What to watch: Can you handle the horror kills of 'In a Violent Nature'?

Love movies? Live for TV? USA TODAY's Watch Party newsletter has all the best recommendations, delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now and be one of the cool kids.

Welcome to the Watch Party! Get your popcorn, find your remote control and buckle up.

Between movie theaters, umpteen streaming services and hours of videos waiting to be scrolled on your phone, we have more entertainment options than any other era probably in the history of mankind. It is, as the kids say, a lot. Starting with this inaugural issue, Watch Party is your Yoda, Morpheus, Gandalf and Dumbledore rolled into one, a guide to the best movies and TV shows out there and new favorites for every taste.

A little about me: I'm Brian Truitt, USA TODAY's movie critic, and my loves include pro wrestling, the Detroit Lions, Boston Terriers and action figures (plastic as well as on screen). Growing up in the 1980s on a cultural diet of cartoons, comic books and toys, I discovered a love of film, experiencing the game-changing awesomeness of a movie theater when I was 4 (my first: "Flash Gordon") and then being front and center for the advent of VHS and many, many home-video rentals. My small-screen interests came later, watching sitcoms and dramas with my parents and being primed well before "Peak TV."

Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox

I'm well-versed in "Star Wars" and Marvel but always look forward to the annual Oscar onslaught, my favorite movie is "Field of Dreams," John Williams kinda sorta changed my life, and I also once binged the entire first season of "One Tree Hill" in one night back before streaming was a thing. (Yes, I still have those DVDs somewhere.)

In other words, I love this stuff. I hope you do, too. If you haven't subscribed yet, get on that, tell a friend or two, and let's have some fun.

Watch 'Backspot,' 'Babes' and a bloody good horror kill in theaters

June is a busy month for big movies but this weekend is rather low-key. If you haven't seen "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" or "The Garfield Movie" yet, well, get on those – especially "Furiosa." (Peep my ★★★ review here.) Among the new stuff, Daisy Ridley turns in one of her best performances ever in the very Disney biopic "Young Woman and the Sea": She plays Trudy Ederle, who conquered jellyfish and misogyny to become the first woman to swim across the English Channel in 1926. (Imagine a much more entertaining "Nyad.")

Those yearning for a modern female narrative have the coming-of-age film "Backspot," one of the best cheerleader movies ever right out of the gate, and "Babes," co-written by and starring Ilana Glazer as a woman who learns she's pregnant after a one-night stand. The "Broad City" actress told my colleague Patrick Ryan that she pulled from her own new motherhood experiences, including prenatal tests involving giant needles: "All you've got to do to write an amazing classic comedy is simply find out what an amniocentesis is."

Speaking of sharp things ... If you're like us at Watch Party Central and love horror, check out "In a Violent Nature." The indie thriller reinvents the slasher movie by telling its story from the killer's point of view, plus unleashes a gory kill that you won't believe. "I always want to see things that I haven't seen before onscreen," says director Chris Nash. (Spoiler alert: He succeeded.)

Stream 'Eric' and prepare for a busy TV summer, from 'Star Wars' to 'The Boys'

The latest Netflix binge is "Eric," a gripping 1980s-set crime/family drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch as an alcoholic creator of a "Sesame Street"-style kids show. When his son goes missing, the dad wrestles with personal demons and partners with a 7-foot-tall monster puppet amid his desperate efforts to find the boy. Creator Abi Morgan told Patrick (who had a busy writing week!) that the series was "loosely based" on several missing-kid cases she heard about growing up in the U.K.: “There were several children who disappeared. I wanted to create a kind of Everychild; the simple act of going out one day and not coming home felt very resonant.”

But "Eric" is just the start of a packed summer of TV shows. Critic Kelly Lawler walks us through the 10 to definitely put on your radar, including new "Star Wars" series "The Acolyte," a second season of "Game of Thrones" prequel "House of the Dragon" and another round of superheroic shenanigans with "The Boys."

Local streaming options: Check out USA TODAY Home Internet for broadband plans in your area

Even more goodness to check out!

Here are more stories to peep from my colleagues:

• "Under the Bridge" stars Riley Keough and Lily Gladstone discuss that gut-wrenching season finale.

• Will "Furiosa" be the last "Mad Max" movie? George Miller spills on the saga's future.

• Lifetime debuts its docuseries “The Life & Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson” this weekend and we have an interview with Simpson's sisters.

Got thoughts, questions, ideas, concerns, compliments or maybe even some recs for me? Email btruitt@usatoday.com and follow me on the socials: I'm @briantruitt on Twitter (not calling it X!), Instagram and Threads.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What to watch: 'In a Violent Nature,' 'Babes' and 'Eric' streaming