Author: Amy Diaz

Amy Diaz is the executive editor and writes about movies and compiles the Kiddie Pool column. Reach her at adiaz@hippopress.com.

Oddball roundup

A look at a few recent weirdo movies

It’s a week of oddities.

Klara and the Sun (in theaters now) is a Taika Waititi directed and co-written adaptation of the Kazuo Ishiguro novel of the same name. And I feel like “Taika Waititi” is the most accurate description of its genre as well — like, what would you call Jojo Rabbit, because this is also that.

Klara (Jenna Ortega) is a sun-charged Artificial Friend, specifically a B1 model, which is an older model and not as cool as the new Fancy Friend robots. Nevertheless, Store Manager (Natasha Lyonne) gamely tries to sell these discontinued models, even Klara, who is known among the other AFs as being weird. While spending time in the store’s front window, Klara sees Josie (Mia Tharia), a teenage girl. Josie gets her mom, Chrissy (Amy Adams), to purchase Klara for her, perhaps, as we come to realize, to serve as another set of watchful eyes on Josie because she is sick. Josie and Klara become teen-girl style besties, with Josie lending Klara her clothes and helping her navigate in the world (no easy task as Klara becomes momentarily disoriented in any new environment). Josie introduces Klara to Rick (Aran Murphy), who is Josie’s nearest (human) neighbor and who Josie calls her boyfriend. Rick is a sweet, nerdy tinkerer but he is not “lifted.” That is, he hasn’t had the surgery that enhances his intellect and abilities — which Josie received and which seems to have put an unfun burden of perfection on her. Also, when we see a group of “lifted” students together, they come off as teens whose “enhancements” have mostly enhanced how punchable they are. Long a believer that the Sun is a sort of deity that gives life and listens to her prayers, Klara turns to the Sun for help in healing Josie.

There are a lot of fascinating pieces here, starting with the production and costume design, which themselves feature a lot of fascinating pieces from store signs to Chrissy’s strangely futuristic-1960s outfits to her odd mansion sitting in the middle of fields of wheat. Inside the giant mansion, we see a massive dog sculpture and a piano and stereos that seems to feature reel-to-reel. It’s all stunning and confusing.

Likewise, elements of this movie are fascinating and confusing and don’t entirely mesh together into a coherent story. Mia Tharia gives a charming, natural performance as a young teenager dealing with a difficult medical prognosis and a bunch of heavy family stuff (her older sister died, her father has left, her mother is a clenched fist of fear and grief). Amy Adams is solid as a person whose grief and desperation have kind of made her crazy. Rachel House is funny and tart in a supporting role as a longtime family housekeeper. But there are times when they each feel like they are in a slightly different version of this story, when their performances don’t fully seem to gel with each other. And then there’s the relentlessly chipper Ortega, who plays Klara as something between a golden retriever and a 1980s-sitcom version of an exchange student. There is a way that her whole deal could have worked but she joins the rest of the movie — its characters, its Big Ideas about love and parenthood and family, its thoughts on robots and superhuman enhancements — just kind of floating in space, bumping into each other occasionally, but never quite interacting. Klara and the Sun, while not unpleasant, is a scattered watch.

Buddy (rent or purchase) offers a delightfully strange addition to spooky season. The movie is set in It’s Buddy, a kids’ TV show, something of the 1990s Disney/Nickelodeon live-action variety mixed with some Barney-esque large mascot-type creatures. Buddy (voice of Keegan-Michael Key), an orange unicorn, helps kids learn to be brave and to clean up via chirpy songs. Four children dance around and hug Buddy and sing songs with him — well, not Josh (Luke Speakman), who just wants to be left alone to read his book. When he rebels against some Buddy-supplied magic dancing shoes, we hear an off-camera scuffle and then Buddy later announces to the remaining three kids — Freddy (Delaney Quinn), Wade (Caleb Williams) and Oliver (Tristan Borders) — that Josh loved dancing so much he decided to go dance professionally in Diamond City. The kids are happy for Josh until Freddy sees his book, covered in blood, in the trash. In the next episode, new girl Hannah (Madison Skyy Polan) arrives but Freddy and Wade still want to figure out what happened to Josh and what they can do to help themselves.

Meanwhile suburban mom Grace (Cristin Milioti) does not believe her husband Ben (Topher Grace) when he says that their two sons represent the totality of their children. She even hires a psychic (Brooke Bloom), who senses something foreboding at the same time that It’s Buddy suddenly appears on the television. Though Ben shuts the TV off, Grace can’t shake the feeling that the show is a part of the mystery.

This movie is bloody, but goofily so (though very much R-rated). Buddy is obsessed with getting to the end of an episode so his “show” (and whatever physical damage he incurred) can reset and he can remain the center of everybody’s love and attention. Though occasionally TV-to-real-world transcending, Buddy mostly exists in It’s Buddy, in a fake-grass covered “park” with flowers that have faces and “alive” objects such as the mailbox (voice of Eric Bauza, who also voices Couchy and Trashy the trash can) and Freddy’s backpack (voice of Patton Oswalt). The look of the world is impressively accurate (by which I mean purposefully low-budget) and adds to the well-crafted sunshiney horror.

Put recent theatrical release Digger on an oddball, climate-change-related-ish double feature with Sacrifice, recently released on Netflix and starring Chris Evans having an absolute blast as Mike Tyler, an action film star. Mike, trying to rehabilitate himself after a viral breakdown, prepares to attend an event in Greece at which a character who I thought of as Shmeff Shmezos (Vincent Cassel, playing bald billionaire Ben Bracken) plans to announce a new source of energy. But the evening goes awry when a gang of cult members led by Joan (Anya Taylor-Joy) shows up to kidnap three people who will be sacrificed to a volcano to prevent an impending catastrophic eruption.

The movie features some nice supporting work: Salma Hayek as Ben’s wife who may hate him, Sam Richardson as Mike’s agent who is just trying to get him a new role. Though often laugh-out-loud funny, it is so much weirder even than Digger. Brutal violence, rich jerk satire, nature-delivered catastrophe — I guess that’s what we’re doing here in late 2026?

Featured photo: Klara and the Sun

Romance, spookiness

Films in the two fall flavors

This latest adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (in theaters now) really highlights its status as the capital-R Romantic one of her core-four books.

This movie is also capital-G Gritty, though not in the “mean streets of Devonshire” sense but in the “Regency England probably did not smell great” sense. There is visible dirt on the grimy floor of the cottage the Dashwood ladies are banished to after their father dies and his weenie son (Tom Brooke) from his first marriage, egged on by his graspy wife Fanny (Stacy Martin), takes over the family estate. Widow Dashwood (Caitriona Balfe) does not like how her stepdaughter-in-law treats her and her daughters — Elinor (Daisy Edgar-Jones), Marianne (Esmé Creed-Miles) and young Margaret (Bodhi Rae Breathnach) — so Mama Dashwood takes distant cousin Mrs. Jennings’ (Fiona Shaw, who is chef’s-kiss perfect) offer of the cottage. It is small and dirty and puts Elinor very far away from Edward (George MacKay), the kind and seemingly-marriage-material brother of Fanny. But Mrs. Jennings assures the Dashwoods that her whole deal is matchmaking and she’s got the perfect (wealthy) Col. Brandon (Herbert Nordrum) for somebody, maybe Marianne. But Marianne is all starry-eyed about her own notion of romantic love, which should be full of passion!, which Austen always defines as “a handsome jerk,” who in this case is Willoughby (Frank Dillane).

In addition to the dirt and the wrinkles on clothes and the frizz in hair, this movie feels rawer than, say, the glossy 1995 adaptation, more openly emotional while still being aware of the Dashwoods’ precarious economic and social situation. This movie also has more sisterly-ness; the 1995 movie featured the then-mid-30something Emma Thompson and 20-year-old Kate Winslet as Elinor and Marianne, and they had a relationship that often felt more mother-daughter. Here, Edgar-Jones and Creed-Miles clock in at 28 and 26 respectively, making them feel more like they are both going through the turmoil of young womanhood at the same time, if in their different ways. They are both making mistakes and learning, rather than Marianne just absorbing good behavior from Elinor. Likewise, Balfe brings a little something different to her role as their mother, who is often given little to do but be “old widow.” Here she doesn’t get a love plot but this Mrs. Dashwood isn’t someone in her dotage, she’s someone learning how to be in her new circumstance. One nice moment features her trying — without much success, based on Elinor’s facial expression — to figure out how to cook after years of being cooked for. (Also, Balfe as a performer is just a joy to be with.)

The movie is a fun watch, for fans of romances and Austen fans alike. And it has me eager to revisit the book, and maybe more adaptations. If you’re looking for other Sense and Sensibilitys: Hallmark+’s 2024 Sense and Sensibility is streaming on Hallmark+ and available for rent or purchase. A BBC three-part Sense and Sensibility from 2008 is available on a variety of platforms (Amazon Prime Video, Tubi, Pluto, Peacock, Hulu/Disney+, Britbox, The Roku Channel, etc.). The 1995 Sense and Sensibility is available for rent or purchase and on Pluto TV.

Fittingly, the rest of this week’s watches rest somewhere on the spooky or thriller continuums.

Whalefall, also new in theaters last week, had so much dumb potential, based on its premise: guy gets swallowed by a whale. The Bible did it and more recently 911 did it, the original-recipe Los Angeles-based version of the goofy rescue procedural (airing on ABC, available on Hulu/Disney+). In that Season 9 episode from 2025, guest star Mark Consuelos getting stuck in a whale (while on his cell phone!) was only one of several events in the episode (though it led to this whole multi-episode arc where some characters go to space, like definitely check it out if dumb fun is your thing). Here, we take about 30 minutes to get to guy-in-whale; in this case “guy” is Jay, played by Austin Abrams, who I kept thinking of as off-brand Timothée Chalamet. Jay goes diving off the California coast looking for the remains of his dad (Josh Brolin), who suffered from an increasingly debilitating illness and died by suicide a year earlier. I don’t know if “look for remains a year later” is how the ocean works but this setup does provide the shaky scaffolding on which to hang several flashback scenes of Jay and Dad’s terrible relationship. Each incident of crummy parenting does, however, contain advice that Jay is able to apply to his attempts to get out of the whale. Along the way, he runs into other still-alive creatures that have been eaten and deals with his unresolved guilt about not seeing his dad once he got sick.

The mix of gross-out whale-stomach scenes and borderline abusive parenting is weird and not what I’m looking for in my “guy swallowed by whale” movie. The movie’s moments of dumb fun-ness or improbable whale biology really clash with the scenes of, like, a drunk Brolin’s character smashing a beer can on his head and trying to give his son a face tattoo with a knife.

For more — and better! — scary-water stuff, definitely check out Below, a six-episode series on Netflix starring Josh Hartnett. Hartnett plays Cal Penny, who lives in Newfoundland and would be a fisherman, like his forefathers, but for government regulations about commercial fishing. Instead, he fishes for chunks of icebergs, which he sells to the local vodka distillery. Cal has three adult children: son Wade (Charlie Heaton), who lives with him; daughter Mary (Ruby Stokes), who returns to the island from college in Montreal with boyfriend Noah (Kaleb Horn) for a townwide celebration, and his son Jay (Rohan Campbell), who works in oil fields out west. He is still mourning the death of his wife, their mother, and the long-ago death of his father, which happened when the family was being relocated by the government from a smaller fishing town to the slightly more populous small town he lives in now. And from which Cal and everyone he knows may be relocated again. Cal is attached to his home and to the ocean, even though, on the day his father presumably drowned while bringing the family across a bay, Cal saw a big Something in the water. That Something may be back, possibly related to changing climate and warming waters in the ocean, as local scientist Fonda (Mackenzie Davis), suspects.

Reviews frequently compare this show to Apple TV’s Widow’s Bay, and while that series is superior, this one has some similar small-town, spooky-water vibes and is plenty fun. The standout performance for me is Willow Kean, who plays Cal’s sister Ruth and whose whole person emits delightful “Not Here For Your Nonsense” vibes.

Hokum (a May theatrical release that is now available for rent or purchase and streaming on Hulu) is an old-school haunted-house/scary-witch story. Miserable jerk author Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) is having a hard time ending his popular book trilogy. He goes to Ireland to be miserable and jerkish in a new locale while he fights this writer’s block, and to scatter his parents’ ashes near the grounds of the quaint (which in this case means “mildew-y looking”) inn where they went on their honeymoon decades ago. Upon arrival, he has a full day: scattering ashes; meeting Jerry (David Wilmot), a local who makes moonshine and grows psychotropic mushrooms; being a real butthead to bellhop Alby (Will O’Connell), and even laying on thick snark with Fiona (Florence Ordesh), a bartender who is nice to him even when he’s being the worst. Fiona is the one who tries to return the stuff he left at the bar after drunkedly returning to his room. She has a bad feeling about the headspace he’s in, and subsequently finds Ohm attempting to harm himself. When Ohm finally leaves the hospital days later, he learns that Fiona went missing the day after she saved him (which happened to be Halloween) and that the inn is preparing to close for the season. Jerry finds Ohm and is certain that Fiona is calling to him from the hotel, probably from the honeymoon suite, which is locked up tight because the owner says he captured a witch in there years earlier.

Even before Ye Olde Witch-Prison Inn, Ohm seems haunted both figuratively by his family’s past and literally by a ghostly figure. In addition, there may be at least one more uneasy spirit at the inn and there’s a lot of talk of a demonic witch who kidnaps children. All of this seemed to be both laying it on thick and resulting in an overall spookiness that felt a little thin — more like watching one not-great dude’s slide into a deeper pool of self-loathing, which is not the kind of “scary” I’m looking for in my Spooky Season movies. But about halfway through, the movie picks up, with a nice examination of grief and guilt along with some supernaturalness and good old-fashioned Mur-Der. This movie isn’t great but it’s quietly entertaining — or like, entertaining enough when you want something horror-y but not big scares or gore. And Adam Scott is naturally compelling enough that we can walk through this haunted house with him, jerkishness and all.

The documentary Clown Panic (streaming on Hulu) is an oddball scary-movie watch. It is about real events — the 2016 spate of clown sightings that I have a vague memory of from a year when a lotta other things were going on. Its interview subjects swing wildly from a reporter sent to do an early story about the clown sightings and a professional clown talking about how much the whole thing was a real bummer for his profession to the family members of both victim and perpetrator in a clown-related assault that ended with the death of one young man and the incarceration of another. And a pastor says something like “the story of the clowns is the story of modern America” which is both ridiculous and accurate. Lines are drawn to previous frenzies such as the 1980s Satanic Panic and the Salem Witch Trails. This isn’t a light lift, per se, with its pokes into issues of race, poverty, law enforcement and the 2016-ness of it all. I think in the end this documentary manages to be (mostly) respectful to the people who suffered genuine injury during this whole clown thing and to capture the absolute weirdness of it all.

It Ends(an August theatrical release, according to Wikipedia, that is now available for rent or purchase) is labeled on Apple as a thriller and there are definitely moments of suspense and even terror here, but I think the movie and the story it tells is a lot more “whatever you think it is” than that. Four friends from high school — Tyler (Mitchell Cole), Day (Akira Jackson), Fisher (Noah Toth) and James (Phinehas Yoon) — have gotten together after three of them (all but Tyler) have graduated from college. A drive to drop one of them off leads them to take a road through a forest, one that is not lit, not populated and, Tyler realizes, probably taking them past where they were supposed to turn off. He makes a U-turn, heads back and finds a wall of trees where he’s certain they turned onto the road. As they try to figure out where they are and find phone service, they see and hear movement in the trees around them that quickly turns into a horde of people maniacally running toward them. They get back in the car and speed back down the road.

After all the initial “what is happening,” they start trying to investigate the situation — nobody is hungry or particularly sleepy, which would suggest no passage of time, but the sun rises and sets and when Fisher is injured he starts to heal. They time how long it takes between when they stop the car and the screaming horde shows up. They carefully scan through the radio frequencies. Tyler starts to take quick investigative dashes into the woods. Meanwhile, the combination of fear, boredom and uncertainty leads to a variety of conversations and intragroup relationship dynamics.

This is an existential nightmare? A metaphor for life? A commentary on post-college despair and confusion? I think “sure, could be” is the right answer for all of those things. The play-on-wheels quality is well put together (the story is both claustrophobically all in the car and also in an infinite unknown) and these characters, who we don’t know a whole lot about, are nonetheless very well built in terms of understanding their actions. It’s a compelling watch.

Featured photo: Sense and Sensibility.

Let’s have fun!

In praise of fun messes and silly horror

This week, I appreciate the crazy swing and the “let’s just have fun with it” over the movies that get stuck in their own tar pits of seriousness.

“This is a big weird plate of crazy mess” was my thought while watching Digger(in theaters), the latest movie from director Alejandro G. Iñárritu (who also co-wrote). If your Iñárritu experience is, say, The Revenant, I could see how going from that to this could seem confusing in the “how is this the same guy?” sense (“cinematography and production design” would be my answer). There is more similarity here to his Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), which like this movie has some backstage-at-a-theater elements. But really I think the line you can draw more directly is to 2022’s Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, where, for example, stuff about family and immigration and Mexico’s relationship with the U.S. is mixed with recurring images of axolotlsand the main character talking to the ghost of Hernán Cortés. This is very much that — Something Important to Say mixed in with a lot of ideas, strangeness and whimsy. And with elements that had me thinking of the Coen Brothers and even Wes Anderson.

Tom Cruise is the other big swing happening here — he plays a character named Digger Rockwell, a loud yee-haw American oil man. When an oil operation in Greenland causes an explosion that sets a big sheet of ice adrift, he’s more concerned with saving his business than saving the lives of the millions of Europeans in the path of what will be a devastating flood. Adding to the Coen Brothers feel are John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons and others as hapless U.S. government officials.

The movie takes some twists I found myself willing to just sort of go with, even to some obvious places. Headlines from early reviews and its dismal box office performance had me expecting a dud, but this is more interesting than that. It is fascinating in its presentation and Tom Cruise is clearly Doing A Thing, a little flight of fancy from his standard action fare. Here, he’s loose and weird and very watchable. Not great, exactly, but very watchable — which is also how I’d explain this oddball movie overall.

Expectation, of course, can color your reaction to a movie. Perhaps moviegoers expecting bloodcurdling horror will be disappointed by Other Mommy(in theaters), but I found it one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen about parenting anxiety, middle-age dissatisfaction and mom-pressure. Oh, and a demon — in addition to the mistakes of parenthood, the Big Scary here includes a demon.

Jessica Chastain plays regular human mom Ursula, who works a lot and doesn’t have patience for all the kid stuff, like listening to daughter Bela’s (Arabella Olivia Clark) “Story of Me” essay. Chastain also plays Other Mommy, the spooky something-in-the-closet that Bela gets up to play with after lights out. Other Mommy looks like Ursula but with darker hair, sharper bangs and extra creepiness. Also, I guess she doesn’t walk so much as levitate.

The first delight of this movie is that after a basic introduction to Ursula and her husband, Russell (Jay Duplass), who is the primary kid caretaker, and to the marital tension between them, we pretty quickly get to Russell setting eyes on Other Mommy creepily hiding under a table. Russell freaks out, grabs Bela, leaves the house and calls the police. Not long after this, Ursula also gets a look at Other Mommy and is also freaked out. Thus we totally skip all the “is it a ghost or just the wind?” nonsense that stretches out your standard horror movie and get right to this couple trying to figure out what the heck to do about this entity. Can they just leave the house? Do they need to call a priest? Does Ursula’s mother (Karen Allen), a frequent consultant of psychics and mediums and a big Russell-disliker, have friends who can help?

There are some jump scares here and some real-world “my child is lost in a ball pit!” fears. But most of the horror, such as it is, is the ever-swirling, low-grade dread built on the “am I screwing up my kid with some element of my life I don’t even realize impacts them” stuff. The movie tempers this with a fair amount of sly humor that for me made this more funny than scary. And it accomplishes all of its fun-horror business in a brisk 93 minutes.

Going funnier could have helped Soulm8te (streaming on Hulu and available for rent or purchase), a highly skippable spooky-season movie, which Wikipedia says is or was supposed to be part of the M3gan universe but which doesn’t capture that movie’s blend of scariness and zaniness. In Soulm8te, the sentient evil robot is now a “companion” (which means exactly what you think it means) with robots in beta testing who all look like Lily Sullivan, who plays “Sara,” main nerd David’s (David Rysdahl) special new robot friend. David is a sad nerd still mourning his recent-ishly deceased wife and can’t yet act on coworker Aubrey’s (Claudia Doumit) totally unwarranted attraction to him. But he sure as heck can help devise a “Sara” who can be his bestest friend and confidant. When “Sara” isn’t sassy enough to feel “real,” David messes around in her code and yada yada yada her software update makes her a clingy killer.

I get that this movie probably thinks it’s doing Social Commentary about what men think they want and how women feel they need to respond. I happened to see the Saturday Night Live “Mean, Scary Girlfriend” skit with Dakota Johnson about the same time I saw this movie, and that video short does something in a few minutes that is similar and funnier than what this movie does in its 99 minutes. Soulm8teneeded to be smarter and/or a whole lot dumber to reach those M3gan absurdity heights.

Taking itself way too seriously is The Social Reckoning(in theaters). A sequel to 2010’s The Social Network, this movie is also written by Aaron Sorkin, who this time replaces David Fincher in the director’s chair. This means that for The Social Reckoning Sorkin, not unlike Mark Zuckerberg as portrayed here, has no one to tell him “no.” Every scene with a man and a woman talking to each other features at least one line of dialogue that makes me want to throw something at the screen and the only things more loathsome than the villains are the “nice guy” heroes. And Jeremy Strong does a very good job of making Zuckerberg a pretty loathsome villain. We primarily see him as he preps for his appearance at U.S. Congressional hearings. This prep happens to take place on Jan. 6, 2021, in the movie’s telling, which means that all the arguing he does with staff and advisors about the wording of his answers and why he won’t fact-check political ads eventually takes a back seat to real-world troubles that social media has inflamed.

Intercut with these scenes are scenes of Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White) starting in 2019 when he begins covering Facebook. Eventually he makes contact with Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison), a true Facebook believer who works for the company’s civic integrity team. She’s concerned about some of the evidence Facebook is ignoring about its operations — specifically, she learns that a formerly politically progressive friend has become a racist right winger. How does this happen, she asks, kind of knowing how it happens but initially reluctant to blow open all of Facebook’s dodgy methods for increasing engagement.

Set aside the arguments between Frances and Josh, two people presented as roughly the same age, that sound like an aughts-era Millennial girlie versus a Boomer dad debating the issues at Thanksgiving. And the criminal underuse of Betty Gilpin, who plays an editor/boss cartoon character. And the movie’s attitude about those Wall Street Journal stories which, as you’ll recall, totally led to serious, well-enforced regulation of social media, a culture of robust local and national journalism and a fully functional government. Even setting aside all of these variously maddening things, The Social Reckoning feels like a movie that could have been an op-ed, like Sorkin wanted to be sure that we know that he knows The Social Network wasn’t the end of the story. There is no narrative reason for this movie to be; the Wall Street Journal series does not provide the dramatic tension the movie seems to think it does. Full of Sorkin-y twitches, this movie doesn’t feel like it has anything particularly new or thoughtful to say about Zuckerberg, the later years of Facebook or what Sorkin thinks it all means.

Similarly mired in its own Importantness is Netflix’s new release Animals. The quick review of Animals is that I liked it better when I saw it last year and it was called Highest 2 Lowest (still available on Apple). Like that Spike Lee movie, Animals features a seemingly wealthy and powerful man dealing with the kidnapping of his son, which then is revealed to be something else. But while that movie, imperfect though it was, had a Spike Lee bounce and riveting performances from Denzel Washington and Jeffrey Wright, Animals has just a whole lot of flailing.

Ben Affleck is, according to Wikipedia, a co-writer and director in addition to the movie’s male lead, Mark Kimball. A candidate for mayor of Los Angeles, Mark gets a call that his son, Denny (Christopher Woodley), who he believes is out trick-or-treating, has been kidnapped by a man who wants $7 million for his safe return. Mark should have the money but, as he’s neglected to tell his wife, Abigail (Kerry Washington), he’s basically blown most of their money, including the significant fortune inherited from his father, on the election that he is currently losing. Don’t worry, though; Abigail has her own secret and his name is Ron (Ray Fisher), a man who has just left his own wife so they can be together.

I know a lady who can give us the cash, says Mark’s campaign manager, Sam (Steven Yeun, probably giving the movie’s best performance). Sam calls a woman Wikipedia says is named Dayle (Gillian Anderson), but it’s clear that’s not her name nor will any of these people ever know it. Dayle is someone who can show up with $7 million in cash in the middle of the night but requires $1.4 million as payment for that service. She also offers some advice on dealing with the kidnapper and does so in the clipped British accent of a Gillian Anderson having a great time playing a silly character. When the Kimballs’ housekeeper Cecilia (Adriana Paz) and her boyfriend Ramon (Luis Gerardo Méndez) discuss the character, what they decide is that everybody is scared of her and she seems like a Mafiosa, both of which are fairly accurate.

Cecilia and Ramon are mixed into the tale because Cecilia was with Denny when he was taken and because the Kimballs turned her down when she asked them to hire Ramon, who is undocumented. We in the audience already know from the movie’s opening scenes that the kidnapper’s whole deal is something else entirely, but the movie spends a lot of time talking about The Latino Community in a way that doesn’t feel, you know, problem-free. Mark is currently behind his opponent (a Latina candidate) in polls of Latino voters, whose votes he needs to win. And he can’t hire Ramon because that would break the law but later when Ramon needs his help Mark can’t turn him away because that would be bad for showing solidarity with those voters. Also Mark is a Good Guy who needs to make a Moral Choice and “oh barf” is my response to all the movie’s clunky nonsense about Mark’s goodness and of-the-people-ness.

This movie feels like it tries on different variations of who it wants Mark to be and those different types of guy don’t all fit together. There is a scene somewhere in the middle of the movie between Mark and Abigail that feels fully cut out of a different movie with different characters. This movie picks up story ideas, turns them around for a bit, and then, like, forgets them entirely. Unlike Digger, Animal isn’t a fascinating mess, just a box full of L.A. noir scraps and thriller pieces that add up to nothing.

Also having absolutely no fun is Apple TV’s release Matchbox: The Movie, whichfeels like a bit from Apple TV’s comedy series The Studio that accidentally became a feature-length movie. If Mattel’s idea here was that it could just Barbie any toy into a popular film, hopefully this will at least slow that IP wave a little bit. Unlike Barbie in Barbie, Matchbox cars here feel more like a product placement than like an integrated part of the film.

In a 1990s that looks more late-1970s, a bunch of kids who call themselves the Matchbox Gang hang out at one of their uncle’s (Bill Camp) salvage yard and autobody shop, playing with Matchbox cars, until one of their number, Sean, moves away from their home town. In the now, Sean (John Cena), a super secret CIA whatever, returns to pay his respects when the uncle dies and decides to hang out with old buddies Crosby (Sam Richardson) and Charmaine (Teyonah Parris), who are now married to each other; Ted (Arturo Castro), who is now an AP high school science teacher, and Aimee (Jessica Biel), Sean’s long ago crush. But “just a few drinks” leads to the gang getting drugged and waking up in a cargo plane. The CIA now believes that Sean never actually delivered the nuclear weapon he was supposed to deliver in the movie’s initial (forgettable) action scene. Sean insists he did deliver the weapon, which means someone else on his team has turned traitor. Soon Sean and his gang of regular-Joe friends (though each with some pretty specific and helpful skills, like Charmaine’s ability to fly a helicopter and speak a bunch of languages and Ted’s ability to blow stuff up) are tasked with finding the errant bomb to save the world.

Matchbox: The Movie is rated PG-13; had it gone for a PG, I think some of the flat-soda quality, the Supermarket Brand Movie Product nature of this could have been forgivable as the price you pay for watching something newly released for “free” with the whole family at home. But this movie is probably too violent for that and definitely too boring and plasticine to watch on purpose as an adult or a teen or anybody who has any better choices at all, to include other movies, TV, books, sleep or staring at the wall. Cena has less than his normal sparkle and nobody has any human chemistry with each other. The movie isn’t fun, isn’t funny and doesn’t, like, Matchbox at all.

Featured photo: Digger.

Halloween 2026

Your guide to scary movie screenings, local festivals, downtown trick-or-treats, haunted houses and more spooky season fun for all ages

Treats for everyone!

This year’s Halloween season has scary movies, spooky theater, haunted attractions, music and parties, downtown festivities and so much more. Whether you’re looking for not-so-spooky fun for the littlest kids or full fright activities, there is Halloween excitement for all tastes. Let us know at adiaz@hippopress.com if we missed your favorite haunted happening. Check with the websites and socials (where most of the information here comes from) before heading out for tickets and admission details and the latest information on events. (Outdoor events can be weather-dependent.)

Haunted attractions

• Spookville: Ev11ution 1 Cheshire St. in Nashua is put together by S.C.A.R.E. NH, a nonprofit organization providing Halloween costumes to kids in need, according to scarenh.org. You can find upcoming costume distribution locations via their Facebook page. This year’s Spookville will run Friday, Oct. 16; Saturday, Oct. 17; Sunday, Oct. 18; Friday, Oct. 23; Saturday, Oct. 24; Sunday, Oct. 25; Friday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 31, the website said.

• The 11th Annual SCARY Haunted House Fundraiser Tour will take place Saturday, Oct. 24, from 6 to 9 p.m., at Stevens Memorial Hall, 1 Chester St. in Chester, according to a press release. The event costs $10 per adult, $5 per child, cash only at the door (“Parental discretion is strongly advised for anyone under 17”), the press release said. “This attraction is geared towards adults and contains scenes of intense horror, startling effects and mature themes,” the release said. “Join us if you dare for a spine-chilling journey into a new realm of horror,” the release said. See the Chester NH Public Library Facebook page for details.

• Beans & Screams Fear Farm at Beans & Greens Farm, 245 Intervale Road, Gilford, 293-2853, beansandgreensfarm.com, runs Fridays and Saturdays in October, from 7 to 10 p.m. (last entry at 9:30 p.m.), according to the website, where you can purchase tickets. People under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. The attraction is billed as having “haunted rooms,” “twisted trails” and “creepy characters.”

• The Dark Woods: The Haunting of Trombly Gardens, 150 N. River Road in Milford, thedarkwoodsnh.com, is open for general admission evenings Fridays through Sundays through Nov. 1 (closed Oct. 31), according to the website, where you can purchase tickets for specific admission times. A The Darker Woods experience with nearly no light and characters that may touch or be near you will run on Thursdays, Oct. 22 and Oct. 29, the website said. A “Trauma Free Tour — No Scare Walk Through Tour” will take place at 5 p.m. on Saturdays, Oct. 17 and Oct. 24, the website said. “The Dark Woods is an ‘all original’ event. This means all our characters, costumes, designs, and interactions are original and have been ‘brained’ by actors themselves and the event creators,” according to the website, where you can find a FAQ about the attraction.

• Fright Kingdom 12 Simon St. in Nashua, frightkingdom.com, features “frightening attractions” — Apocalypse Z, The Abandoned, Bloodmare Manor, Psycho Circus and Grim — as well as a Monster Midway (with costumed characters, photo opportunities, concessions and merch sales), which operate Friday through Sunday evenings through Oct. 31, according to the website, where you can pick an entry time and purchase tickets. “In the Dark” sessions take place Friday, Nov. 6, and Saturday, Nov. 7, the website said. (There is also a Fright Before Xmas that runs Dec. 4-5 and Dec. 11-12, the website said.)

• Haunted Overload at DeMeritt Hill Farm, 20 Orchard Way in Lee, hauntedoverload.com, is open for its main attraction — described as a “spooky trail through the woods” — Fridays through Sundays in the evenings through Oct. 31, according to the website, where you can purchase tickets. A Fright Nite Light, which is described as “no scares,” takes place Thursdays through Oct. 29, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., the website said. Devils’s Night, the final night of the season on Sunday, Nov. 1, features dim lighting, roaming actors and more, the website said. Day Walks, which take place between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., run Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Nov. 1, according to the website, where you can find more details about the “3 levels of fear.”

• The Salisbury Woods Haunted Barn and Trail 19 Franklin Road in Salisbury, salisburywoods.com, is open evenings on Fridays and Saturdays, Oct. 16-17 and Oct. 23-24 and Oct. 30-31 as well as from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturdays, Oct. 24 and Oct. 30, according to the website, where you can purchase tickets. There will be a “Lite Fright Night” with no actors on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 7 to 9 p.m., the website said. “As you venture through our haunted trails, you’ll encounter spine-chilling scenes and terrifying creatures that will make your blood run cold,” the website said about its main attraction.

• Screeemfest at Canobie Lake Park in Salem, canobie.com, is open Fridays through Sundays until Oct. 31, opening at 5 p.m. on Fridays, 3 p.m. on Saturdays and 1 p.m. on Sundays, according to the website, where you can purchase tickets. “Canobie Lake Park SCREEEMFEST delivers family fun by day and a healthy dose of fear by night. You get TONS of rides, haunted houses, kid-friendly fun, live shows, roaming monsters and much, much more,” the website said. Sundays are described as “family fun days,” when the haunted houses open at 5 p.m. but the attractions are actor-free until 6 p.m., the website said. The six haunted attractions include Slaughter Camp (new for 2026, a 1980s horror-movie style summer camp), Terrorform (a Mars colony), Carnivus 2 (a scary trip to the movies, with clowns), Cargo (spooky cargo freighter), Pinecrest Sanitarium and Haven (“Raiders have seized control of a once-quiet town”), according to the website, where you can find the opening hours for the attractions and a schedule for other events such as Critters Live and walk-through Lights On hours at the Pinecrest Sanitarium.

• Spooky World Presents Nightmare New England 454 Charles Bancroft Hwy. in Litchfield, nightmarenewengland.com, has five haunts: Petrified (new for 2026); Nightmare in 3D; Haunted Hayride; The Colony and Asylum 47, according to the website, where you can purchase tickets. The attraction also features a pre-scare party, a Monster Midway, fire pits, zombie paintball, axe-throwing, food and drink concessions, mini golf, go karts and more, the website said. Spooky World is open in the evenings Thursdays through Sundays, through Nov. 1, according to the website, where you can pick an entry time. Sunday, Nov. 1, is a “Lights Out” attraction, the website said.

For the kids

• Griffin Free Public Library, 22 Hooksett Road in Auburn, griffinfree.org, will host its second annual Not So Spooky Story Walk with the book Ellie the Skelly The Magical Wish on Friday, Oct. 16, from 4:30 to 7 p.m. for toddlers and children, according to the website.

• Seacoast Science Center in Odiorne Point State Park in Rye will hold its Nature@Nite program on Friday, Oct. 16, at 5 p.m. on Spooktacular Sea Science, according to seacoastsciencecenter.org, where you can register to attend. “Dive into the eerie world of the deep sea with our guided Squid Dissection program,” the website said (costumes welcome).

• Ghosts on the Banke, the Strawbery Banke Museum’s annual Halloween event, will run Fridays and Saturdays, Oct. 16-17 and Oct. 23-24, according to strawberybanke.org, where you can purchase tickets. “Trick-or-treat with spirits from America’s founding as the historic Puddle Dock neighborhood comes alive after dark. Meet wayward pirates, visit a mysterious fortune-teller, hear ghostly tales, make giant spider webs, dance to haunting music, and play games for prizes. Designed especially for children ages 4-8…. Costumes are encouraged and guests of every age are welcome,” the website said.

• Charmingfare Farm in Candia will hold its annual Children’s Trick or Treat Saturdays and Sundays, Oct. 17-18, Oct. 24-25 and Oct. 31, according to visitthefarm.com. The event will feature horse-drawn wagon or tractor train rides along a Halloween-themed trail, candy gathering locations, visits with farm animals, a juggling show and more, according to the website, where you can purchase tickets. On Oct. 23 & 24 and Oct. 31, Charmingfare will also operate Harvest of Haunts, an after-dark event aimed at ages 3 to 10 that starts at 6 p.m., with a glowing woodland trail and a Halloween nigh rid but no jump scares or scare actors, the website said.

• High Mowing School, Pine Hill Campus, 77 Pine Hill Drive in Wilton, will hold a Storybook Walk to “Celebrate Halloween in Good Cheer” on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 10 a.m. to noon, according to a press release. “Created for children ages 8 and younger by High Mowing School’s own early childhood teachers, this annual event features imaginative surprises along a forested path. These carefully crafted vignettes are home to fairies, gnomes, animals, animals, and jugglers, with sweet and imaginative storybook characters. Families taking the walk will hear stories, spot a fairy house or two, participate in small activities, and receive treasures along the way. Children are welcome to wear their own costumes,” the release said. The walk is free with food and activities available for purchase, the release said. See highmowing.org/storybook.

• Bookery, 844 Elm St. in Manchester, has some Halloween-themed story times on its schedule, according to bookerymht.com. On Saturday, Oct. 17, at 11:30 a.m., catch a storytime and craft for A Witch Lives Here. On Saturday, Oct. 31, at 11:30 a.m., the storytime and craft are for the book Creepy Sheepy, according to the website, where you can find details and RSVP.

• Nashua Recreation will hold its Halloween Boo Bash on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 3 to 6 p.m. in Greeley Park featuring a trunk-or-treat, pumpkin decorating, a haunted house, hayrides and more, according to nashuanh.gov/546/SummerFun.

