What’s Premiering on Netflix? ‘Apostle,’ ‘The Kindergarten Teacher,’ & More
Apostle
Movie Premiere
Friday, Oct. 12
This gruesome horror set in the early 20th century comes from writer-director Gareth Evans (The Raid) and follows Thomas Richardson (Legion’s Dan Stevens) as he tries to infiltrate a creepy cult to rescue his sister, who’s been kidnapped by its maniacal leader, Prophet Malcolm (Michael Sheen), and his flock. But his rescue mission goes awry when he discovers something even more insidious than the religious sect lurking in this remote locale. This is one island getaway that’s hard to get away from.
The Kindergarten Teacher
Friday, Oct. 12
In this psychological thriller, kindergarten teacher Lisa Spinelli (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is a frustrated creative type obsessed with one of her students, who she thinks is a wunderkind poet. Her determination to nurture the talent of aloof Jimmy (Parker Sevak) is also an attempt to feed her own soul–but instead, it starves her of sanity.
“Lisa is well-intentioned but poses a tremendous threat to Jimmy,” says Sara Colangelo, who wrote and directed the movie, based on a 2015 Israeli film of the same name. “At the start, she’s mentally stable. It’s heartbreaking to watch a woman driven mad by the culture she lives in.”
To her dismay, Lisa sees personal expression being crushed at every turn. Jimmy’s father would rather that his son play baseball and Lisa’s own charismatic poetry teacher (Gael García Bernal) hurts her with his criticism.
Colangelo found Gyllenhaal ideal for the role, saying, “Maggie’s natural relatability and intensity make Lisa sympathetic and accessible despite her shocking transgressions.” The actress has often played women trying to thrive in less-than-ideal situations, most recently a ’70s-era sex worker turned porn producer on HBO drama The Deuce. By the end of The Kindergarten Teacher, 5-year-old Jimmy might be the only one to see Lisa’s true, complex self. As Colangelo puts it, “He both loves her and understands she’s a danger to him.” —Kate Hahn
Private Life
Movie Premiere, Friday, Oct. 5
Sometimes, life doles out tragedy and comedy in equal measure. Take middle-aged couple Richard (Paul Giamatti) and Rachel (Kathryn Hahn). They want a child, but after a string of failed attempts, they find themselves wiped out, emotionally and financially. With brutally honest humor and compelling performances, Private Life examines the big questions and hard truths this couple deals with as they explore their options, especially when their college-age niece (Kayli Carter) comes to stay with them. The poignant dramedy is written and directed by The Savages’ Tamara Jenkins.
The Haunting of Hill House
Friday, Oct. 12
Welcome to Hill House, the home first made famous in Shirley Jackson’s 1959 suspense novel. The sprawling mansion features lovely original touches, like an ornate chandelier that might fall on you someday, an incredibly creepy “Red Room” that is always locked (try to ignore any movement you hear behind the door) and, of course, a bevy of uninvited spirits to scare the hell out of you in the middle of the night.
The new series’ suspenseful narrative jumps between two timelines: In the ’90s, the Crain family — patriarch Hugh (Henry Thomas), wife Olivia (Carla Gugino) and their five children move into the titular fixer-upper and get far more than they bargained for. In the present, all five younger Crains, now grown, deal with the lingering effects of that time. For them, the ghosts are still real. So are the scars.
The Haunting of Hill House
“Our tone is one of elegance, subtlety and unease,” creator Mike Flanagan says. “First and foremost, this is a character drama and psychological thriller.” It’s also a mystery. Viewers will have to wait, though, to get all the answers as to what went down in that house on the fateful night that finally caused the family (at least most of them) to skedaddle. We can’t wait to find out—even if we have to watch the show from under a blanket. —John Hogan
Dancing Queen
Series premiere Friday, Oct. 5
Don’t be jealous of her boogie: RuPaul’s Drag Race all-star Alyssa Edwards steals the spotlight to show the hard work that goes into running her Mesquite, Texas, dance company. A new group of young students are getting ready to learn their steps, and that means epic battles (dance moms vs. drag queen!), plus realness from Edwards’s personal life, in and out of drag.
Dancing Queen
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat
Series premiere Thursday, Oct. 11
Award-winning chef Samin Nosrat wrote the book on how to be a good cook, and now she takes you around the world to go deep on the flavor. Her new four-part series explains the essentials of home cooking while providing a tasty, in-depth exploration of kitchens in Italy, Japan and her first professional setup in Berkeley, California.
The Shining
Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) and his family spend the winter inside a remote (and haunted) Colorado hotel. Available Monday, Oct. 1
Truth or Dare
The time-honored party game turns horrifying and deadly for a group of friends in this terrifying 2018 flick.
Available Wednesday, Oct. 3
Netflix & Chills!
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Penny Dreadful
Gothic legends converge in this series starring Eva Green, Josh Hartnett and Helen McCrory. Seasons 1–3 available.
Photo: Jonathan Hession/SHOWTIME
Glitch
In this spooky Aussie mystery, seven formerly deceased people return to life — and no one knows how or why.
Seasons 1–2 available
Slasher
Telling a different serialized story each season, this anthology series presents a mix of classic horror and blood-curdling suspense.
Seasons 1–2 available
The Hurricane Heist
Available Now
Into each life, a little rain must fall…but if you’re a group of thieves trying to rip off $600 million from the government, that may be a good thing. In this 2018 action flick, some criminals attempt to use a Category 5 storm as cover for their get-rich-quick plan, but they’ll face forces stronger than a hurricane: U.S. Treasury agent Casey Corbyn (Maggie Grace), a meteorologist named Will (Toby Kebbell) and his brother, Breeze (Ryan Kwanten). Seriously: Breeze.
The Blacklist
Season 5 Available Now
Slippery criminal mastermind Red (James Spader) and FBI agent Liz (Megan Boone) face a whole new set of challenges as the unlikely allies continue to pursue more bad guys on Red’s infamous list. And don’t even get us started on the NBC drama’s shocking season finale.
We’ll just say that it changes everything. Everything.
Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries
Seasons 1–3, Available Now
Miss Fisher smokes. She drinks. She stays up all night. She has sex… when and with whomever she wants. There’s always a handgun in her purse. And she drives way too fast. Yet, the flapper heroine (Essie Davis) of popular Australian detective series Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries is 100 percent class. In part, it’s because she can solve complicated cases and chase down devilish murderers without mussing her shiny black bob. But mostly it’s because, for a rich lady in the 1920s, the Honorable Miss Phryne Fisher (she inherited the title from her father) has a huge heart that she’s always risking for the underdog.
Moreover, unlike her English predecessor, Miss Marple, this single lady “of a certain age” doesn’t just stick to cracking tidy whodunits in cozy villages. Nearly each of the drama’s 34 episodes (it aired from 2012 to 2015) takes Phryne to a different, and not always so nice, section of Melbourne, including the Latvian ghetto, Chinese opium dens, a dirty machinery works, a secretive convent and even the circus. And she’s always picking up new, charming helpers along the way, like her timid maid, Dot (Ashleigh Cummings), whom she met while investigating the high society murder of a shipping magnate. My personal faves: communist cabbies Bert (Travis McMahon) and Cec (Anthony Sharpe), with whom she foiled a deadly abortion racket.
Lastly, there’s the begrudged attraction between private eye Phryne and police officer Jack Robinson (Nathan Page). You’ll want to watch every episode just for the one in which they kiss! —Aubry D’Arminio
