Yep, it's October all right. In addition to the perennial showings of Nosferatu and The Thing, we've got Sam Raimi getting back to his Evil Dead roots with Drag Me to Hell at Emagine Willow Creek, twin series of Detroit and South Korean horror beginning at the Trylon, and lots of opportunities to see The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which turns 50 this year. Not scary but also noteworthy: The Main is showing the experimental doc Eno, and the Cine Latino Film Festival opens on Wednesday. (More on that next week.)
Special Screenings
Thursday, October 3
Mean Girls (2004)
AMC Rosedale 14/AMC Southdale 16/Emagine Willow Creek
Oh, right, because it's October 3. $16.35. 7 p.m. Sunday 4 & 7 p.m. More info here.
The Last Supper (1976)
Capri Theater
A Cuban count restages the Da Vinci painting with his slaves to teach them about Christianity. $5; free for North Side residents. 7 p.m. More info here.
Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Grandview 1&2
Plants are so scary, I'm glad they're not real. Also Sunday. $12. 9:15 p.m. More info here.
The Time Masters (1982)
The Heights
From the guy who did the wild Fantastic Planet. $12. 7:30 p.m. More info here.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Parkway Theater
Celebrate 50 glorious years of slicing up youngsters. $9/$12. Poetry contest at 7:30 p.m. Movie at 8 p.m. More info here.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Trylon
A brand new 35mm print! $8. 7 p.m. Saturday 3:30 p.m. Sunday 10 p.m. More info here.
Friday, October 4
The Visitor (1979)
Alamo Drafthouse
Is this cult-loved sci-fi/horror flick everything its admirers say? You'll have to see for yourself. $10. 9:30 p.m. Find more info here.
Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cleopatra (2002)
Alliance Française
The beloved Gauls head to Egypt on a mission. Free. 7 p.m. More info here.
Over the Garden Wall (2014)
Insight Brewing
The cartoon cult fave, shown on Insight's patio. Free. 8 p.m. More info here.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Marcus West End Cinema
In case you missed it at the Parkway. Also Saturday. $6.51. 10 p.m. More info here.
Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)
Orchestra Hall
The Minnesota Orchestra performs the John Williams soundtrack you know so well. $50-$115. Friday-Saturday 7 p.m. Sunday 2 p.m. More info here.
Scream It Off Screen
Parkway Theater
No better time of year to scream at movies! $13/$19. 8 p.m. More info here.
It Follows (2014)
Trylon
It sure do. $8. Friday-Saturday 7 & 9:15 p.m. Sunday 3 & 5:15 p.m. More info here.
Saturday, October 5
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
Alamo Drafthouse
The beginning of the end of the Harry Potter saga. $10. 11:45 a.m. More info here.
The Thing (1982)
Alamo Drafthouse
Sold out already, and why shouldn't it be? $10. 9:30 p.m. More info here.
Les Contes d’Hoffmann
AMC Rosedale 14/AMC Southdale 16/Emagine Willow Creek/ Marcus West End
Live from The Met. $26.17. 12 p.m. Wednesday 1 & 6:30 p.m.. More info here.
UFC 307: Pereira vs. Rountree Jr.
Emagine Willow Creek
Fight! $25. 9 p.m. More info here.
Furious 7 (2015)
AMC Southdale 16
No longer fast? $5. Saturday-Sunday 3 p.m. Monday 6:30 p.m. More info here.
Nosferatu (1922)
Main Cinema
Synched to Radiohead's Kid A and Amnesiac—dystopian! $10. 10 p.m. More info here.
Tremors (1990)
Parkway Theater
"They say there's nothing new under the sun. But under the ground..." They don't write tag lines like that anymore. $5-$10. 1 p.m. More info here.
Rap World (2024)
Parkway Theater
Conner O'Malley's directorial debut is a rap mockumentary. (Go to hell, spellcheck. That is so a word.) $20/$25. 7 p.m. More info here.
Reefer Madness (1936)
Trylon
The hysterically classic anti-weed propaganda film is presented as part of the Minnesota Academy of Science's Science Salon, with a talk from neuroscientist Dr. Manuel Esguerra. $15. 1 p.m. More info here.
Sunday, October 6
Nosferatu (1922)
Alamo Drafthouse
Something's just not write with that Orlok fella. $10. 12:15 p.m. More info here.
AXCN Gundam Fest: Mobile Suit Gundam (2024)
Emagine Willow Creek
A special screening of the new anime. $12.50. 3 p.m. More info here.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011)
Emagine Willow Creek
USA Today: "Its stars go from sullen kids to sullen young adults, where their expressions look more natural." $9. 12 & 5:30 p.m. Wednesday 1 & 5 p.m. More info here.
No One Asked You (2023)
Main Cinema
Lizz Winstead and her crew travel the U.S. supporting the right to abortion. $11. 4 p.m. More info here.
The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)
Parkway Theater
It's was the Challengers of the '80s! Sort of. The Larry McDonough Quartet, with guest vocalist Erin Livingston, will perform selections from the soundtrack beforehand. $10/$15. Music at 7 p.m. Movie at 8 p.m. More info here.
