Talkin' Talkies

All the best spooky season movie screenings right now

From HitchQUADtober to 'Scream' with live drag, don't watch scary movies alone at home this month

You after realizing you missed out on a chance to watch the original Scream on a big screen. (Photo via Max)

Now listen, I love lounging around on the couch mainlining scary movies as much as the next person. But nothing hits quite like seeing a slasher or a spooky slow-burn in an honest-to-god theater with perfect, expensive popcorn, immersive sound, no impetus to look at your phone, and a bunch of strangers losing their shit right alongside you.

For the horror-averse among you, hear me out: seeing a scary movie in a theater is actually far less scary than watching it at home. Firstly, you’re surrounded by other people (categorically a good thing, unless you’re Jada Pinkett Smith in Scream 2), and secondly, you’ve got time to decompress in between leaving the theater and getting home, and you won’t associate any of the movie’s scary vibes with your actual apartment (unlike the time I foolishly watched the opening sequence of When a Stranger Calls alone in my apartment late at night, expecting to still be able to sleep later).

This time of year is also a rare chance to catch some true spooky classics on the big screen, so in the ghostly spirit of the season, I’ve rounded up my personal picks of the best scary screenings on offer — we’re skipping current movies and anything that’s already sold out — from now through All Hallows’ Eve, organized by theater:

Syndicated, Brooklyn

Bushwick’s beloved theater-slash-bar-slash restaurant has a stacked lineup of Halloween-y screenings, with tickets at just $9 a pop. Some have already sold out (we’re looking at you Jennifer’s Body), so if you see something you like, it’s probably best to move quickly.

It Follows, Oct. 20 (Prepare to never want to have casual sex again)
The Craft, Oct. 23
The Love Witch, Oct. 27
The Thing, Oct. 28 (There's a second screening of this Kurt Russell classic that's already sold out, don't sleep on it)
Scream, Oct. 30
Halloween, Oct. 30 and Oct. 31 (multiple showtimes)

🎃

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Quad Cinema, Manhattan

Quad’s Alfred Hitchcock series “HitchQUADtober” kicks off starting tomorrow, with a bunch of suspense-filled classics running over the course of the next week. Full details here, but dates for my recommendations from the lineup below:

Suspicion, Oct. 18
North by Northwest, Oct. 19 (The visuals for this one are especially cool on a big screen)
Strangers on a Train, Oct. 20
Dial M for Murder, Oct. 22

Metrograph, Manhattan

As of press time Metrograph hasn’t published their full schedule through Halloween, which seems, shall we say, insane, but they’ve still got a few good options on deck in the meantime:

Nosferatu the Vampyre (NB: this is the 1979 Werner Herzog one), Oct. 25 and Oct. 27
The Blob, Oct. 25 and Oct. 26
Corpse Bride, Oct. 20 and Oct. 27 (The family-friendly screening on the 20th comes with free popcorn for kids wearing costumes, and a Halloween costume raffle with prizes.)

Museum of the Moving ImageQueens

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: 50th Anniversary Release, Oct. 26, Oct. 27, Nov. 1
The Fog, Oct. 31, Nov. 1

MoMA, Manhattan

You’ve got to be a MoMA member to have access to this one, but in case you are, we’d be remiss not to mention their screening of Practical Magic on Halloween night.

Roxy Cinema, Manhattan

Scream, Oct. 24, Oct. 29, Oct. 30, Oct. 31
Suspiria, Oct. 31
Halloween, Oct. 31

IFC Center, Manhattan

A Nightmare on Elm Street, Oct. 18, Oct. 18

Village East by Angelika, Manhattan

Strangers on a Train, Oct. 23
Psycho, Oct. 30, Oct. 31

Alamo Drafthouse

Lower Manhattan:

Cat People, Oct. 19
Ghostbusters, Oct. 18, Oct. 20, Oct. 28
The Shining, Oct. 22

Downtown Brooklyn:

Fright Night, Oct. 22
The Guest, Oct. 31 (Not everyone loved this thriller starring Mr. Matthew from Downton Abbey but in my personal opinion it rips)

Staten Island: