What’s Streaming This Week (3/8 – 3/15)

DRACULA – $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental

Cast: Caleb Landry Jones , Zoë Bleu Sidel, Christoph Waltz, Matilda de Angelis, and Guillaume de Tonquédec

Synopsis: When a 15th-century prince denounces God after the devastating loss of his wife, he inherits an eternal curse: he becomes Dracula. Condemned to wander the centuries, he defies fate and death itself, guided by a single hope — to be reunited with his lost love.

What we like:

• Vertical Entertainment scores its highest grossing film ever, with Luc Besson’s take on the classic Dracula tale taking in $12.5M at the domestic box-office. A huge win for the indie distributor.
• Dracula is played by Caleb Landry Jones, who previously starred in Besson’s film DogMan. Besson liked working with him so much that he basically built this Dracula around his eccentric, theatrical acting style.
• Legendary composer Danny Elfman gives the film an operatic, gothic tone with his original score.

What we don’t like:

• The official French poster of the film (designed by the French distributor SND) came under fire when it turned out that its fangs theme in the whitespace defined by Count Dracula’s silhouette image seemingly was copied from a Nosferatu poster designed by Eileen Steinbach of SG Posters, made in May 2024.

ZOOTOPIA 2 – Disney+

Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster

Synopsis: Detectives Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde find themselves on the twisting trail of a mysterious reptile who arrives in Zootopia and turns the mammal metropolis upside down.

What we like:

• Well…we definitely know what Disney liked. The film was an enormous hit, earning about $1.86 billion worldwide, making it:
  • The second-highest-grossing animated film ever
  • The ninth-highest-grossing movie of all time
  • The highest-grossing movie from Walt Disney Animation Studios, passing Frozen 2.
• Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino came back to write the score again, and we always enjoy a Giacchino score.
• The film was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Golden Globe Awards (where it lost to KPop Demon Hunters), and is nominated in the same category at the Oscars (where it will likely lose to KPop Demon Hunters). It did get a win at the BAFTA Awards (where KPop Demon Hunters was ineligible).

What we don’t like:

• We haven’t seen this sequel, but some of the discourse around it was baffling. For instance, The sequel introduces reptiles to the world of Zootopia, including a major character named Gary the snake. The filmmakers said they added reptiles because they wanted a new group that audiences might instinctively fear, so they could explore new ideas about bias and prejudice. But this sparked discussion because:
  • The first movie implied the city was mainly mammals.
  • Fans wondered why reptiles were never mentioned before.
  • Some viewers felt the explanation in the sequel didn’t fully make sense with the original world.
• It basically opened a bunch of “wait… how does this world actually work?” questions, and we’re impressed (and exhausted) by how invested fans are in the world building.

BODYCAM – Shudder

Cast: Jaime M. Callica, Sean Rogerson, Catherine Lough Haggquist

Synopsis: Two police officers investigate a domestic dispute and there is an accidental shooting. Not wanting to be crucified by the public, the officers attempt to cover it up, only to uncover that the cameras aren’t the only things watching them.

What we like:

• This Shudder thriller was directed by Brandon Christensen, who is known for indie horror movies like Still/Born and Z. His style often mixes psychological horror with supernatural twists, which shows up here too.
• The film is a brief 75 minutes, but that’s mostly because the filmmakers wanted the movie to feel like a single intense incident unfolding in real time rather than a long narrative.
• Not a lot of reviews yet on Rotten Tomatoes, but the few posted are mostly positive.

What we don’t like:

• After watching the Oscar-nominated documentary The Perfect Neighbor, these body-cam/found footage thrillers just hit a bit differently. It’s not that we can’t separate real-life horrors from popcorn horrors, it’s just that Geeta Gandhbir’s monumental film is still rattling in our bones.

ISLANDS – $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental

Cast: Sam Riley, Stacy Martin, Jack Farthing

Synopsis: In this thriller, a tennis coach at a tropical resort finds himself at the center of a missing persons mystery. Tom (Sam Riley) teaches tennis during the day and parties at night. When an enigmatic tourist (Stacy Martin) arrives, Tom is unable to shake the feeling he has met her before. Tension and attraction grow, until her husband (Jack Farthing) disappears, and the police suspect Tom.

