Verity to Digger: 12 of the best films to watch this October

From a dark thriller adapted from a Colleen Hoover novel to a satirical farce about an eccentric oil billionaire, here are the films to watch and stream at home this month.

Tom Cruise has spent the last decade becoming Hollywood's premier action hero, showing off his daredevil stunts – and his energetic running – in Mission: Impossible, Jack Reacher and The Mummy. But now, it seems, he's ready for a change. His new film, Digger, is a bizarre satirical farce from Alejandro G Iñárritu, the Mexican director of Amores Perros, Birdman and The Revenant. Cruise – yes, that's him beneath the prosthetic make-up – plays an eccentric oil billionaire named Digger Rockwell. His company has caused a climate change-related catastrophe, so the US president (John Goodman) gives him the job of undoing the damage, with the help of his sister (Sandra Hüller) and a government scientist (Riz Ahmed). Can he save the world? And will audiences pay to see Cruise swearing and clowning, rather than jumping off buildings?

Released on 1 and 2 October internationally

2. Sense and Sensibility

Ang Lee's 1995 film of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility was nominated for seven Oscars, so it's brave of anyone to make another big-screen version of the same novel. On the other hand, Austen fever is raging once again. In December, there's a new Netflix mini-series of Pride and Prejudice, and this month sees the release of a wistful, atmospheric Sense and Sensibility directed by Georgia Oakley (Blue Jean). Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles star as the Dashwood sisters, who are pushed out of their family home after their father's death. George Mackay, Herbert Nordrum and Frank Dillane play the sisters' suitors, Edward Ferrars, Colonel Brandon and John Willoughby. And Fiona Shaw steals the show as their hearty benefactor, Mrs Jennings. The BBC's Molly Gorman says that the film is "visually stunning, and the naturalistic cinematography of England's countryside sets a romantic tone".

Released on 16 October in the US and Canada, and internationally throughout October

Verity is the fourth film in the last three years to be adapted from a Colleen Hoover novel – the biggest one being 2024's mega-hit, It Ends with Us – but it has its own darkly thrilling tone. Anne Hathaway stars as the titular Verity, an author who is left comatose by a car accident, halfway through writing the final novel in her best-selling series. Her husband (Josh Hartnett) hires a ghost-writer (Dakota Johnson) to finish the job, but once she moves into the couple's house, she suspects that Verity might not be as badly injured as she appears. "It's way different than the other Colleen Hoover books," Hartnett said in an interview with Lauren Veneziani. "It's sexy, it's mysterious and it's a little bit gothic and a little bit scary, and it's wild. And I think it's going to be surprising for audiences."

Released on 1 and 2 October internationally

This Halloween's creepiest-looking horror film has an impeccable pedigree. It's adapted from a novel by Josh Malerman (Bird Box), directed by Rob Savage (Host), and produced by James Wan (Saw, Insidious, and countless other Hollywood chillers). It also offers two Jessica Chastain performances for the price of one. She plays Ursula, who is devoted to their eight-year-old daughter, Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark). And she plays Ursula's demonic doppelganger, who talks to Bela when no one else is around. "The whole thesis of this book is, well, what if this actually happened to you and your family?" Savage said in Empire. "What would you actually do? What decisions would you make, that aren't movie decisions? Real-life decisions."

Released on 8 and 9 October internationally

5. The Social Reckoning

The Social Network was one of the best films of 2010. Written by Aaron........

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