Fall movie season is upon us, and we can hardly wait for the awards contenders, indie darlings, and big name blockbusters that will grace our screens this fall. After a disappointing summer box office, studios will be hoping to find some hits as we head into cooler weather. At the least, Disney is looking at a couple of hits with Frozen 2 and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hitting theaters in November and December.
On the horror front, we’re most excited for Black Christmas (out December 13) and Doctor Sleep (out November 8), though The Lighthouse is creeping up our list of anticipated films as well after those rave early reviews. Black Christmas will be Blumhouse’s first female directed feature, and looks like the feminist holiday horror movie we never knew we wanted yet another remake of. Doctor Sleep is based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name, and is a sequel to The Shining. With strong directors at the helms—Sophia Takal with Black Christmas and Mike Flanagan with Doctor Sleep—we’re looking at some fun horror outings this fall.
The Lighthouse, Robert Eggers’ follow-up after his striking film The Witch, stars Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe as two lighthouse keepers who seem to be slowly going insane in their isolation. The trailer is frightening and weird in all the best ways. While other horror offerings look a tad more mainstream, this is going to be an odd one, and I personally can’t wait for it to haunt me long after the final reel.
Speaking of films produced by A24 this year that look incredible, Waves from Trey Edward Shults will debut on November 1 and it already looks like a heartbreaker. Following a high school wrestler and his family, the film stars Kelvin Harrison Jr., Sterling K. Brown, and Taylor Russell. As a fan of Shults and Harrison Jr. since It Comes At Night, I cannot wait to see the film, and it looks like it’s already getting some seriously rave reviews from TIFF and other festivals.
Another festival darling that’s poised to sweep the Oscars next year is Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite. Winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, there are already journalists speculating that the film will receive a Best Picture nomination, and perhaps even take home the top trophy.
Yet another festival darling is Portrait of a Lady On Fire, a period drama featuring lesbians and yearning, which is literally my wishlist for all period pieces.
Jojo Rabbit, Taika Watiti’s anti-hate satire, is also topping a lot of our “must watch” lists, as is Rian Johnson’s whodunnit Knives Out. Both Watiti and Johnson are indie darlings who also turned out huge franchise hits for Marvel and Star Wars, so it’s exciting to see them return to their original roots to give us more original content. Their minds are just too powerful.
Of course, we can’t talk about Star Wars without getting hyped for one of the biggest sequels to come out this year. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker promises an end to the Skywalker Saga and we’re so excited that it’s not even funny. How will Rey’s journey end? What’s the deal with Palpatine coming back? Will Finn and Poe hold hands? There are too many questions, and JJ Abrams has the task of answering them all.
What’s on your must-see list for fall? Tell us all about it!
(image: Lucasfilm)
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