Movies

The Best TV Shows And Movies Coming To HBO Max In September 2022

Lynne Ramsay's Ratcatcher Pathé Distribution
By Erin Brady/

The future of HBO Max is a bit strange right now, a fact that has been widely documented over the past couple of weeks. A lot of programming, both acquired and original, has been wiped with little warning, and the programming that survives now has a rocky future ahead of it. The decisions being made over at Warner Bros. Discovery regarding these removals have been controversial at the very best, but all we can really do is sit back and watch what happens live.

At the same time, it's hard to deny that the incoming movies and television shows in September look pretty interesting. You've got Warner Bros. theatrical releases finally hitting streaming, season premieres of shows arriving after far too long of hiatuses, and even some programs from the Discovery+ Magnolia Network. Whatever your mood, it's likely that HBO Max will be adding something that tickles your fancy in September. Here are five releases we think you should check out, as well as the complete list of movies and television shows that will be dropping throughout the month of September.

Elvis

Austin Butler in Elvis Warner Bros.

Are you ready to hear Elvis sing the Santa Claus song again? We sure are, and thank goodness we'll now be able to stream those wonderful performances on HBO Max. While "Elvis" certainly isn't everyone's cup of tea, you can't deny that it has an infectious energy to it that can't be easily matched anymore.

Sure, the musician biopic subgenre of film seems a bit crowded right now, and if "Bohemian Rhapsody" taught us anything, it's that not all of these movies are of the highest quality. However, you can't accuse director Baz Luhrmann of slacking off with this frantic and idealistic portrait of an American icon. Austin Butler's on-point interpretation of the singer and Tom Hanks' cartoonish depiction of Colonel Tom Parker are some of the year's most compelling performances. As /Film's Rafael Motamayor put it in his review from Cannes, "Elvis" is essentially a comic book movie without the superheroes, and thank goodness for that.

Cat People

Simone Simon in Cat People RKO Radio Pictures

Although Paul Verhoeven's 1982 remake often comes to mind when this title is mentioned, the 1942 original is still an essential part of horror canon. Jacques Tourneur's story of love, lust, and cats may not be as obviously steamy due to its production during the reign of the Hays Code. However, you'd have to be watching this movie with your eyes closed if you can't feel the sexual tension between Simone Simon's Irena and Kent Smith's Oliver.

"Cat People" may not be the most terrifying movie, as its restrictions in terms of violence and sexuality can come off as pretty corny. However, that is what makes it all the more compelling to watch from a history-based point of view. Horror during the Hayes Code had to get extremely creative in its storytelling, which resulted in some of the most memorable and iconic horror movies that are still referenced to this day. "Cat People" is one of these movies, and although it might not be as steamy as its remake released forty years later, it is still worth a watch.

We're All Going to the World's Fair

Anna Cobb in We're All Going to the World's Fair Utopia

Jane Schoenbrun's debut feature made quite the splash back at Sundance in 2021, and appropriately so. While quiet and simple in its delivery, "We're All Going to the World's Fair" provides one of the best looks at Internet culture put to film. The acting debut of Anna Cobb as a teenager finding her life consumed by an ARG (alternate reality game) is one that feels all too familiar to people whose entire coming-of-age involved the evolution of the Internet.

It also highlights something that many explorations of social media fail to acknowledge; sometimes, the internet can be kind of a good place. While the film forces Cobb's Casey through some depressing stuff, it ultimately is a showcase of how access to information not otherwise available in real life can be life-changing for young people. The internet and what it can host is a double-edged sword, but according to Schoenbrun, it is a sword still worth wielding.

Ratcatcher

Ratcatcher Pathé Distribution

Watching the debut movie of an iconic director is always an interesting experience. You get to see the evolution of their cinematic voice from the very beginning; maybe they had a strong grasp on their style from the very beginning, or perhaps it was something they eventually grew into. In Lynne Ramsay's case, her debut was a confident one that many still consider among her best.

Being minimalist in its dialogue and intense in its imagery, "Ratcatcher" is a movie that isn't easily available to stream in a lot of places. It's a hard movie to summarize because of this, but that's a bit of a given considering how Ramsay visualizes her plots rather than explaining them. What can be explained is that it explores how growing up is both an exciting and terrifying time, the mysteries that aging brings sometimes being hard to stomach. Trust us when we say you won't feel the same after watching it.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 The Cannon Group

So, let's transition over to something completely different. The original "Texas Chain Saw Massacre" is a classic that can never be replicated, no matter how hard people try and recreate it. With that in mind, why bother recreating it at all? That's the question that Tobe Hooper posed with this cult classic, which saw the violence of the Sawyer Family get turned up to almost comical levels. While the reception upon release was pretty mixed, it has gotten a well-deserved reappraisal.

"Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2" is an exercise in excess; there is more blood, more guts, more chainsaws, and of course, more Leatherface. There are also far more colorful and boisterous characters, especially Dennis Hopper's gonzo performance as the lord of the harvest, Lieutenant Lefty Enright. It's a movie that you can just have fun watching, something you don't have to think about too much. Just sit back and let the carnage flow.

