Want to know what’s coming to a cinema near you this October? Look no further…
WEDNESDAY 3 OCTOBER
A Star Is Born (Bradley Cooper)
A third remake of William A. Wellman’s 1937 drama and the directorial debut of Bradley Cooper. Lady Gaga stars alongside Cooper as a singer about to find fame.
Female Human Animal (Josh Appignanesi)
This docu-thriller presents a darkly romantic dance between fact and fiction. Chloe Aridjis stars as a creative woman disenchanted with what modern life — and modern men — have to offer her.
Venom (Ruben Fleischer)
The Venom Symbiote appeared in both of Sony’s recent Spider-Man franchises; as the main antagonist of Sam Raimi’s trilogy closer and in cameo at the close of Marc Webb’s Amazing Spider-Man 2. Now the beast has a film of its own. With Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams.
THURSDAY 4 OCTOBER
Child of Mine (Brian Woods)
Released to coincide with Baby Loss Awareness Week, Child of Mine follows three couples as they come to terms with losing the babies before birth.
FRIDAY 5 OCTOBER
A Thousand Girls Like Me (Sahra Mani)
When Khatera opposes the will of her family and country to seek justice for years of sexual abuse from her father, she sheds light on the faulty Afghan judicial system and the women it rarely protects. Hard hitting documentary.
Andhadhun (Sriram Raghavan)
Ayushmann Khurrana plays a blind pianist in this Indian mystery. With music by Amit Trivedi, Raftaar and Girish Nakod.
Blindspotting (Carlos Lopez Estrada)
While on probation, a black man begins to re-evaluate his relationship with his volatile best friend. From the director of George Ezra’s hit music video Shotgun.
Blue Iguana (Hadi Hajaig)
Fresh from his Oscar-winning turn in Three Billboards, Sam Rockwell plays Eddie, one half of a pair of ex-jailbirds whose dead-end lives are turned upside down by English lawyer Katherine Rockwood (Phoebe Fox).
Columbus (Kogonada)
It’s a busy year for John Cho, who here plays a Korean-born man visiting his comatosed father in Columbus, Indiana. Whilst there, he meets Casey (Haley Lu Richardson), a young woman with big dreams and a recovering addict for a mother.
Jalouse (David Foenkinos and Stephane Foenkinos)
French comedy-drama about a divorced teacher (Karin Viard) who is driven by jealousy – jalouse is the French for jealous – to sabotage the lives of those around her.
Johnny English Strikes Again (David Kerr)
Find out everything you need to know about the return of Britain’s worst spy here.
Kusama – Infinity (Heather Lenz)
Japanese installation artist Yayoi Kusama discusses her life and work in this fascinating documentary.
London Unplugged (NIck Cohen, Layke Anderson, Natalia Casali, Mitchell Crawford, Andres Heger-Batterud, Ben Jacobsen, Rosanna Lowe, Gaelle Mourre, Kaki Wong, Qi Zhang)
How many directors does it take to make a drama about the complexities, contradictions and compromises of modern living in London? Ten, apparently.
Strangeways Here We Come (Chris Green)
A host of television-famous stars feature in Chris Green’s new comedy. Elaine Cassidy, Michelle Keegan and Stephen Lord play tenants of a high rise who work together to defeat a cruel loan shark.
Tehran Taboo (Ali Soozandeh)
Visually striking animation about four young men and women from Tehran attempting to break the taboos of a restrictive, islamic society.
The Go Betweens: Right Here (Kriv Stenders)
Indie rock band The Go-Betweeners had two stints of activity, from 1977 to 1989 and then another six years from 2000. Kriv Stenders’ new documentary has the full story.
WEDNESDAY 10 OCTOBER
Halloween (John Carpenter)
John Carpenter’s classic horror gets a re-release to celebrate its fortieth anniversary, and just ahead of the new sequel too.
THURSDAY 11 OCTOBER
MFKZ (Shoujirou Nishimi, Guillaume Renard)
An scooter accident caused by a beautiful, mysterious stranger is about to transform the life of Angelino into a waking nightmare! French-Japanese animation.
FRIDAY 12 OCTOBER
1945 (Ferenc Torok)
Péter Rudolf gained 15kg to play István in this sombre, weighty Hungarian Holocaust drama. When his son’s wedding is uprooted by the return of her ex-captive former fiancé, everything changes.
Bad Times at the El Royale (Drew Goddard)
Thriller-mystery from the director of The Cabin in the Woods. Seven strangers, each with a secret to bury, meet at Lake Tahoe’s El Royale to take a shot at redemption.
Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (Shelly Chopra Dhar)
Sonam Kapoor plays an unhappily married woman who discovers her father’s affair with her co-worker through a series of quirky encounters in this Hindi comedy-drama.
