Want to know what’s coming soon to digital and what to watch right now on Vudu? Here is your weekly guide to the latest releases:
What are the latest new releases to watch right now?
M. Night Shyamalan’s Old, about the beach that makes you old, is now available on digital for the first time. The thriller follows a family to an exclusive resort, where they’re steered toward the mysterious seaside spot, along with other strangers. What first seems like a little slice of paradise soon presents a dilemma: everyone, adults and children alike, is aging rapidly throughout the day, and there’s no way to escape their sandy, cliff-enclosed prison.
This being a Shyamalan movie, you can expect some surprising turns in the plot, as well as a thematic through-line that’s more noteworthy than the twists. The ensemble cast is filled with recognizable faces, including Hereditary’s Alex Wolff and Jojo Rabbit’s Thomasin McKenzie. But Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread), in the role of their mother, does the best with the crazy situation.
David Bruckner’s The Night House is also new to Vudu this week following its theatrical release. The acclaimed horror film (Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) stars Rebecca Hall (Godzilla vs. Kong, Iron Man 3) as a recently widowed woman grieving alone in the isolated lakeside home built by her late husband. Is it now haunted, or is her grief playing tricks on her?
Whatever the case, she begins uncovering secrets about the man, offering a more real and literal mystery to go with the ghostly encounters and eerie atmosphere. We are also treated to plenty of genuinely earned jump scares and another excellent performance by Hall. She essentially proves in this movie that great acting can be all you need in terms of visual effects.
What movies are great to pair with those new releases?
While Shyamalan’s best films remain The Sixth Sense, Signs and Unbreakable, one of his other setting-focused films is more suitable for pairing with his latest. The Village, like Old, involves a mysterious location that characters can’t seem to leave. Also, The Happening deals with deaths caused by the environment. And then there’s The Visit, which presents a different take on old age.
As for non-Shyamalan movies, Old goes well with a number of different kinds of stories. You can make a double feature with David Fincher’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, in which Brad Pitt ages backwards, or Darren Aronofsky’s mother!, which has a similar Thornton Wilder-esque aspect. There are also the films that inspired Shyamalan in his making of Old, including Nicolas Roeg’s Walkabout and Peter Weir’s Picnic at Hanging Rock.
As for The Night House, I recommend checking out other movies starring Rebecca Hall, especially those with her best and most haunting performances. Such as Christine, in which she portrays real-life suicidal newswoman Christine Chubbuck. Also the horror film The Awakening, the mystery-thriller The Gift and the biopic Professor Marston & the Wonder Women, which depicts the true origins of the comic book character Wonder Woman.
Are we celebrating any big movie and TV anniversaries this week?
This week marks the 20th anniversary of the New York Film Festival premiere of Wes Anderson’s ensemble comedy The Royal Tenenbaums. Meanwhile, Antoine Fuqua’s Oscar-winning crime drama Training Day, John Dahl’s road movie thriller Joy Ride and the romantic comedy Serendipity were all released in theaters 20 years ago. Also, 25 years ago, the Wachowskis’ Bound and Tom Hanks’ That Thing You Do! were both released.
Plus, Martin Scorsese’s remake Cape Fear, starring Robert De Niro, the Joe Pesci comedy The Super and Reese Witherspoon’s first film, The Man in the Moon, all turn 30 while Scorsese’s pool-hustler sequel The Color of Money, Wes Craven’s cult classic sci-fi horror flick Deadly Friend and Francis Ford Coppola’s time-travel teen movie Peggy Sue Got Married all turn 35.
Going back further, John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13, Wim Wenders’ Kings of the Road and the Dustin Hoffman suspense thriller Marathon Man all turn 45 while William Friedkin’s Best Picture-winning action drama The French Connection and Disney’s live-action/animation hybrid Bedknobs and Broomsticks turn 50.
The Audrey Hepburn classic Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Elia Kazan’s Splendor in the Grass turn 60, Cecil B. DeMille’s Biblical epic The Ten Commandments and George Stevens’ romantic drama Giant, starring Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor, both turn 65, the romantic comedy Libeled Lady, starring Jean Harlow and William Powell, turns 85 and Fritz Lang’s Destiny turns 100.
More recent titles with anniversaries include Martin Scorsese’s The Departed, which was released 15 years ago this week. Also, Scorsese’s Hugo, the biopic My Week with Marilyn, the sci-fi action movie Real Steel, George Clooney’s political drama The Ides of March, Lars von Trier’s disaster drama Melancholia, and the TV series American Horror Story are all 10 years old. Plus, Mike Mills’ 20th Century Women is already 5 years old!
Can you recommend some more great movie deals on Vudu?
In honor of the latest James Bond movie, No Time to Die, arriving in theaters this Friday, Vudu also has a sale on the 007 franchise. Not only can you get good deals on each installment individually, but you can grab bundles of all six of the Sean Connery Bonds, all seven of the Roger Moore Bonds, all four of the Pierce Brosnan Bonds, and the previous four Daniel Craig Bonds so far and the two Timothy Dalton Bonds. Or, just grab the whole James Bond Collection, in which you get 24 movies for just $99.99.
In case you want more espionage than the Bonds offer, Vudu also has a sale on spy movies in general starting this week. Titles include all the six Mission: Impossible movies, individual or in a bundled collection. The same goes for the Jason Bourne franchise and the Jack Ryan movie franchise.
Here are some individual picks I recommend: Atomic Blonde, Knight and Day, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Paul Verhoeven’s Black Book, the classic Three Days of the Condor, the underrated American Ultra, the Melissa McCarthy comedy Spy, the buddy comedy Spies Like Us and the true spy stories Munich and Argo.
What must-see movies are coming soon to Vudu?
While the exact digital release date is unknown, Venom: Let There Be Carnage is already available for pre-orders on Vudu. That’s right, the comic book movie sequel that just opened in theaters last Friday and wound up with the best opening-weekend box office since 2019. And if you get the sequel early, whether by itself or in a bundle with the first Venom movie, you’ll receive a $3 promo code to use after its release.
What are the 10 most popular movies on Vudu?
The top movies on Vudu over the last seven days were led by the Ryan Reynolds action comedy Free Guy, which made its digital debut last week. And coming in second place, the animated sequel The Addams Family 2 dropped on VOD day-and-date with its theatrical release Friday. Not showing up on the list below, however, is the aforementioned 2018 movie Venom, which notably placed 13th thanks to the theatrical opening of its sequel.
See the full top 10 list below.
1. Free Guy
2. The Addams Family 2
3. F9: The Fast Saga
4. Escape Room: Tournament of Champions
5. The Forever Purge
6. PAW Patrol: The Movie
7. Candyman
8. The Green Knight
9. The Suicide Squad
10. The Protégé
