iZombie

It’s a bizarre premise: a young doctor becomes a zombie after a random attack, develops lily-white skin and hair and a craving for human brains (she mixes them into two-minute noodles) and uses her newfound psychic skills – and a job at the local morgue – to help fight crime.

Somehow, American series iZombie manages to pull it off. Like an episode of Law & Order meets Twilight, it holds appeal for people of all genders and ages thanks to its action-packed episodes and witty script.

Pulling it all together is New Zealand actress Rose McIver, who plays protagonist Liv Moore (ironic) with sass and heart. The quirky comic book format will have you hooked in no time.

Where to watch: Stan

Far From the Madding Crowd

It’s quite remarkable how well 19th century author Thomas Hardy’s novels have stood the test of time.

Far From the Madding Crowd, despite all of its corsetry and courtship, has surprising parallels to love and dating in the modern age.

British actress Carey Mulligan plays protagonist Bathsheba Everdene in this 2015 film adaptation of Hardy’s fourth novel.

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Fiercely independent, stubborn and headstrong, she is the original feminist – refusing to marry for the sake of marriage and favouring her work on her burgeoning farm over her many suitors.

Regardless, three very different men continue to vie for her attention and hand in marriage, resulting in hilarity, scandal and, this being Hardy, tragedy.

The world’s most complicated love quadrangle makes for captivating viewing and Mulligan is a true force of nature.

Where to watch: Select cinemas nationwide.

Housebound

This horror-comedy flick kicks off when Kylie, a 20-something dropout-turned-criminal, is caught robbing an ATM and sentenced to eight months’ house arrest at her childhood home in a dreary New Zealand backwater.

Weird things start happening – strange noises in the walls, a teddy bear with a will of its own, a strange character in the cellar – and before long we’re in the middle of a wild comic-horror-terrifyingly-funny romp.

Funny and scary in equal measure, with a dry intelligence pervading every scene, the performances are uniformly excellent. The standout is Rima Te Wiata’s portrayal of Kylie’s supremely Kiwi mother.

Oh, and there’s the funniest urination-based gag in movie history.

Where to watch: Netflix