• The Joppa Hill Educational Farm , 174 Joppa Hill Road in Bedford, will hold its Halloween On the Farm event on Tuesday, Oct. 20, from 4 to 6 p.m. featuring trick-or-treating, Halloween-themed crafts, a story time, snacks and more, according to a post on the Farm’s Facebook page, where you can find a link to purchase tickets.

• The Derry Public Library, 64 E. Broadway in Derry, will present One Spooky Night — Return of the Haunted Library on Thursday, Oct. 22, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., according to derrypl.org, where you can register to take a tour of the haunted library trail (costumes welcome).

• Manchester City Library, 405 Pine St. in Manchester, manchester.lib.nh.us, will host a Halloween Party for kids ages 1 to 5 on Friday, Oct. 23, from 10 to 11 a.m. featuring stories, games and a scavenger hunt, according to manchesterlibrary.org, where you can register.

• The Halloween Express from Conway Scenic Railroad will run Saturday, Oct. 24, and Sunday, Oct. 25, and is a “one-hour, fun, kid-friendly, not-too-spooky Halloween party on the rails” boarding in North Conway, according to conwayscenic.com, where you can find departure times and purchase tickets. Costumes are welcome and kids “will receive a treat bag to fill along the way,” according to the website.

• Children’s performer Laurie Berkner’s Halloween Party Concert will take place Saturday, Oct. 24, at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the Capitol Center for the Arts’ Swope Theater, 44 S. Main St. in Concord, according to ccanh.com, where you can purchase tickets. Find her music at youtube.com/user/TheLaurieBerknerBand.

• The Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, 23 Science Center Road in Holderness, will hold its Howl-O-Ween on Saturday, Oct. 24, during regular hours of 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to a press release. “Families are invited to celebrate Halloween with a wild twist through a day of wildlife, hands-on activities, and seasonal fun. Guests can meet fascinating nocturnal animals during live presentations and participate in hands-on Halloween crafts and activities throughout the day. Along the Live Animal Exhibit Trail, visitors can see the Science Center’s resident animals enjoying pumpkin-themed enrichment, offering a fun opportunity to see how wildlife responds to new and seasonal experiences. Children are encouraged to wear their favorite Halloween costumes and will receive a bag of Halloween treats to take home after their visit,” the release said. See nhnature.org to buy tickets.

• The Aviation Museum of New Hampshire, 27 Navigator Road in Londonderry, aviationmuseumofnh.org, will be giving Broomstick Pilots Licenses to kids ages 12 and under — along with free admission to the museum — on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The day will also feature “the ghosts of past aviation pioneers, who will describe their achievements and explain basic principles of flight,” and Halloween treats for licensees, according to a press release.

• Hudson’s Best Trunk or Treat at the Hudson Mall, 77 Derry Road in Hudson, will take place Saturday, Oct. 24 from 10 a.m. to noon, according to an email from organizers. The event will take place “next to Autozone and will have the entire mall giving out treats, games and a haunted dojo,” the email said. See thehudsonmall.com.

• Rochester Main Street will hold the Downtown Rochester Trick-or-Treat on Saturday, Oct. 24, from noon to 3 p.m., according to rochestermainstreet.org.

• The Town of Merrimack’s Halloween Spooktacular will be Saturday, Oct. 24, from 4 to 8 p.m. in Abbie Griffin Park, with a trunk or treat (start times by age) from 4 to 6 p.m. and a movie in the park (Minions & Monsters) starting at 6 p.m., according to merrimackparksandrec.org. Food will be for sale and food donations will be accepted by Laura’s World Fund to support Pay It Forward and the Merrimack Drive Through Food Pantry, the website said.

• The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord will present the Family Fright Fest celebration on Sunday, Oct. 25, from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to starhop.com, where you can purchase admission. The day will feature “Hands-On Spooky Activities for the whole family including … pumpkin painting, comMOONity art, a scavenger hunt, face painting, and more,” the website said. Activities are included with general admission, the release said.

• Geneva-Ween Trick or Treating will take place Sunday, Oct. 25, from 3 to 7 p.m. at 108 Geneva Point Road in Moultonborough, for cabin-to-cabin trick-or-treating, Halloween cookie decorating, Wicked Witches of Lakes Region parade and more, according to genevapoint.org.

•The churches of Hooksett will host a Free Community Trunk or Treat on Sunday, Oct. 25, from 4 to 6 p.m., at Apple Cinemas Hooksett, according to a sign on the movie theater’s door, featuring local vendors and more.

• Nashua kids (and their parents) are invited to trick-or-treat at City Hall in Nashua on Monday, Oct. 26, from 3:30 to 5 p.m., according to a press release. The event, described as non-scary and family-friendly, will feature treats handed out at different city departments; wear costumes and bring a treat bag, the press release said.

• The Not-So-Spooky Spectacular will run Tuesday, Oct. 27, through Saturday, Oct. 31, at the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire, 6 Washington St. in Dover, according to childrens-museum.org. The event will feature candy-free fun during normal play sessions (events are included with museum admission) and include science experiments, take-home crafts, a pumpkin scavenger hunt and more, according to the website (costumes encouraged).

• The Chester Public Library, 3 Chester St., will hold a Halloween Costume Party for ages 6 to 12 on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 4 p.m., according to the library’s Facebook page, where you can register to attend. The event will feature a costume parade, music and crafts, the post said.

• The Manchester Police Athletic League will hold a Trunk or Treat on Thursday, Oct. 29, from 5 to 6 p.m. at the MPAL parking lot, 409 Beech St. in Manchester, according to manchesterpoliceathleticleague.org/event-page/trunk-or-treat.

• Trick or Treat in downtown Manchester (Elm Street as well as Stanton Plaza) will take place Friday, Oct. 30, from 3 to 6 p.m., according to an email from the city’s Economic Development Office.

• The Weare Public Library, 10 Paige Memorial Lane in Weare, wearepubliclibrary.com, will hold a Kids Halloween Party on Friday, Oct. 30, 4:30 to 6 p.m. for kids of all ages, according to the website. “A spooktacular party with oodles of fun activities including a story walk, outdoor games, and dancing to creepy music. Wear your costume and be part of our showcase! Stay for the grand finale: Dr. Joshua’s Magic Show!” the website said.

• Cowabunga’s Indoor Playground 725 Huse Road in Manchester, cowabungas.com, has a Halloween Party slated for Friday, Oct. 30, from 5 to 8 p.m., with costumes encouraged and plans including a bubble costume parade, Halloween games, decorating cookies and more, according to the website, where you can purchase tickets. Cowabunga’s will also have Halloween crafts and games throughout the day on Saturday, Oct. 31, the website said.

• Mr. Aaron’s Halloween Bash will take place Saturday, Oct. 31, at 11 a.m. at the BNH Stage, 16 S. Main St. in Concord, according to ccanh.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• The BWINH Collective will hold its 4th Annual Trunk or Treat on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 1 to 3 p.m., according to bwinhsc.com, where you can check back for an update on the location. This free family-friendly event is open to all, and kids are encouraged to come in costume for trunk-or-treating and other kid-friendly activities and music, according to the website.

• Goffstown Main Street will also host Trick or Treat Downtown on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 6 to 8 p.m., according to goffstownmainstreet.org.

Festivals & downtown & Town celebrations

• America’s Stonehenge, 105 Haverhill Road in Salem, will hold a Haunted History Guided Tour on Fridays, Oct. 16, through Oct. 30, at 7 p.m., according to stonehengeusa.com, where you can purchase tickets. “Explore ancient ruins, haunted historic sites, and ritual spaces by lantern-light on this after-dark tour of America’s Stonehenge!” the website said.

• Blessed Sacrament Parish, 14 Elm St. in Manchester, will hold a Fall Festival and Penny Sale on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. featuring a snack and lunch bar, a bake sale, games and activities, raffles and prizes. See blessedsacramentnh.org.

• Mactoberfest will take place Saturday, Oct. 17, from noon to 8:30 p.m. at McIntyre Ski Area, 50 Chalet Way, Manchester, 622-6159, according to mcintyreskiarea.com. “Mactoberfest is more than just a celebration of great beer, food, music, and fall fun — it’s a FREE event that gives back to the community,” the website said. The day will feature food trucks, a scarecrow competition, touch a truck, a cornhole event, live music and more, the website said. “Hosted in partnership with the Manchester Fire Department, Mactoberfest is a fundraising event benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA),” the website said.

• Windham will hold its annual Harvest Fest on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 1 to 4 p.m. in Griffin Park featuring a “Horribles parade,” trick-or-treating and more, according to windham.recdesk.com.

• Goffstown’s annual Giant Pumpkin Weigh Off and Regatta will be held Saturday, Oct. 17, and Sunday, Oct. 18, featuring vendors and events in downtown Goffstown leading up to a regatta of pumpkin watercraft. See goffstownmainstreet.org/pumpkin-regatta.

• The Witch of Weston Tower returns to McIntyre Ski Area, 50 Chalet Way, Manchester, 622-6159, on Saturday, Oct. 17, and Sunday, Oct. 18, from noon to 6 p.m. on both days; Friday, Oct. 23, from 4 to 8 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 24, and Sunday, Oct. 25, noon to 6 p.m., according to mcintyreskiarea.com, where you can purchase tickets. Take a chairlift to the summit, a tractor ride along a spooky trail and visit the Witch of Weston Tower — where visitors can climb the tower stairs, the website said. There will be food trucks and activities at the base of the mountain on some days, the website said.

• The Trick or Trash Community Cleanup, organized by SEE Science Center, Manchester Connects and the City of Manchester, will take place Monday, Oct. 19, from 3 to 5 p.m. to help clean up streets before Halloween, according to see-sciencecenter.org, where you can sign up as a group or individual for this 18+ event.

• Concord’s Halloween Howl will take place Friday, Oct. 23, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., featuring Main Street trick-or-treating, a trunk-or-treat, costume contests, games and more, according to intownconcord.org.

• Downtown Rochester will host a Zombie Walk on Friday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m. starting at Citizens Bank on North Main Street and ending at Central Street, according to rochestermainstreet.org/events/zombie-walk.

• The Laconia Pumpkin Festival is slated for Friday, Oct. 23, and Saturday, Oct. 24, featuring local vendors, a pumpkin tower, food and drink, a costume parade, a 10K and 5K walk and run, a duck derby and more, according to laconiapumpkinfestival.com, where you can find a schedule.

• Nashua’s Main Street Monster Mash will take place Saturday, Oct. 24, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and feature Main Street trick-or-treating, live entertainment, the Howl-O-Ween parade, presented by the Humane Society for Greater Nashua, and more, according to downtownnashua.org/main-street-monster-mash.

• The Haunting of Wilton will take place Saturday, Oct. 24, with a parade down Main Street at 1 p.m. (leaving from the police station), trick-or-treat with downtown merchants following the parade, a performance by A Company of Witches in the Main Street Park at 2:30 p.m. and pumpkin carving/painting and display in the park at 4 p.m., according to an email from Wilton Main Street Association.

• Dover will hold its 20th Annual Zombie Walk on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 3 p.m., meeting at the Dover Chamber of Commerce and heading down to Henry Law Park, according to dovermainstreet.org. A truck-or-treat held by the Woodman’s Museum in the Orchard Street parking lot will take place that evening, according to woodmanmuseum.org. A Pumpkin Stroll will take place starting at 5 p.m. in Joe B. Parks Public Gardens, the Main Street website said.

• The final Final Friday in downtown Manchester of the 2026 season will take place Friday, Oct. 30, from 4 to 8 p.m. on Hanover Street off Elm Street, according to the event’s Instagram page.

• The final Concord Farmers Market of the 2026 season will take place Saturday, Oct. 31, from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Capitol Street in downtown Concord and feature trick-or-treating at the market for kids, according to an email from market organizers.

• Halloween Night Food Trucks on Chester Street will take place Saturday, Oct. 31, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Busche Academy, 40 Chester St. in Chester, according to a post on the Chester Public Library’s Facebook page. Multiple trucks are slated to attend, the post said.

• The Portsmouth Halloween Parade takes place Saturday, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m. starting at Peirce Island by Prescott Park, according to portsmouthhalloweenparade.org, where you can find a parade map and more parade information, including details on fundraising events and other happenings leading up to the parade such as Scary-oke at Daniel Tavern in Portsmouth on Friday, Oct. 16, at 9 p.m.; the Pumpkin Smash on Oct. 17 at the Farmers Market, and more, the website said.

