20 Best Movies New to Streaming in August: ‘Final Destination Bloodlines,’ ‘The Monkey,’ ‘Legend of Ochi’ and More

“Final Destination Bloodlines” brought the death-obsessed horror franchise roaring back to life on the big screen this summer with $285 million at the worldwide box office, making it the highest-grossing entry yet. Now the ingenious and over-the-top kills of this sixth “Final Destination” movie come to HBO Max. “Bloodlines” follows college student Stefani (Kaitlyn Santa Juana), who begins to receive visions about an averted disaster from 1968. After being plagued by recurring nightmares, she begins to embark on a journey to track down who may be able to help her break the cycle and save her family from their deaths.

Osgood Perkins follows up “Longlegs” with “The Monkey,” adapted from the Stephen King short story of the same name. The horror comedy was another box office hit for Neon this year with nearly $70 million at the worldwide box office. Theo James headlines the film as twin brothers whose lives are turned upside down by a cursed toy monkey that causes horrific deaths. Tatiana Maslany, Christian Convery, Colin O’Brien, Rohan Campbell, Sarah Levy, Adam Scott and Elijah Wood co-star.

Eddie Murphy, Pete Davidson, Eva Longoria and Keke Palmer star in the Prime Video original crime comedy “The Pickup,” directed by Tim Story. The official synopsis reads: “A routine cash pickup takes a wild turn when two mismatched armored truck drivers, Russell (Murphy) and Travis (Davidson), are ambushed by ruthless criminals led by a savvy mastermind, Zoe (Palmer), with plans that go way beyond the cash cargo. As chaos unfolds around them, the unlikely duo must navigate high-risk danger, clashing personalities, and one very bad day that keeps getting worse.”

Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden’s “Freaky Tales” makes its streaming debut on HBO Max this month. The movie, which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, features an ensemble cast of Pedro Pascal, Ben Mendelsohn, Jay Ellis, Normani, Dominique Thorne, Jack Champion, Ji-young Yoo, Angus Cloud and Tom Hanks. The synopsis reads: “Set in 1987 Oakland, ‘Freaky Tales’ is a multi-track mixtape of colorful characters – an NBA star, a corrupt cop, a female rap duo, teen punks, neo-Nazis, and a debt collector – on a collision course in a fever dream of showdowns and battles.”

Eli Craig’s “Corn in a Cornfield” is a horror favorite this year and makes its streaming debut on Shudder. Based on Adam Cesare’s 2020 novel of the same name, the movie centers on a father and daughter whose move to a quiet small town is upended by the killer Frendo the clown and rising local tensions over the destruction of a syrup factory. Variety said the movie unleashes the biggest horror movie twist since “The Cabin in the Woods.”

A24 makes a play for family entertainment with “The Legend of Ochi,” a fantasy adventure starring Helena Zengel as a young girl in an isolated village who befriends a reclusive creature her town has been warned to stay away from. Finn Wolfhard, Emily Watson and Willem Dafoe co-star. From Variety’s review: “Known for his striking music videos, writer-director Isaiah Saxon flexes his blissful visual combination of tactile and digital elements in a fable about a girl connecting with a big-eyed forest creature.”

Directed by Chris Columbus and based on the Richard Osman novel of the same name, “The Thursday Murder Club” should prove to be a popular Netflix original movie this month thanks to its murder plot and its cast headlined by Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kinglsey. The official synopsis reads: “The casual sleuthing of ex-spy Elizabeth (Mirren), ex-union activist Ron (Brosnan), ex-psychiatrist Ibrahim (Kingsley) and ex-nurse Joyce (Celia Imrie) takes a thrilling turn when an unexpected death occurs on their doorstep.”

If there’s one guaranteed hit on Netflix this August, it’s the original movie “My Oxford Year,” a romance that pairs Sofia Caron (whose movies “The Life List,” “Carry On,” “Purple Hearts” and more have all delivered the streaming giant great viewership numbers) and Corey Mylchrees (who stole hearts in Netflix’s “Bridgerton” prequel series “Queen Charlotte”). The official synopsis reads: “When Anna, an ambitious young American woman, sets out for Oxford University to fulfill a childhood dream, she has her life completely on track until she meets a charming and clever local who profoundly alters both of their lives.”

Animation icon Genndy Tartakovsky is back with his R-rated passion project “Fixed,” an “adult animated comedy about Bull, an average, all-around good dog who discovers he’s going to be neutered in the morning. As the gravity of this life-altering event sets in, Bull realizes he needs one last adventure with his pack of best friends as these are the last 24 hours with his balls.” The voice cast includes Adam Devine, Idris Elba, Kathryn Hahn, Fred Armisen, Bobby Moynihan, Beck Bennett, Michelle Buteau and River Gallo.

