Lionsgate Play's Most Binge-Worthy September Releases for the 'Ber Season

As the days get shorter and cooler, find your perfect stay-at-home companion in Lionsgate Play. Into heart-stopping thrillers? Or are you in the mood for a thought-provoking drama or laugh-out-loud comedy? 

Whatever your preference, Lionsgate Play is your ultimate destination for all your entertainment cravings this September. Make sure to save the dates, stock up on your favorite snacks, and lose yourself in these engrossing stories. Keep an eye out for more updates!

 

Series Premieres

 

Starstruck S3 - Release Date: 1st September 2023

 

Starring Kiwi comedian Rose Matafeo (who is also the show’s creator and co-writer), Starstruck is a refreshing and relatable romantic comedy series set in London, following a millennial navigating two dead-end jobs and the awkward aftermath of a one-night stand. Things take an unexpected turn when she discovers that her fling is actually a famous film star, adding a hilarious layer of complications to her already chaotic life. 

 

Heels S2 - Release Date: 22nd September 2023

 

A compelling and character-driven drama series, Heels explores the intense rivalry between two brothers in the world of professional wrestling. Set in small-town Georgia, brothers Jack Spade (Stephen Amell) and Ace Spade (Alexander Ludwig) clash as Jack assumes the role of the villain, or "heel," while Ace embraces the hero persona, known as the "face." Their battle extends beyond the ring as they vie for control of their late father's wrestling promotion, yearning for national recognition.

 

More exciting content this month

 

The Swing of Things - Release Date: 1st September 2023

 

In the comedy film The Swing of Things, Tom (Chord Overstreet) and Laura Jane's (Olivia Culpo) dream wedding takes an unexpected turn when bad weather diverts them to a swinger's resort in Jamaica instead of their intended Bahamas destination. With their friends, parents, and Laura's overprotective brother in tow, the couple must contend with booze, weed, naked bodies, and even lusty dolphins on their way to the altar. 

 

The Bank Job - Release Date: 8th September 2023

 

Based on the real-life 1971 burglary of Lloyds Bank safety deposit boxes, The Bank Job is a heist thriller film starring action-hero  Jason Statham and Saffron Burrows. Terry Leather, a London car dealer, is presented with a tempting offer by Martine, a former model from Terry’s old neighborhood. Martine proposes a plan to rob a bank on Baker Street, targeting a roomful of valuable safe deposit boxes filled with cash, jewelry, and potentially incriminating secrets. Assembling a team of amateurs, Terry must overcome their limited experience to pull off the daring heist involving powerful individuals, including a Trinidadian thug, a bordello owner, and a pornographer, who also have stakes in the bank's vault. 

 

Howards End - Release Date: 8th September 2023

 

Adapted from E.M. Forster's acclaimed 1910 novel, Howards End is a captivating British-American television drama that delves into the social and class divisions prevalent in early 20th century England. The story revolves around three families: the wealthy Wilcoxes, the gentle and idealistic Schlegels, and the lower-middle-class Basts. As their lives intersect, the series explores the complexities and tensions arising from their disparate backgrounds. Starring Matthew Macfadyen, Hayley Atwell, and Philippa Coulthard, Howards End offers a compelling portrayal of societal dynamics, personal relationships, and the pursuit of happiness in a rapidly changing era.

 

Mr. Robot - Release Date: 15th September 2023

 

This gripping and psychologically intense series that follows Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek), a brilliant yet mentally unstable cybersecurity engineer and vigilante hacker. Battling social anxiety, dissociative identity disorder, depression, and drug addiction, Elliot finds solace in hacking people and exposing their secrets. His life takes a dramatic turn when he joins forces with the mysterious Mr. Robot and his hacktivist group, fsociety, in a mission to bring down the corrupt corporation he works for and erase all consumer debt.

 

Antebellum - Release Date: 29th September 2023

 

The thriller film Antebellum stars Janelle Monáe, who plays Veronica Henley, a successful author living in the 21st century. She awakens to a shocking and unimaginable reality, mysteriously transported back in time to a Southern slave plantation, where she is forced into a life of captivity and oppression. As Veronica fights to escape the horrors of her new existence, she becomes determined to unravel the mind-bending mystery behind her predicament before it's too late. 

 

Tune into Lionsgate Play on PLDT Home to watch all these exciting premieres.

Stream your favorite romantic films on Lionsgate Play

With so much content available for streaming these days, it’s easy to miss out on good movies and series. Two must-watch categories on our list are classics and modern romance that give us the feels to be in love. More than any other time of the year, summer is the best season to catch the love bug, whether it’s the kilig we’re looking for or the wistfulness over passions that didn’t work out.

 

The lazy days, especially when we’re on break, might as well give us enough free time to catch up and binge on titles that inspire these emotions. Here are five shows and films tackling love in all its forms: obsessive, cute, romantic, challenging, and ever-changing — all of which you can stream without interruption especially if you’ve got PLDT Home’s blazing fast and super reliable internet connection.