Frightful 5Ks

• Howl-O-Ween 5K to benefit the Animal Rescue League of New Hampshire in Bedford will take place on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 10 a.m. at the Delta Dental Stadium in Manchester and is a dog-friendly 5K run/walk (you can purchase a dog bib for a participating dog), according to rescueleague.org/events. The event will include vendors, prizes and post-race refreshments, the website said. Register before Sept. 10 to receive an event T-shirt, the website said.

• The Runaway Pumpkin 10K & 5K Run/Walk presented by WOW Trail will take place on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 9 a.m. and begin and end at Smith Track at Opechee Park in Laconia, according to wowtrail.org/runawaypumpkin, which said a kids’ fun run will take place at 10 a.m. on the track. Register by Oct. 10 to receive an event shirt, the website said.

• The Salem Animal Rescue League’s Howl’ween 5K will take place Saturday, Oct. 31, at 9 a.m. in Salem. “Whether you’re a seasoned runner, casual walker, or want to bring your four-legged best friend along for the fun, this family-friendly event is the perfect way to celebrate Halloween while supporting homeless animals. Enjoy a 5K course, costume fun, vendors, music, and more,” according to sarlnh.org/events.

• The All Star Smiles Orthodontics Trick or Trot 3K will take place Saturday, Oct. 31, at 11 a.m. at Backyard Brewery and Kitchen in Manchester with an out-and-back route on South Mammoth and Lucas Roads, the website said. The event starts at 9:30 a.m. with a Kids Halloween Festival and magic show (at 10 a.m.), followed by Lil’ Pumpkin Fun Runs starting at 10:30 a.m. in age-based groups, according to millenniumrunning.com, which encourages wearing costumes for the race. The first 1,000 registered runners can receive running gloves. The event’s official charity is Girls on the Run New Hampshire, the website said

Halloweeny happenings

• Mount Washington Cruises offers a 90-minute Haunted Winnipesaukee tour Thursdays through Saturdays, Oct. 15-17 and Oct. 22-24, according to cruisenh.com, where you can purchase tickets. “[S]ample desserts while hearing haunting tales of cursed lands, mysterious fires, haunted hotels, and unsolved disappearances,” according to the website, which said the meeting spot is Weirs Beach.

• Chunky’s Cinema Pub, 707 Huse Road in Manchester, will have a Hocus Pocus Themed Trivia Night on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 7:30 p.m., according to chunkys.com, where you can purchase seats for the event.

• The final Golden Hour Foliage Cruise for the season on Mount Washington Cruises will take place Friday, Oct. 16, at 3 p.m., according to cruisenh.com, where you can purchase tickets for the two-hour cruise.

• The Castle in the Clouds, 455 Old Mountain Road in Moultonborough, will hold its family-friendly Pumpkin Walk on Friday, Oct. 16, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., according to castleintheclouds.org. “The trails surrounding Shannon Pond will become Jack o’ Lantern Lane, lined with glowing pumpkins. Costumes are encouraged,” the website said. “After your walk, warm up by a fire pit and enjoy goodies compliments of Castle in the Clouds, the Moultonborough Recreation Department, and the Lakes Region Conservation Trust,” according to the website, where you can register.

• America’s Stonehenge, 105 Haverhill Road in Salem, stonehengeusa.com, will hold a Haunted History Guided Tour on Fridays, Oct. 16 through Oct. 30, at 7 p.m., according to the website, where you can purchase tickets. “Explore ancient ruins, haunted historic sites, and ritual spaces by lantern-light on this after-dark tour of America’s Stonehenge,” the website said.

• Tricks and Treats, a night of improv comedy presented by Stranger Than Fiction, will take place Saturday, Oct. 17, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Kimball Jenkins, 266 N. Main St. in Concord, according to kimballjenkins.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• Woodman Museum, 182 Central Ave. in Dover, will hold a “Heirloom Hallowe’en Exhibit Lecture with Curator Kaitlyn Lennox” on Thursday, Oct. 22, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., according to woodmanmuseum.org. “Featuring stories behind the objects themselves, Heirloom Hallowe’en offers a closer look at the folklore, social customs, and changing ways Americans have celebrated Halloween over the years. The presentation will conclude with a question-and-answer session, followed by an opportunity to explore the exhibit after hours…,” the website said.

• Flag Hill Distillery & Winery, 297 N. River Road in Lee, will hold a Harry Potter-themed trivia night on Thursday, Oct. 22, from 6 to 9 p.m., according to flaghill.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• Averill House Vineyard, 21 Averill Road in Brookline, will offer its Halloween Wine Cave Igloo Experience Thursday, Oct. 22, through Sunday, Nov. 1, according to averillhousevineyard.com, where you can reserve an igloo. “Designed for wine lovers, families, and groups of friends, this immersive event combines the magic of blacklight décor, handcrafted New England wines, and cozy private igloos for an evening that feels both spooky and enchanting,” the website said.

• Spines and Spice Fall Festivalhosted by Bookish Bliss Mobile Bookstore will take place on Saturday, Oct. 24, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at Sandlot Event Center, Sandown. Find Bookish Bliss on social media for details and reminders.

• Bookery, 844 Elm St. in Manchester, will have a Spooky Trivia Night hosted by The PalomaFiles on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 6:30 p.m., according to bookerymht.com.

• Chester Public Library, 3 Chester St. in Chester, will present the program “What If Ghosts are Real?” on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 6 p.m. with author, medium and paranormal investigator Valerie Lofaso, according to a post on the Chester NH Public Library Facebook page, where you can find the link to register to attend.

• Chunky’s Cinema Pub, 707 Huse Road in Manchester, will have a Horror Movies Themed Trivia Night on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 7:30 p.m., according to chunkys.com, where you can purchase seats for the event.

• Feud Gone Wild: Halloween Edition, an adult adaption of the TV game show, will take place at the Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St. in Manchester, on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 7:30 p.m., according to the palacetheatre.org, where you can purchase tickets.

• The New Hampshire Historical Society, 30 Park St. in Concord, will present “All Manner of Evil: An Introduction to the Real H.H. Holmes with local author Averee Kelly Clark,” on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 2 p.m., according to a press release. Admission costs $10. See nhhistory.org.

Spooky Parties

• Danse Macabre: A Goth Night will take place Saturday, Oct. 17, from 8 to 11 p.m., at the Rockingham Ballroom, 22 Ash Swamp Road in Newmarket, featuring DJ Vers Queen, in a fundraiser for the Portsmouth Halloween Parade, according to rockinballroom.club, where you can purchase tickets.

• Golf at night at Swing, Sip and Savor: Evening Glow Golf at LaBelle Winery, 14 Route 111 in Derry, on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 6 p.m., according to labellewinery.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• The Manchester True Collaborative will hold a Halloween Bash on Friday, Oct. 23, from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Manchester True Collaborative Center, 72 Concord St. in Manchester, according to manchestertrue.org, where you can find a link to tickets. The party is 18+ and alcohol-free and will feature a DJ and dancing, food, a costume contest, games, a selfie station, a quiet space and more, the website said.

• Involved To Impact and Liquid Therapy, 14B Court St. in Nashua, will host a Halloween Party at Liquid Therapy on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 6 to 10 p.m., according to a post on Liquid Therapy’s Facebook page, where you can find a link to purchase tickets. The evening will feature live music by Connor Coburn, a costume contest, raffles and more, the post said.

• The Mount Washington Cruise will hold a 21+ Halloween Masquerade Ball on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 6 to 9 p.m. in the final cruise of the season, according to cruisenh.com, where you can purchase tickets. The meeting point is at Weirs Beach, the website said.

• The Buzz Brews & Boos Halloween party, a 21+ event, will take place at The Hill Bar & Grille at McIntyre Ski Area, 50 Chalet Way, Manchester, 622-6159, mcintyreskiarea.com, on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 7 to 10 p.m. featuring Greg and The Morning Buzz, an appetizer buffet, a DJ, a Halloween costume contest and more, according to the McIntyre website, where you can purchase tickets for $50 per person.

• Femme Fatale: Auspicious Burlesque with Rosie Havo Production, a “classic burlesque and drag variety show,” will take place at Auspicious Brew, 2 Washington St. in Dover, on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 8 p.m., according to auspiciousbrew.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• Scare & Skate: An All-Ages Halloween Event will take place Thursday, Oct. 29, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Remix Skate & Event Center, 725 Huse Road in Manchester, according to skateremix.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• Diz’s, 860 Elm St. in Manchester, will hold a Halloween Party on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 4 to 9 p.m. featuring a prize wheel, costume contests at 6 and 8 p.m. and, at 9 p.m., a meet-up at City Hall Plaza for a Rhythm & Roots Monster Mash Flash Mob, according to an email. See dizscafe.com/dizs-downtown-mht-impact-events-calendar.

• The Arts Alley Halloween Party will take place Saturday, Oct. 31, from 7 to 10:30 p.m. in Arts Alley, 20 S. Main St. in Concord, and feature a costume contest with prizes, giveaways, candy and Halloween treats, a DJ and dancing and more, according to artsalleyconcordnh.com, where you can purchase tickets. Food and drink will also be available for purchase at the party, the website said.

• The Derryfield Restaurant, 625 Mammoth Road in Manchester, will hold its Halloween Party on Saturday, Oct. 31, starting at 7 p.m. featuring a DJ on the deck and the band Radio Daze in the lounge, as well as a costume contest, according to thederryfield.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• Night Out with the Free Range Revue: Black Zodiac,“an alt cabaret tribute to the cult horror film Thirteen Ghosts,” will take place at BNH Stage, 16 S. Main St. in Concord, on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 7:30 p.m, according to ccanh.com. The event is 18+; “Dress up, take part in our costume contest, check out our exquisitely curated vendors, dance with us during intermission…,” the website said.

• Bad Brgr, 1015 Elm St. in Manchester, will hold a Halloween Party on Friday, Oct. 30, hosted by DJ Blacklabel, according to badbrgr.com. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., music starts at 8 p.m., the website said.

• Stark Brewing Co., 500 N. Commercial St. in Manchester, will hold the Halloween Spooktacular at Stark, featuring a night of Latin Dance (including salsa, bachata, cha-cha and hustle) with DJ Lucia on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 8 p.m. to midnight, according to starkbrewingcompany.com.

• Auspicious Brew, 2 Washington St. in Dover, will hold a Halloween House Party on Saturday, Oct. 31, starting at 8 p.m. featuring Not Yer Mama’s Drag Co. (from 8 to 9 p.m.) and DJ sets with DJ MAM and DJ Skooch (from 9 p.m. to midnight), a costume contest and more, according to auspiciousbrew.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• The Shaskeen Pub, 909 Elm St. in Manchester, will hold its Halloween Bash on Saturday, Oct. 31, starting at 9 p.m., according to shaskeenirishpub.com.

Seasonal art

• A Fall & Halloween Doormat Painting Workshop will take place Thursday, Oct. 15, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Arts Alley, 20 S. Main St. in Concord, according to artsalleyconcordnh.com, where you can purchase a ticket.

• “Musings, Memory and Magic” featuring the works of Wen Redmond will run at Kimball Jenkins, 266 N. Main St. in Concord, kimballjenkins.com, through Saturday, Oct. 17, according to the website.

• “Harvest Hues” will run Friday, Oct. 16, through Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Kimball Jenkins Mansion, 266 N. Main St. in Concord, kimballjenkins.com, with a reception on Oct. 18 from 1 to 3 p.m., the website said.

• Chunky’s, 707 Huse Road in Manchester, has Halloween-themed art events on its schedule. On Friday, Oct. 16, it’s “Paint Party: Boo-tiful Blooms” at 7:15 p.m., and on Friday, Oct. 30, it’s “Paint Party: Witch Please!” at 7:15 p.m., according to chunkys.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• The Great New England Fall Craft and Artisan Show will take place at the Hampshire Dome, 34 Emerson Road in Milford on Saturday, Oct. 17, and Sunday, Oct. 18, featuring 160 New England exhibitors, live music, food trucks, a cafe and more, according to gnecraftartisanshows.com, where you can find information about tickets.

• Wine on Main, 9 N. Main St. in Concord, has several art and craft classes, which also offer wine tastings, with a fall or Halloween theme on the schedule, according to wineonmainnh.com. Upcoming events include Fall Paint & Sip on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 5 p.m.; Witches Seaglass Trees on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 6 p.m., and Spooky Terrarium Workshop on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 6:30 p.m., according to the website, where you can purchase tickets.

• “Into the Woods” featuring art that depicts “celebration of autumn, the landscape, people, activities, holidays, and emotion,” will be on display through Sunday, Nov. 1, at Mosaic Art Collective, 410 Chestnut St. in Manchester, according to mosaicartcollective.com. An “Into the Woods Masquerade Ball” will be held Saturday, Oct. 17, from 5 to 8 p.m., according to the website where you can RSVP.

