Top 10 Genre Flicks To See This Fall!

Last Updated on August 3, 2021

Well goddamn! It looks like the 2013 calendar is about to turn its back on the summertime. No more long days and short skirts…the bikinis and flip-flops sadly go back in storage for another 9 months or so. Sucks, I know. But don’t fret friends, because one great thing about the fall, aside from football season of course, is the quality of flicks that will be hitting theaters over the next few months. Out with the bloated rehashes and moronic kiddy comic flicks…in with the prestige pics and hardened Halloween-time horror. Stoked! Doubly stoked when you consider the wide array of movies headed down the pike: high profile, low profile, Oscar contenders, indie darlings, debut features, potential sleepers, etc. Ladies and gents, I give the Top 10 genre flicks to clock this fall!

#1. GRAVITY (OCTOBER 4TH)

Believe it or not, Alfonso Cuaron’s avant-garde space outing GRAVITY currently has a Metascore of 96/100. Pretty unfathomable. That is, until you remember how talented Cuaron is as a filmmaker (CHILDREN OF MEN anyone?) More than that though, I admire the lofty attempt of GRAVITY, as it to me seems inspired by the highly ambitious 2001: A SPACE ODDYSSEY. In addition, in the short snippets I’ve seen, the utter sense of vastness and extreme quietude are downright unsettling…all the while punctuated by Emmanuel Lubezki’s gorgeous cinematography.

#2. PRISONERS (SEPTEMBER 20TH)

Opening today is Denis Villenueve’s PRISONERS, what I’ve heard and read is nothing shy of a knockout motion picture. Hell, our man C.Bum gave that shite a perfect 10/10 rating out of TIFF, so that should tell you everything you need to know right there. Throw in the top-shelf cast headed by Jackman and Gyllenhaal and what is said to be a jaw-dropping shock finale…I’m so there! The story follows a man who goes to painstaking lengths to figure out what happened to his missing daughter and her friend. Vigilante justice, Jackman style? Let’s go!

#3. CURSE OF CHUCKY (OCTOBER 8TH)

F*ck yes! Chucky returns to the month of October for the first time in 9 years with the release of Don Mancini’s CURSE OF CHUCKY. The flick, written and directed by Mancini this time out, totally flips the script by having a little girl the point of endangerment to Chucky’s depraved soul. I for one am double pumped for the tone Mancini has chosen to echo wit this one. Dude’s clearly left the campy, cartoonish energy of the last two flicks and harked back to the truly intense, suspense building thrills of the original CHILD’S PLAY. The way it should be!

#4. CARRIE (OCTOBER 18TH)

Although I was pretty contemptuous of the idea of a CARRIE remake when it was first announced, as production has trudged along, I’ve slowly gotten onboard…if only with one foot. First off, the flick is said to be more faithful to the book than the ’76 De Palma film, so that right there should offer its own flavor. Really though, under the hopefully gritty direction of Kimberly Peirce (BOYS DON’T CRY), I just want to see how the always solid Julianne Moore lives up to Piper Laurie’s mesmerizing performance of the original. Oh, and casting an actual teen in Moretz will only help!

#5. OLDBOY (NOVEMBER 27TH)

I swear, if pretty much anyone other than Spike Lee – who definitely has a unique flavor rolled in each of his joints – directed the remake of OLDBOY, I’d probably write it off completely. And even though Lee is hardly coming off a hot streak (critically/financially)…how he and Josh Brolin handle what most people deem a wholly unnecessary remake…well, it’s too curious a proposition to pass up this Thanksgiving. Factor in the solid support team of Sam Jackson, Sharlto Copley, Liz Olsen and Michael Imperioli and a pricey awards season release…could be a sleeper!

#6. BIRTH OF THE LIVING DEAD (NOVEMBER 6TH)

For a perfect change of pace this Halloween season, I’m going to make a concerted effort to get out and see the new zombie-doc BIRTH OF THE LIVING DEAD, which chronicles the overall cultural zeitgeist of the late 60s that inspired many of the subtextual statements made in George A. Romero’s 1968 masterpiece NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. It also explores how such a flick went on to inform the zombie subgenre that continues to flourish – on large screens and small – to this day. I love horror docs, and this should be no exception!

#7. MACHETE KILLS (OCTOBER 11TH)

Fully realizing that Robert Rodriguez’s MACHETE KILLS is nothing but an tongue-in-cheek cartoon, I can’t conscionably pass up what has to be the hottest assembly of women this side of a AVN convention. Heard, Vega, Hudgens, Vergara, Alba, Rodriguez, the Avellan twins? Yeah, that’s just the half of it. Cue Mel Gibson and Chuck Sheen for some off the wall wackiness, not to mention a near septuagenarian Danny Trejo as the titular badass (wait, didn’t he do a movie called BAD ASS)…MACHETE KILLS has to be good for a hardy chuckle if nothing else.

#8. WE ARE WHAT WE ARE (SEPTEMBER 27TH)

Based solely on his progression as a filmmaker…from MULBERRY STREET to STAKE LAND…I’m definitely down to see Jim Mickle’s new thriller WE ARE WHAT WE ARE. Yes, the flick is a remake of 2010 Mexican joint of the same name, but that’s hardly as egregious as redoing a well known classic. More, we have Michael Parks and Ethan Suplee in the f*ckin’ house, always a pleasure to watch. For those in the dark, the flick finds a cannibalistic family who must persist in their traditional ways after the father suddenly dies in the street. By the way, if those gals are legal, they can eat me any day!

#9. NOTHING LEFT TO FEAR (OCTOBER 4TH)

If for no other reason than to support Slasher Films – Slash of Guns N’ Roses’ production company devoted to original horror – I feel impelled to raise awareness for NOTHING LEFT TO FEAR. Anne Heche and Clancy Brown star as family members who become imperiled when their new Kansas environs prove to be a cursed and eternally dammed locale. Ghostly visions, hellish rituals and demonic possession await! Not for nothing, but apparently the flick is based on the true events of Stull, Kansas.

#10. DARK TOUCH (SEPTEMBER 27TH)

To those still in high dudgeon over the venal CARRIE redo, perhaps watching the indie Irish horror flick DARK TOUCH instead would be wise alternative this fall. Why? Well, it’s not only getting solid reviews, it also deals with a young girl’s identity issues and her vengeful telekinetic powers. In fact, in their glowing review, FEARnet dubbed the flick “Carrie Junior.” To me, it’s simple. I want to see new, fresh, international horror devoid of easily recognizable movie stars. Mix in French writer/director Marina de Van (IN MY SKIN, DON’T LOOK BACK) and we’re good to go!