Movies Update: ‘The Exorcist’ and all that scares you

What to watch for Halloween season.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story October 27, 2023 By Mekado Murphy Movies Editor Hey movie fans! As we head into Halloween, scary movies are on our minds. With the 50th anniversary of "The Exorcist" this year (as well as the new sequel currently in theaters), we looked back at the film, its legacy and how people responded at the time. ("Disgusting" was one reaction.) The critics Manohla Dargis, Jason Zinoman and Erik Piepenburg all provide takes that may have you seeing the movie as more than just pea soup-spewing mayhem. If you're looking for a classic to watch for the first time, or the 50th, Piepenburg provides a list of essential horror that will help you out. And we have more anniversaries for scary (and scary-adjacent) films. Carlos Aguilar examines "The Nightmare Before Christmas" at 30. And Mariella Rudi explores "Scary Movie 3" at 20, which has some clever Yahtzee moments of comedy. We asked readers to share some of their frightful film experiences from childhood. Those responses are here. Also, one question for this couple that got married at the hotel that inspired "The Shining": was red rum served at the reception? If you're looking for something not so terrifying to watch this week, the new Alexander Payne comedy "The Holdovers" is out, and it's a Critic's Pick. Also a pick is the Sofia Coppola film "Priscilla," which focuses on the woman Elvis married. And for a milder level of spookiness, there's "Five Nights at Freddy's," which you can see at a theater or at home on Peacock. Enjoy the movies! UPI TV News/Associated Press 'The Exorcist' at 50: How One Horror Movie Shocked the World Could a movie about a girl possessed by the devil really have caused audience members to faint and lose their lunch at theaters? By Manohla Dargis, Jason Zinoman and Erik Piepenburg Compass International Pictures 25 Classic Horror Movies to Stream From silent monsters to digital-age demons, these scary-movie cornerstones are available to scream — sorry, stream. By Erik Piepenburg Seacia Pavao/Focus Features Critic's Pick 'The Holdovers' Review: Three Sad Souls Stranded for Christmas Alexander Payne's jaunt to the past, with Paul Giamatti playing a curmudgeonly instructor at a 1970s boarding school, is crackling with pungent life. By Wesley Morris Sabrina Lantos/A24 Critic's Pick 'Priscilla' Review: All Shook Up Sofia Coppola re-examines Elvis Presley from the perspective of the woman he married. By Ben Kenigsberg Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT CRITICS' PICKS Geomar/Abramorama Critic's Pick 'Deep Rising' Review: Who Gets to Mine the Ocean Floor? Matthieu Rytz's documentary about the bounty at the bottom of the sea examines the fight over whether to reap these riches or preserve them. By Lisa Kennedy Paul Cox/Paramount+ Critic's Pick 'Milli Vanilli' Review: Blame It on the Fame Luke Korem's documentary retraces the manufactured pop duo's rise and fall, while asking pertinent questions about the price of stardom. By Chris Azzopardi MOVIE REVIEWS Patti Perret/Universal Pictures/Blumhouse/Striker Entertainment 'Five Nights at Freddy's' Review: Creepypizza This adaptation of a video game franchise is more interested in unpacking childhood trauma than packing in jump scares. By Natalia Winkelman Angel Studios 'After Death' Review: Visions at the Brink From Those Who Returned A documentary about near-death experiences crescendos with redemptions and literal come-to-Jesus moments. By Nicolas Rapold Netflix 'Yellow Door: '90s Lo-Fi Film Club' Review: Cinema Education This documentary is both a look at a small, obsessive film club that formed in the early '90s in South Korea and an origin story of the director Bong Joon Ho, who was in the group. By Brandon Yu Brian Douglas/Netflix 'Pain Hustlers' Review: Seeking Dr. Feelgood In David Yates's film, Emily Blunt plays a single mother who takes a job at a pharmaceutical start-up with questionable sales methods. By Amy Nicholson Kino Lorber 'Four Daughters' Review: The Role Family Plays This documentary from Kaouther Ben Hania restages pivotal moments from a family's life. By Beatrice Loayza Viva Kids 'Inspector Sun' Review: A Web of Cinema Classics The newly released English version of this Spanish children's film about an arachnid gumshoe is a comic mystery indebted to Agatha Christie and swashbuckling epics. By Calum Marsh Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT ANATOMY OF A SCENE Seacia Pavao/Focus Features Anatomy of a Scene How Truths Are Told at a Liquor Store in 'The Holdovers' The director Alexander Payne narrates a sequence from his film, featuring Paul Giamatti and Dominic Sessa. By Mekado Murphy Eli Joshua Adé/Universal Pictures Anatomy of a Scene How Light Creates Suspense in 'The Exorcist: Believer' The film's director and co-writer, David Gordon Green, narrates a sequence featuring Leslie Odom Jr. and Lidya Jewett. By Mekado Murphy NEWS & FEATURES OK McCausland for The New York Times Sofia Coppola Makes It Look Easy. It Isn't. Young women let the director know how influential she is. But it's still a battle to make films like her acclaimed "Priscilla." By Kyle Buchanan Clockwise from left: Paramount Pictures; MGM; Warner Bros. From 'The Exorcist' to 'Bambi,' These Movies Messed Us Up as Kids Our first horror movie is often a memory imprinted on our brain and, for some of us, our heart. By Robin Kawakami and Barbara Chai Touchstone Pictures 'The Nightmare Before Christmas': A Hit That Initially Unnerved Disney The filmmakers look back on its 30th anniversary and recall how uncomfortable it made executives. They didn't expect the celebrations around it today. By Carlos Aguilar Apple TV+ Critic's Notebook From 'Goodfellas' to 'Flower Moon': How Scorsese Has Rethought Violence The director was long identified with ornately edited set pieces. In "The Irishman" and his latest film, the flourishes have given way to blunt truths. By Jason Bailey Scott Green/HBO Films 'Elephant' at 20: A Drama About a Mass Shooting Remains Chilling When Gus Van Sant made his experimental feature in response to the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, he said, he didn't envision a future America with "an endless number of shootings." By Carlos Aguilar Francesca Scorsese Martin and Francesca Scorsese, TikTok's Dynamic Duo The acclaimed director's daughter, a filmmaker herself, has been peppering her feed with videos of her father, showing a rarely seen side of him. By Maya Salam Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT STREAMING RECOMMENDATIONS HBO The Best True Crime to Stream: Stories That Are Very Scary, and Real Four terrifying, unnerving picks across television, film and podcast. By Maya Salam FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives, via Getty Images After 'Shaft,' 8 Movies to Watch Featuring Black Action Heroes "Shaft," starring Richard Roundtree, created a template for Black action protagonists onscreen. By Elena Bergeron Vertical Entertainment Beyond the Algorithm 'Miss Juneteenth,' 'Dredd' and More Streaming Gems Women in competitions, chaos in high places and documentary portraits of Covid life are among the running themes of this month's off-the-radar selections on your subscription streaming services. By Jason Bailey Toei Company, Ltd. Five Science Fiction Movies to Stream Now Man-grasshopper hybrids, not-quite space travel and very brief time travel in this month's collection of sci-fi picks. 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