Movies We’re Stoked to See in Fall 2022

According to your calendar, Autumn officially began this week. I know, I know… Nature itself may disagree, like say in the form of triple-digit temperatures that make the average trip to the mailbox feel like a 5K through Hell itself. But we’ll do our best to put you in the mind of falling leaves, cool breezes, millions of pumpkin-spice-laced products… and new movies coming in Fall 2022.

Anyhow, we like to think Fall is a state of mind – and what better way to escape summer suffering than a trip to the movies, or an air-conditioned chill session on a comfy sofa? Okay, other methods might exist, but that’s for another site. We’re all about cinema here – so let’s get down to the only calendar that really matters: a list of upcoming movies we’d like to check out this season.

Note that some titles on this list also appear on our list of Horror Movies We’re Dying to See, so if you don’t find your ideal spooky fall flick here, you’ll likely find it over there. With that said, slide on the comfy slippers and ease into Fall with an assortment of cinematic wonders.

Bros (September 30 in Theaters)

Fans of rom-coms like Trainwreck and Forgetting Sarah Marshall get a chance to revisit the comedy universe of Judd Apatow and his creative circle (including director Nicholas Stoller and star/co-writer Billy Eichner from Billy on the Street) from an all-new perspective. In case you hadn’t heard yet, Bros is the first gay rom-com to be released by a major studio, and features LGBTQ+ actors in all the leading roles – even as non-gay characters. Most importantly, it looks hilarious. we saw it at TIFF and liked it.

Hocus Pocus 2 (September 30 on Disney+)

Let’s face it, you either worship at the feet of Disney’s 1993 Halloween classic, you can’t stand it, or you don’t really know much about it. That doesn’t mean you might not come around to this long-delayed sequel, but we’re guessing it’s entirely geared for fans of the Sanderson Sisters (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker & Kathy Najimy) and their batty black-magic antics. All three principals are back, as the sisters are once again accidentally summoned to modern-day Salem. Their evil plans are basically the same, but now they’ve got their sights set on draining the life essence from children all over the world.

My Best Friend’s Exorcism (September 30 on Prime Video)

Here’s hoping this adaptation of Grady Hendrix’s acclaimed horror novel – a loving homage to the ’80s VHS horror era – manages to capture the same dead-on satire and over-the-top grossouts. Hell, it might even be enough to stave off hunger pangs for the fifth season of Stranger Things. The story is exactly what it says on the label: high-schooler Abby (Elsie Fisher, Netflix’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre) is not only caught up in her own adolescent problems, she’s more than a little concerned about her BFF’s bizarre changes in behavior – which seem to go beyond teen angst and into the domain of demonic possession.

Smile (September 30 in Theaters)

If you’re still having nightmares from the trailer, you’re not alone. That final jolt is a pretty good indication Smile would be best experienced in a packed theater. The plot of the film (an expansion of the director’s terrifying short Laura Doesn’t Sleep) remains shrouded in mystery, as it should be, but essentially involves a psychologist (Sosie Bacon, daughter of Kevin) whose sanity begins to unravel after one of her patients kills herself in front of her, possibly provoked by an unseen evil. Is it a curse, in the mode of The Ring or It Follows, or is it all in her mind? Either way, we’re nervously excited to find out.

Lyle, Lyle Crocodile (October 7 in Theaters)

If you’re not familiar with Bernard Waber’s kid-lit classic, we’re guessing you don’t have children of your own. If you do, not only do you probably know about the film, you’re already preparing to transport them to the theater this October for this musical adaptation, featuring songs from the folks behind Rocket Man and The Greatest Showman. Lyle is the story of a troubled boy having difficulty adapting to life in New York City, especially surly neighbor Mr. Grumps (Paul Giamatti). Everything changes when he encounters the title character (voiced by chart-topping singer Shawn Mendes) and the croc’s flamboyant former owner (Javier Bardem). The songs should excite Mendes’ fans, and Bardem looks to be having a blast in his over-the-top comic role.

Terrifier 2 (October 6 in Theaters)

Even if you’re not big on slasher cinema, you’ve probably seen now-iconic villain Art the Clown in some form or another, especially around Halloween. It didn’t take long for Art to catch up with Pennywise in the running for most nightmare-inducing evil clowns of all time. With that said, Art is not for all tastes, and his sadistic shenanigans are waaay more gruesome than those of Stephen King’s legendary villain. Partially financed by fans of the first film, Terrifier 2 ups the ante with a more elaborate story involving the resurrected Art setting out on a new rampage – although this time he may have met his match in the form of Final Girl Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera).

Till (October 7 in Theaters)

Amid all these fictional horrors on the screen comes a heartbreaking film about the real-life horror faced by victims of hate. This recounting of the torture and murder of 14-year-old Emmett Louis Till is told through the eyes of his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley (Danielle Deadwyler). It’s as much about the crime itself as the lifelong struggle of a mother to find justice and closure for her son (Jalyn Hall), a black teen who was lynched by a white Mississippi mob after being accused of flirting with a white woman. Like Till’s death itself, the film is an expose of the hate-driven culture of the American South in the Jim Crow era. Given many of today’s headlines, it would seem some folks need a refresher course in what happens when hate takes root in a society.

