This week: celebrate Halloween with two unconventionally scary movies, Borgman and Freaks. Plus more 2020 films to stream at home.
ON VIDEO
Borgman: This Dutch thriller is a horror film for adults, without the gore and with lots of wit. You can stream it from all the major services.
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (link will go live this week, I promise): Aaron Sorkin’s fresh look at an indelible moment in American history. Sacha Baron Cohen, John Carroll Lynch and Frank Langella are great. Streaming on Netflix.
My Octopus Teacher: A diver encounters an octopus and films her every day for a year. He’s not that interesting but the resourceful octopus and the underwater cinematography are worthwhile. Streaming on Netflix.
The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:
- David Byrne’s American Utopia: a most human vibe
- The Artist’s Wife: she finds her gifts
- Dick Johnson Is Dead: funny, heartfelt and frequently bizarre
- Sibyl: trashy, but in that sly and expert French way.
- #Alive: A Korean Home Alone with zombies.
ON TV
Here’s a genuinely scary movie for Halloween – and it’s 88 years old. Tomorrow morning October 31, Turner Classics airs Tod Browning’s Freaks. Bad things happen at the circus. And bad things happen in Freaks. This is one of the most unsettling horror films (and the least politically correct), because it was filmed in 1932 with real circus freaks. If you have teenagers jaded by today’s empty horror flicks, this will knock them for a loop. Only 64 minutes.
