MOVING PICTURES

SCREAMS ON STREAMS AND SCREENS THIS HALLOWEEN

BY JOE NOLAN Film Critic

The fall is one of my favorite times for writing about movies because Halloween is practically synonymous with the horror genre. Any movie with a monster or two, a supernatural twist, or even just a splat of gore might be considered for a list of spooky October favorites. Belcourt Theatre’s 12 Hours of Terror comes to our favorite art house theater on Oct. 16 at 10 p.m.., but due to Belcourt’s COVID-19 capacity limits the event is already sold out. Don’t panic! This week we’ve highlighted alternative local screenings along with the Welcome to the Blumhouse: Season 2 schedule on Amazon Prime to keep you creeped-out for at least a few weeks before we celebrate the scariest night of the year. The Full Moon Cineplex is a unique local movie house operating out of the former Courtyard Cinema 8, which closed in 2001. The Hermitage space is now home to Full Moon, the Slaughterhouse — Nashville’s longest-lived (dead?) haunted house attraction — and Lone Wolf Tattoo. Full Moon’s dinner-and-movie special is unique, and its dedication to genre films makes this space a can’t-miss destination for Halloween horror programming. Full Moon has curated a full slate of frightful favorites for this month including masterpieces like the original Halloween (1978) and Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) films, alongside cult classics like Fright Night (1985) and Halloween 3: Season of the Witch (1982). Go to fullmooncineplex.com to purchase tickets/meals in advance. Full Moon is currently at 50 percent capacity, your temperature will be taken at the door and masks are required inside. Blumhouse is Jason Blum’s horror-centric film and television studio, responsible for movies like Paranormal Activity (2007), The Purge (2013) and the recent remake of The Invisible Man (2020) — which is good and streaming on HBO MAX. Welcome to the Blumhouse returns to Amazon Prime in October with its second season of standalone horror releases just in time for Halloween viewing. Bingo Hell is a horror-comedy wrapped around a vigilante film that pictures a band of fed up senior citizens joining forces to stop a sinister outsider who threatens their idyllic low income community.

Black as Night’s teens-against-vampires premise reminds me of The Lost Boys (1987), but this story is focused on a teenage girl, and it abandons sunny California for the historical spookiness of New Orleans. The Old European vibes of NOLA always make a great setting for bloodsucking, and the presence of genre film icons like Keith David makes Black as Night one of our favorites of this bunch.

Madres begins with a young Mexican couple starting a new life in California in the 1970s. The couple is expecting a child and their future is as bright as those Pacific sunsets. But the mother’s pregnancy and her isolation while dad’s away at work begin to affect her. When she discovers dark secrets about their new house the little family’s dreams — and their very lives — are at stake.

Manor pictures an assisted-living facility where the residents are suddenly, mysteriously dying – it’s the most Gothic flick of the bunch. One resident starts to have nightmares, but the more she discovers about the malevolent forces that are affecting the house, the less the medical staff believe her. This one stars the great Barbara Hershey in a welcome return to genre film.

All these new Blumhouse flicks are directed by women and the variety – from dark comedy to supernatural drama – makes these Prime selections a great place to start the scariest movie month of the year.

All four of the Welcome to The Blumhouse movies are now streaming on Amazon Prime

Joe Nolan is a critic, columnist and performing singer/ songwriter based in East Nashville. Find out more about his projects at www.joenolan.com.