September 2026’s Best Streaming Titles: Slow Horses, Evangelion, Spider-Man, Backrooms, The Blues Brothers

At the end of Evil Dead 2, Ash Williams was sucked through a portal and accidentally transported back to the Middle Ages. There, he must use his modern understanding of science and technology — including his boom stick — to help the medieval warriors defeat the evil Deadites. Bruce Campbell reprises his most famous role, while the film boasts some delightful stop-motion animation and low budget effects. Like the rest of the Evil Dead films, it’s developed a cult following.

All Max Durocher wants to do is earn enough money as a cab driver to launch his own limo business. But his plans get thrown into a blender when he meets Vincent, a slick hitman who forces Max to drive him around Los Angeles to complete a series of jobs. Jamie Foxx and Tom Cruise star in this slick Michael Mann-directed thriller that’s filled with action and style.

Jerry Shaw is a college dropout who just wants to get by. But his humdrum life is upended when he comes home to find his apartment filled with illegal weapons and he’s arrested by the FBI. Helped only by a mysterious voice on the phone, he must piece together the conspiracy that has captured his life, and threatens the lives of countless innocents. Eagle Eye received a critical drubbing back in 2008, but I still think it’s a fun, if totally ludicrous, thriller that’s a decent way to spend a Friday night.

After Palestinian terrorists attack the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, a Mossad agent is tasked with tracking down and eliminating eleven Palestinians who were involved in the attack. Based on a true story, Munich may seem a far cry from Steven Spielberg’s use fare, but it’s nevertheless a brutal and riveting thriller about the endless cycle of violence and its consequences. Munich stars Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Ciarán Hinds, Mathieu Kassovitz, and Geoffrey Rush.

Wrestling icon Roddy Piper stars in this John Carpenter thriller about a drifter who rolls into town and stumbles across a conspiracy that threatens all of humanity. It’s tempting to dismiss They Live as some ’80s fluff, but the film proves quite subversive; Carpenter’s contempt for the decade’s excess and materialism fuels every single frame. That, along with some classic one-liners (you’ll never think about bubble gum the same way) and one of cinema’s all-time greatest brawls, makes They Live a cult classic in every sense of the term.

This spin-off from Amazon’s popular Reacher series follows the adventures of Frances Neagley, a Chicago P.I. who gets pulled into a dangerous case following the suspicious death of an old friend. Maria Sten reprises her character from Reacher, with Reacher himself, Alan Ritchson, making a guest appearance.

Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh join forces in the Cold War-set comedy about a downed American pilot (Reynolds) who must survive in Russia with the help of a former KGB agent (Branagh). Given the presence of Reynolds, as well as the fact that the film was written and directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley — who previously gave us 2023’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves — I’m hoping that Mayday can deliver the fun.

The latest season of Slow Horses finds the disgraced spies on the run as someone is trying to hunt them down, one by one. Of course, given their various dysfunctions, their greatest enemy may turn out to be each other. The whole gang is back together, led by Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb, the misanthropic and disgusting spy leader who’s far more clever and devious than he seems.

In a strange and beguiling post-human world that’s slowly being consumed by a flood, a cat teams up with a capybara, a lemur, a bird, and a dog to try and find dry land. Made over the course of five years using open source software, Flow is a delightful animated journey that is by turns amusing, moving, and breathtaking (read my review). It’s no surprise that Flow was a massive success upon its release, culminating in a “Best Animated Feature” Oscar — a first for Latvian cinema.

When their lead singer suddenly quits, an all schoolgirl rock band is desperate to find a replacement in time for the upcoming school festival. But their only option is a Korean exchange student who barely knows any Japanese. The resulting film is a truly delightful story about friendship, youthful melodrama, and the power of punk rock. Oh, and it features some absolute bangers, starting with its title track, which you’ll have stuck in your head for days.

