New movies to watch in October

Martin Scorsese is back on the big screen with his much-anticipated adaptation of Killers of the Flower Moon (Oct. 20). Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone and Robert De Niro, the epic film recounts the true story of the Osage tribe, who become oil-rich and are murdered one by one. The film opened to rave reviews at Cannes and was made in close collaboration with living members of the Osage tribe.

David Fincher is also making a theatrical comeback, with The Killer (Oct. 27), the story of an assassin’s day-to-day life gone wrong. The film stars Michael Fassbender and its score was composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Legendary Quebec filmmaker Denys Arcand is releasing Testament (Oct. 5), a satire that follows an older adult as he navigates a strange new world in his quest for happiness. Cannes’s Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall (Oct. 20) also gets its theatrical release after screening at this month’s Festival du Nouveau Cinéma (which runs Oct. 5–21). The darkly comic courtroom drama is about a writer who suddenly finds herself accused of the murder of her husband, who may or may not have jumped off the roof. (Read our review here.)

Five Nights at Freddy's New movies to watch in October — Five Nights at Freddy’s (New movies to watch in October)

For many, October is spooky season, and many films are available for those seeking some big-screen scares. At the top of the month is The Exorcist: Believer (Oct. 6), helmed by David Gordon Green (with writing partner Danny McBride), who recently rebooted the Halloween franchise to mixed effect. (Read our review of the new Exorcist film here.) Based on the viral video game sensation, Five Nights at Freddy’s (Oct. 27), starring Josh Hutcherson and Matthew Lillard, involves a security guard trying to survive a night at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. For something a little lighter, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (Oct. 13) is a horror-comedy about a young vampire who refuses to kill humans and strikes up an unlikely friendship with a suicidal teen. It’s basically Wes Anderson meets Abel Ferrara’s The Addiction. (Read our review here.)

Beyond new releases, keep an eye on Cinéma du Parc’s midnight program for some spooky favourites including The Exorcist and Evil Dead 2. The Cinémathèque Québécoise is doing a haunted retrospective on romantic ghosts featuring films like Ghost, Birth and Rouge. Cinéma Public has Ginger Snaps and The Exorcist on schedule for the month. Cinéma Moderne will likely follow up on their wildly successful Halloween programming with new and old favourites.

Strange Way of Life by Pedro Almodóvar (New movies to watch in October)

It’s a big year for auteur-driven shorts. Wes Anderson recently premiered four short films inspired by Roal Dahl on Netflix. Now, Pedro Almodóvar will be premiering two short films on the big screen in a double feature (Oct. 20). Strange Way of Life, a gay Western starring Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke, premiered this year at Cannes. It will be followed by The Human Voice, a short he made two years ago with Tilda Swinton.

What Happens Later New movies to watch in October — What Happens Later (New movies to watch in October)

After a long hiatus, Meg Ryan steps behind and in front of the camera in What Happens Later (Oct. 13), a new rom-com with David Duchovny. They play ex-lovers who see each other for the first time in years when they both find themselves snowed in, in transit, at an airport overnight.

Kitty Green’s The Assistant was one of the most startling fiction feature debuts of the last few years. She’s now back, reuniting with Julia Garner with The Royal Hotel (Oct. 6), a film about U.S. backpackers who take a job in a remote Australian pub for some extra cash and are confronted with a bunch of unruly locals and a situation that grows rapidly out of their control.

Freelance New movies to watch in October — Freelance (New movies to watch in October)

Looking for something big and dumb? John Cena and Alison Brie star in Freelance (Oct. 27), a comedy about an ex-special forces operator who takes a job to provide security for a journalist as she interviews a dictator, but a military coup breaks out in the middle of the interview; they are forced to escape into the jungle where they must survive… ■

This article originally appeared in the October 2023 issue of Cult MTL. Check Montreal cinema showtimes here.

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