Vanessa Kirby already has one hit movie this summer thanks to her role as Sue Storm in Marvel’s “Fantastic Four: First Steps.” Can she get a second hit courtesy of Netflix? The streamer is debuting Kirby’s original drama “Night Always Comes” this month. From the official synopsis: “Based on the bestselling novel by Willy Vlautin, ‘Night Always Comes’ follows Lynette, a woman who risks everything to secure the house that represents a future for her family. On a dangerous odyssey through a single night, Lynette is forced to confront her dark past in order to finally break free.”

“The Truth About Jussie Smollett?” premieres this month on Netflix and takes a deep dive into the “Empire” star’s 2019 hate crime hoax. The documentary features interviews with police, lawyers, journalists and investigators who claim to have “new evidence about the case.” According to Netflix’s logline, the 90-minute doc tells the “shocking true story of an allegedly fake story that some now say might just be a true story.”

“Euphoria” breakout Barbie Ferreira leads “Bob Trevino Likes It” as Lily Trevino, an aimless 25-year-old slacker whose life takes an unexpected turn when she becomes Facebook friends with an older man (John Leguizamo) who shares her father’s name. From Variety’s review: “As an actor, Ferreira has an instinct for comic shading. She makes Lily as charismatically blinkered in her surface sunniness as Jack Black. Yet the key to Ferreira’s performance is that she never uses comedy as a crutch. She shows us, at every turn, the woman who’s buried under the compulsive nice-girl trappings, the woman who Lily herself can’t even see.”

Written and directed by Jimmy Warden, “Borderline” stars Ray Nicholson as Duerson, an obsessive fan of ’90s pop star Sofia, played by scream queen Samira Weaving. Convinced the pair are destined to get married, the deluded Duerson breaks into Sofia’s house with hopes of sweeping her off her feet. As Sofia tries to escape, the cat-and-mouse game between the two actors includes dark humor and unexpected twists and turns.

Naomi Watts headlines “The Friend,” a touching drama about a writer and editor whose literary mentor commits suicide and leaves her with his Great Dane to care for. The film is written and directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, the team behind “The Deep End” and “What Maisie Knew,” and co-stars Bill Murray, Sarah Pidgeon, Carla Gugino, Constance Wu, Noma Dumezweni and Ann Dowd. But the standout is Bing, the 145-pound Great Dane who steals every scene in which he appears.

Athina Rachel Tsangari’s folktale “Harvest” premieres on Mubi this month. The synopsis reads: “A townsman-turned-farmer, Walter Thirsk (Caleb Landry-Jones), and befuddled lord of the manor, Charles Kent (Harry Melling), are childhood friends facing an invasion from the outside world. The agrarian community, entirely dependent on the land, is disrupted by three breeds of outsiders: the mapmaker (Arinze Kene), the company man (Frank Dillane), and migrants from another place, all representing the trauma of impending modernity.”

Guy Pearce headlines the Paramount+ original movie “The Infernal Machine,” starring as a reclusive and controversial author who is drawn out of hiding when he begins to receive endless letters from an obsessive fan. What ensues is a dangerous labyrinth as he searches for the person behind the cryptic messages.

Oscar winner “Conclave” arrives on Prime Video this month at no extra cost to subscribers. Ralph Fiennes gives a quietly conflicted performance as a Catholic cardinal struggling between devotion and doubt. It’s Fiennes’ job to oversee the selection of a new pope in this thinking man’s thriller. Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, “Conclave” lobs one of the most satisfying twists in years.

Mel Gibson directed Mark Wahlberg in “Flight Risk,” which centers on an in-flight face-off between Wahlberg’s psycho killer and Michelle Dockery’s FBI agent. She’s been tasked with escorting a government witness (Topher Grace) to trial; the killer has got a contract to shoot the turncoat before he can sing. The two collide on a small plane that’s charting a course over the Alaskan wilderness.

After making its streaming debut on Netflix earlier this year, the January box office hit “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” arrives on Prime Video this month at no extra cost to subscribers. The movie opened in the No. 1 spot at the North American box office and grossed more than $32 million. Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr. team up in the crime thriller as an LASD sheriff and a suspected thief who join forces to pull of a robbery in Europe. The movie is inspired by the real-life Antwerp diamond heist that took place in 2003. A third film in the “Den of Thieves” franchise is already in active development.

Samara Weaving and Karl Glusman star in Searchlight Pictures’ high-speed thriller “Eenie Meenie,” which skips theaters and premieres exclusively on Hulu this month. The official synopsis reads: “The original film follows a former teenage getaway driver who is dragged back into her unsavory past when a previous employer offers her the chance to save the life of her chronically unreliable ex-boyfriend.”