A family snapshot from the New Zealand hit What We Do in the Shadows.
Once your costume is chosen and pumpkins carved, it’s time to watch some horror. This year, local theatres have many of the usual suspects—Dario Argento’s Suspiria seems to get more popular with each passing Halloween—and a few surprises. Find out more below as we see what’s coming up at Vancity Theatre, the Cinematheque, and the Rio.
At Vancity Theatre (1181 Seymour; tickets and info at viff.org):
God Told Me To (Oct. 30 at 9 p.m. at Vancity Theatre)—B-movie director Larry Cohen’s oeuvre includes Q, the Winged Serpent (1982) and It’s Alive (1974). So it’s not damning with faint praise to say that God Told Me To may be his weirdest film. The 1976 movie follows an NYPD detective trying to solve the mystery of a spree of killings by apparently random strangers.
A Quiet Place (Oct. 31, 7 p.m.)—Actor John Krasinski’s hit from earlier this year about a family trying to stay alive by making no noise whatsoever, lest they alert killer beasties as to their whereabouts.
Hereditary (Oct. 31, at 8:50 p.m.)—Another horror hit from this year; Hereditary has a rating of 89 percent on Rottentomatoes.com.
At the Cinematheque (1131 Howe St, tickets and info at thecinematheque.ca):
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Oct 21 at 11 a.m.)—The first feature starring stop-motion animation favourites Wallace & Gromit is a family-friendly Halloween flick.
Don’t Lose Your Head! Dario Argento for Halloween (Oct 26-31)—The Cinematheque presents three films from Italian horror director Dario Argento. The movies are all screening in 4K restorations, and include The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (1970), Deep Red (1975), and Argento’s best-known movie, Suspiria (1977). The latter is also featured at the theatre’s Halloween Party (Oct. 31), which includes a performance by local dance company Dancinema set to the music of Goblin. Goblin is an Italian prog-rock band known for its soundtrack work, including Argento movies.
It’s Suspiria, again. And again.
At the Rio Theatre (1660 E. Broadway; tickets and info at riotheatre.ca):
Suspiria (Oct 19)—See above.
What We Do in the Shadows (Oct. 25)—This horror-comedy masterpiece asks, “What if modern-day vampires lived together in New Zealand, and one of them never did the dishes?”
Rocky Horror Picture Show (Oct. 27 & 31)—Join Frank N. Furter and the gang in this send-up of B-movie tropes.