• The Dover Witches Market runs Sunday, Oct. 18, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to The Groovy Witch’s Facebook page. “The magick will spread throughout downtown Dover, with the market centered around Central Avenue, the Belknap Street parking lot, Dover City Hall Auditorium, and St. Thomas Street,” the post said. The event will feature “60 vendors, mystical treasures, handmade creations, local artists, spiritual practitioners, readers, crafters, and so much more,” as well as live entertainment, the post said. See groovywitch.com.

• Stark Brewing Co., 500 N. Commercial St. in Manchester, will host a Boos and Brews with Dash of Creativity on Tuesday, Oct. 20, from 6 to 8 p.m., featuring Mini Halloween Houses. See the Dash of Creativity Facebook page to find a link to purchase tickets.

• Hollis Artspace, 30 Ash St. in Hollis, has several fall and Halloween-themed classes on its schedule, according to hollisartspace.com. There will be a felting workshop to make an owl pin and a workshop to make a pumpkin cat, both on Tuesday, Oct. 20, for ages 12 to 18+, and on Wednesday, Oct. 21, a moonlit cat watercolor workshop and a fall landscape watercolor workshop, both for adults, according to the website, where you can sign up for the classes.

• The Meredith Fine Craft Gallery, 279 DW Highway in Meredith, will hold a Felted Pumpkins making class on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 2 to 4 p.m., with juried artist Hannah Gage, according to a press release. Register by Wednesday, Oct. 21, by calling 270-7920 or going to meredith.nhcrafts.org/classes, the release said. Tuition costs $40 per students, plus a $25 materials fee paid to the instructor at the class, the release said.

• Celebrate Samhain will take place Sunday, Oct. 25, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the DoubleTree Hilton Nashua, 2 Somerset Parkway in Nashua, according to facebook.com/NHSamhain. The event will feature vendors, psychics, music, workshops and more, the post said. See celebratesamhain.com for more.

• Masquerade Night at the Museum at the Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St. in Manchester, currier.org, will take place on Friday, Oct. 30, from 6 to 9 p.m., according to the website, where you can purchase tickets for events.

• “Wild & Wicked” will be on display at See Saw Art, 408 Chestnut St. in Manchester, through Sunday, Nov. 1, according to seesaw.art. The show will feature the works of Adrianne Bodogh, Fascia, and Micha Bardelcik, the website said.

Spooky & fantastical performances

• Tales of Terror, “a special night of spooky stories to celebrate the Halloween season,” presented by The Barnstormers theater company, will be on stage at The Corner House in Sandwich on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 6 p.m. and at Barnstormers Theatre in Tamworth on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 5 p.m., according to barnstormerstheatre.org, where you can purchase tickets. “Short stories from some of the best, including Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and many more! Featuring Jordan Ahnquist, Kate Middleton, Jean Mar Brown, Marion Posner, George Cleveland, and other Barnstormer favs!” the website said.

• Night Watch will be presented by Garrison Players Arts Center, 449 Roberts Road in Rollinsford, garrisonplayers.org, through Saturday, Oct. 17, with shows Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 4 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., according to the website, where you can purchase tickets. “This ingeniously devised thriller builds steadily in menace and suspense until its breath-stopping twist ending,” the website said.

• Occupation: Murder!, an interactive murder mystery, will be presented by Lend Me a Theater (lendmeatheater.org) Oct. 17-18 at the YWCA in Manchester, according to the website.

• Evil Dead The Musicalwill run at The Seacoast Repertory Theatre (125 Bow St. in Portsmouth, seacoastrep.org) through Sunday, Nov. 8, according to the website, where you can purchase tickets.

• Langdon House Parlor Entertainments: A Victorian Frightful New Hampshire Theatre Project, 959 Islington St., No. 3, in Portsmouth, nhtheatreproject.org, goes to Langdon House in Portsmouth on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 17, at 4 p.m., for “an evening of eerie songs and stories inspired by Edgar Allan Poe and Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, performed in costume…,” according to the website, where you can purchase tickets.

• Looking Glass Land will be presented by the Community Players of Concord (communityplayersofconcord.org) Children’s Theatre Project on Friday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 17, at 2 p.m. at Concord City Auditorium, 2 Prince St., Concord, according to the website, where tickets will be available for purchase. “Looking Glass Land is a stage adaptation by renowned playwright James DeVita that takes Lewis Carroll’s original Through the Looking Glass and literally runs with it. This wild adaptation highlights and improvises on the pure, unadulterated fun of the story. The play still retains some of Carroll’s deeper meanings, but what it possesses most of all is a huge helping of unabashed silliness!” according to the website.

• Queens, a play by the Pinkerton Players about King Henry VIII in purgatory, will be presented at Stockbridge Theatre, 5 Pinkerton St., Derry, pinkertonacademy.org/stockbridge-theatre, Friday, Oct. 16, through Sunday, Oct. 18 (7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. on Sunday), according to the website, where you can purchase tickets.

• Carrie The Musical will be presented by Jonesing for Theater, jonesingfortheater.wixsite.com, at Millspace, 55 Main St. in Newmarket, millspace.org, Friday, Oct. 16, through Sunday, Nov. 1, according to the venue’s website, where you can purchase tickets. Described as “a chilling, blood-red theatrical experience based on Stephen King’s legendary horror story,” the show runs at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, the website said.

• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, a “Halloween Old Time Radio production,” will be presented by Epping Community Theater, 38 Ladds Lane, Epping, eppingtheater.org, on Friday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 18, at 2 p.m., according to the website, where you can purchase tickets.

• Seussical, a musical featuring Dr. Seuss’ characters, will be presented by Rochester Opera House, 31 Wakefield St. in Rochester, rochesteroperahouse.org, Friday, Oct. 16, through Sunday, Nov. 8, according to the website, where you can see the line-up of days and times and purchase tickets.

• Hook’s Tale will be presented by Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative, powerhousenh.org, Saturday, Oct. 17, at 1 p.m. at Laconia Public Library and Sunday, Oct. 18, at 3 p.m. at Taylor Community Woodside Building, according to the website, where you can purchase tickets. “Captain James Hook, badly maligned by a certain play and despised by generations of Peter Pan fans, finally gets to clear his name. The good Captain, with the aid of his friend Smee, tells his life story in this family-friendly play, recounting his friendship with and ultimate betrayal by Peter Pan, his romance with Tiger Lily, his familial relationship with the Darling family, and his adoption of a lovable crocodile named Daisy,” the website said.

• Monster Mash Murder Mystery Dinner Party will take place at LaBelle Winery in Amherst (345 Route 101) on Sunday, Oct. 18, at 6:30 p.m., according to labellewinery.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• The Walker Lecture Series will present Irish Voices with Stephen Collins and Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven with Jeffrey Zygmont on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 7:30 p.m. at the Concord City Auditorium, 2 Prince St. in Concord, according to walkerlecture.org.

• Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will be presented by Windham Actors Guild(windhamactorsguild.com) at Windham High School on Friday, Oct. 23, and Saturday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 25, at 2 p.m., according to the website, where you will be able to purchase tickets.

• Carrie The Musicalwill be presented byManchester Community Theatre Players at MCTP Theatre at North End Montessori School, 698 Beech St., Manchester, manchestercommuniththeatre.com, Friday, Oct. 23, through Sunday, Nov. 1, with shows at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays, the website said.

• Sam Shovel, Private Eye, featuring grades 11 through adult, will be presented by Friends of the Amato at Amato Center, 56 Mont Vernon St., Milford, amatocenter.org, on Friday, Oct. 23, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 24, at 1 and 4 p.m., the website said. The show is described on the website as “A Radio Theater production recorded with a live studio audience.” “It’s a hot and sultry day in the gritty city, and Sam Shovel has a dead man sprawled in her office, stabbed in the back with a yardstick. Ends up this is just the first of a string of murders happening in the fashion industry.”

• Much Ado About Murder, a murder mystery, will be presented by the Majestic Theatre, 880 Page St. in Manchester, majestictheatre.net, Oct. 23-25, according to a theater email.

• And Then There Were None, the Agatha Christie story of “Murder. Suspense. 1930s,” will be presented byThe Players’ Ring, 105 Marcy St. in Portsmouth, playersring.org, Friday, Oct. 23, through Sunday, Nov. 15, with shows at 7 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays (2 p.m. only on Oct. 31 and 2 and 7 p.m. on Nov. 1), according to the website, where you can purchase tickets.

• Dracula will be presented by Break a Leg Legally and the Ball Players at Centennial Hall, 105 Post Road in Hampton, Friday, Oct. 23, through Sunday, Nov. 1, with shows at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and and 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, according to breakaleglegally.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• Cirque Us: Stories will be presented at Stockbridge Theatre, 5 Pinkerton St., Derry, pinkertonacademy.org/stockbridge-theatre, on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 2 p.m., according to the website, where you can purchase tickets.

• All-Hallows-Eve: An Evening of Storytelling with Jake Lewis and Aly Foy will take place at The Word Barn, 66 Newfields Road in Exeter, on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m., according to thewordbarn.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• “Cursed II: Haunted Objects and Storytelling!” will take place at The Eleventh Letter The Writing Gallery, 146 N. Main St. in Concord, theeleventhletter.com, in collaboration with N.A.V. Arts on Oct. 29 from 6 to 8 p.m., a “free, fun, spooky spoken word night where seasoned storytellers spin a yarn based on various ‘cursed’ objects created by local artists,” the website said.

• The Great and Powerful Stories from the Community — Stories of Fear will be on stage at the Flying Monkey, 39 Main St. in Plymouth, on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 6:30 p.m., according to flyingmonkeynh.com. The event is “an evening of true stories told live on stage by members of our community, inspired by a shared theme. Every storyteller shares a personal experience in their own voice…. The event is open to all ages, hosting both prose and poetry entries of not more than 5 minutes. Come prepared to speak and drop your name in the wizard’s hat. Fifteen names will be chosen at random to share a story,” the website said.

• All Hallows’ Eve: Spooky Tunes, Songs and Tales from Scotland featuring Louise Bichan and Friends will take place at The Word Barn, 66 Newfields Road in Exeter, on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m., according to thewordbarn.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• Witch Perfect, described as an “all live-singing comedy parody” of Hocus Pocus, will be presented at the Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St., Manchester,on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 8 p.m., according to palacetheatre.org, where you can purchase tickets.

• The Vampire Circus will be presented at the Capitol Center for the Arts’ Swope Theater, 44 S. Main St., Concord, on Friday, Oct. 30, at 7:30 p.m., according to ccanh.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• The Edgar Allan Poe Afterlife Radio Showpresented by the Winni Players Community Theatre at the Winnipesaukee Playhouse, 33 Footlight Circle, Meredith, on Thursday, Oct. 29, and Friday, Oct. 30, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 31, at 2 p.m., according to winnipesaukeeplayhouse.org, where you can purchase tickets.

Music of the Night

• Dr. Gasp and the Eeks will play the 24th annual Halloween special, with the Undead Outlaws, at the Stone Church, 5 Granite St. in Newmarket, on Friday, Oct. 16, at 8 p.m., according to stonechurchrocks.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• A Tempting Murder(“A unique evening of music blending the song catalogues of Sheryl Crow, The Black Crowes, Counting Crows, and more, this tempting murder of crows is sure to leave you with an appetite for more,” the website said) will be presented by the Rep Underground at the The Seacoast Repertory Theatre (125 Bow St. in Portsmouth, seacoastrep.org) on Wednesday, Oct. 21, and Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 7:30 p.m.,

• Rocktober Halloween will feature multiple bands on two stages at Jewel Music Venue, 61 Canal St. in Manchester, on Thursday, Oct. 22, starting at 6 p.m., according to Jewel’s Facebook page, where you can find a link to purchase tickets. Bands slated to play include He Is Legend, In Angels, Excide, Parts Per Million, Dead Fiction, Socially Problematic Children and Reapercussion, the post said.

• Ghost Stories: an Understudy Records hip-hop showcase will take place Friday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m. at Terminus Underground, 134 Haines St. in Nashua, according to newhampshireunderground.org, where you can purchase tickets. “Come sit around the campfire … and listen to the ghost stories of Minds of One Collective Genius: Michael Murphy III, B. Snair, and Vincent Tesoro. YHL Young Hustle League: Mr. Goodbarz, Beneficial Bang, and Trip Da Menace. Spamily Records: Zac Pacillo and Slaughtamaine. Understudy Records: Krispy, 6 Minds Combined, and Shinnozuke,” the website said.