Neon Genesis Evangelion takes standard anime tropes (e.g., a group of young mech pilots battle alien threats in a post-apocalyptic world) and steadily subverts them with religious references and psychological themes borne out of creator Hideaki Anno’s own mental health struggles. The result is one of the greatest and most influential anime series of all time, as well as one of the most controversial and hotly debated.

Ellen Aim and the Attackers are the city’s hottest band. So hot, in fact, that they attract the attention of Bombers, a violent street gang who kidnaps Ellen. The only one who can save Ellen is her ex-boyfriend Tom, a former soldier who still has feelings for her. But can their love survive in the city streets? Directed by Walter Hill and starring Michael Paré, Diane Lane, Rick Moranis, and Willem Dafoe, Streets of Fire is filled with style, not to mention some solid musical numbers. I challenge you to not get a lump in your throat when you hear “Tonight Is What It Means to Be Young.”

The late James Caan delivered one of his most iconic performances as Frank, a skilled safecracker who prizes his independence and autonomy above all else. But when he falls in love and starts a family, and starts working for a Chicago mob boss, Frank’s finds himself in uncharted territory. Directed by Michael Mann, Thief is filled with style to spare (read my review), from the Tangerine Dream soundtrack to the realistic safecracking sequences. (To achieve the latter, Mann hired real-life thieves as technical advisors.)

After his secret identity is revealed to the world at the end of 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter Parker’s life is turned upside down and his loved ones are threatened. Desperate for a solution, Parker turns to Dr. Strange for help — only for his magical assistance to go awry and threaten the entire multiverse. In addition to Tom Holland reprising his role as everyone’s favorite Webhead, the film also brought together Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire for a webslinger trifecta.

In Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of the Anthony Burgess novel, a young man (played by Malcolm McDowell) obsessed with sex, violence, and Beethoven is subjected to a controversial treatment to cure his anti-social desires, but it all goes wrong. The film was originally rated “X” and stirred up considerable controversy due to its graphic content. It wasn’t even widely available in the UK until after Kubrick’s death, nearly 30 years after its initial release.

Stanley Kubrick’s Vietnam War epic is two films in one, the first a brutal examination of dehumanization in boot camp and the second takes place in the chaos of Vietnam itself. Both parts are chilling and masterful in their own right (read my review), though the first half has the added bonus of R. Lee Ermey as a sadistic drill instructor with a real gift for inventive swearing.

Arguably the most well-known example of classic Hollywood film noir, The Maltese Falcon stars Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade, a jaded P.I. who gets pulled into a mysterious and deadly case involving missing sisters, femme fatales, and a valuable statue. Based on Dashiell Hammett’s novel and directed by John Huston, The Maltese Falcon also stars Mary Astor and Peter Lorre.

Keanu Reeves officially became an action movie star in this thriller about a SWAT officer (Reeves) trying to stop a mad bomber (Dennis Hopper) threatening the Los Angeles. When the bomber’s latest ploy is a bus that will explode if it slows down below 50 miles/hour, Reeves must find a way to stop him and save the passengers. Thanks to its strong performances, taut set pieces, and thrilling twists, Speed was one of 1994’s most successful movies, commercially and critically, and its status has only grown over time (read my review).

When an unexploded bomb from World War II is discovered in the middle of London, a bomb disposal crew is brought in to take care of it. Unbeknownst to them, a group of thieves are taking advantage of the chaos to break into a nearby bank, setting up a deadly game of cat and mouse. Fuze is directed by David Mackenzie, who previously directed Relay, Outlaw King, and Hell or High Water.

When a down-on-his-luck furniture store owner discovers a portal to a bizarre alternate dimension in his store’s basement, he sees an opportunity. But that opportunity threatens to consume not just him, but those closest to him, as well. Originally starting out as a series of YouTube shorts inspired by liminal spaces and online creepypasta, Kane Parsons’ Backrooms became one of 2026’s biggest hits, as well as one of the biggest independent films of all time.

