The best: Movies and TV shows to watch on Amazon Prime part two ft. Mr. Mercedes, Zodiac & more,

A detective thriller series that is based on the Bill Hodges book trilogy by Stephen King. It’s intriguing, it has a fantastic set of nuanced characters and is extremely dark and harrowing. Beware: very bingeable.

Two incredible examples of superb Victorian-era dramas. Ripper Street is an eloquently written detective series following the police as they delve deep into Whitechapel’s dark underbelly in a post-Jack The Ripper London. What is fascinating is the way that they incorporate the technical evolution of human history and the history of forensic science in the industrial revolution into the also very human-led narratives. Penny Dreadful is a supernatural fantasy drama which has fantastic tie-ins to iconic creatures of literature and film including Frankenstien, Dorian Gray and Dracula to name but a few. Both are exquisitely made and have incredible production values, stunning title sequences and breathtaking scores and cinematography.

For fans of The Shining or Stanley Kubrick, this documentary looks deeper into the world created in the former and attempts to decode some of the iconic film’s hidden secrets and concealed messages. Intriguing stuff.

What can I say about Six Feet Under? It’s one of the best (and most underrated) television shows of all time. Truly beautiful in every way; poignant, sad, funny, progressive and groundbreaking (in terms of style and content); thoroughly leading the way for what we now consider ‘cinematic television’ in the present day televisual landscape. I’ve never been able to find a television show that beats this. The opening titles, cinematography and score are spectacular and it’s written by the fantastic Alan Ball (American Beauty, True Blood).

An intriguingly made film with a fantastic score from Thom Yorke (Radiohead), Suspiria is a reimagining of the original Italian Suspiria (1977), a supernatural horror which follows a young American dancer who joins a renowned but mysterious dance school and uncovers its dark, sinister secrets.

An American comedy-drama that follows the Pfefferman family on their discovery that their father is a trans woman called Maura. A great exploration of family dynamics and the trans community that will make you laugh and cry.

A truly subversive, supernatural fantasy horror series set in southern Louisiana which takes place in a version of our world where vampires are known to humans and have become part of our society and explores the sociopolitical and personal tribulations of such a world. It executes a much seen yet relevant allegory for discrimination but despite that its still a fun, sexy, exciting and original look at the (often tiresome) vampire mythology, written by Alan Ball. Think Six Feet Under meets Buffy… yes please.

Vikings is an intense and brutal historical drama based loosely on the norse legend of Ragnar Lothbrok, his kin, their rise to power and the trials and tribulations of the period. It is an absolutely stunning piece of television, with cinematography and a score to remember and a standout title sequence. It also features body-horror gore SFX on a level that’s not for the fainthearted and a kick-ass female lead in Ragnar’s wife, Lagertha.

Upgrade is an underrated, cyberpunk science fiction body horror film which slipped under the radar for many but was one of the most surprisingly good films of 2018. It follows a technophobe who becomes quadriplegic following an attack on his partner. When a rich scientist offers him technology that will restore his mobility (and much more) he exacts his revenge. A simple premise but nonetheless an impressively made little film (the VFX, cinematography and action choreography is superb).

Zodiac is a psychological thriller based on the unsolved murders of the Zodiac serial killer in the 1960s and 1970s. Directed by David Fincher (Se7en, Gone Girl) It’s an anxiety-inducing thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat… and sometimes behind your seat.