• Hachi Halloween 3,featuring electronic dance music with Kumarion, Venture 5 (in an East Coast debut), Mr. Eyeslee, Sokomodo and J-rawk, will be at Jewel Music Venue, 61 Canal St. in Manchester, on Friday, Oct. 23, at 8 p.m. for a night that includes a Halloween costume contest, according to a post on the Jewel Facebook page, where you can find a link to purchase tickets.

• Here Come The Mummys, “an eight-piece funk-rock band of 5,000-year-old Egyptian Mummies with a one-track mind,” will play the Nashua Center for the Arts, 201 Main St. in Nashua, on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 7:30 p.m., according to nashuacenterforthearts.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• Monster Mash with Emily’s Garage Band, which features “a full horn section and a dance-ready mix of nostalgia pop, funk, R&B,” will take place Saturday, Oct. 24, at 8 p.m. at the Rockingham Ballroom, 22 Ash Swamp Road in Newmarket, according to rockinballroom.club. The evening will feature a costume contest, a performance by Fox Run Dance Company and a live tarot card reader, according to the website, where you can purchase tickets.

• Booty Vortex Band will play the Halloween Disco Party on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 8 p.m. (doors open at 7:15 p.m.) at LaBelle Winery, 345 Route 101 in Amherst, according to labellewinery.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• 603 Line Dancing Halloween Party with Freddy & The Freeloaders will take place Friday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m. at the Rockingham Ballroom, 22 Ash Swamp Road in Newmarket, according to rockinballroom.club, where you can purchase tickets. Costumes are encouraged — “Best Dolly-inspired costume wins $100 cash,” the website said.

• Brass Against — Halloween Tour will come to the BNH Stage, 16 S. Main St. in Concord, on Friday, Oct. 30, at 7:30 p.m., according to ccanh.com, where you can purchase tickets. For a look at their music, which includes covers of songs from bands like Rage Against the Machine and Black Sabbath featuring brass instruments along with traditional rock band instruments, see brassagainst.com.

• Stone Dead, channeling “ the music of the Grateful Dead,” will play two nights at the Stone Church, 5 Granite St. in Newmarket, on Friday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 31, at 9 a.m., according to stonechurchrocks.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• Recycled Percussion Halloween Weekend shows will take place at The Cake Theatre, 12 Veterans Square in Laconia, on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 2 and 7 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 1, at 4 p.m., according to thecaketheatre.com.

• Fall Gala will take place at Avaloch Farm Music Institute, 16 Hardy Lane, Boscawen, avalochfarmmusic.org, on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 4 p.m. featuring live performances, according to the website, where you can purchase tickets.

• Henniker Brewing Co., 129 Centervale Road in Henniker, hennikerbrewing.com, will host The Haunting of Henniker on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 5 p.m. featuring costume contests and music from Lungbuster, Hobo Wizard, When the Deadbolt Breaks, Long Pig and Phantasm, the website said.

• Halloween at The Bungalow, 333 Valley St. in Manchester, will feature a costume contest plus music from Tallah, Fight From Within, Late 9, Fathom Farewell and Ratblood, Proxies, according to a post on the venue’s Facebook page, which features a link to purchase tickets. Doors open at 5 p.m., music begins at 6 p.m., the post said.

• Stark Brewing Co., 500 N. Commercial St. in Manchester, will hold its Halloween Bash featuring a costume contest and live music from Nefarious Motives on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 7 to 10 p.m., according to starkbrewingcompany.com.

• “From Beethoven to the Beyond” will open the season for the New Hampshire Philharmonic Orchestra on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 1, at 2 p.m., according to nhphil.org, where you can purchase tickets. Phil concerts take place at the Seifert Performing Arts Center at Salem High School, 44 Geremonty Drive in Salem, the website said.

• East Coast Alice, an Alice Cooper tribute band, will perform with The Lords of Salem, a White Zombie and Rob Zombie tribute band, on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 7:30 p.m. at Park Theatre, 19 Main St. in Jaffrey, according to theparktheatre.org, where you can purchase tickets.

• Resurrection: Angels vs. Demons, a goth industrial night at Jewel Music Venue, 61 Canal St. in Manchester, featuring “DJs Pet and Sawtooth and special guest djared of Elysium Boston,” will take place Saturday, Oct. 31, at 8 p.m., according to Jewel’s Facebook page.

• Doctor Gasp and the Eeks will perform at the Press Room, 77 Daniel St. in Portsmouth, on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 9 p.m., according to pressroomnh.com, where you can purchase tickets.

Spooky corn maze
Find a listing of area corn mazes, including those with night hours, in the Oct. 1 issue of the Hippo, available in our digital library at hippopress.com.

Scary Movies

• The Shining (R, 1980) will screen at Chunky’s in Manchester on Tuesday, Oct. 13, and Thursday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m., according to chunkys.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• Hocus Pocus 2 (PG, 2022) will screen in Derryfield Park in Manchester on Friday, Oct. 16, at 8:15 p.m., according to a post on the Manchester Parks & Recreation Facebook page. BYO chairs, blankets and snacks, the post said.

• The Studio Ghibli Fest continues via Fathom Entertainment, fathomentertainment.com, with Spirited Away Oct. 17-21, according to the website, where you can find screening theaters and times.

• The MET Live in HD: Macbeth will be presented at the BNH Stage (16 S. Main St. in Concord) on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 1 p.m., according to ccanh.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• Evil Dead II (R, 1987) will screen on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at Red River Theatres, 11 S. Main St. in Concord, according to redrivertheatres.org, where you can purchase tickets.

• The Exorcist (R, 1973) will screen at Chunky’s in Manchester on Tuesday, Oct. 20, and Thursday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m., according to chunkys.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• Halloween 2007 (R, 2007), the Rob Zombie-directed Halloween, will screen at the Flying Monkey, 39 Main St. in Plymouth, on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 6:30 p.m., according to flyingmonkeynh.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• Nosferatu(1922), a silent film directed by F.W. Murnau and featuring live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, will screen on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. at The Flying Monkey in Plymouth, according to silentfilmlivemusic.blogspot.com.

• Rocky Horror Picture Show(R, 1975) presented by Dive In Productions will screen on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. at Auspicious Brew, 2 Washington St. in Dover, according to Dive In Production’s Facebook page, where you can check back for details, and auspiciousbrew.com.

• The Shining (1980) will screen on Friday, Oct. 23, at 6:30 p.m. at the Park Theatre, 19 Main St. in Jaffrey, according to theparktheatre.org, where you can purchase tickets.

• Rocky Horror Picture Show(R, 1975) will return to Red River Theatres, 11 S. Main St. in Concord Friday, Oct. 23; Saturday, Oct. 24, and Friday, Oct. 30, at 10 p.m. See redrivertheatres.org for tickets and rules.

• Psychowill screen at The Village Players51 Glendon St. in Wolfeboro, village-players.com, on Saturday, Oct. 24.

• The Rocky Horror Picture Show (R, 1975) will screen at Chunky’s in Manchester on Saturday, Oct. 24, and Friday, Oct. 30, at 9 p.m. Screenings are +18. Doors open at 8 p.m. and props and costumes are allowed, according to chunkys.com.

• The Bat(1926), a silent film featuring live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, will screen on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 2 p.m. at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre, according to silentfilmlivemusic.blogspot.com.

• The Shining (R, 1980) will screen at Red River Theatres, 11 S. Main St. in Concord on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m., according to redrivertheatres.org, where you can purahcase tickets.

• Halloween (R, 1978) will screen at Chunky’s in Manchester on Tuesday, Oct. 27, and Thursday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m., according to chunkys.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), a silent film starring Lon Chaney, will screen with live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 1:30 p.m. at Park Theatre, 19 Main St. in Jaffrey, according to theparktheatre.org, where you can purchase tickets.

• The Bat Whispers (1930), about a “daring jewel thief,” will screen on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 1:45 p.m. at Park Theatre, 19 Main St. in Jaffrey, according to theparktheatre.org, where you can purchase tickets.

• Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (G, 1971) will screen at the Flying Monkey, 39 Main St. in Plymouth, on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 6:30 p.m., according to flyingmonkeynh.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• Nosferatu, the 1922 film, will be screened with a live, original score performed by area musicians at the Press Room, 77 Daniel St. in Portsmouth, on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m., according to pressroomnh.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• Silent Night, Bloody Night (R, 1972) will screen on Friday, Oct. 30, at 6:30 p.m. at Park Theatre, 19 Main St. in Jaffrey, according to theparktheatre.org, where you can purchase tickets.

• The Rocky Horror Picture Show (R, 1975) will screen at Rochester Opera House, 31 Wakefield St. in Rochester, on Thursday, Oct. 29, and Friday, Oct. 30, at 9:30 p.m., according to rochesteroperahouse.org, where you can purchase tickets.

• The Cat and the Canary (1927), a silent film featuring live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, will screen on Friday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m., at the Derry Opera House sponsored by the Derry Public Library, according to silentfilmlivemusic.blogspot.com.

• Harry Houdini Double Feature with Terror Island (1920) and Haldane of the Secret Service (1923), silent films featuring live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, will screen on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 2 p.m., at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre, according to silentfilmlivemusic.blogspot.com.

• Hocus Pocus Taste-Along will screen at The Music Hall (Historic Theater at 28 Chestnut St. in Portsmouth; Lounge at 131 Congress St. in Portsmouth; themusichall.org) Saturday, Oct. 31, at 4 p.m., the website said.

• The Vampire Bat (1933) whose cast includes Fay Wray, will screen on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 6:15 p.m. at Park Theatre, 19 Main St. in Jaffrey, according to theparktheatre.org, where you can purchase tickets.

• Hocus Pocus Taste-Along Experience will take place at BNH Stage (16 S. Main St. in Concord) on Sunday, Nov. 1, at 7 p.m. Described as “Perfect for families, friend groups and Halloween fanatics of all ages,” the evening will feature a taste-along candy box for each ticket-holder featuring treats that correspond to moments in the film, according to ccanh.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• V for Vendetta20th anniversary will screen via Fathom Entertainment, fathomentertainment.com, Nov. 1 and Nov. 5, according to the website, where you can find screening theaters and times.

Sweets & treats

• LaBelle Winery will offer a Halloween Candy & Wine Pairing Class at both of its locations, according to labellewinery.com, where you can register for the classes. Catch the class on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 6 p.m. at the location in Amherst (345 Route 101) and Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 6 p.m. in Derry (14 Route 111), the website said.

• Wine on Main, 9 N. Main St. in Concord, will host a Boo!-kie Cookie Decorating Class on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 6 p.m., according to wineonmainnh.com, where you can purchase tickets. The event will also feature a wine tasting.

• LaBelle Winery in Derry (14 Route 111) will offer a Halloween Cookie Decorating Class on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 10:30 a.m., according to labellewinery.com, where you can sign up.

• Flag Hill Distillery & Winery, 297 N. River Road in Lee, will host its annual Boo Brunch on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 11 a.m., according to flaghill.com, where you can purchase tickets.

• Celebrate the change of seasons at the Oktoberfest + Ski & Snowboard Sale on Sunday, Nov. 1, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Pats Peak in Henniker, according to patspeak.com. The Oktoberfest will feature German food offerings available for purchase, a Sam Adams German beer garden, live music by the Bavarian Brothers Band, kids’ activities, axe throwing and more, the website said.

Secrets!

Half-baked but fully fun Verity

Anne Hathaway understands how to do the most. In Verity (in theaters), Hathaway plays Verity Crawford, a famous and wealthy author, as a cartoon Disney wicked stepmother-type, all arched eyebrows and devious glares. It’s a big, fun, campy performance and I wish the movie could have given it even more room to do its big campy thing.

Verity has suffered traumatic injury from a car accident and can no longer move or talk or communicate in any way. Cared for in her home by her husband, Jeremy (Josh Hartnett), and a nurse, Anna (Irina Dvorovenko), Verity has left behind enough notes that her publisher believes ghostwriter Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson) will be able to piece together three new novels. Lowen goes to Verity and Jeremy’s secluded Vermont lake house — where Jeremy lives with his young son Crew (Brady Warner) — to dig through Verity’s notes. The couple also had a daughter, Harper (Sienna Kulovitz), Crew’s twin, who recently drowned in the nearby lake. Also, Lowen’s mother, with whom she had a difficult relationship, recently died of cancer. Also, as the movie starts, Lowen is walking to her publisher’s office when she is showered with the blood of a bicyclist who is killed just steps away from her. The absurdity of how all this is presented was, for me, “ha!”-inducing and really set the tone for the operatic wail of a movie to follow.