First Man (Damien Chazelle)
Aged just 33, Damien Chazelle has already amassed a outstanding film record. His latest sees him reunite with La La Land‘s Ryan Gosling and recreate the 1969 moon landing with Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong.
Helicopter Eela (Pradeep Sarkar)
Indian comedy-drama, pushed back from last month’s release date.
Kler (Clergy) (Wojciech Smarzowki)
Having been miraculously saved from a tragic event, three Catholic priests meet on every anniversary to celebrate their survival. When their paths cross again, the impact is huge.
Make Me Up (Rachel Maclean)
Multimedia artist Rachel Maclean takes on the pressures faced by young women today in this satirical black comedy. When Siri wakes in a brutalist candy-coloured prison, she must compete to survive.
Mandy (Panos Cosmatos)
The latest Nick Cage drama sees the actor play a broken and haunted man on the hunt for the religious sect that killed the love of his life (Andrea Riseborough’s titular Mandy).
Nancy (Christina Choe)
An 18 year old man living in a Dublin housing estate with his grandfather, is caught holding drugs for his friend’s older brother and is sentenced to 3 months in prison.
Pili (Leanne Welham)
A unique collaboration between filmmakers and real HIV sufferers, Pili is set in Tanzania, where a woman struggles to feed two children on a wage under $1 a day, whilst keeping her diagnosis a secret.
Sink (Mark Gillis)
Mark Rylance executive produces this drama about a father losing his life to dementia. When Micky (Martin Herdman) acts on an urge to make a real change in a tough world, a moral dilemma arises. With Harry Potter’s Joshua Herdman.
Smallfoot (Karey Kirkpatrick)
Another animation in the James Corden catalogue, Smallfoot tells the story of a yeti determined to prove that humans really do exist. Channing Tatum, Zendaya and Danny DeVito co-star.
Tumbbad (Rahi Anil Barve)
Indian mythological drama about a goddess who created the whole universe and the humans who build a temple for her first-born. Horror.
Us and Them (Joe Martin)
Rogue One’s Jack Roth seeks to start a revolution in the feature debut of Joe Martin. Roth plays Danny rails against Britain’s class society before taking a wealthy family hostage and filming the outcome. With The Archers’ Timothy Betnick.
TUESDAY 16 OCTOBER
They Shall Not Grow Old (Peter Jackson)
Lord of the Rings’ director Peter Jackson has promised to bring the First World War to life like never before in this archival footage documentary. The film will be simulcast live from London, with a Q&A by film critic Mark Kermode.
FRIDAY 19 OCTOBER
Dogman (Matteo Garrone)
Marcello Fonte won the award for Best Actor when Dogman was screened at Cannes this year. An Italian drama, the film tells the story of a dog groomer who winds up in a dangerous relationship with a former boxer and neighbourhood oppressor.
Fahrenheit 11/9 (Michael Moore)
Sicko director Michael Moore casts his eye over the current state of American politics and finds power in the grassroots.
Gangsta (Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah)
When four dealers steal from a shipment of cocaine, they inadvertently trigger an all-out was between themselves, an Amsterdam drug lord and Colombian cartels. Belgian, Dutch language.
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (Ari Sandel)
Jack Black returns for this sequel to 2015’s Goosebumps, based on the best-selling books of R. L. Stone. When Sonny (Jeremy Ray Taylor) and Sam (Caleel Harris) find an open a mysterious manuscript, they release Slappy back into the world. But can they thwart his evil plot?
Halloween (David Gordon Green)
Jamie Lee Curtis returns to the Halloween franchise for a fifth and final time as Laurie Strode. Neither a remake nor a reboot, this one’s been termed a ‘recalibration’. Michael Myers has been haunting Laurie for four decades but now she must confront him.
Hunter Killer (Donovan Marsh)
An untested American submarine captain (Gerard Butler) teams with U.S. Navy Seals to rescue the Russian president, who has been kidnapped by a rogue general. If they don’t pull this off, it’s gonna be World War Three. Legit. With Gary Oldman.
Lost & Found (Liam O Mochain)
Set in the lost and found office of an Irish train station, Liam O Machain’s new comedy drama weaves seven stories together, each inspired by true stories.
Namaste England (Vipul Amrutlal Shah)
Bollywood rom-com by the director of Action Replay. Namaste England is the sequel to 2007 film Namastey London and sees a man (Arjun Kapoor) follow his wife (Parineeti Chopra) to London, where she hopes to follow her dreams.
Orphée (Jean Cocteau)
A re-release for Cocteau’s 1950 sequel to The Blood of a Poet, the first part of his Orphic Trilogy. Set in contemporary Paris, the film spins a variation on the Green myth of Orpheus.