Movies and TV shows coming to HBO Max in August 2022

Los Espookys HBO

September 1

  • The Accused, 1988

  • Airplane II: The Sequel, 1982

  • Airplane!, 1980

  • Andy Hardy Comes Home, 1958

  • Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever, 1939

  • Andy Hardy Meets a Debutante, 1940

  • Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble, 1944

  • Andy Hardy's Double Life, 1942

  • Andy Hardy's Private Secretary, 1941

  • Angela, 1995

  • Another Thin Man, 1939

  • The Bad and the Beautiful, 1952

  • Bandslam, 2009

  • The Beach Bum, 2019

  • Beau Travail, 1999

  • Cat People, 1942

  • The Courtship of Andy Hardy, 1942

  • Divergent, 2014

  • The Divergent Series: Allegiant, 2016

  • The Divergent Series: Insurgent, 2015

  • Double Trouble, 1967

  • Dragon Blade, 2015

  • Elvis on Tour, 1972

  • The Eyes of My Mother, 2016

  • The Eyes of Orson Welles, 2018

  • Frankenstein, 1970

  • Girl Happy, 1965

  • Glory, 1989

  • Harper, 1966

  • Holiday, 1930

  • Hook, Line and Sinker, 1931

  • The Host, 2013

  • Hot Tub Time Machine, 2010

  • In the Fade, 2017

  • It Happened at the World's Fair, 1963

  • Jailhouse Rock, 1957

  • Killer Elite, 2011

  • The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, 1972

  • Life of Crime, 2014

  • Meet Dave, 2008

  • Melancholia, 2011

  • My Bloody Valentine, 1981

  • My Week with Marilyn, 2011

  • The Nitwits, 1935

  • The Oklahoma Kid, 1939

  • Operation Crossbow, 1965

  • The Outfit, 1973

  • Please Stand By, 2017

  • Ratcatcher, 1999

  • Red Dust, 1932

  • The Ring Two, 2005

  • Rita, Sue and Bob Too, 1987

  • Road to Singapore, 1931

  • Rocknrolla, 2008

  • Rosetta, 1999

  • The Scapegoat, 1959

  • The Sea Wolf, 1941

  • Screaming Eagles, 1956

  • Shadow Dancer, 2012

  • Shadow of the Thin Man, 1941

  • Song of the Thin Man, 1947

  • Spinout, 1966

  • The Tailor of Panama, 2001

  • Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, 1986

  • There Was a Crooked Man, 1970

  • Till the End of Time, 1946

  • Topsy-Turvy, 1999

  • Torpedo Run, 1958

  • Varda by Agnès, 2019

  • Village of the Damned, 1960

  • Waterloo Bridge, 1940

  • We're All Going To The World's Fair, 2021

  • What Lies Beneath, 2000

  • Where the Boys Are, 1960

  • Wild Hogs, 2007

  • Woman Walks Ahead, 2017

  • Working Girls, 1986

  • Young Guns, 1988

  • Young Guns II, 1990

  • Zandy's Bride, 1974

September 2

  • Elvis, 2022

  • Total Dramarama, Season 3B Premiere

September 3

  • Sesame Street Mecha Builders, Season 1C Premiere

September 4

  • Primera, 2021

  • The Vampire Diaries, Seasons 1-8

September 5

  • Beauty and the Bandit, 1946

September 7

  • The Brave One, 1956

  • Young Sheldon, Season 5

September 9

  • HBO First Look: See How They Run, Season Premiere

  • Moonfall, 2022

  • Saving The King (aka Salvar al Rey), Max Original Season 1

  • Tom Swift, Season 1

September 10

  • Impractical Jokers, Season 9C

  • Impractical Jokers, Season 9C Specials

September 12

  • The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de La Cruz, 1955

September 14

  • Tammy, 2014

September 15

  • Dos Monjes, 1934

  • Lucia, 1968

September 16

  • Good Behavior, Seasons 1-2

  • Los Espookys, Season 2 Premiere

September 17

  • Secret Origin Of The Batwheels

September 21

  • Escape From Kabul, 2022

September 22

  • The Hype, Max Original Season 2 Premiere

  • Living Single, Seasons 1-5

September 23

  • Who's Talking to Chris Wallace? Season 1 Premiere

September 28

  • Hostages, Documentary Series Premiere

  • Into the Storm, 2014

September 29

  • Looney Tunes Cartoons (S5B) Halloween Special Max Original Premiere

September 30

  • Bing, Season 1C

  • Gotham, Seasons 1-5

  • The Cabin Chronicles, Seasons 1-2

  • The Courage to Run with Chip Gaines & Gabe Grunewald, Special

  • The Craftsman, Season 1

  • The Established Home, Season 1

  • Family Dinner, Seasons 1-2

  • Fixer Upper (Five-Season Library)

  • Fixer Upper: Behind the Design, Season 1

  • Fixer Upper: Welcome Home, Season 1

  • For the Love of Kitchens, Season 1

  • Growing Floret, Season 1

  • Homegrown, Seasons 1-2

  • In with the Old, Season 1

  • Inn the Works, Seasons 1-2

  • The Johnnyswim Show, Seasons 1-2

  • The Lost Kitchen, Seasons 1-2

  • Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines, Seasons 1-6

  • Maine Cabin Masters, Season 7

  • Making Modern with Brooke and Brice, Seasons 1-2

  • Point of View: A Designer Profile

  • Ranch to Table, Seasons 1-2

  • Restoration Road with Clint Harp, Seasons 1-2

  • The Retro Plant Shop with Mikey and Jo, Season 1

  • Silos Baking Competition

  • Van Go, Seasons 1-2

  • Where We Call Home, Seasons 1-2

Recommended