Late October found a plethora of new-to-Netflix releases to enjoy, although they weren’t all necessarily well made films or shows.

Such as The Babysitter, one of the worst and newest Netflix original movies. Revolving around a child and his stereotypical super hot babysitter, this film ends up not much more than mediocre. The opening finds us with a extremely nerdy and sheltered child, soon thrown into a satanic ritual and struggling to survive and kill his crazy babysitter and her friends. All the while the film tries too hard to emulate what Scary Movie did, even though that is not well done either. The horrid acting keeps one from getting lost in the crazy movie, and a myriad of genitalia jokes has us rolling our eyes until we lose sight. The writing ends up full of crude and bad humor that doesn’t land right with the audience, unlikely to make them laugh. The tearjerker moment will barely elicit pity for the characters, due to the horrible acting. All in all, it lacks any redeeming qualities to make it worth the watch.

Moving onto the better things to watch: 1922, a movie based off the novella by Stephen King and takes place in, obviously, 1922. It is all about a farmer, his son and his wife. Due to fighting about lifestyles and land owning, the husband kills his wife with the help of his son. The son becomes guilt-stricken and runs away with his pregnant lover to become a bandit. When they both end up dying the farmer decides to confess these sins in writing. The cinematography creates a sense of uneasiness among viewers, sending shivers down the spine and even causing one to jump once or twice. The music adds to the experience, building suspense. Also, the acting skills of the cast envelopes the audience within this twentieth century predicament. The only downside: the slowness of the film; it feels stretched out. It would work better as a shorter and more compact movie. Not one of the best movies based off of King’s work, but definitely an enjoyable and entertaining watch.

If horror and comedy aren’t your thing then watch The Day I Met El Chapo, a stunning documentary following Mexican Telenovela star Kate De Castillo. She recounts her controversial Tweet years prior the corrupt Mexican government, and her encounter with the notorious leader of the Mexican drug cartel. It grabs the watcher’s attention throughout the three hours, worth every second and extremely interesting, bringing us into a universe that we could never imagine. They pull from sources that were in the action including Kate De Castillo herself; she provides most of the narration. The cinematography and seamless transitions from event to event become the aspects that stand out the most with imagery and words that have us on the edge of our seats. When it ends it will leave you not only informed but wanting more.

And last, but not least, the highly anticipated Netflix original: Stranger Things. The second season, in one phrase, lives up to the hype, stellar in most all aspects of its creation. It brings in new characters and delves deeper into the development of season one favorites. The acting furthers the exceptional story, dragging us into the world of Hawkins, Indiana, with the people, and things, that call it home. It creates hard-to-expect plot twists and gets the viewer gripping their laptop, eyes glued to the screen. Much like 1922, it uses cinematography to build suspense and uneasiness. Not only does it contain action and thrill packed sequences but it can transfer to lighthearted moments, such as the end of the season school dance or the budding bro-mance between Dustin and Steve.

The end of October was a great time for Netflix releases. With a variety to choose from everyone will find something to binge among the choices.