Welcome to What to Watch Right Now, our weekly rundown of the best things to watch right now. The constant stream of shows, videos, and films to watch online can become a sludge to wade through, so here are a few things you can watch courtesy of the Rolling Stone Philippines team. Whether it’s a new film, a video essay, or even a home video release you should own (physical media is now available!), we hope it can ease the burden of selecting which streaming platform to use or discover a new cinematic odyssey.
This week, horror films like The Long Walk, Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara, and two episodes from The X-Files had us in their grasp (and hey, for the stoner/gamer/scaredycat, might we recommend Five Nights at Freddy’s?). And, on the flip side, the second season of Nobody Wants This, Abbott Elementary’s episode with the Philadelphia Phillies, and Bar Boys all helped us laugh through the week.
‘The Long Walk’
‘The Hunger Games’ but with a more focused look at fascism
Halloween is always the perfect time to visit (or revisit) the works of Stephen King. This year, several adaptations are in the lineup, including the recently released The Long Walk by Francis Lawrence, director of The Hunger Games. The film stars Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson, two of the many young boys who volunteered for the annual Long Walk event, led by the Major (Mark Hamill), a menacing figure in dystopian America’s regime, egging on the participants to reach the finish line. The catch: only one of them can make it out alive. If their walk falls under three miles per hour, they will be executed. No breaks, no sleep, not even a pee or poo break.
One by one, the boys fall, but factions form along the way, unraveling each participant’s motivations for joining the deadly event. With all the Major’s talk of hoo-rah, revitalizing-the-desolate-heartland-with-bravery speech, it all feels too real and cruel to even make it to the film’s end. But you will. — Don Jaucian
The X-Files: ‘Home’ and ‘The Host’ episodes
The series’ monster of the week feature has always been one of its showstoppers
A one-off creature feature in The X-Files almost feels like an outlier given the series’ overarching theme. But in the early days, when the show was still finding its footing, these episodes served as showstoppers, giving us some of the unforgettable creatures to appear this side of the television screen. In the second season, a sewer monster called The Fulkeworm terrorizes New Jersey, making for one of the most memorable monster reveals of the series. In the fourth season episode ‘Home,’ the creatures aren’t exactly ‘monsters’ per se, but their horrifying demeanor, a result of decades of inbreeding, makes for arguably the scariest episode of the series. — Don Jaucian
Abbott Elementary’s Phillies’ Episode
The most chaotic neutral episode of the series yet
Filming anything live can be a logistical nightmare, but filming a sitcom episode live in the middle of a Phillies game, with thousands of baseball fans packed into Citizens Bank Park, and with Phillies left fielder Kyle Schwarber making history by hitting four home runs — even the most stalwart production crew would have thrown in the towel.
But the team behind the Golden Globe-winning comedy series Abbott Elementary made it happen. Our favorite teachers from Philadelphia have made it to the ball game, and each one have their own side quests going on: Janine (Quinta Brunson) is trying to get into baseball for her beau Gregory (Tyler James Williams), Ava (Janelle James) is trying to get on the Kiss Cam, Jacob (Chris Perfetti) and Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter) are going for the 9-9-9 challenge, and Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph) is screaming at Kyle Schwarber to work on his swing. — Mel Wang
‘Bar Boys’
An earnest barkada movie masquerading as a law school drama
If you’re in search of a low-stakes, hangout movie with some legal spice mixed in — or if you just need more content after enjoying Barefoot Theater Collaborative’s musical spin on the story — then turn to Bar Boys. Join aspiring lawyers Torran (Rocco Nacino), Chris (Enzo Pineda), Erik (Carlo Aquino), and, well, to some extent, Joshua (Kean Cipriano) as they enter law school with the hopes of leaving their mark on the Philippine justice system.
Is the movie a little too macho and “bro-ey” at times? Sure. But it’s sincere in its storytelling, captures the stress of law school almost impeccably, and its ensemble cast — including Odette Khan as the sharp-tongued courtroom diva, Justice Hernandez — is just one of the reasons why Bar Boys has reached cult favorite status. — Mel Wang
‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’
An admirable take on a beloved video game series (but that’s just a theory….)
As someone who grew up playing Five Nights at Freddy’s (FNAF), binge-watching Markiplier’s gameplay videos, and picking apart all of MatPat’s Game Theory videos, I must say two things: 1) I had a lot of free time in high school, and 2) the cinematic adaptation of FNAF is good. Despite the naysayers from both the critic and die-hard gamer camps, FNAF the movie does its job as a campy, silly horror flick. It’s not meant to be the most accurate retelling of all of the game’s lore (which, by the way, would be way too much to fit into a roughly two-hour runtime). It’s not meant to be taken seriously at all — I can’t stress this enough. Still, it’s a movie about the ghosts of children possessing life-sized animatronics at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. FNAF is definitely not cinema at its finest, but it has enough bloody scares, creepy plot twists, and a left-field pillow fort-making montage to keep you entertained. — Mel Wang
‘Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara’
Horror with a dash of soapy romantic drama
Looking for a local classic to stream this Halloween? Chito S. Roño’s 1995 film Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara delivers all the chills. A remake of Celso Castillo’s 1975 horror film, this tale of sisterly love turned supernatural nightmare stars Lorna Tolentino and Dawn Zulueta as Barbara and Ruth, respectively. If this spooked you as a kid, rewatch it on ABS-CBN Star Cinema’s YouTube channel and entertain yourself again with the scares and the melodrama. — Pie Gonzaga
‘Nobody Wants This’ Season 2
The aging millennials’ must-watch romcom of the season
To say that The O.C. and Adam Brody’s Seth Cohen changed the course of my life is an understatement. So to see Brody flourish once more as the charismatic lead in a TV dramedy is both a throwback and a validation of why so many love him. The first season of Netflix’s breakout hit Nobody Wants This gave us a delightful romcom of a show with charm to spare, and the latest season aims to ramp that up even more. Seeing Brody and Kristen Bell (We will love you forever, Veronica Mars) together again is exactly what weekend binge-watching was made for. — Jonty Cruz
