Best new movies and TV series on Neon: October 2022

Neon continues to bring in a convoy of quality shows and films this October. See our handpicked highlights below followed by the full release schedule.

Top picks: TV

Let The Right One In: Season 1 (October 10)

The sober, Swedish horror movie Let The Right One In warmed our icy hearts with its human/vampire friendship, but we didn’t get much insight as to how the vampiric kid’s elderly carer must experience their weird situation. This new AMC TV adaptation of the same source material will right that, casting Demián Bichir as a father whose daughter only looks 12: she’s actually immortal, and will die without the blood he’s forced to scavenge for her.

Nathan for You: Seasons 1-4 (October 14)

We worry about Nathan Fielder, the supremely awkward Canadian comic behind this year’s bewildering The Rehearsal. If you’d like to feel a bit less sorry for him, check out his previous docu-comedy series Nathan for You, a far more mean-spirited series that sees him “helping” struggling small businesses. FYI the episodes where he briefly breaks character are season one’s episode four, where he can’t help but laugh at a gas station attendant admitting to drinking his grandson’s piss, and season three’s fourth episode, where a pair of brothers shock him by talking about their familial threesomes.

The White Lotus: Blossom Circle (October 31)

Following a clueless batch of tourists at a Hawaii resort, the first season of The White Lotus was the most awarded series of the recent Emmy Awards. Creator Mike White wasn’t planning on making another season, but since he is, Jennifer Coolidge’s iconic Tanya simply had to return, alongside a new killer ensemble of oblivious white visitors. F. Murray Abraham, Michael Imperioli, Aubrey Plaza, Tom Hollander, and Theo James should expect to catch some sun and class anxiety.

Top Picks: Film

We Met in Virtual Reality (October 1)

Your eyeballs might need a rest after taking in this very 2022 documentary, all about the unlikely romances happening in the world of VR. Filmed entirely in the simulated environs of VR Chat, Joe Hunting’s directorial debut chronicles these cat-eared, colourful characters with humour and empathy, taking into account that the COVID-19 lockdowns have forced many of the lonely hearts further into the freedoms of a fake online life.

Red Rocket (October 6)

All of indie director Sean Baker’s trademarks arise in this vibrant, Texas-set comedy: gorgeous, toxic sunsets, the use of non-actors in major roles, and clear-eyed depictions of sex workers and hustlers living on the fringes of the American dream. What’s different, though, is the utter seediness of protagonist Mikey Saber. Simon Rex is dang fearless as the washed-up adult film star, and his shamelessness will have you gasping with shock and laughter.

Dog Day Afternoon (October 27)

Pair the all-timer ‘actor’s director’ Sidney Lumet with one of our greatest living performers Al Pacino, and the tragically lost talent of John Cazale: what you end up with is one of the 70s most enduringly terrific films. In fact, the film’s engrossing crime story might play even stronger these days, when bank robber John Wojtowicz’s heist to afford his girlfriend’s gender affirmation surgery is a more familiar struggle. It’s also very funny (“kiss me”, Pacino yells at a cop trying to placate him: “when I’m being f***ed, I like to get kissed a lot.”).

Everything Coming to Neon this October

October 1

George Carlin’s American Dream
Edge of the Earth
Beanie Mania
I Am Greta

October 2

Moonfall

October 3

Gladiator

October 4

Endangered

October 5

The Good Doctor: Season 6
On the Trail: Inside the 2020 Primaries

October 6

Red Rocket

October 7

The Black Ferns: Wāhine Toa
Louis Theroux: Behind Bars
Louis Theroux: Beware of the Tiger
Louis Theroux: The Most Hated Family in America
Louis Theroux: Savile
Louis Theroux: Twilight of the Porn Stars
Sanditon: Season 2