When Lowen gets to Vermont, she paws through Verity’s things and finds a secret — secret! — manuscript which we hear/see Hathaway narrating as though it is an entry in some sort of “It was a dark and stormy night” contest for Most Dramatic! Was Verity harboring deep dark secrets — secrets! — or is something else behind the sinister vibe in the family’s home?

The fun part of a movie like this is that for any of this to work, everybody needs to seem a little bit like a serial killer and we, in the audience, get to guess who is the killeriest. Hathaway and Hartnett both walk this line — maybe a killer? — pretty well. Johnson, who the movie even pegs as having “resting bored face,” is probably less successful, with her built in “cool girl” quality pushing her just out of phase with the playing-it-straight performances that Hathaway and Hartnett are giving. When Lowen takes an earnest turn toward the end of the movie, it also feels sort of jarring and not quite fitting.

But also, so what? This movie is amusing even when it doesn’t entirely make sense. There is a dishiness, a smooth peanut butter richness to the movie that could use more bite but goes down easy enough that I didn’t really mind the smarter, stronger structure it was missing.

Featured photo: Verity.

Twilight alums

A look at the latest from Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart plus more recent releases

Primetime, a recently-released-in-theaters look at NBC’s Chris Hansen at the height of his To Catch a Predator fame, does a good job at highlighting its best asset: Robert Pattinson throwing his whole body into playing a weird character with a weird voice.

Pattinson plays Hansen as a man singlemindedly obsessed with fulfilling NBC head Jeff Zucker’s (playing himself) command that he beat Lost, his time-slot competitor, in the new season’s ratings. This Hansen, who gives off the sense of spiritually being at the edge of a psychotic break despite looking like a standard, well-coiffed newsman, harbors deep insecurities, best demonstrated by his hilarious jealous rage at fellow Dateline reporter Stone Phillips (Bill Heck). Beneath the TV exterior of his personality, there seems to be a boiling cauldron of crazy — Hansen doesn’t know how to be a normal person with his wife (Anna Faris) and kids, with the woman (Caroline Hebert) he’s cheating with or with Dan Plumb (Skyler Gisondo), the 20something actor who Hansen calls “Decoy Dan” for his work playing a young teen when the predators show up to meet in person. Perhaps the only person who can break through his delusion and paranoia is Andie (Merritt Wever), his producer, who is fully aware that they are working in a sleaze-based medium but is also pretty desperate to keep her position as this sleazy endeavor’s captain.

IMDb calls this movie a “psychological drama” and “thriller” and Wikipedia goes with “psychological crime thriller” but throughout I was mostly reading this as bleak, dark comedy about a specific era in media. Dan, just hoping to get his union membership from this role, is maybe the closest the movie gets to a sympathetic character. Pattinson’s Hansen is more of a fascinating trainwreck happening in front of you. I have no idea if the real guy is anything like this; “he thinks he’s Mike Wallace” some sound engineers say at one point. Pattison plays Hansen like a guy who is straining to believe he’s Mike Wallace and maybe cracking because he can’t “believe” away his personal and professional sordidness. I don’t feel that Oscar heft that this movie’s marketing had me expecting, but I do think this is a solid watch if you enjoy tense satire.

The Robert Pattinson-ness of Primetime led me to check out The Wrong Girls (an August theatrical release available for rent or purchase), whichstars fellow “Twilight movies take up ¾ of my IMDb known-fors” actor Kristen Stewart. Written and directed by Stewart’s wife, Dylan Meyer, The Wrong Girls is a showcase for my favorite kind of Stewart performance: Stewart as total goofball. See also 2019’s Charlie’s Angels and her Saturday Night Live appearances. Here, she’s Frankie, a Stanford dropout treading water in life, giving up immediately on anything that seems to be hard and putting all of her brainpower into inventing, for example, a giant bong. Frankie and roommate Molly (Alia Shawkat), who works a job she hates and dreams of becoming an avant garde chef for dishes (e.g. brownies with blue cheese) that are apparently excellent when high. Which this duo is most of the time. Behind on rent and accidentally handed a briefcase full of bottles of a strange glowy substance, Frankie and Molly decide to attempt to sell what they presume are drugs to make up their cash shortfall. They of course try out their product first, which gives them the ability to read each other’s minds and, when mixed with THC, possibly makes them telekinetic. Because, of course, other people want this substance, Frankie and Molly soon find themselves on the run with their cats (voiced by Kumail Nanjiani and Seth Rogen), whose very judgy minds they can also hear.

Zack Fox, LaKeith Stanfield, Tony Hale and Kate McKinnon also appear in this movie, which I would consider a very relaxed comedy; the jokes are loosely constructed and float by at a non-urgent pace. And it’s fine — enjoyable and funny in a comfy sort of way. I could take or leave the stoner-ness of the movie but I was charmed by the friendship, both the chemistry between Shawkat and Stewart and the “desperate love with minor quibbles about each other” quality of their relationship.

Here are some more recent releases I caught up on:

• Best of the Best (Netflix) is every great thing about a dance movie, a Pitch Perfect-style college extracurricular movie and a best friend movie. Maya (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) and Anjali (Priyanka Kedia) are lifelong besties who have become roommates in their freshman year at UCLA. They also both love dance — though Maya doesn’t love that people know her as “Drone Strike” from a viral video shot at her high school talent show where a complex dance routine with drones lighting the stage went wrong and she took a drone to the head. When she learns about UCLA’s competitive Bollywood dance team, Maya encourage-pressures Anjali to join it with her, even though Anjali’s mother (Janina Gavankar) is extremely adamant that Anjali focus solely on her studies.

There are some boys (Ankur Rathee, Chaneil Kular) and some dance team politics but the true friction for this friendship is long-simmering resentments and fears — Maya says Anjali has always been the friendly, pretty one; Anjali fears Maya thinks she’s smarter and more talented. But we’re not friends, one says to the other at one point, we’ve always been sisters — hurray for best-friendship! In addition to this winning pair, the movie has some nice specificity about the experiences of Southeast Asian kids and their families and comedy that’s based on relationships and down-to-Earth (rather than, like, National Lampoon-style) aspects of college life. And we get some very fun dance numbers.

• The Rivals of Amziah King(an August theatrical release, now available for rent or purchase) is giving The Sticky vibes, if you recall that late-2024 series about maple syrup starring Margo Martindale on Prime Video (where it is still available and worth a watch), as well as some hints of The Lowdown (the latest very good Sterlin Harjo TV show on Hulu, slated to come back for its second season in October). Here (here being Oklahoma), Amziah King (Matthew McConaughey) is an expert in honey, which he produces (or rather, as he explains, his bees produce the honey — he is a man who deeply loves and respects his bees). The movie opens with law enforcement asking him to consult on some stolen honey, trying to help them track down who it might have originally belonged to. This leads to a strange series of events involving a dramatic farm injury that takes him to a hospital and then to a nearby diner several towns away from where he lives, which is where he runs into Kateri (Angelina LookingGlass), a young adult woman who was once a foster child Amziah and his wife raised for a few years before his wife died. Amziah brings Kateri back into his orbit and she seems delighted to be working with him on his bees and hanging out with his circle of musician friends who perform at church socials and the like. Their peace is broken when Kateri discovers that all of Amziah’s hives have been stolen. The police understand how devastating the loss is for the farm but they can’t really do much about it. Kateri decides to take it on herself to find the bees, retrieve the honey and maybe get some vengeance against the person who wronged them.

The movie starts with McConaughey and his buddies playing upbeat Americana at a drive-in restaurant, and throughout we get to know Amziah’s open-hearted personality in part through the music he plays. This feels like it should clash with the crime (some of it quite violent) and heist elements of the movie that come later, but somehow it all works together. The movie is kind and good-hearted and joyous and features murders and chosen-familial loyalty. It’s a weird mix but McConaughey plays it well and LookingGlass shows herself to be one to watch.

• Tony (an August theatrical release available for rent or purchase) gives us the “portrait of the artist as a highly slappable young man” tale of college student Anthony Bourdain. When we meet him, Tony (Dominic Sessa) is fairly confident that he’s got a writing fellowship in the bag, even though it would take saintly patience not to make barfing gestures when he describes the plot of the pretentious novel he plans to write. He is a world-class talent at being a massive jerk, a fact the real-life Bourdain was later aware of, based on the quote from his memoir Kitchen Confidential that starts the movie. When he doesn’t get the fellowship and can’t bear the thought of a summer spent with his parents, Tony basically runs away to Provincetown, chasing a girl from high school who he ran into at a bar. His attempts to pursue her are so bad I actually turned the volume down while watching it because Sessa is excellent at crafting a character who is an absolute wienball while thinking he’s being clever and charming, which makes his wienballness so much worse. Tony’s despair leads him to get so drunk at a local restaurant that he winds up sleeping it off first on the sidewalk outside the restaurant and then on the chef’s hammock. When Tony asks to stay another night or two, the Chef (Antonio Banderas, whose character Wikipedia calls José Vatel, though I don’t know if we ever hear his name) agrees in exchange for Tony’s services as a dishwasher in the restaurant. Five days a week, show up at 10:45 a.m. — a task that José makes easier by waking Tony up every morning with a pot full of sea water to the face. Tony continues to insist that he is a writer but we see him finding his place in the hyper-masculine camaraderie/abuse (and substance abuse) and discipline of the restaurant kitchen.

I remember some of this story — the vibes, really, more than specific incidents — from Kitchen Confidential. What we’re seeing here is more a slice of one young person’s growth — a completely insufferable adolescent becoming a slightly more mature, slightly more outward-looking person. And, especially once life humbles Tony a little, it’s a compelling watch, with Sessa playing against Banderas and Leo Woodall (playing, basically, kitchen worker cautionary tale), who are pulling Tony in occasionally opposing directions of order and chaos, respectively.

• Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (an August release available for rent or purchase) is the most recent movie written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun, who also wrote and directed I Saw The TV Glow. This movie feels like continuation of the thoughts in that movie — what it means to watch a TV show or movie and your reaction to it and how your reaction is and isn’t a part of the overall package of what the movie is doing and how your reaction at a young age can be completely different from what you feel rewatching it decades later. This movie adds another twist of ouroboros-like meta commentary by being about a director, Kris (Hannah Einbinder), trying to do a reboot on the Camp Miasma horror series, which the movie explains as sort of a Friday the 13th/Sleepaway Camp multi-entry franchise of decades prior. Kris travels to the abandoned camp from the first movie to seek out Billy Presley (Gillian Anderson), that movie’s “final girl” actor who bought the camp to serve as her retreat from the world. As an LGBTQ filmmaker, Kris explains to Billy, she knows she’s been brought in to smooth out some of the transphobic elements of the original film and to bring a “woke” twist to the movie while still being recognizable IP, the only thing movie studios are willing to spend money on. Billy approaches all of this explanation with an eyeroll to all the over-intellectualizing — and she isn’t fully sold on having any part of the project, which Kris feels is important.

Anderson seems like she’s having a blast here, playing Billy as a self-aware Norma Desmond (she claims she’s not and then wears the turban) in Dolly Parton hair who always seems like she might be floating away to woo-woo land or might just be messing with Kris to amuse herself. Or maybe both. She’s great, is what I’m saying, and she pairs nicely with the very serious, very “I’m here to do the work” of Einbinder’s Kris. The movie has fun with the horror movie tropes while also having fun with Billy and Kris having fun with horror movie tropes, including how horror movies approach sex and what that all means. And it all works? Or works enough for me, mixing Hollywood movie-making humor with strange little story elements.

• Fuze (an April Prime Video release), a movie that starts with the discovery of a World War II bomb in present-day downtown London, will not pain you to watch but it also will not, sorry, blow you away with its energy or innovation. Major Will Tranter (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is called in when a construction crew digs up what appears to be a large unexploded bomb in a building site. The surrounding area is quickly evacuated — though in one building, a group of men (including one played by Sam Worthington) sit quietly in an apartment, not moving at the knock by police. As the Army works to secure and disarm the bomb, the men and their brains-of-the-operation George (Theo James) scurry around the neighborhood, sneaking into a basement and jackhammering through a wall to get to the bank vault next door. Because the police (as personified by Gugu Mbatha-Raw) have drones and heat sensors, they eventually catch on that the bomb-endangered area might not be completely empty.

This setup is fine — fun even. Who doesn’t like an overly complicated heist? But there is some tonal weirdness — is this a bouncy fun bad guys versus badder guys versus lady cop situation? Or a tense and serious affair? Or did the movie want to somehow do both things? And the movie builds itself up only to sort of balloon-slow-leak to the end.

Featured photo: Robert Pattinson in Primetime.

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