12 Things to Watch Before They Leave Netflix in October

SEPTEMBER IS NOTORIOUS for being the graveyard of film the release calendar. Studios dump movies into theaters knowing that many people are returning to post-summer life and not hitting the multiplex. Similarly, the television season doesn’t really get underway until after the Emmys, which took place a week ago. If that means you’ve been spending the month catching up on your Netflix queue, good for you! But if you haven’t, well, you need to get on that. The streaming service has a bunch of must-watch movies and shows that are scheduled to disappear at the end of the month. Prestige movie season is almost here, the onslaught of new television is about to begin—get caught up on these recommendations while you still have time.
OCTOBER 1
Back to the Future (1985), Lethal Weapon (1987), and Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Remember back in July, when we told you a bunch of ’80s action franchises made it onto Netflix? Apparently they were only available for the summer. So in case you forgot to catch up on Robert Zemeckis’ science fiction trilogy Back to the Future, Shane Black’s buddy cop comedy Lethal Weapon, or Eddie Murphy’s star-making Beverly Hills Cop, now’s your last chance to do so.

The Exorcist (1973)
Lethal Weapon isn’t the only familiar intellectual property getting a TV adaptation this fall. The horror series based on this classic debuted last Friday. If you’d like to find out what the original fuss was about, check out director William Friedkin’s classic. Famous actress Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) and her 12-year-old daughter Regan (Linda Blair) are living in Washington, D.C. when Regan begins to exhibit signs of demonic possession. The only person who can help is Father Lankester Merrin (Max von Sydow), a priest and archaeologist who has a personal history with the demon possessing the child.

Insomnia (2002)
After Christopher Nolan’s creative breakthrough with Memento, but before he became a blockbuster director with Batman Begins, he remade the Scandinavian psychological thriller Insomnia. Will Dormer (Al Pacino), an LAPD detective, journeys to Nightmute, Alaska to help with the investigation of a murdered 17-year-old girl. His partner (Martin Donovan) is preparing to testify against him in an internal affairs investigation, an eager young officer (Hilary Swank) peppers him with questions, and a local crime writer (Robin Williams) seems suspicious. It’s the only film Nolan has directed on which he hasn’t at least shared writing credit. But it deserves to be recognized along with his best films as an excellent well-paced thriller.

The Land Before Time (1988)
Before Steven Spielberg wowed audiences with a live-action dinosaur thriller in Jurassic Park, he served as executive producer for Don Bluth’s animated feature The Land Before Time. It has inspired so many direct-to-video sequels that its hard to remember just how successful and dramatic the original theatrical film was at the time. Set during the end of the Cretaceous period, there’s a severe drought leading herds of dinosaurs to seek out the few remaining habitable places. Littlefoot, a “Longneck,” plays with Cera, a “Three-Horn,” but learns the herds of dinosaurs traditionally stay separated. An “earthshake” sets the tragic events in motion, where a group of young dinosaurs must cooperate in order to survive.


The Phantom (1996)
Did you know Billy Zane was a superhero? Well, he’s super regardless of the role, but he played one in this 1996 adaptation of Lee Falk’s comic strip. The title character is the 21st man in a lineage of fathers and sons passing down a Skull Ring from the island of Bengalla, pledging to fight against piracy, greed, cruelty, and injustice. Since it’s a family duty, people throughout centuries believe The Phantom is an immortal who cannot die. Kit Walker (Zane) assumes his role in the 1930s, and fights against Quill (James Remar), searching for a powerful artifact in the jungle. This flick might not be on par with best of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it’s still a cult classic.

Scary Movie (2000)
Before the movie genre parody joke spun out of control with Meet the Spartans and The Starving Games, it was a charming novelty to send-up horror films. Scary Movie seems quaint now, but it did launch Anna Faris’ career, and since it parodies Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer it also harkens back to a time before torture porn like Hostel or micro-budget found-footage franchises like Paranormal Activity ruled the box office.

V For Vendetta (2006)
You won’t be able to remember, remember the fifth of November with this adaptation of Alan Moore’s legendary graphic novel since it departs Netflix at the end of the month, so celebrate a little early with what might be the Wachowskis best film not named The Matrix. The near-future totalitarian vision of the UK might be a little too eerie given the Brexit vote and the 2016 presidential election here in the US, but it’s still a rousing action film. Evey Hammon (Natalie Portman), a state-run television employee, gets saved from the secret police by the masked vigilante known as V (Hugo Weaving). Through her interactions with the man her government identifies as a domestic terrorist, she shifts from a simple employee falling in line to a growing dissident willing to speak out against fascism.
The Warriors (1979)
A gang from Coney Island must make it all the way back to their home turf after being framed for the murder of a respected gang leader. Walter Hill’s 1979 cult classic is based on Sol Yurick’s novel, which is a retelling of the ancient Greek adventure story Anabasis. But setting the story in grimy New York City was a masterstroke, and the film has grown into a beloved action film with comic book and videogame spin-offs. Also, its cry of “Warriors…come out to play!” remains an iconic moment in cinema history.


Heroes Seasons 1-4 (2006-2010)
Hero Nakamura (Masi Oka) can manipulate space-time. D.L. Hawkins (Leonard Roberts) can phase through solid objects. Claire Bennet aka “the cheerleader” (Hayden Panettiere) can heal from nearly any injury. Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) can absorb the powers of others with abilities around him. And Sylar (Zachary Quinto), well…he’s the Doctor Doom of this story. You can basically ignore the latter three seasons and just focus on the near-perfect first season of Heroes, which seemed like a comic-style storytelling revelation when it debuted 10 years ago. Watch that now.

OCTOBER 2
The Big Green (1995)
As youth soccer season begins in earnest, go back to the Disney children’s classic that delighted a generation. Any Montgomery (Olivia d’Abo), a British schoolteacher in a small Texas town, gets her class to start playing soccer. At first, they’re totally overmatched by bigger towns with organized sports and domineering coaches. But in typical Disney underdog sports story fashion, eventually the kids start getting better, believe in themselves, and form an inseparable bond that brings them greater success than they ever imagined. It’s goofy and messy filmmaking, but it’s accidentally one of the only fun American films every made about soccer.