Here are the few movies we’re most excited about that are playing in New Orleans this week, including plenty of horror gems to help you celebrate Halloween in the dark, spooky atmosphere of a movie theater.

Movies We Haven’t Seen (Yet)

Parasite – The latest from Bong Joon-ho (director of Okja and Swampflix’s favorite movie of 2014, Snowpiercer) is a twisty, crowd-pleasing thriller that’s been selling out screenings & earning ecstatic critical praise in New York & Los Angeles for weeks, somehow cracking the top ten box office rankings in the US despite only playing on 33 screenings. Guaranteed to be in discussions of the best movies of the year, so don’t miss your chance to see it big, loud, and with an enraptured crowd. Playing only at The Broad.

The Lighthouse – Robert Eggers’s follow up to The Witch (Swampflix’s favorite movie of 2016) looks to be a Lovecraftian vision of madness wherein two lighthouse operators (Robert Pattinson & Wile Dafoe) grow to hate each other on a cosmic scale in tense, cramped quarters. The most enticing description I’ve heard so far is that it’s about the horrors of having a roommate. Playing wide.

Countdown – A gimmicky thriller about a killer smartphone app – in the modern tradition of cyber-horrors like Unfriended, Friend Request, #horror, Sickhouse, Nerve, and Truth or Dare?. It’s embarrassing how excited I am to see it, but there really aren’t that many new straightforward horrors in theaters this week so take what you can get. Playing wide.

Burning Cane – A local drama starring Wendel Pierce as an alcoholic reverend in rural Louisiana who struggles to keep his community together despite the cruelties and vices that define their world. Director Phillip Yeomans, 19, shot this film when he was still in high school, making him the youngest and the first African-American filmmaker to win the top prize for Best Narrative Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival. Playing only at Zeitgeist Theatre & Lounge.

Movies We’ve Already Enjoyed

Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (1922) – A Silent Era horror classic from Sweden that likens the way mental institutions of its time were used to torment & imprison women and the mentally ill to the longer history of people being persecuted for “witchcraft.” Almost a century later it still features some of the most hellish imagery to ever reach the big screen and a controversial edge to its messaging. Screening at The Goat on Tuesday 10/29 with live musical accompaniment. 

The Tingler (1959) – Vincent Price stars in this William Castle trash classic about a parasitic creature that tingles the human spine in states of extreme fear. No word yet on whether these showings will incorporate Castle’s innovative “Percepto!” technology – in which audiences’ seats vibrate throughout the film to simulate being attacked by the titular tingler. Screening Sunday 10/27 and Wednesday 10/30 as part of The Prytania’s regular Classic Movies series.

Scream (1996) – Further developing the meta-horror sensibilities Wes Craven had tapped into with New Nightmare, this modern classic jumpstarted an entire second wave of newly excited slashers in the 90s – typified by young stars, quippy dialogue, and tie-in CD soundtracks. A lastingly impressive achievement in mainstream horror filmmaking. Screening at The Broad on Sunday 10/27.

Evil Dead (1981) – I’m personally not much of a fan of Sam Raimi’s cheap-o horror landmark, but I recognize that it means a lot to people as a stylish feat in low-budget craft & practical effects gore (influencing much better films that followed). See it with fellow fans at The Broad on Saturday 10/26.

-Brandon Ledet