Neil Gaiman’s darkly fantastical storytelling and Henry Selick’s stop-motion animation are a match made in movie heaven. Coraline’s titular heroine dreams of a nicer, more magical home — which is exactly what she gets when she discovers a portal to another world. Of course, given that this is Neil Gaiman we’re talking about, things soon get dark and weird, and Selick’s clever visuals are a perfect tool for conveying that (read my review).

Written and directed by David Lowery, The Green Knight offers up a very unique spin on Arthurian mythos. When the mysterious Green Knight challenges the Round Table to a bizarre contest, the only one who responds is the brash and immature Sir Gawain (Dev Patel). When ensues is a bizarre fantasy that challenges the notions of chivalry as Gawain journeys through an increasingly bizarre England to respond to the Green Knight’s call.

All Dewey Finn wants to be is a rock star. Unfortunately, his antics have left him without a band and soon, without a place to live. But when he impersonates his roommate to land a teaching gig at a prestigious prep school, he discovers that the school is home to musical prodigies. Suddenly, his dreams of stardom seem more attainable than ever… so long as no one finds out that he’s not actually a teacher. Directed by Richard Linklater and starring Jack Black in one of his best roles, School of Rock is a deeply satisfying comedy about the power of rock n’ roll.

After the crew of a deep space vessel discovers the wreckage of an alien spaceship, they soon find themselves being hunted by a vicious, cold-blooded creature. Directed by Ridley Scott, with designs inspired by H.R. Giger’s nightmarish artwork, Alien is a sci-fi/horror classic (read my review). The movie Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Ian Holm, and of course, Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, one of sci-fi cinema’s most iconic female characters.

When Jake and Elwood Blues (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd) learn that their old orphanage needs $5,000 to keep going, they decide to track down the members of their old blues band and put on a show to raise the money. Along the way, they’ll demolish a shopping mall, enrage a country band, take on some Nazis, and cause massive vehicular chaos across the state of Illinois. Easily one of the best Saturday Night Live films, The Blues Brothers is a true cult classic.

What is best in life? Well, as Conan taught us once so well, it is “to crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women!” In this classic sword-and-sorcery film, Arnold Schwarzenegger plays one of his signature roles, the titular barbarian who must take on an evil cult to avenge his family’s death.

For their feature film debut, Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele — of Key & Peele fame — star in this tale of a man who will do anything to get his beloved kitten back, even if that means infiltrating a violent gang or taking on some legendary assassins. As you might expect from Key and Peele, Keanu is hilarious, turning plenty of gangster movie tropes on their head with the help of a cast that includes Tiffany Haddish, Method Man, Luis Guzmán, Will Forte, and of course, Keanu Reeves.

The late, great John Candy stars in this John Hughes comedy about a bachelor who’s suddenly asked to take care of his brother’s kids, with all of the requisite hijinks — and heartwarming moments — ensuing shortly thereafter. The film also stars Laurie Metcalf, Amy Madigan, and a pre-Home Alone Macaulay Culkin.

What happens when a brash, hotshot attorney crosses paths with a down-on-his-luck father trying to make ends meet? Chaos and suspense, in this modern morality tale by director Roger Michell. Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson star as the two men, each from vastly different backgrounds and levels of privilege, who find themselves resorting to increasingly desperate measures to outsmart and outmaneuver each other.

It’s always a risk when talking about The Crow; the tragic on-set death of Brandon Lee has become so interwoven with the movie’s mythos that enjoying it can seem disrespectful. But the fact is that The Crow remains a singular movie of the ’90s, as stylized and goth-y as can be, with intense action and a brooding soundtrack featuring a host of alt-rock superstars (read my review). Lee is absolutely perfect as the titular character, a musician brought back to life to avenge the death of his fiancé, which only adds to the movie’s poignancy.