Science Fair (Cristina Costantini, Darren Foster)
Nine high school students from across the globe navigate rivalries, setbacks, and hormones on their quest to win the international science fair. Documentary.
The School in the Cloud (Jerry Rothwell)
Indian professor Sugar Mitra introduces children in a remote Bengali village to the internet via an unmanned kiosk. Could this be the future of education? Will it change their lives for better or worse?
Touch Me Not (Adina Pintilie)
On the fluid border between reality and fiction, this pan-European drama follows the emotional journeys of a filmmaker and her characters as they seek to understand intimacy.
VS. (Ed Lilly)
An urban rites of passage drama set in the hostile and exciting UK rap battle scene. With Joivian Wade.
MONDAY 22 OCTOBER
The Hate U Give (George Tillman Jr)
Based on the YA novel by Angie Thomas, Tillman Jr.’s film sees Amanda Stenberg (The Darkest Minds) play Starr Carter, a girl whose double life is shattered when she witnesses a fatal shooting. By weekday she attends a rich, white, prep school, by night and weekend she lives in a poor, black neighbourhood.
TUESDAY 23 OCTOBER
An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn (Jim Hosking)
Starring Aubrey Plaza, Hosking’s new comedy sees an unsatisfying marriage collapse when a mysterious man comes to town. Matt Berry plays Rodney Von Donkensteiger, which tells you everything you need to know.
WEDNESDAY 24 OCTOBER
An Artist’s Eyes (Jack Bond)
Documentary, featuring motivational speaker Chris Moon.
Bohemian Rhapsody (Bryan Singer)
Singer’s long-awaited, self-proclaimed, celebration of Queen features Rami Malek as a show-stopping Freddie Mercury.
Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero)
The film that decades of zombie horror films owe their existence turns 50 this month. Happy Birthday! Make it a horrible one.
FRIDAY 26 OCTOBER
Bad Reputation (Kevin Kerslake)
Best known as the frontwoman of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Joan Jett had notable hits with Cherry Bomb, I Love Rock ’n Roll and Bad Reputation. This documentary tells her story.
Beetlejuice (Tim Burton)
Thirty years have passed since Beetlejuice burst into cinemas – gosh! To celebrate, the Burton fan favourite is back in cinemas. Yes, it’s showtime (again).
Don’t Worry, He Won’t Go Far On Foot (Gus Van Sant)
Once upon a time, Robin Williams was attached to this adaptation of John Callahan’s memoir. The film released in 2018 stars Joaquin Phoenix as Callahan. Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara and Jack Black also feature.
Donkeyote (Chico Pereira)
Chico Pereira is known for his minimalist approach. In his latest film, winner of Best Documentary at last year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival, a man and his donkey defy the odds to walk the brutal 2200 mile Trail of Tears.
Possum (Matthew Holness)
Sean Harris plays a disgraced puppeteer in the directorial debut of Matthew Holness. Philip must confront his wicked stepfather (Alun Armstrong) and the secrets that have tortured his life.
Prince of Darkness (John Carpenter)
Another classic Carpenter and another anniversary. This re-release celebrates thirty years of the film Carpenter called the second in is ‘Apocalypse’ trilogy.
The Evil Dead (Sam Raimi)
Raimi recorded the eerie wind noise in The Evil Dead himself, after hearing it through his bedroom window. This re-release marks twenty-five years since its UK debut.
The Guilty (Gustav Muller)
Danish crime drama, with Jakob Cedergren as an alarm dispatcher who goes in search of a kidnapped woman after her distress call is suddenly disconnected.
They Live (John Carpenter)
1988 was a busy year for John Carpenter. In 2018, aliens really have taken over the world.
Utøya – July 22 (Erik Poppe)
In 2011 Norway was subject to a number of attacks. Poppe’s film dramatises the events of the July 22 terrorist mass murder at a political summer camp on the island of Utøya.
Waiting For You (Charles Garrad)
Colin Morgan stars here as Paul, a young Englishman who travels to France to unearth truths about the father he never really knew.
SUNDAY 27 OCTOBER
A Woman Captured (Bernadett Tuza-Ritter)
Tough documentary about the perils of modern slavely. The film focusses on the journey of a woman to escape her oppression of ten years.
WEDNESDAY 31 OCTOBER
The Fog (John Carpenter)
You can have too much John Carpenter…said nobody ever. One more October re-release for the horror maestro.
Slaughterhouse Rulez (Crispian Mills)
An British boarding school becomes a bloody battleground when a sinkhole appears at a nearby fracking site unleashing unspeakable horror. With Simon Pegg and Michael Sheen.
The Film Blog 