October is almost here, which means the release calendar is about to start filling up with plenty of horror, supernatural, and generally spooky movies and shows. And this week is already showing signs of getting into the Halloween spirit a little early.
At the same time, with the summer movie season officially behind us, fall usually brings a shift toward more dramatic and seriously minded titles as studios begin rolling out their end-of-year slates. But that doesnât mean everything has to be heavy. There are still plenty of smaller movies, genre titles, and fun little gems looking to grab our attention along the way.
So whether youâre already in full Halloween mode or just looking for something new to watch, there should be a little bit of everything arriving over the next several days. Scroll down and take a look at what this week has to offer.
đŠ Streaming This Week
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đ„ In Theaters This Week
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đ„ NAZA
(Wed, Sept 30th â limited release, in NY)
Israeli investigative journalists Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor examine the increasingly blurred line between artificial intelligence and modern warfare in this documentary about the Israeli militaryâs use of AI and automated surveillance in targeting systems during the Gaza war. Produced by The Guardian and JW Films, its title comes from Nezek Agavi, the Hebrew military term for âcollateral damage.â The film recently won the Special Jury Prize at Venice and has already stirred political controversy in Israel.
đ„ Begotten: 4K Restoration
(Thurs, Oct 1st â limited release)
Some movies are strange. Then thereâs E. Elias Merhigeâs grainy black-and-white, mostly dialogue-free experimental horror film, which has spent the last few decades circulating among horror fans like some forbidden artifact. Long before creepypasta had a name, Merhige created something that felt like it had been discovered rather than filmed. Now this underground oddity is getting a 4K restoration to remind everyone just how deeply unsettling it still is.
đ„ Spirited Away: Live on Stage
(Thurs, Oct 1st & Thurs, Oct 8th â special theatrical event; via Fathom Ent)
Hayao Miyazakiâs Oscar-winning anime fantasy gets a remarkable second life onstage in this filmed production directed by Tony Award winner John Caird. Captured during its acclaimed 2022 run at Tokyoâs Imperial Theatre, it stars Kanna Hashimoto and Mone Kamishiraishi alternating as Chihiro. Without animation to fall back on, the production relies on massive moving sets, elaborate puppetry, music, and live performers to recreate Miyazakiâs strange and magical world.
đ„ Digger
(Fri, Oct 2nd â wide release)
Tom Cruise has spent decades playing men determined to accomplish impossible missions. This time, saving the world also means saving his own bloated ego. Cruise stars as Digger Rockwell, the worldâs most powerful man, scrambling to prove heâs humanityâs savior before a disaster of his own making destroys everything. Oscar-winner Alejandro G. Iñårritu directs this darkly comic political satire, shot entirely in VistaVision, with Riz Ahmed, Sandra HĂŒller, Jesse Plemons, and John Goodman among the ensemble.
đ„ Verity
(Fri, Oct 2nd â wide release)
Dakota Johnson stars as struggling ghostwriter Lowen Ashleigh, who moves into the remote home of recently paralyzed, celebrated mystery author Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway) in the hope of completing her latest book. But after discovering an unpublished autobiography filled with disturbing confessions, Lowen can no longer tell where fiction ends and manipulation begins. Josh Hartnett co-stars as Verityâs husband in Michael Showalterâs adaptation of Colleen Hooverâs psychological thriller, where the pen may be mightier than the sword, but the author just might be deadlier than both.
đ„ Rolling Loud: The Movie
(Fri, Oct 2nd â wide release)
Nothing says responsible parenting quite like sneaking your 13-year-old into a music festival packed with thousands of screaming fans and plenty of questionable paraphernalia. Owen Wilson stars as a cautious dad hoping one night at Rolling Loud will help him reconnect with his son. Then he loses him in the crowd. Oh, crap. Also starring Matt Rife, this music-festival comedy sends Wilson scrambling through mosh pits and backstage mayhem, with real-life hip-hop stars like Sexyy Red and Ty Dolla $ign along for the ride.
đ„ Beware BoiĂșna
(Fri, Oct 2nd â wide release)
Kiana Madeira, Jessica Rothe, and Logan Marshall-Green star as medical workers whose rescue mission deep in the Amazon goes sideways when they awaken a colossal ancient snake predator known by locals as the BoiĂșna. Directed by genre helmer Mike P. Nelson (The Domestics), this jungle horror reminds us that giant snakes arenât just terrifying... they also make one hell of a movie monster.