In this time twisty sci-fi actioner, Tom Cruise plays a disgraced soldier who’s quickly killed while trying to defend Earth from mysterious alien invaders — only to discover that he now relives the same day over and over again. Not only does this allow him to become a super-soldier Groundhog Day-style, but it might also be the key to defeating the aliens once and for all. In the hands of a lesser cast and crew, Edge of Tomorrow’s premise could be ridiculous and boring, but that is most certainly not the case here (read my review).

The premise — actors from a classic sci-fi TV series are kidnapped by aliens who believe the show to be real — makes it sound like Galaxy Quest does nothing but poke fun at all things Star Trek. Which it does, and brilliantly so, but all of its jokes come from a place of love. As a result, it’s the best kind of parody, one that recognizes the inherent silliness of Star Trek while also capturing what makes Star Trek so great in the first place. By Grabthar’s Hammer, indeed.

In this harrowing neo-noir, the city of Boston is galvanized when a young girl is abducted. At the center of it is small-time private investigator Patrick Kenzie, whose quest to find the girl takes him from the city’s seediest neighborhoods to its loftiest halls of power. With its taut pacing, ominous atmosphere, and solid performances from Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Ed Harris, and Amy Ryan (who received an Oscar nomination for her performance as the young girl’s unstable mom), you’d never tell that Gone Baby Gone was Ben Affleck’s directorial debut.

Regarding Henry is not the best Harrison Ford movie, and it’s easily eclipsed by the rest of his early ’90s output, including Patriot Games and The Fugitive. But for some reason, we watched this a lot when I was a kid, and so I have a soft spot in my heart for this sappy drama about a soulless Manhattan lawyer who’s given a chance to rebuild his life into something better after a vicious assault leaves him with amnesia.

Liam McIntyre, Lisa Gilroy, and Matthew Rhys lend their voices to this animated adaptation of the classic Sega video game. (I can’t even begin to count how many quarters I wasted on the arcade version.) Their heroic trio is joined by Danny Pudi’s Hampton Squib, a would be adventurer who joins them in their quest to take down the evil Death Adder.

Bianca Stratford is the most popular girl at school, but she isn’t allowed to date until her antisocial older sister, Kat, finds a boyfriend — which seems highly unlikely. Until bad boy Patrick Verona enters the picture, that is. There have been countless Shakespeare adaptations over the years, but few are as beloved — or so perfectly of their era — as 10 Things I Hate About You, a classic ’90s take on The Taming of the Shrew starring Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Larisa Oleynik.

Given his work with Keegan-Michael Key on the beloved sketch show Key & Peele, it would only make sense to expect Jordan Peele’s directorial debut to be a work of comedy. Instead, he delivered one of the most acclaimed horror films in recent memory. After a young Black man meets his white girlfriend’s upper-class family, he begins to notice strange behavior and soon finds himself caught up in a nefarious conspiracy. Get Out was a commercial and critical success, winning a “Best Original Screenplay” Oscar for Peele.

Directed by Richard Donner and produced by Steven Spielberg, The Goonies is about as good as a classic kids adventure film can get. When a group of social misfits on the verge of being kicked out of their homes discover a pirate treasure map, they see it as the perfect solution to their problems — if they can survive the elaborate booby traps and vicious criminals on their tail.

Nicholas Angel is London’s best cop. He’s so good, in fact, that he makes all of the other cops look bad. Which is why he gets transferred to the sleepy town of Sandford, where the crime rate is zero and nothing bad ever happens. But when locals start disappearing, Angel’s convinced something’s going on. Has Sandford gotten to him, or has he cracked the biggest case of his career? Inspired by classic buddy cop films like Lethal Weapon, Hot Fuzz is action comedy of the highest sort (read my review).

The debut feature film by Edgar Wright (if you don’t count 1995’s A Fistful of Fingers, that is), Shaun of the Dead is about as perfect a combination of horror and humor as you could hope for. When a slacker (played by frequent Wright collaborator Simon Pegg) is faced with a zombie holocaust, he and his friends have to find the best way to survive — but things just get more and more complicated. This was the first in Wright’s “Three Flavours Cornetto” trilogy, followed by Hot Fuzz and The World’s End.

