Are you a fan of the Universal Monster movies? Are you eagerly awaiting the return of the “James Bond” franchise? Are you looking for something scary to watch this Halloween? If so, Prime Video likely has a movie for you in October.
The streaming service added a slate of films this month, including new releases from 2025 and classics that are more than 90 years old. Here are the seven best new movies you can watch on Prime Video in October.
“Bride of Frankenstein”
A collection of iconic Universal Monster movies will join Prime Video just in time for Halloween. While there are several picks from this collection worth watching, “Bride of Frankenstein” stands out as one of the finest films of the bunch.
The sequel opens with a comic framing device, one where a fictionalized version of Mary Shelley (the author of the famed “Frankenstein” text) says she has more to tell after the events of the 1931 film. Jumping back into the world of “Frankenstein,” the ending of the original movie is effectively undone, showing new fates for both creator and creation. Like with the first film, director James Whale and his writers take great liberties in adapting the “Frankenstein” source material. However, the sequel folds in a few more elements of the acclaimed sci-fi/horror novel while continuing along its own path.
The result is a pretty spectacular bit of 1930s monster moviemaking. Boris Karloff continues to deliver an iconic performance as Frankenstein’s so-called Monster, building to a genuinely moving final line. The film’s themes and subtextual elements invite interrogation to this day, with a queer reading steadily evolving in the decades since its release.
If you’re looking for another movie in the Universal Monsters catalog to check out, “The Invisible Man” (1933) stands out as another excellent choice. More than 90 years later, the unwrapping of the titular villain’s heavily-bandaged face remains a stunningly impressive piece of visual effects.
“Candyman” (1992)
Another standout pick for horror lovers this October, 1992’s “Candyman” stars the late Tony Todd in an all-time horror role. The film follows Virginia Madsen as Helen Lyle, a graduate student who begins studying Chicago’s Cabrini-Green Homes and discovers the legend of the Candyman killer. As Helen attempts to sum the Candyman story up as a mere myth stemming from racial inequality, she begins to discover the truth behind the hook-handed, bee-infested spirit with deep Chicago roots.
Not every element of “Candyman” holds up as an unimpeachable piece of horror filmmaking or social commentary. However, Bernard Rose’s film (adapted from a story by Clive Barker) remains fascinating, iconic and scary to this day. The film bursts with strong imagery and genuine scares. Todd’s portrayal of Candyman belongs among the lineup of the horror villain greats.
“Casino Royale” (2006)
“Casino Royale” is probably one of the finest “gritty reboots” we will ever get. Here, director Martin Campbell and screenwriters Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Paul Haggis set their sights on the iconic, suave spy James Bond, examining what demons must haunt a man who casually exercises a “license to kill.” The entire film plays as an extended origin story, building a broken Bond up just to tear him back down again. When he finally utters “The name’s Bond. James Bond,” in the film’s finale, it plays not as a badass catchphrase moment, but as a sobering acknowledgment of the character’s darkness.
It can’t be overstated just how radical a reinvention Daniel Craig’s first film in the franchise became. With Denis Villeneuve and Steven Knight on deck for the first post-Craig film, it’s hard to imagine this franchise ever returning to its campy, gadget-heavy roots. This darker tone could not have become the standard without something of such high quality as “Casino Royale” leading the way. Regardless of how viewers feel about the lasting effect it’s had on the franchise, Craig’s first Bond outing must be given props for being a top-to-bottom masterpiece of reinvention.
“Erin Brockovich”
In 2001, Steven Soderbergh made history at the Academy Awards by picking up two of the five nomination slots in the Best Director category (with the films being two of the five Best Picture nominees as well). Miraculously, Soderbergh didn’t split the vote, allowing him to take the Best Director statue for his work on “Traffic,” a film that won four of its five nominations in total.
Soderbergh’s other film was “Erin Brockovich,” a movie of a much different temperature than “Traffic.” The film tells the true story of Erin Brockovich, a struggling single mother who takes a low-level job at a law office and uncovers a massive case affecting the residents of Hinkley, California. The film is led by exceptional performances from Julia Roberts and Albert Finney, lending both comic and dramatic weight to the legal drama.
“Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”
No one knows how to make a blockbuster like Steven Spielberg. In “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” the director’s immense talent comes to the forefront in a non-stop joyride of thrilling sequences, fun banter and genuine heart. Harrison Ford continues to demonstrate his mastery over his on-the-back-foot action hero, while Sean Connery brings a delightful energy to the franchise as Indiana Jones’ father, Henry Sr.
From the moment these two acting legends meet, “The Last Crusade” carries an infectious energy, evolving from strong action/adventure to an unrelenting comic thrill ride. Spielberg fills “The Last Crusade” with set piece after set piece that, for many directors, would stand out as the crowning achievement of their careers. For someone with as frequent home runs as Spielberg, it’s debatable whether a film with all this intricate spectacle is even his strongest Indiana Jones movie — let alone his strongest blockbuster.
“Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson was already a generational talent before he picked up the camera. The producer, percussionist, DJ and Roots member (among many other roles) had won five Grammys before making his directorial debut with “Summer of Soul.” He would then win Best Documentary Feature at the Oscars for his first time in the director’s chair.
“Summer of Soul” brings audiences back to the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, a six-weekend musical event known as “Black Woodstock.” 1969 would be the last of three annual Harlem Cultural Festivals, featuring a wide array of black musicians in a celebration largely overlooked by the media of the day. Hal Tulchin, who filmed dozens of hours of footage from the festival, receives a posthumous special thanks in the documentary, with his wide array of archival video interspersed with present-day interviews and commentary. It’s an incredible piece of music and archive documentary filmmaking, marking the start of yet another chapter of Questlove’s illustrious career.
“West Side Story” (1961)
If you had to distill movie magic into a single film, either adaptation of “West Side Story” would be a worthy candidate. The sweeping 1961 movie musical overflows with color and emotion, an eye-popping rendition of one of the most romantic pieces of art ever made. It’s a musical with no skips, filled with numerous iconic and sweeping songs by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. It’s hard to compare the quality of the cinematic classic by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins to the eventual re-adaptation by Steven Spielberg — both make a strong case for being the best cinematic musical of all time.
