What’s New to Stream on Amazon Prime for September 2021

Crossing the Streams is our series of guides looking at all the offerings hitting the big streaming services each month. This time we’re checking out the new Amazon Prime arrivals for September 2021 including a new film from Melanie Laurent, a YA horror trilogy, and more!

Amazon Prime Pick of the Month for September 2021

Amazon Prime appears to be in the middle of a transition of some kind. Their new offerings are fairly slight, and the streaming service itself has become a nightmare to browse. Those two things are unrelated, but I blame their upcoming Lord of the Rings series for both issues all the same. I digress. Prime has four Original Films premiering this month. Cinderella (premieres September 3rd) appears to be the highest-profile with its fairy tale reboot starring Camila Cabello in the title role alongside Billy Porter, Idina Menzel, Pierce Brosnan, Minnie Driver, and more. The Voyeurs (premieres September 10th) and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (premieres September 17th) are the next two.

The fourth, final, and most interesting Original Film, though, is Melanie Laurent’s The Mad Woman’s Ball (premieres September 17th). Laurent writes, directs, and stars in this dramatic thriller about a young woman in the 19th century whose claim to communicate with the dead lands her in an asylum. Her fate is all but sealed before a nurse (Laurent) sympathizes with her plight and helps plan an escape. The film is based on a novel, but I’m hoping to go into it blind so I’m unsure if the girl’s power is real, if they succeed in escaping, or if she’s simply suffering from hysteria.

A Splash of Horror

October is just around the corner, but it’s never the wrong time to bust out some horror flicks. The first to come crawling out of the gate is Frank Marshall’s wonderfully creepy and fun Arachnophobia (1990). It’s nightmare fuel for folks afraid of spiders, but it’s no walk in the park for the rest of us either as Marshall and friends do a bang-up job crafting suspenseful scares and unsettling set-pieces. Add in a great cast including Jeff Daniels, John Goodman, Harley Jane Kozak, Julian Sands, and more, and you have a gateway horror film that you’ll never outgrow.

By contrast, The Descent (2006) is nightmare fuel for pretty much anyone and everyone with a special focus on those who suffer from claustrophobia. A group of female friends go spelunking and find humanoid terrors awaiting them. They’re stalked and slaughtered through the tunnels and caverns, but writer/director Neil Marshall gives them even more to worry about in the form of secrets and lies. The performances are strong, the production/creature design is aces, and the ending is perfection (provided you’re watching the original UK cut).

As Above, So Below (2014) (premieres September 16th) isn’t quite up to those two films’ level, but I’ll admit that a rewatch did raise my opinion on the film considerably. The film has some die-hard fans who sing its praises constantly, and it’s easy enough to see why as it delivers set-pieces and production design well beyond the typical “found footage” film. The story also stands apart with some atypical threats coming our protagonists’ way en route to an equally unlikely ending.

A Dash of Action

20th Century Fox

Just as horror is always welcome year-round, action films are too, and with that in mind here are a few gems with rewatching this month. First up, one of the best action hits of the 80s, John McTiernan’s Die Hard (1988). It remains an example of a film that delivers at every turn without a single false or empty note. Bruce Willis excels as the everyman hero, Alan Rickman doubles down as the classy villain, Bonnie Bedelia steals the show, Paul Gleason & William Atherton compete for Perfect Asshole awards, and Hart Bochner makes a throwaway character unforgettable.

Renny Harlin’s Die Hard 2 (1990) is also new to stream, but we’re going to ignore that one and jump straight to Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995). McTiernan returns and pairs Willis with Samuel L. Jackson for a face-off against Hans Gruber’s brother played by Jeremy Irons. It’s big, it’s funny, it’s legitimately thrilling, and it makes some casual but smart observations along the way.

Joe Carnahan’s big-screen adaptation of The A-Team (2010) can’t compete with Die Hard (or its second sequel), but it’s harmless entertainment that some folks have a lot of fun with. Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, Henry Czerny, and Patrick Wilson make it worthwhile while Quinton Jackson and Sharlto Copley also star. Prime is offering the unrated cut of the film as well. I’m of the opinion that The Losers (2010) is the better version of this tale, but that’s not new this month to stream.

Some YA Thrills

Young adult books and movies typically fall into one of three categories. There’s first romance, uh oh cancer, and someone’s killing my friends. I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) falls into that last category and is one of the more successful attempts at bringing YA thrills to the screen. Lois Duncan’s bestselling book gets a minor upgrade and a hot young cast in Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Freddie Prinze Jr., and it finds fun in its set-pieces and killer hooks. The wittily titled follow-up, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998), is also new to stream this month, and while it pales beside the original it still finds some thrills. Finally, the direct-to-DVD I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer (2006) is also here for your perusal.

Karyn Kusama’s Jennifer’s Body (2009) didn’t find the same blockbuster audience as the teen slasher above, but thankfully audiences have been rediscovering it over the years and recognizing it for the fun, smart horror/comedy that it is. Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried star as best friends who have a rift when one of them becomes a demonic succubus. It all unfolds in the guise of a little horror film. But there’s some serious commentary at play here for those paying attention. There’s also a killer Adam Brody performance which is never a bad thing.

The Complete Amazon Prime List for September 2021

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Related Topics: Amazon Prime, Crossing the Streams

Rob Hunter has been writing for Film School Rejects since before you were born, which is weird seeing as he's so damn young. He's our Chief Film Critic and Associate Editor and lists 'Broadcast News' as his favorite film of all time. Feel free to say hi if you see him on Twitter @FakeRobHunter.