Favorite First Time Watches of September 2026

As everyone knows, my favorite thing to do is recommend movies. Bonus if it’s a movie you haven’t heard of. So, once a month, I recommend a handful of movies I watched last month that I recommend you check out. September was another fruitful month, especially for new releases. I suspect, in cinema, we may be all the way back.

Onslaught (2026) – Adam Wingard

I’ve been following Adam’s career since his shorts on the V/H/S films. I was surprised when he turned into a mega-blockbuster director with the Godzilla v Kong films. I don’t think the stupidity of those films is his fault.

It was great to see him go back to his roots like You’re Next and make an ultra-violent horror/action movie. A military experiment gets loose and begins killing everything in their path. Created to be the perfect killing machines, they do what they were programmed to do, until they run into two Vets willing to protect their homes. I don’t know if I can recommend it to everyone, but if you like a lot of violence, this one is for you.

Married to the Mob (1988) – Jonathan Demme

Angela (Michelle Pfeiffer) is tired of her Husband’s life as a mobster. When he is whacked, she sees it as the opportunity to get out of that lifestyle for good. But the Mob doesn’t want her to leave, and the FBI thinks she could help them bring down Tony “The Tiger” Russo.

Jonathan is having such a blast with this one. You wouldn’t think this kind of film could be so goofy, but it’s almost like human Looney Tunes. Michelle has maybe never been better as the sympathetic Angela. And Matthew Modine’s dopey FBI agent is equally hilarious. Every choice made in this one was made with the reasoning “Why not?” Why not make this scene goofier? We should have fun with this.

Hope (2026) – Na Hong-jin

A mysterious creature is destroying a Korean village. Two cops and some local farmers attempt to stop the monster and save their village. This is a rip-roaring blast. Yes, the CGI is a bit shaky, at times looking like PlayStation 2 graphics. But I really didn’t care, with how high-octane the chase and action sequences are.

Body Snatchers (1993) – Abel Ferrara

Abel’s filmography is dense with about 30+ films. I’m slowly working my way through it with the help of the Criterion Channel. I didn’t know he made his own version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Taking place on a military base and told from the eyes of a teenage girl. This plays like a nightmare of puberty and womanhood. Maybe a middle-aged man wasn’t the best person to tell the story, but the first two-thirds of this film are lights out anyways. The final act becomes a basic chase movie. But the first two acts make this worth watching.

Penny Lane is Dead (2026) – Mia’Kate Russell

A final girls’ night for three friends and Penny’s cousin, celebrating before they all head off to college or the professional world. Penny’s cousin plays a mean trick on Penny and then invites some boys to the party with disastrous consequences.

A throwback to the Australian exploitation films of the 1970s. This was a major Shudder streaming surprise. Knew nothing about it and threw it on one night. Vicious, nasty, and fun, with some great needle drops. Couldn’t recommend it highly enough to any horror hound.

Parenthood (1989) – Ron Howard

An ensemble dramedy about a large family and their trials and tribulations. I knew this spawned a long-running television show, and it was easy to see why. The depth of every character, with the large number of characters, is a rich foundation for a TV show.

I really didn’t expect this to be as engrossing as it was. Even with some of the more heightened storylines, the realness of the characters gives this film a very honest quality. Their interactions are small, and the dialogue actually sounds like real family members talking to each other rather than characters in a movie.

Resident Evil (2026) – Zach Cregger

When I saw Barbarian in the theaters, I knew we had a new special voice in horror. Then with Weapons Cregger put himself with the like of Jordan Peele. I am forever a season ticket holder for Zach Cregger.

So, though I never played a single minute of any Resident Evil game. But since it’s Cregger, I was definitely going. I believe he is the first person to correctly make a video game movie. It’s the only time I’ve watched a video game movie adaptation and felt like I was playing the video game.

Cregger really nails what it’s like playing a horror game for the first time, with Austin’s central performance hilarious as he bumbles his way through this night ill-prepared. It’s an absolute blast. Pure horror fun, Cregger is 3 for 3 with me.

The Beguiled (1971) – Don Siegel

During the Civil War, a wounded Union soldier is taken into a southern girls’ school to rehab an injured leg. The women decide to keep him and nurse him back to health. Soon games of sexual manipulation begin. Leading to a climactic conclusion.

I went into this one expecting to still prefer Sofia Coppola’s remake. I was surprised at how great this really was. Sofia’s is a little too cold. It’s her way of veiling everyone’s thoughts and motives, but by the end you don’t understand anyone’s motivations. Here maybe it’s a little too spelled out, but it makes for a much more devilishly fun watch.

Maddie’s Secret (2026) – John Early

Maddie works at a food content YouTube channel. One day, after posting herself cooking in her own kitchen, she shoots to viral stardom. However, this leads to an awakening of a past secret.

From the trailer and knowing John Early is playing the titular Maddie, I thought this was going to be like a John Waters film. Instead, this is far more honest and probing. Full of heart and compassion. Truly special and unexpected feminist film coming from the voice of a man.

Home from the Hill (1960) – Vincente Minnelli

A Texas familial drama about the power struggle of philandering Wade (Robert Mitchum) and his wife Hannah (Eleanor Parker) for their Son Theron. Wade believes Hannah has coddled him too much and wants to make him a man.

I’m slowly working my way through Robert Mitchum’s filmography. A 150-minute Vincente Minnelli picture was not one that jumped off his filmography for me to watch; I find his films bloated with some good stuff in them, but it was leaving Criterion, so I gave it a go.

It’s excellent. Some marvelous set pieces. Family drama revealed over time, never expecting it to go where it does. Thanks to the stellar performances from Mitchum, Parker, and George Peppard’s Theron, this never drags and feels completely honest. You know this family, especially if you lived in a small town.