Prime Small Screen Selections: 7 Essential Films In the Days Ahead

Pick of the Week

The Substance

Coralie Fargeat's bold commentary addresses the oppressive nature of women's appearance along with the feared consequences of growing older. Hollywood star Demi Moore offers a brilliant acting turn in the role of Elisabeth, a mature film star demoted to presenting a workout series on the small screen. Edged out due to her unscrupulous employer Harvey, played by Dennis Quaid, she turns to a secretive and horrifying procedure titled "The Substance". This generates a youthful duplicate named Sue, leading to a steadily more toxic connection among both women. October 17th, Paramount Plus

The Woman in Cabin 10

This Agatha Christie-esque mystery includes Knightley in the role of Laura, an ace reporter who opts for a hiatus from reporting on world issues to join a high-end voyage with a terminally ill Norwegian shipping heiress and donor, her husband, as well as other extremely wealthy guests. However when an enigmatic female goes overboard during the evening and the entire crew denies she ever existed, her journalistic curiosity awaken. Out now, the Netflix platform

Presence

Soderbergh challenges his film-making abilities through this nifty supernatural story captured wholly from the perspective of a ghost. After a clan with Lucy Liu as Rebekah plus Callina Liang as Chloe settles into their recent residence, the filming device – as the unseen entity – follows them around. The daughter appears sensing the ghostly being, and it looks like protective of her. However, the motive remains? This is an entertaining concept that avoids overstaying, with a twist that may be unexpected. Saturday 11 October, multiple showings, the Sky channel

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Cage fully commits to his unique fame via this autobiographical spoof. He portrays a narcissistic celebrity called Nicolas Cage who takes on a lucrative offer to attend a birthday party on the Spanish island for billionaire Javi, played by Pedro Pascal. Contacted by government spies to spy on the alleged criminal, the actor's unconventional method proves useful. This Saturday, 9pm, Channel 4

The Black Phone Horror

Derrickson's contained scarefest stands strong despite the lack of a continuation. Taking place in 1970s Colorado, a series of disappearances has made the local kids frightened. Once Finney is kidnapped by the villain and locked up in a basement, he dreads a fatal end. But the old telephone mounted nearby repeatedly calls, with ghostly voices providing assistance, while the prescient dreams from his sibling Gwen might rescue him. A genuinely scary movie. October 11th, nighttime, Film4

The Eyes of Tammy Faye

In the conflict between spirituality and money, the victory is clear for greed in this director's brilliantly over-the-top biopic about the fallen TV preacher and her felon spouse. Andrew Garfield acts as the venal Jim, who declares at the beginning, asserting religious justification for riches. He and Tammy Faye set about profiting from the people's spiritual convictions. It's a riot of tacky decor, bad makeup and insincerity, however Jessica Chastain manages to show Tammy Faye in a likable light. Tuesday 14 October, early morning, Film4

Black Bag

This period's additional entry from Steven Soderbergh presents a spy mystery as sharp similar to the collars used by the actor's UK spy. He is tasked to discover a traitor among the team from five suspects – one of whom is Kathryn, played by Cate Blanchett. Both actors are masters of deadpan cool, leading to a delightful psychological game of truth or lie develops. Tom Burke, Regé-Jean Page, Naomie Harris and Marisa Abela participate the clever spy entertainment. Friday 17 October, multiple time slots, Sky Cinema Premiere