  

1. Letters to Juliet (2010)

This movie expertly weaves people’s notions of love from the Elizabethan era with the 21st century. Letters to Julietis set in Verona, Italy, where Shakespeare located three of his plays including Romeo and Juliet in 1594. There is a tourist attraction in Verona called Juliet’s House that features a balcony much like in the play, where letters that people write to Juliet are taped. 

 

The New Yorker fact checker Sophie (Amanda Seyfried, Mean Girls) visits the place with her fiancé chef Victor (Gael Garcia Bernal, The Motorcycle Diaries). One day, she finds a letter tucked behind a brick in the wall written 50 years ago by the then teenage English girl Claire (Vanessa Redgrave, Girl, Interrupted) to Lorenzo, whom she leaves behind in Italy. Claire writes an impassioned letter to Claire who, now widowed, comes to Verona with her short-tempered but protective grandson Charlie (Christopher Egan, The Prince). What follows is a story of fateful love and romance involving Sophie, Claire, and Charlie that you’ll need to follow and see through to the end.

 

Stream Letters to Juliet on Lionsgate Play.

 

2. Endless Love (1981)

Starring Brooke Shields (The Bachelor) as Jade and Martin Hewitt (Secret Games) as David, this romantic drama directed by Franco Zeffirelli was based on the eponymous book by Scott Spencer. 

 

In Endless Love, Jade lives in suburban Chicago with her bohemian, counter-culture family and falls in love with David. The two begin a sexually intense relationship that affects the 15-year-old Jade’s schooling, leading her father to ban David from their house for 30 days. This results in a chain of events that leads to tragedy and, ultimately, love.

Stream Endless Love on Lionsgate Play.

 

3. Summer Guys (2021)

The web drama series was filmed on Jeju island, South Korea, in the summer of 2020, starring Lee Jung Shin, Kang Mi Na, Kwon Hyun Bin, Lee Jung Shik, and Lim Na Young.

 

The title is derived from the beachfront bar Summer Guys, which is failing despite the popularity of the resort where it’s located. The barkeeper (Kang Mi Na) is determined to revive its glory days before summer begins and enlists the help of three friends who could be bartenders. One is an Ivy League graduate from a wealthy family, another is a devout Buddhist who wants to help people, and the third is a baseball player. It’s a summer to remember on an island known for its beaches, food, holidaymakers, and romance.

 

Stream Summer Guys on Viu.

 

4. My Summer Prince (2016)

My Summer Prince takes the Shakespearean literary device of mistaken identity that leads to love but in the very modern context of crisis management and public relations. Rebellious royal Prince Colin of Edgemere (Jack Turner, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow) is in small town Greenbriar in Idaho on a state visit when gets into mischief, for which he is arrested by the sheriff. His mother, Queen Rosalind, hires cutthroat PR boss Deidre Kelly (Lauren Holly, Crank: High Voltage) for damage control and she brings her assistant Mandy Cooper (Taylor Cole, 12 Rounds) along with her. 

 

Unfortunately for Deidre, she gets chickenpox when they land in Greenbriar. She is then forced to send her younger assistant Mandy to deal with the crisis. When Mandy is mistaken for Deidre by the Queen’s assistant Penelope and by extension the Prince, she doesn’t correct them until the deception gets too deep to walk back. Mandy and Prince Colin get to know each other as they strike a deal with the sheriff for him to do community work. The Prince, who is set to be engaged to Lady Isabella as soon as he gets back to Edgemere, falls in love with “Deidre” and finds that duty and what his heart desires don’t always have to be in conflict with each other.

Stream My Summer Prince on Lionsgate Play.

 

5. Rush to the Dead Summer (2017)

The Chinese TV series spans a period of 10 years for a group of friends, starting in summer when they are in high school. Starring Chen Xuedong, Zheng Shuang and Bai Jingting, the 2017 series is about friendship and betrayal between a quiet artist, a kind and sincere girl, and a protective friend who goes to prison for defending a friend.

The story follows them through graduation and after they go their separate ways and live their own lives. Like in real life, people grow and change — and not always for the better. The summer of their youth fades away and in comes reality with its lessons and hard-fought wins.

 

Stream Rush to the Dead Summer on Viu.

 

Keep that kilig flowing this summer and watch these romantic classics in crispier detail and uninterrupted through PLDT Home‘s fastest and strongest connection. Stream these titles on Lionsgate Play when you activate your complimentary voucher from PLDT Home and on Viu Premium for only P80 a month charged to your PLDT Home account.

 

Here are 10 of the spookiest flicks to make the next few days of vacay a weekend-long — yikes! — nightmare!

The Halloween season is here and with the long weekend approaching, it’s indeed the best time to enjoy some horror and thriller guilty pleasures in peace and (creepy) quiet.

