[title]
When it comes to Halloween, you know we're as serious as a heart attack. We've got a Halloween guide loaded with activities. We've got scary suggestions for those who want to watch the best horror movies on Netflix. And we're stoked like Dracula for FearNYC, the city's newest horror film festival, running Oct 21–27.
But with Halloween darkening the horizon, here are the killer movie screenings you’ll die if you miss. Make your plans early—these events will sell out. Click through on each link for more info and tickets from the venue:
“13 Cats” A frisky idea for a film series, BAM’s clever collection of 13 cat-related thrillers is worth committing to for two weeks. (Dog people, don’t even start: You only have Cujo and White Dog.) If we had to choose specific titles—even though that makes our fur fly—we’d say Val Lewton’s atmospheric 1942 classic Cat People (October 29) and preteen Drew Barrymore in the lovably ’80s triptych Cat’s Eye (October 24) are both unmissable. BAM Rose Cinemas, 30 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn (718-636-4100, bam.org). Oct 21–Nov 3 at various times; free–$14.
Creepshow Potentially traumatizing if seen at too young an age, George Romero’s lurid homage to the histrionic horror of EC Comics is also his most enjoyable film. Filled with broadly funny appearances from then up-and-comers like Ted Danson and Ed Harris, the movie also wrangles thousands of cockroaches for its final, notorious segment. Stephen King, in his peak period, penned the original script. Nitehawk Cinema, 136 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn (718-782-8370, nitehawkcinema.com). Oct 28 midnight; $12.
Poltergeist Ghost stories received a high-tech makeover in this punishing suburban smash, now seen as a secret critique of American materialism: Your TV set will eat you. (It’s all the more surprising that it was “ghost-directed” by family-friendly producer Steven Spielberg.) The film is presented as part of a gloriously titled two-week series, “The Medium Is the Massacre.” Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Ave (212-505-5181, anthologyfilmarchives.org). Oct 30 at 3:15pm; $7–$11.
Suspiria dance installation Italian horror maestro Dario Argento’s best film isn’t much, plot-wise—an American naïf (Jessica Harper) discovers that her European ballet school is a front for a witches’ coven—but the director’s brilliant use of color and deafening music more than compensates. Videology presents Argento’s lurid Day-Glo–tinted stunner alongside some actual dancers (MacKenzie Friedman and the Creators Collective), promising an unusually swirling experience. Videology, 308 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn (718-782-3468, videologybarandcinema.com). Oct 28 at 9:30pm; $40.
Trouble Every Day To some eyes, the mere sight of the ultra-neurotic Vincent Gallo (The Brown Bunny) is an omen of horrors to come. But Gallo had one perfectly cast moment in this unhinged French art film about vampires and the scientists who love them. His object of desire is blood-hungry Coré (Béatrice Dalle). The movie screens as part of a yet-to-be-announced series of thrillers at Metrograph, also called “Trouble Every Day,” to be presented over Halloween weekend. Metrograph, 7 Ludlow St (212-660-0312, metrograph.com). Oct 29 at 11pm; $12–$15.
The polls are open! Vote for your favorite spots that deserve a Love New York Award.