This Week in Streaming (October 29th)

Trap (Max) One never knows if the newest movie from twist-ending all-star M. Night Shyamalan will be a worthy successor to The Sixth Sense or rival that flick about Mark Wahlberg facing off against killer trees. Fortunately, the director’s latest ends up near the top of the heap thanks to Josh Hartnett’s masterful turn as a dad taking his daughter to a Taylor Swiftish arena concert, who also happens to be the serial killer that the FBI orchestrated the show to catch. The whole affair may go on a bit too long, but it’s a gripping thriller with plenty to say about both the masks we wear and the middle-class’s decline in Northern cities like Philadelphia. 

Hysteria! (Peacock) The season’s best horror series finds a stagnant heavy metal band capitalizing on the 80s satanic panic when their smalltown becomes obsessed with the disappearance of the local high school’s star quarterback. Turns out, that occult stuff may be more than a load of BS. The cast makes for one of the strongest teen ensembles since the days of Dawson while B-movie icon Bruce Campbell, Modern Family’s Julie Bowen, and True Blood’s Anna Camp add some nostalgic flair. 

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consensual Suicidal Person (Mubi) This French-Canadian vampire tale finds a teen bloodsucker whose compassion keeps her from killing as she navigates her thirst and feelings for a suicidal boy when her parents cut off her blood supply. Darkly hilarious and deeply affecting, it’s the mashup of Let The Right One In and Ferris Bueller we didn’t know we needed.