A Few Fall Films, and One Series — The Attic On Eighth

*Courtesy of Trevor Jones/AstroBackyard.*

It hurts. I’m in actual, physical pain. Halloween is on a Saturday this year, which is also hosting a full Blue Moon. It will be the second moon in October, and the eleventh of the thirteen full moons this year. Not only that, the weather is cooling at an appropriate rate and the leaves are falling generously. I, myself, am even dating a pumpkin this year. These should be the perfect circumstances for an absolutely raging Halloween, but no. We can’t get it together, and Halloween isn’t going to happen. Or at least, it shouldn’t. Let’s talk about Fall films.

High Life (2018)

At the beginning of April, I said to myself, “Well, at least the pandemic isn’t happening in October.” Unique to this year’s season, High Life hits differently during quarantine before the long darkness of Winter. This generations’s Space Odyssey: 2001 (1968) from director and writer Claire Denis embodies what that sci-fi horror classic lacks: humanity. Almost fifty years since the last manned moon landing, we’re not only confined to our planet, but to our homes and our ‘pods.’ Space isn’t frightening anymore, rather it’s the expanse of time and the inconceivable nothingness without end. What happens to people when time has stopped, but life still goes on? We think we have some idea now, but we probably never truly will.

Onibaba (1964) / Kuroneko (1968)

Enough with the sad, onto the spooky. Both set during periods of civil unrest in Japanese history, this creature double feature does contain disturbing content in addition to violence against women. What it also has is that specific Kwaidan brand of terror which, more often than not, involves a satisfactory amount of revenge. Each have been heralded as pioneering feminist films, however whether or not that description is laudatory or even flattering is up to the viewer. Are all women monsters in our own way? Yes, and why more men aren’t afraid is far more mysterious than a cursed mask and a demon cat.

Rebecca (1940)

Darkness, tension, a handsome man with a tragic past. Rebecca has it all, and if you haven’t seen it yet, you should. Read the book too, while you’re at it. Autumn provides the perfect atmosphere for Daphne du Maurier’s modern gothic masterpiece. You’ll be hearing so much more from us on this subject when the Netflix remake comes out this month. Try to keep up.

As Above, So Below / The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014)

It wouldn’t be October if I didn’t recommend at least two found footage movies. Taking a more occult and academic bent, these films intentionally affect your perception and conception of reality for maximum fright. In addition to the supernatural, both layer the terror with true fears; As Above, So Below was filmed in the catacombs of Paris, where cave-ins do occur and cataphiles (some less cool than others) prowl, and The Taking of Deborah Logan follows a woman’s battle with dementia as well as a past that won’t stay buried. Best watched after dark, in rapid succession.

*Image courtesy of Providence Daily Dose.*

Lovecraft Country (2020 — )

Based on Matt Ruff’s 2016 novel rather than solely on the nominal author’s work, rest assured that you won’t be cancelled for enjoying Lovecraft Country. Created by powerhouse producer and writer Misha Greene, the majority of the episodes are written and directed by women including Cheryl Dunye, known for her pivotal lesbian-focused film The Watermelon Woman (1996). Moreover, since you may not rest at all after streaming the ongoing series, delight in the fact that Lovecraft would have been livid about a BIPOC and LGBTQ+ main cast and crew in a production bearing his name. If you happen to see his weedy ghost this year, fear not; he’s more afraid of you than you are of him.

With some theaters eking out re-openings this season, it might be difficult to catch this season’s new frightfests if you’re not willing to pay $20 USD for ‘Early Access’ to films like the highly anticipated Antebellum (2020), starring Janelle Monáe. Even trickier are breakout films like Rose Glass’s Saint Maud (2019) and triple-threat Antonia Campbell-Hughes’s Cordelia (2019), both of which premiered at festivals last year and nowhere else until just this month. They’re certainly worth checking out if you feel inclined to support a few women in the arts — as of now they won’t even be receiving a US release, possibly because the MPAA doesn’t want these female-driven films to prompt us towards more than Halloween mischief. After all, as we’re learning every day, things can always become more horrific.

Zoë G. Burnett is a writer and film enthusiast based in Massachusetts. A lover of all things paranormal and pink, she is currently working on her first book about witchcraft and classic style. Zoë is a Contributing Editor and The Attic on Eighth’s Film Columnist.