Robtober 2017

Every October, I put together a big schedule of horror films, most of which I haven’t seen before. Films, dates, and times (all subject to change) are listed for any friends who want to join me, and ticket links are included for public screenings. The schedule is also available as a handy Google calendar and as a Letterboxd list.

Below the schedule you can find a bit about how it’s curated as well as a roundup of more horror happenings in NYC. Hope you have a horrific month!

How it’s curated

1. Dip into my ongoing Letterboxd list of Robtober contenders (private, for now) to see if anything jumps out at me.
2. Cursory web search for lists of recently-released horror movies in case anything interesting escaped my notice.
3. Check the latest version of TimeOut’s 100 Best Horror Films (as of this writing, the current version has 18 I still haven’t seen).
4. Scan the various streaming services I periodically subscribe to: Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Shudder, FilmStruck.
5. Check local repertory theaters for their upcoming film programs (more about that below).
6. Put all the contenders in a spreadsheet. Comparing metadata helps me put together what I hope is a fairly diverse program, with at least one film from every decade since the 1920s, and a variety of nationalities and subgenres represented.
7. Assemble the calendar, beginning with theatrical screenings (whose dates and times I can’t control) and then filling in the the space around them with home viewings.

More horror happenings in NYC

I’m lucky to live in New York City, which, perhaps now more than ever, is an embarassment of riches for cinefiles. Here’s a list of most of the horror-oriented repertory film programs happening in the city this month.

Alamo Drafthouse

• Dismember the Alamo: “This Alamo Drafthouse tradition is a four-film mystery horror movie marathon that delivers 1001% fun directly to your degenerate soul.”
• Terror Tuesday: “This eclectic series spans all centuries, covering everything from seminal horror treasures to undiscovered D.I.Y. monster-blasts.”
• The Tobe Hooper Funhouse: Here we celebrate the legacy of this cinematic pioneer from the sweaty, pulpy horror of Texas Chain Saw Massacre, to the sexy, space vampire schlockbuster Lifeforce.
• Video Vortex: “Ultra-obscure, ultra-bizarre movies from the fringes of the universe. And beyond.”
• Weird Wednesday: “A one-way ticket to the edges of reality where imagination and commercial excess dance on the graves of common sense and decency.”

BAM

• Holy Blood: Mexican Horror Cinema: “Brimming with cinematic invention, these high water marks of the genre are among the wildest, freakiest, and most unique horror movies ever made.”

Metrograph

• Giallo × 3: “When the Sexual Revolution hit the stronghold of Catholicism, there was bound to be a hell of an explosion—and in Italian pop cinema, this explosion was called giallo.”
• Written by Stephen King: “It is in honor of the fecund, warped mind of the man from Bangor, Maine, then, that Metrograph presents a ghoulish parade of cinematic King adaptations.”

Nitehawk Cinema

• A Nite to Dismember: “Starting at midnight and continuing until after dawn, we’ll screen five films based on the classic books you love (or have never actually read).”
• Halloween at Nitehawk: “This year, we’re just going to shut up and play the hits. Welcome to all ghosts, crazies, witches, and monsters.”
• Mario Bava Mondays: “The grandfather of Italian horror cinema who ignited the giallo movement and the subsequent American Slasher films.”
• Midnite Movies: “Spanning all of our series, here’s all of Nitehawk’s midnite screenings located in one convenient place.”
• New Horror: “Like their predecessors, these films tackle class, gender identity, and race in way that shows us both where we are and how far we, perhaps, haven’t come.”

Quad Cinema

• Comin’ at Ya! 35mm 3-D: “With today’s 3-D fully digitized into lockstep with DCP, the Quad takes a look back at some of the more arcane, quixotic, and disreputable uses of the process in the early ’80s over/under boom.”

Various Locations

• Brooklyn Horror Film Festival: “A competitive international film festival showing nothing short of the best in badass genre film. The directors of BHFF are committed to celebrating the art of horror filmmaking and are focused on pushing horror’s boundaries to challenge the genre’s preconceptions.”