The Host (2006)
Trylon
When a creature is created by a corporation's illegal dumping, you gotta ask: Who's the real monster here? $8. 7:30 p.m. Monday-Tuesday 7 & 9:30 p.m. More info here.
Monday, October 7
Phantasm (1979)
Alamo Drafthouse
Fun fact: Angus Scrimm (The Tall Man) wrote the liner notes for Meet the Beatles. $10. 7 p.m. More info here.
Drag Me to Hell (2009)
Emagine Willow Creek
This movie rules. I miss Alison Lohman. $10. 7:30 p.m. More info here.
The Searchers (1956)
The Heights
The John Ford classic, in a brand new 70mm print. $18. 7:30 p.m. More info here.
Eyes Without a Face (1960)
Main Cinema
Got no human grace. $11. 7 p.m. More info here.
Tuesday, October 8
Piece by Piece (2024)
Alamo Drafthouse
An advance screening of Pharrell's new Lego autobiopic, with a livestream Q&A. $13.50 6:30 p.m. More info here.
Heart of a Servant – The Father Flanagan Story (2024)
AMC Rosedale 14/AMC Southdale 16/Emagine Willow Creek
The story of the guy Spencer Tracy played in Boys Town. $16.26. 7 p.m. More info here.
Eno (2024)
Main Cinema
This groundbreaking doc of the electronic music pioneer/studio theorist is different every time it screens. $15. 7 p.m. More info here.
Wednesday, October 9
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2009)
Alamo Drafthouse
OK, this is really the end, right? $10. 7 p.m. More info here.
Secret Movie Night
Emagine Willow Creek
A surprise movie, selected by a local notable. $10. 7 p.m. More info here.
Death Becomes Her (1992)
Grandview 1&2
Robert Zemeckis is so scary, I'm glad he's not real. $12. 9:15 p.m. More info here.
Deep Blue Sea (1999)
Lagoon Cinema
Don't make the sharks smart! $12.25. 7 p.m. More info here.
I'm Still Here (2024)
Main Cinema
The annual Cine Latino Film Festival kicks off with the new film from Walter Salles. This has nothing to with Joaquin Phoenix. $12. 7:30 p.m. More info here.
Amadeus (1984)
Trylon
It's that incredible rarity—the great music biopic. A new 4K restoration. $13. 7 p.m. Presented by Sound Unseen. More info here.
Opening This Week
Follow the links for showtimes.
Blink
Not to be confused with Blink Twice.
A Different Man
I like his work, but I wouldn't exactly call myself a Sebastian Stan.
Frankie Freako
A yuppie is tormented by a dancing goblin.
Joker: Folie à Deux
Oh great, he sings this time?
Monster Summer
Uh, it's October.
The Outrun
Saoirse Ronan plays a recovering alcoholic who returns home to Scotland.
White Bird: A Wonder Story
A woman who evaded Nazi capture as a girl shames her grandson for not standing up for his beliefs.
Wolfs
Finally, a sequel to Wolf.
Ongoing in Local Theaters
Follow the links for showtimes.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
It’s nice to be pandered to occasionally, so in the run up to the release of this redundant sequel I’ve enjoyed hearing how Winona Ryder and Jenna Ortega geeked out on set about their shared love of Soy Cuba, as well as the Letterboxd promo where Ortega tried to sell Catherine O’Hara on The Passion of Joan of Arc. But then there were the CarMax, Denny’s, and Progressive ads reminding us the real reason why beloved films of the past can never die: $$$. And the movie itself? Well, with Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin’s quaint Maitlands having moved on via an unexplained “loophole,” the Deetz clan—Ryder's Lydia (now a famed ghost hunter), O'Hara's Delia (now an established NYC artist), and Ortega as Lydia’s sullen daughter Astrid—reunites for the funeral of its patriarch Charles (l’affair de Jeffrey Jones is navigated around cleverly). From the re-maniacal Michael Keaton and Ryder’s unstable goth mom to newcomers Justin Theroux as Lydia’s weaselly beau and current Burton GF Monica Bellucci as a soul-sucking spook, everyone here is game, and yes, there is involuntary singing and goopy mayhem. But while this silly little romp through a familiar world consistently errs on the side of goofball exuberance, the storylines race around frantically in search of a reason to happen. As for Ortega, she was good enough in the 2021 school shooting film The Fallout that I hope she frees herself from the afterlife of 20th century IP at some point and shows us what she's got. And I couldn’t help but be haunted by the fact that if he’d made the original a few years later, Burton would probably have cast Johnny Depp instead of Keaton. B-
Megalopolis
An undisciplined cornball’s autocratic celebration of humanism, Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis is a movie for people who manically deem any mere mess of a film “batshit” and therefore essential viewing, for cineastes who refuse to distinguish between the incomprehensible and the incoherent, or for sentimentalists who consider the completion of a quixotic project as achievement enough. If Ayn Rand had written The Power Broker about a pretentious tech guru with a bad haircut, she might have imagined Adam Driver’s Cesar Catilina, who is determined to build the city of the future from a substance called Megalon, flattening housing developments in the process. And he's apparently the hero. Ambition isn’t always a positive attribute, after all, and if anything, film history treats megalomaniacs far too kindly, squinting past what we see for evidence of what we should have seen. Ultimately, what’s most disappointing about Megalopolis is that this is exactly the movie that Coppola wanted to make. Read the full review here. C