In this 1990 camp classic (read my review), a pair of drifters arrive in a Nevada town that’s plagued by mysterious killings — killings that turn out to be far more monstrous than previously thought. Tremors is worth it for the character of Burt Gummer alone, a doomsday prepper and survivalist played by Michael Gross. (Yes, Family Ties’ Michael Gross.)

A Hollywood film about the September 11 terror attacks could’ve gone wrong in all sorts of ways. However, Paul Greengrass’ United 93 — which tells the story of the brave passengers and crew who fought against the hijackers, causing their plane to crash before it could hit its target — walks that line admirably by telling a gripping-yet-tasteful story that honors the heroes of that day.

In this melancholy and meditative sci-fi film by South Korean filmmaker Kogonada, a family grapples with the potential death of their robot Yang, who has become like a son and brother to them. As the father (Colin Farrell) seeks a fix for Yang, he discovers secrets from the robot’s past that reveal a much more complicated existence. Thanks to its deft handling of heady themes like the relationship between humans and technology, After Yang was widely acclaimed upon its release — read my review — and has been called one of the best sci-fi films of the 21st century.

In this spiritual sequel to 1992’s El Mariachi, Antonio Banderas plays a lonesome mariachi with a deadly secret — and a guitar case full of guns. Completely ludicrous and over-the-top, Desperado is filled with countless action sequences that are held together entirely by Banderas’ charisma.

Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz star as a pair of bounty hunters who travel through the pre-Civil War South to track down outlaws and find Foxx’s wife. Which inevitably brings them into conflict with Calvin J. Candie, a vicious and vile slaveowner. Django Unchained has the usual blend of clever dialog and ultra-violence one expects from a Quentin Tarantino movie, but with the added bonus of watching Foxx and Waltz take out plantations and slaveowners. The movie also stars Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Walton Goggins, and Leonardo DiCaprio as Calvin Candie.

The casting of Jack Black as the voice of Po, a panda who dreams of being a martial arts legend, was clearly a stroke of genius. Set in an version of medieval China populated with anthropomorphized animals, Kung Fu Panda is a thoroughly entertaining action/comedy for the whole family that also packs some delightful depth beneath the martial arts hijinks. (And for what it’s worth, I contend that Tai Lung’s prison escape is one of the great cinematic action scenes of all time.)

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation was writer/director Christopher McQuarrie’s first effort in the franchise, and it turns out that his work with lead star Tom Cruise was a match made in heaven. (The two had previously worked together on 2012’s Jack Reacher.) This time around, Ethan Hunt and his IMF cohorts square off against The Syndicate, an international terrorist group consisting of rogue government agents. As you might expect, Rogue Nation is filled with jawdropping stunts, starting with a scene of Cruise literally hanging onto the side of an airplane as it takes off (read my review).

Duncan Jones’ Moon is proof that you don’t need big budget special effects to craft an appealing and enjoyable sci-fi film. The only worker on a remote lunar base (played by Sam Rockwell) is struggling with the psychological strain of his isolation when he stumbles across a darker secret. Rockwell gives a solid performance and Jones ably proves that less is more with the film’s stripped down, minimalist approach.

Starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, The Mummy is a delightful throwback to the classic action serials of the ’30s and ’40s. When an Egyptologist discovers a map to a hidden city, she enlists the aid of an American soldier of fortune to help her, not knowing that they’re about to face a slew of supernatural threats. Filled with cutting edge (for the time) special effects, and more importantly, a sense of fun and adventure, The Mummy is popcorn cinema par excellence.

A troubled yet brilliant mathematician uses chaos theory and supercomputers to understand how the stock market works. In the process, he’s drawn into the world of Jewish mystics seeking after the true name of God. Darren Aronofsky’s Pi is compelling on multiple levels thanks to its intriguing plot and themes, surreal visuals (aided by the film’s black-and-white cinematography), and pulsing electronic soundtrack.