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October 29, 2021

Every weekday, we recommend one piece of exceptional writing from The Times — a narrative or essay that takes you someplace you might not expect to go.

Josep Lago/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Behind a Top Female Name in Spanish Crime Fiction: Three Men

Carmen Mola, a novelist publishing under a pen name, seemed to shatter a glass ceiling in the world of Spanish books. But when the author's true identity was revealed while claiming a big prize, it was a shock.

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October 29, 2021

By Mekado Murphy

Movies Editor

Hey, movie fans!

It's Halloween weekend, and new scary movies abound. Opening in theaters is Edgar Wright's ghostly London thriller, "Last Night in Soho," and it's a Critic's Pick. Jeannette Catsoulis writes that the director "has produced some of the most dazzling imagery of his career." Read an interview with Wright.

Also in theaters is "Antlers," a new folk horror tale from the director Scott Cooper, about a small Oregon town terrorized by a man-eating, elklike creature. (Read up on a number of new films in the folk horror genre).

And there are plenty of thrills on streaming. Paramount+ has a new installment in the "Paranormal Activity" franchise, "Next of Kin." Netflix has the thriller "Hypnotic." And the grisly Malaysian horror movie "Roh" is available on demand.

Sometimes you don't even need to watch a horror movie to be scared, the title is frightening enough. This week, Erik Piepenburg strung together several real movie titles to tell some terrifying stories. He also recommended five scary flicks to keep you in nightmares all weekend long.

Enjoy the movies!

Parisa Taghizadeh/Focus Features

Critic's Pick

'Last Night in Soho' Review: Dream Girls

Two young women from different eras form a psychic bond in Edgar Wright's sumptuous and surprising horror movie.

By Jeannette Catsoulis

Joss Barratt/A24

'The Souvenir Part II' Review: Life, as She Imagines It

In the sequel to her art-house favorite "The Souvenir," Joanna Hogg picks up the story of a young woman's journey to becoming an artist.

By Manohla Dargis

Stefan Marx

Don't Go In the Woods. You're Next.

Real horror movie titles. Terrifying tiny tales.

By Erik Piepenburg

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CRITICS' PICKS

Janus Films

Critic's Pick

'Chess of the Wind' Review: A Remnant of an Iran That Used to Be

Mohammad Reza Aslani's 1976 film about family mendacity existed for mere days before it was banned and then lost in the ensuing tumult. Now it's back.

By Glenn Kenny

Jaap Buitendijk/Amazon Studios

Critic's Pick

'The Electrical Life of Louis Wain' Review: The Cat's Meow

Benedict Cumberbatch plays a British artist who found love, both human and feline, and became famous as the man who drew cats.

By Manohla Dargis

MOVIE REVIEWS

Stanislav Honzik/Netflix

'Army of Thieves' Review: A Little Help From Some Old Friends

This "Army of the Dead" prequel leans in, deliberately, to every last heist movie cliché.

By Calum Marsh

Paramount Players

'Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin' Review: Still Recording

With this new installment, the found-footage franchise incorporates Covid-19, Amish country and too many cameras.

By Ben Kenigsberg

Sony Pictures

'A Mouthful of Air' Review: Depression Clouds a Domestic Idyll

Amanda Seyfried stars as a young mother suffering from postpartum depression in Amy Koppelman's weepy adaptation of her novel.

By Natalia Winkelman

Mark Williams/Relativity Media

'Violet' Review: In Two Minds

Olivia Munn battles a bullying voice in her head in this unusual psychological drama.

By Jeannette Catsoulis

Strand Releasing

'Cicada' Review: A New Relationship Buds as Old Wounds Reopen

Matthew Fifer writes and co-stars in this understated drama about a man struggling with his past as he forges a new bond.

By Kyle Turner

Samuel Goldwyn Films/Roadside Attractions

'Snakehead' Review: Nightmares on the Way to the American Dream

The writer and director Evan Jackson Leong sets a crime tale in New York City's Chinatown.

By Beandrea July

First Run Features

'How They Got Over' Review: How Gospel Begat Rock

In the director Robert Clem's documentary about gospel quartets and their undeniable influence on rock 'n' roll, Sister Rosetta Tharpe has competition.

By Lisa Kennedy

Funimation

'My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission' Review: Boy on the Run

The third full-length movie in this franchise offers a formulaic plot and forgettable villain.

By Maya Phillips

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STREAMING RECOMMENDATIONS

Vertical Entertainment

Five Science-Fiction Movies to Stream Now

This month's selections include a period sci-fi/action hybrid, low-budget domestic puzzlers and a mega budget, yet overlooked, time-travel spectacle.

By Elisabeth Vincentelli

Warner Bros. Entertainment, via Associated Press

5 Movies to Watch for Halloween

Even if you're not a fan of horror, there's a film waiting for you in the dark. Here are five different movies for every taste.

By Erik Piepenburg

NEWS & FEATURES

Kimberley French/Searchlight Pictures

Modern Times Call for Folk Horror

Films like "Antlers," "Lamb" and other new releases turn rural environments and ancient belief systems into subjects for terror.

By Erik Piepenburg

Kalpesh Lathigra for The New York Times

Edgar Wright on 'Last Night in Soho' and the Trap of Nostalgia

The "Baby Driver" director's latest film is a thriller that explores the darker side of 1960s London and questions stories that glamorize the era.

By Dave Itzkoff

Searchlight Pictures

Reporter's Notebook

Wes Anderson's Dream of France, and the Paris I Remember

With "The French Dispatch," the director's latest, yet another American artist falls under the country's spell. The Times's Paris bureau chief recalls when the same thing happened to him.

By Roger Cohen

Maggie Shannon for The New York Times

A Filmmaking Life Gets a Sequel

Joanna Hogg is the rare director to be given the greenlight for a two-part drama about finding her own voice. She's only been thinking about it since 1988.

By Nicolas Rapold

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