s most experimental and innovative art forms. Featuring the likes of John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman and Sun Ra, fire music

is a kaleidoscopic dive into the world of the 1960s jazz scene, drawing a direct line from the avant-garde of yesteryear to the experimentation of today.

Karen Dalton: In my own time

Where to see: Available to stream on Criterion Channel

This documentary about the legendary singer premiered in 2020, had a limited theatrical release in 2021 and now makes its streaming debut in 2022. A hugely influential musician who has inspired Nick Cave (who appears in the documentary), Joanna Newsom and many others. Dalton never achieved the level of fame and popularity enjoyed by many of the artists who followed in her footsteps. This documentary promises insight for old fans and an introduction for new ones.

dash cam

Where to see: Available for $5.99 on Amazon and Vudu

Produced by Blumhouse, this new horror film is shot entirely with an iPhone and a dashboard camera. It follows a musician (played by real-life musician Annie Hardy) who leaves the US for the UK to avoid a pandemic lockdown. Things take a turn for the worse when she picks up an unexpected passenger on the road.

Inhuman

Where to see: Available for $5.99 from Amazon, Apple, and Vudu

Brianne Tju puts a sword on her shoulder in Unhuman.

The latest iteration of the “high school zombie comedy” comes from Marcus Dunstan, co-writer of the fourth through seventh iterations of the Saw franchise. in the Inhumana group of high school students survive a bus crash only to find zombies where they crashed.

white elephant

Where to see: Available for $3.99 from Amazon, Apple, and Vudu

Direct-to-Video Master Jesse V. Johnson (Hell has no anger, punishment) returns with this thriller. Michael Rooker plays an ex-Marine-turned-mafia man who is hired to assassinate a police officer (Olga Kurylenko) who witnessed an assassination attempt by mob boss Arnold Solomon (Bruce Willis). Johnson, a former stuntman who worked with Willis earlier in her career, spoke to the LA Times about the film and why he didn’t feel comfortable doing more films with Willis after this experience.