Seen on Screen: Chilling Horror, Chimps, Charming Comedy and Cut-Throat Couture

It’s shaping up to be an exciting month for screen time. We’ve welcomed back our favourite rich mum, Nicole Kidman, in the sun-soaked murder mystery The Perfect Couple. Jeff Goldblum is tickling our sides as the swaggering Zeus in Kaos. And weeks after its release we’re still talking about the horrifying Binge docuseries Chimp Crazy. And that’s before we get into the gory fun showing at the cinema, including Demi Moore’s body-horror The Substance. Here’s what’s captured our attention in September.

Nicole Kidman (Big Little Lies, The Undoing, Nine Perfect Strangers) sinks her teeth into the role of Greer Garrison Winbury, a rich and famous novelist living in a particularly exclusive stretch of coastal New England. As her son’s glitzy wedding approaches a corpse washes up on the beach. The entire clan – including patriarch Tag, played by Liev Schreiber – closes ranks as police start to ask questions. Eve Hewson (Bad Sisters) plays bride-to-be Amelia, who’s now seeing her in-laws in a more disturbing light than before. It’s tonally in line with the sun-soaked satire The White Lotus – complete with a dead body.
Stream it on Netflix.

A hit at Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, the gloriously grotesque The Substance has been likened to Julia Ducournau’s Titane for its shock-factor. It stars Demi Moore as an actor-turned-aerobics instructor called Elizabeth Sparkle. Her producer, played by Dennis Quaid, is tired of the former ’80s sex symbol; he wants a younger model, literally. So Sparkle takes a mysterious green fluid to create a younger version of herself. Enter: Sue (Margaret Qualley), who is “ruled by” the older star every other week. The remaining weeks are Sue’s for the taking. It’s a film about misogyny, packed with gothic horror and Hollywood references.
In cinemas from September 19.

Michael Keaton is on screen for just 17 minutes in the original Beetlejuice. Yet his performance (36 years ago) is fresh in millennials’ memories. The sequel by creator Tim Burton taps into that nostalgia. He’s regained artistic cred following Wednesday, and its breakout star Jenna Ortega is the young naysayer, and daughter of Lydia (Winona Ryder), in the new movie. Catherine O’Hara reprises her role as the narcissistic Delia, and Keaton is enjoyable as the returning ghoul with the best put-down lines. Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci and Willem Dafoe all make appearances, and the whole thing exudes proud goth energy. We’re here for the absurdity of it all.
In cinemas now.

This French family drama is set in a Paris atelier. It follows two rival families vying for dominance in the world of couture; there is scandal, revenge and generational rebellion. The 10-episode Apple series features familiar faces such as Elio’s mum in Call Me by Your Name (Amira Casar) and Anatomy of a Fall’s scene-stealing prosecutor (Antoine Reinartz). The story starts with a viral video of designer Vincent Ledu (played by Lambert Wilson). His former muse Perle Foster (Casar) teams up with an upcoming visionary to save the Maison LEDU fashion house. The ruthless CEO of rival group Rovel goes after what she’s always wanted: to own Maison LEDU.
Stream it on Apple TV+ from September 20.

Lincoln Younes plays anti-hero John Ibrahim with easy confidence in the second season of Last King of the Cross. The lead character is back in Australia after lying low overseas. Now he has criminal competition as the show’s action moves from Kings Cross to Oxford Street. Lost’s Naveen Andrews and Sydney actor Matuse are standout stars in the show’s recent season. Meanwhile, brother Sam (Claude Jabbour) is throwing his weight around during a prison stint, and two more brothers are about to further complicate things. The locally made series has clear Underbelly vibes, and it’s most enjoyable in its powerful recreations of early-2000s Sydney.
Stream it on Paramount+.

Belfast rappers Kneecap are totally unhinged in this part-fiction, part-factual retelling of the group’s hazy beginnings, which won the Audience Award at Sundance Film Festival. Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí all play themselves in laugh-out-loud scenes of drug use, police interrogations, pub gigs and family arguments. The fast-paced film covers a lot of ground – from generational trauma to preservation of indigenous languages. Michael Fassbender plays a Bobby Sands-type character, much like an extension of his lead role in Hunger. It’s hard-hitting where it needs to be, but also a fun and funny film.
In cinemas now.

The darkly comic Danish film of the same name was a sensation among horror fans in 2022, and this English-language remake has a similar nerve-shredding intensity. Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy play an American couple who befriend a British couple (James McAvoy and Aisling Franciosi). They accept an invitation to the latter’s expansive country estate in the Netherlands, and as the dynamic between the two couples begins to fray, the hosts graduate from awkward and overbearing to downright threatening. Expect ever-tightening tension and escalating jump scares.
In cinemas from September 13.

Imagine tripping on mushrooms and suddenly Aubrey Plaza is sitting next to you, claiming to be you – but 20 years older. That’s the premise of the latest film from Lucky Chap Entertainment, the Margot Robbie-backed company behind Barbie, I, Tonya and Saltburn. Teenager Elliot (Maisy Stella) lives in Muskoka Lakes, Canada. She’s having fun (and one last fling) before leaving town for college. She takes mushrooms with her mates one night, meets her older self, and the next day finds herself texting older Elliot – saved as “My Old Ass” in her phone. Plaza’s character delivers some baffling advice: “Stay away from Chad”. Writer-director Megan Park addresses big themes of sexuality, identity, family and love in this charming film that’s fun, sentimental and a little bit silly.
In cinemas from September 26.

There are animal lovers. Then there are people who breastfeed chimps. Chimp Crazy is a four-part docuseries that starts out depicting the Americans who bring chimpanzees into their lives like welcoming a newborn child. Then it moves into showing the conditions endured by captive-bred chimps in the US, and the efforts of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) to change things. The perplexing and sometimes horrifying show is by director Eric Goode (Tiger King) who used ethically problematic methods to interview and film some of his subjects. We’re introduced to devoted (and delusional?) volunteer Tonia Haddix, who loves the chimps more than her human children. The stories get more disturbing as the series progresses, reminicent of the bloody scenes in Jordan Peele’s 2022 film Nope – except with real primates.
Stream it on Binge.

If you enjoyed the darkly comic The End of the F...ing World, you’ll likely fall for the equally smart and funny Netflix series Kaos. It’s from the same creator, Charlie Covell, who has taken Greek mythology and turned it into a multi-layered ensemble cast series that’s been likened to the twisty and addictive The Good Place. Jeff Goldblum is Zeus, ruler of the gods, who has a new wrinkle on his forehead – a sign that things are going south for him and his family real soon. Suzy Eddie Izzard is one of the immortal beings, Billie Piper is Cassandra (fated to never be believed) and Stephen Dillane (Game of Thrones, The Tunnel) is Prometheus, chained to a rock while an eagle eats his liver for all eternity. It’s a lot to follow, but Covell keeps it fun and entertaining.
Stream it on Netflix.

Find more film and TV recommendations in this series.