What we like:

• This twisty crime thriller world premiered at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival in its Berlinale Special section. Reviews were strong, and often compared the movie’s mood to works inspired by Hitchcock-style suspense or Patricia Highsmith novels. Sounds great to us!
• Filming took place in Corralejo and Pájara on the isle of Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands, so if you’re looking for a little exotic getaway, this might fit the bill.
• The film was shot by cinematographer Juan C. Sarmiento Grisales, who has two other films currently in release: the Oscar-nominated The Voice of Hind Rajab and the Colombian comedy A Poet.

What we don’t like:

• Greenwich Entertainment wasn’t able to drum up much arthouse business for this one. It pulled in a mere $53K at the domestic box-office. Lack of star power was probably tough to overcome, but this is the sort of crime thriller that should do very well on VOD and on a streaming service.

NOT WITHOUT HOPE – Paramount+

Cast: Zachary Levi, Josh Duhamel, JoBeth Williams, Quentin Plair, Terrence Terrell, Marshall Cook, Floriana Lima, Jessica Blackmore, Priya Jain, Logan Kellogg

Synopsis: A group of friends’ fishing boat capsizes off the coast of Mexico and they’re left alone stranded at sea and struggling for survival.

What we like:

• This disaster thriller is based on the non-fiction book of the same name from Nick Schuyler, the survivor of a 2009 boating accident that took the lives of NFL football players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith.
• Everyone’s favorite Poltergeist mom JoBeth Williams has a supporting role in the film!

What we don’t like:

• Yes, the film’s title comes from the book it’s based on…but man is that title both clunky and generic. We suppose it’s an inspirational spin on a tragic story, but can’t we do better than a double negative? At least they didn’t just call it Hope (a quick IMDB search indicates that title has been used hundreds of times).

THIS IS NOT A TEST – $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental

Cast: Olivia Holt, Froy Gutierrez, and Luke MacFarlane

Synopsis: Sloane and four classmates take cover in Cortege High to escape a world plagued by the infected. As danger relentlessly pounds on the doors, Sloane begins to see the world through the eyes of those who actually want to live and takes matters into her own hands.

What we like:

• From director Adam MacDonald, who memorably broke through in 2014 with his bear-stalking-backpackers thriller Backcountry. That one is currently on AMC+ if you want a gnarly good time.
• The film is an adaptation the 2012 young-adult novel This Is Not a Test by author Courtney Summers.
• Froy Gutierrez co-stars, and we just love the name Froy! It’s short for Froylán, and sure, we sometimes read it as Froyo (as in frozen yogurt), but that’s our problem, not his. The world needs more Froys! Get on it, new parents!

What we don’t like:

• With the glut of zombie content in the last few years, a new entry really needs to step up its game to stand out. With 28 Years Later, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, We Bury the Dead, and TV’s The Last of Us all making their mark recently, this scrappy indie needs to work extra hard to pull an audience. Alas…reviews were mixed. It currently sits at 44% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

NOW YOU SEE ME: NOW YOU DON’T – Starz

Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa, Ariana Greenblatt, with Rosamund Pike, and Morgan Freeman

Synopsis: The Four Horsemen return along with a new generation of illusionists performing mind-melding twists, turns, surprises, and magic unlike anything ever captured on film.

What we like:

• The third film in the Now You See Me franchise brings back the original Four Horsemen: Jesse Eisenberg (J. Daniel Atlas), Woody Harrelson (Merritt McKinney), Dave Franco (Jack Wilder), and Isla Fisher (Henley Reeves).
• This time the Horsemen team up (and mentor) a new trio to steal the “Heart Diamond” from villainous diamond heiress Veronika Vanderberg, played by Rosamund Pike, who looks like she’s having a blast workshopping her South African accent.

What we don’t like:

• We have to be honest…we’ve never seen any of these films. Our apathy comes mostly from watching filmed magic tricks. Watching a magician’s act in person can be very entertaining, but how can we be wowed in the age of CGI? We love the cast…and Rosamund Pike especially. Are we missing out?
• Also…what the hell is with the punctuation in the title? Why is there a colon between the two phrases? Does it make sense?

Happy Streaming Everyone!