PLDT Home customers can easily watch many of these blockbusters on Lionsgate Play by simply activating their free Lionsgate Play vouchers online until June 1, 2023. With every activation, PLDT Home customers will not only enjoy a scare-fest — they’ll also get the chance to win special prizes including a 65” LG OLED TV as part of the monthly raffle promo.

So, get your Lionsgate Play app and popcorn ready. 

Here are 10 of the spookiest flicks to make the next few days of vacay a weekend-long — yikes! — nightmare! 

Saw (movie series)

There are now nine Saw movies in the psychological thriller franchise featuring the serial killer Jigsaw. With the titular character testing his victims’ will to survive and skill at sawing off their limbs to find the key for their restraints, the Saw series takes you to witness the poor victims’ horrifying self-mutilation to save their loved ones. Lionsgate Play features Saw II, Saw IV, Saw VI, Saw: The Final Chapter, and Jigsaw.

  (Photo credits: Twisted Pictures)

Scream 4

The Scream franchise that started in 1996 produced one of the most popular Halloween costumes in history — Ghostface. In this fourth installment, Sidney Prescott from the first film’s set of protagonists returns to Woodsboro where the Ghostface Killer once terrorized. She is keen to promote her self-help book and to meet some old friends — and perhaps including an old friend. 

(Photo credits: The Weinstein Company)

 

The Grudge 2 and The Grudge 3

The sequels to the supernatural horror The Grudge follow the curse that’s born when someone dies in extreme rage or sorrow. The curse is an entity created where the death occurs and is passed from one victim to another. In TheGrudge 2, the protagonists become haunted by Kayako (who was killed in a horrific manner in the first movie) all while trying to put an end to the curse. The Grudge 3 is set after the events of the second installment, with Kayako’s ghost attacking the protagonist in an asylum. The curse from the original film continues with new characters becoming possessed.

(Photo credits: Columbia Pictures and Ghost House Pictures)

 

The Mist

Based on the novella by Stephen King, The Mist is a science-fiction horror film released in 2007. It revolves around a group of people from a small town in Maine who gets trapped in a supermarket following a power outage. An unnatural mist descends on the town and conceals monsters as tension rise among the survivors. Not only is this film chockful of scares — it also shows how the fear of the unknown and desperation can wreak havoc on one’s emotions.

(Photo credits: Dimension Films, Darkwoods Productions, and The Weinstein Company)

Open Water 2: Adrift

A treat for fans of psychological thrillers, the story revolves around a group of friends who jump off a yacht to swim, but with no one having lowered the ladder for them to get back. Two people and a baby are on the boat until only the baby is left aboard. Hysteria, fighting, and deaths occur while they tread water and try to figure out how to survive. Lionsgate also features Open Water, the original film based on the true story of divers finding themselves marooned in shark-infested waters.

 

(Photo credits: Orange Pictures and Shotgun Pictures)

 

The Perfect Student

The crime thriller begins when a student is brutally murdered on campus and her body is thrown into the ocean. The police suspect her roommate Jordan, but well-respected criminology professor Nicole Johnson believes someone is trying to frame her student. She begins her own investigation to prove Jordan’s innocence. After she gets Jordan released, the professor finds herself in danger with doubts beginning to surface around the crime.

 (Photo credits: Renegade Pictures)

 

The Messengers

Produced by Sami Raimi mostly known for his horror and superhero genre work, this film features a family that moves into a house in North Dakota where a family murder had occurred. Supernatural things manifest in the new homeowners’ midst – with ghosts of the mother and her children appearing and black crows attacking. The new family soon discovers the horrifying secret of the farmhand that will put their entire family in danger. Lionsgate Play also features the prequel Messengers 2: The Scarecrow.

(Photo credits: Takashi Seida/ Screen Gems, Ghost House Pictures, and Columbia Pictures)

 

Wrong Turn    

A man crashes his car on his way to a job interview and meets some others who are on a hiking trip. The group splits up with some venturing off into the woods — only to meet a group of mountain dwellers who now find them a threat. Expect suspense and gory chills in the backwoods as a fight for survival ensues.

(Photo credits: Twentieth Century Fox and Regency Enterprises)

 

Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2

The sequel to one of the scariest movies ever made features four young fans researching mythology and mass hysteria. They go on tour in the woods where the first movie was filmed, and various strange things happen as they descend into a night of murder, madness, and perception-bending supernatural horror. Scared out of their wits and questioned by the police later, they have their accounts contradicted by film footage that shows them committing rather horrific acts. Lionsgate Play also features the original film The Blair Witch Project.

 (Photo credits: Artisan Entertainment)

 

Begin the scary binge with your family and friends at home only on Lionsgate Play powered by PLDT Home’s fastest internet speeds. By activating your Lionsgate Play voucher that’s exclusive with PLDT Home, you not only get to enjoy Lionsgate’s wide range of world-class shows – you also have a chance to win special smart home gadgets including an Anker Nebula Capsule II, a Samsung Freestyle projector, and an 65” LG OLED TV. Visit https://pldthome.com/lionsgateplay-activation-raffle to join the promo.