Happy Halloween! This week has a few seasonally apt shows and movies for you to peruse. We’ve got werewolves, vikings, haunted houses, haunted hotels and haunted streets. oh my!

Netflix

Last Kingdom – As a child, Uhtred witnessed his father being killed and the Saxon army defeated by invading troops. Danish warlord Earl Ragnar captured Uhtred and raised him in a Danish camp alongside fellow captive Brida, a sharp-tongued girl. Years later, Uhtred is a valiant warrior who is dealt another tragic blow when his home is deliberately set on fire, killing his surrogate family, including Ragnar. Now exiled — alone except for Brida by his side — he vows to avenge Ragnar’s death and reclaim his homeland. But, he must choose between his birth country and the people who raised him. If he is going to help birth a new nation and ultimately recapture his ancestral land he must walk dangerous path between both sides.
American Horror Story Season 5: Hotel – The season’s story is set in the Hotel Cortez, an enigmatic, six-story, art-deco hotel based in Los Angeles. The plot follows Elizabeth, the owner of the hotel, as she tries to protect herself and her children from the fury of her past lover that seeks revenge on her, as well as John Lowe, a Los Angeles homicide detective on the task-force for a series of grisly murders that lead him in the direction of the hotel.

Amazon

Red Riding Hood – Young Valerie (Amanda Seyfried) feels torn between two men. She loves Peter, but her parents intend that she marry wealthy Henry. Valerie and Peter are going to run away together, but her sister is killed by a werewolf before they can put their plan into action. The villagers call on the help of Father Solomon (Gary Oldman), a famous monster hunter who warns that the beast takes human form by day. Then Valerie suspects that the werewolf is someone she loves.

Dream house – Publisher Will Atenton (Daniel Craig) quits a lucrative job in New York to relocate his wife, Libby (Rachel Weisz), and their daughters to a quaint town in New England. As they settle into their home, however, the Atentons discover that a woman and her children were murdered there, and the surviving husband is the town’s prime suspect. With help from a neighbor (Naomi Watts) who was close to the murdered family, Will pieces together a horrifying chain of events.
A Nightmare on Elm Street – Teenagers Nancy, Quentin, Kris, Jesse and Dean are all neighborhood friends who begin having the same dream of a horribly disfigured man who wears a tattered sweater and a glove made of knives. The man, Freddy Krueger (Jackie Earle Haley), terrorizes them in their dreams, and the only escape is to wake up. But when one of their number dies violently, the friends realize that what happens in the dream world is real, and the only way to stay alive is to stay awake.

 

Streaming Pick of the Week

Netflix – Black Mirror

Featuring stand-alone dramas — sharp, suspenseful, satirical tales that explore techno-paranoia — “Black Mirror” is a contemporary reworking of “The Twilight Zone” with stories that tap into the collective unease about the modern world. Each story features its own cast of unique characters, including stars like Bryce Dallas Howard (“The Help”), Alice Eve, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Cullen and Jerome Flynn (“Game of Thrones”). Joe Wright, Dan Trachtenberg, and James Watkins are among the featured directors.

October Scores: Amazon 0 – Netflix 3

A few great halloween offerings this week, binge watching AHS Hotel will probably serve you pretty well long into the witching hours. This week’s pick though is the returning Black Mirror. Previously at home on channel four, you’ll now be able to watch the new episodes without ads, just in time for Halloween! Another win for Netflix but a great showing of spooky films from Amazon too.