‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ (September 6)
The Juice, as they say, is once again loose! Michael Keaton and director Tim Burton reunite for this belated sequel to the duo’s 1988 classic, in which the ghost with the most returns to haunt the Deetzs — Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder are back, too! — and cause havoc for a next-gen Burton MVP Jenna “Wednesday” Ortega. Just say his name three times (or in this case, repeat his name twice in lieu of adding a “2” on to the Beetle-end of this next Beetle-chapter …).
‘The Front Room’ (September 6)
What better way to kick off the fall moviegoing season than with a little dollop of A24 horror? A mother-to-be (Brandy Norwood) is forced to take in her elderly mother-in-law (The Tragedy of Macbeth‘s Kathryn Hunter) after the woman’s husband dies. Once the older woman moves in, however, she begins to take the house over and pit her son (Andrew Burnap) against his wife. She also has a love of that ol’ time religion, which seems to extend to thinking that the holy spirit moves directly through her — and that the baby her daughter-in-law is carrying might be even more special than anyone knows. Speaking of family: This creepfest is written and directed by Sam and Max Eggers, the latter of whom helped their brother Robert Eggers cowrite The Lighthouse. We’re digging the pedigree.
‘His Three Daughters’ (September 6)
Writer-director Azazel Jacobs (The Lovers, French Exit) delivers an old-school family drama, in which three sisters — Type-A control freak Katie (Carrie Coon), numbed-out stoner Rachel (Natasha Lyonne), and resident peacekeeper Christina (Elizabeth Olsen) — as they reluctantly gather to say goodbye to their father during his final days. Trapped together in Dad’s tiny Upper West Side apartment, they begin rehashing old arguments, reopening old wounds, and revisiting lifelong grudges. This was the best thing we saw at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, and it’s already staked a claim in our Top 10 list for 2024. See it ASAP.
‘Look Into My Eyes’ (September 6)
You’ll likely go into this documentary by Lana Wilson (After Tiller, Miss Americana) about NYC psychics with the idea that mockery and/or gotcha journalism is right around the corner. Guess again. Embedding herself with a half-dozen or so different psychics and recording a number of their sessions, the filmmaker neither exposes these people who claim to talk to long-gone loved ones (and in one case, pets) as exploitative con artists, nor does she proclaim them to be the real deal. Instead, she takes a compassionate look at those who seek answers from such folks, and you quickly realize that this is less about catching charlatans than looking at people who have a desire to heal by any means necessary.
‘Rebel Ridge’ (September 6)
A former Marine (The Underground Railroad‘s Aaron Pierre) runs afoul of some corrupt cops while biking into a small town to pay his cousin’s bail. The officers “confiscate” the cash, and when the ex-soldier files a complaint, they attempt to make his life hell. Spoiler: They have no idea who they’re fucking with. Don Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb, Emory Cohen, and The Office‘s David Denman costar. The fact that Jeremy Saulnier — the gent behind Blue Ruin, Green Room, and Hold the Dark — is calling the shots should tell you that this is indeed one hell of a tense, nerve-shredding revenge thriller.
‘It’s What’s Inside’ (October 4)
Beware the uninvited guest who shows up at your unisex bachelor party, bearing a mysterious game that he claims will change everyone’s lives. (Notice how we didn’t add “for the better” to the end of that sentence.) Having bought writer-director Greg Jardin’s debut feature out of Sundance for a hefty price, Netflix has high hopes for this twisty, turn-y tale of old college friends suddenly dropped into a wedding-slash-reunion weekend from hell. So while we won’t reveal the many, many secrets in this gonzo-millennials mystery, we will say that it is indeed a wild ride.
‘Piece by Piece’ (October 11)
A documentary on Pharrell Williams? Cool. A documentary on Pharrell Williams but his life story is re-created with Legos? Now you have our undivided attention! Filmmaker Morgan Neville (20 Feet From Stardom, Roadrunner, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?) pieces together a portrait — literally — of the super-producer, singer, and songwriter behind “Happy,” “Get Lucky,” and a million other hits, with a little help from everyone’s favorite free-play building blocks. Williams has never done anything by the book, so why should a music doc about his rise to stardom be any different?
‘We Live in Time’ (October 11)
Oh, you know: Boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, they become parents, one of them gets sick, they stay together through thick and thin, time marches on. Why should you care, you ask? Because Andrew Garfield is the boy, Florence Pugh is the girl, director John Crowley did the amazing drama Brooklyn a number of years ago — so you know he’s good with actors — and you probably need a good emotional cry over watching a couple experiencing the highs and the lows of a live lived together over decades, yet conveniently compacted down to two hours.
‘Smile 2’ (October 18)
The surprise 2022 horror hit — about a supernatural entity that feeds on trauma and causes people to maniacally grin — gets a sequel, and this time the “final girl” isn’t a therapist but a Gaga-like pop star (Naomi Scott). She’s about to embark on a massive tour when she happens to witness a suicide, and wouldn’t you know it, the guy (Lukas Gage) was inexplicably smiling before he shuffled off this mortal coil. Which means she’s now been targeted as the vengeful spirit’s next victim, and suddenly she’s seeing grotesquely smiling people everywhere, and … you get the picture. Paramount clearly hopes they’ve got a new scary-movie franchise on their hands, and if director Parker Finn’s follow-up to his first film is even half as scary as the original, they should be able to start counting those stacks of money ASAP.