My Old Ass
Here, Aubrey Plaza provides the subdued, grounded foil that enables a breakout performance from 20-year-old Canadian actor Maisy Stella. Both women play Elliott Labrant—Stella as a teen, Plaza as the 39-year-old incarnation that her younger self inadvertently summons on an 18th-birthday mushroom trip. As Young Elliott endures her last summer on her parents’ cranberry farm before moving to Toronto for school, her older, wiser self tutors her on how to live. (Ah, but which version of Elliott will truly learn a lesson about life?) Like all film messages, My Old Ass’s call to be “young and dumb” is one only some of us need to hear some of the time. But that’s often enough. And as shallow as the cliche “you’ll laugh, you’ll cry” may sound, those were the two things Aristotle wanted theater to do to us, you know. I just wish My Old Ass had been released in summer, when it still had time to emotionally crush graduating seniors who thought they were ready to leave their parents behind. Read the full review here. A-
Reagan
No one should see this movie. I’m not joking. No, really—I’m worried that if I make any jokes here you’ll think maybe Reagan is bad in a fun way, or in a way that’s at least instructive about modern conservatism. It’s bad in a mildly stupefying way, leaving you with fewer thoughts about Reagan than you had before you entered the theater, drifting along from event to event with the pacing and depth of a History Channel historical reenactment. Reagan is clearly not history, but it’s not really entertainment either. It’s barely a movie, and even to call it propaganda suggests a manipulative skillfulness it lacks. Reagan is more like a two-hour bedtime story, meant, like the man himself, to reassure those frightened by history. Read the full review here. D+
Speak No Evil
Nope, haven’t seen the 2022 Danish original, despite hearing good things about it, and yet I could tell this Blumhouse photocopy was missing something even before I checked the former’s plot synopsis. Uptight Americans Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy meet rowdy Brits James McAvoy and Aisling Franciosi while vacationing in Italy and for some reason agree to come visit their country home. The hosts begin testing the guests’ limits, and the Yanks are such ninnies they go uncomfortably with the flow until, yes, it’s too late to turn back. McAvoy does have a ball as the rural psycho, but the film never builds any real tension. And it just isn’t nasty enough; we’re allowed to identify with the victims rather than taking any pleasure in their discomfort. It’s Straw Dogs with straw men, and what fun is that? C+
The Substance
Without our shared cultural knowledge of Demi Moore’s life and career, The Substance, Coralie Fargeat’s absurdist experiment in gory meta-hagsploitation, is a fairly limp if expressively graphic satire of impossible female body standards. Moore’s presence, and her performance, give the film its moments of depth—moments Fargeat doesn’t always seem particularly interested in. Moore is an aging, discarded star who injects herself with a black-market serum that looks like radioactive pee and mitoses into the “ideal version of herself,” a perky-butted and gleam-smiled Margaret Qualley who calls herself Sue. Each woman gets to remain conscious for exactly a week apiece, spending each alternate week as a nude, comatose lump ingesting bagged nutrients. And as Elisabeth begins to sulk through her allotment of days and Sue wants more time to shine, rules are inevitably bent, with increasingly disastrous results. The subtlety-free finale, which fire-hoses blood at the patriarchy and anyone else in proximity, will either have you pumping your fist at its audacity or rolling your eyes at what a cop out it is. For better or for worse, what Fargeat is “trying to say” and her grisly overindulgence are inseparable. Read the full review here. B-
Twisters
Twister may not be quite the summer classic that anyone who wasn’t old enough to vote in 1996 thinks it is, but it knew what it was and what it was supposed to do. This not-really-a-sequel (unless every movie about a shark is a Jaws sequel) is a bigger mess than a small Oklahoma town after an EF5. It can't really be about climate change because blockbusters have to be carefully nonpartisan, but it can’t not be about climate change because why else (as everyone in this movie is constantly saying) are there more tornadoes than ever. The goofiest part is that the chasers keep abandoning storms to instead rush into threatened towns to "help," i.e. telling everyone to get away from windows and get into the basement, which, sorry, but if you live in tornado alley and don't already know that you deserve to get swooped up into the sky. As Normal People and Hit Man showed, both Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell are better actors than they are movie stars. He needs to find another auteur to cast him against type instead of passing off his permasquint and smackably handsome grin as charisma; she needs to star in a Jane Austen adaptation or a Paddington sequel or something because I don’t believe she could find Oklahoma on a map. This will make enough money that neither of those things will ever happen, and I bet director Lee Isaac Chung never makes another Minari either. Meanwhile we’ll probably lose the National Weather Service. C+