đ„ Atonement
(Fri, Oct 2nd â limited release)
In this true-story drama, Kenneth Branagh stars as a journalist uncovering a devastating story from the Iraq War, where innocent lives were taken at a Baghdad checkpoint. Boyd Holbrook plays the U.S. Marine whose split-second decision turned a firefight into tragedy. Years later, heâs ready to confront the Iraqi family devastated by his actions, including its matriarch, played by Hiam Abbass. The question is: are they ready to confront him... and accept his atonement?
đ„ Nickels
(Fri, Oct 2nd â limited release)
Comedian Rob Riggle takes a rare dramatic turn as a family man still grieving his brotherâs death 30 years later. When his neighborâs teenage son survives a similar motorcycle accident, strange signsâincluding random nickelsâleave him wondering if his brother has somehow returned through the boy. Bitsie Tulloch, Odessa Aâzion, Aaron Holliday, and Rebecca Gayheart co-star in this supernatural-tinged family drama about how grief can make us search for signs that might prove those weâve lost arenât really gone.
đ„ Orion
(Fri, Oct 2nd â limited release)
Drew Van Acker stars as Apollo, an astronaut who returns to Earth from a catastrophic space mission with his crewmates dead and no memory of what happened. As he tries to piece together what went wrong up there, an intelligence specialist (played by â80s icon Andrew McCarthy) begins to suspect Apollo may not have come back alone. Debby Ryan also stars in this psychological astronaut thriller where making it home doesnât mean the mission is over. It may just be the beginning of something far more disturbing.
đ„ Appofeniacs
(Fri, Oct 2nd â limited release)
In an AI world where lies can travel in seconds, the truth doesnât stand much of a chance. Aaron Holliday, Simran Jehani, Jermaine Fowler, and Sean Gunn star in this darkly satirical tech thriller about a group of interconnected people caught up in deepfakes, paranoia, and very real violence. The warning is pretty simple: be careful what you believe online, because thereâs a good chance it was manufactured to make you believe it.
đ„ Ghost in the Cell
(Fri, Oct 2nd â limited release)
What scares the worst of the worst? Try being a hardened criminal trapped inside a high-security prison where inmates are being brutally murdered by something they canât even see. From filmmaker Joko Anwar and starring Abimana Aryasatya, Almanzo Konoralma, and Aming Sugandhi, this blood-soaked Indonesian supernatural thriller pits violent prisoners against an invisible killer they canât intimidate or fight. Turns out being locked up with something they canât see is a whole different level of prison hell.
đ„ The Last First: Winter K2
(Fri, Oct 2nd â limited release)
Why would anyone willingly risk their life just to stand on top of a mountain? Director Amir Bar-Lev (The Tillman Story) tries to answer that question by following a group of professional climbers attempting to conquer K2 during its most unforgiving season. The conditions are brutal, and one wrong step could be their last. This doc captures that uniquely human desire to keep pushing beyond our limits. Why climb K2 in winter? Maybe the answer really is as simple as: because itâs there.
đ„ Moonlight: 10th Anniversary Remastered
(Fri, Oct 2nd â re-release)
Barry Jenkinsâ Oscar-winning drama, which famously had its big moment upstaged by one of the Academy Awardsâ biggest live-broadcast screwups, is back. Starring Oscar winner Mahershala Ali alongside AndrĂ© Holland, Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders, Jharrel Jerome, and Naomie Harris, the film follows a young Black man through three stages of his life as he grows up in Miami and tries to figure out where he belongs. Ten years later, this deeply personal story of identity, family, friendship, and love returns in a newly remastered edition.
đ„ Donnie Darko: 25th Anniversary
(Fri, Oct 2ndâSun, Oct 4th â re-release; via Fathom Ent)
Twenty-five years ago, filmmaker Richard Kelly gave us a troubled Jake Gyllenhaal, a falling jet engine, a guy in a deeply unsettling rabbit costume, and enough unanswered questions to keep people arguing ever since. The film initially struggled to find an audience in theaters before word of mouth transformed it into an early-aughts cult classic. Now itâs returning to theaters in a new 4K restoration, giving everyone another chance to figure out what the hell it all means.
đ„ Ninja Scroll: 4K Remaster
(Sun, Oct 4th & Mon, Oct 5th & Wed, Oct 7th â re-release)
Yoshiaki Kawajiriâs 1993 anime bloodbath is back, now with a fresh 4K shine. Wandering swordsman Jubei gets pulled into a mystery involving a slaughtered village, a demonic conspiracy, and no shortage of enemies looking to cut him down. Written and directed by Kawajiri, the film has been restored from a new 4K scan of the original 35mm negative, with Kawajiri himself supervising the process.