Halloween Ends (October 14 in Theaters)

Filmed back-to-back with last year’s Halloween Kills (which didn’t score nearly as high with fans as David Gordon Green’s 2018 entry in the franchise), this looks to be the finale of a slasher saga that began in 1978 with John Carpenter’s classic. I’m going to assume the title not only signals the ultimate destruction of nearly-unstoppable franchise boogeyman Michael Myers, but possibly provides a fittingly heroic end for Jamie Lee Curtis’s legendary final-girl-turned-badass, Laurie Strode. I’m totally cool with that, as long as Laurie is more closely involved in Michael’s fate – because that’s where Kills kinda dropped the ball in favor of clunky fan-service.

Black Adam (October 21 in Theaters)

If you dug 2019’s Shazam, or just Captain Marvel in general, you should be stoked to see this semi-spinoff. Marvel’s one-time nemesis first appeared in the 1940s, but didn’t become much of a regular until 1973, and he’s now fully embraced by the DC Extended Universe. Although he had a kinda-cameo in Shazam! and appeared in animated form in DC League of Superpets, we now get to see him in his brooding live-action glory, portrayed by Dwayne Johnson. Originally an ancient mystic with a heart of darkness, Adam is guided down the path of super-heroism by the Justice League, who hope to recruit his powers in their battle against a greater evil.

The School for Good and Evil (October 21 on Netflix)

The acclaimed YA fantasy books of Soman Chainani play out like an epic fairytale with a dark thread of humor, so it seems they could be a natural fit for a big-budget movie with the right folks at the helm. This adaptation of the first novel was first developed at Universal, but ultimately Netflix brought it to the finish line, and from the trailer it looks like it hits many of the key plot points while taking the story in some radically different directions. The books have a passionate fanbase – almost on par with the previous generation’s Harry Potter series – so it will be interesting to see if director Paul Feig (of the Ghostbusters 2016 remake) strikes the right balance between pleasing those readers and appealing to a broader audience.

The Estate (November 4 in Theaters)

If you were emotionally scarred by Toni Colette’s performance in Hereditary, this might be a good palate-cleanser. Colette co-stars with Scary Movie lead Ana Faris as estranged, bickering sisters who decided to put aside their feud in order to land a sizable inheritance from their dying Aunt Hilda (played to the hilt by the legendary Kathleen Turner). The two wind up butting heads with other money-hungry relatives, particularly the conniving Beatrice (Rosemarie DeWitt) and smarmy Dick (David Duchovny, who’s in one of the trailer’s funniest bits). All these high-caliber performers have already demonstrated their comedy chops in other projects, but this time it looks like they’re going full-on twisted.

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (November 4 on Roku)

While it may seem like the life of comedy legend and Grammy-winning music parody genius “Weird Al” Yankovic is an odd choice for a flashy musical biopic along the lines of Bohemian Rhapsody, Elvis or Rocket Man, it turns out it’s the ideal vehicle for Al’s brand of lunacy by poking fun at those film’s high-minded pretensions. In fact, it takes the satire way over the top, paying only partial service to the “real” events in Al’s life and career, and instead diving into the artist’s signature surrealism. The casting of Daniel Radcliffe seemed off initially, but the trailer reveals how much he relishes the role, and the supporting cast are amazing as well – we get Evan Rachel Wood as Madonna, Rainn Wilson as novelty-song DJ Dr. Demento, even Conan O’Brien as Andy Warhol.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (November 11 in Theaters)

It’s tough going into any MCU release after the loss of Chadwick Boseman in 2020, but particularly so when it comes to any new chapters in the Black Panther saga. It helps that writer-director Ryan Coogler has returned to re-tool the sequel, and Marvel wisely chose not to recast T’Challa (frankly, we can’t imagine anyone else in the role). Though it might have worked exploring the character’s earlier life in a prequel, this entry instead looks forward to Wakanda’s troubled future in the wake of his death. Nearly all the principal actors return, with the script taking an ensemble approach – though Letitia Wright looks to be at the forefront as Shuri, who it appears will be donning the iconic Black Panther suit, just as she did in the comics. Also: Namor!

She Said (November 18 in Theaters)

Socials and news outlets have been buzzing over this production, which delves into the true story of two investigative journalists whose story ultimately brought the downfall of movie mogul and now-convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein. No doubt audiences will be buzzing too, and there are already hints of Oscar potential. Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan take on the roles of real-life New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, whose research into accusations made by female Miramax employees uncovered a history of shocking behavior by Weinstein and played a hand in launching the #MeToo movement. Even the film has its own share of behind-the-scenes controversy, including attempts by Weinstein’s legal team to block its release.

Bones and All (November 23 in Theaters)

It’s pretty obvious the studio is packaging this cannibalism-themed romance as art-house or “elevated” horror (I hate that term BTW), as the promos depict it as more of a road movie, with emphasis on the love story between two good-looking young people (Timothee Chalamet & Taylor Russell), and basically dodge the whole “these kids eat people” aspect of the plot. Maybe that’s a deliberate misdirection, but I doubt it, because horror fans already know the basic story. But I can’t say that for sure, and the teaser trailer doesn’t really help fill in some of the blanks. Maybe the full-length trailer will let it all come splashing out… either way, it looks like a stylish and ominous tale, with good performances at the heart of it.