7 unmissable movies to look forward to in October

Our pick of What’s On at the flicks…

Kraven the Hunter

Expected: October 5

The sixth film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU) features super, eh let’s call him a hero, Sergei Kravinoff AKA Kraven the Hunter. And because of Sony and Marvel’s collaborative handshake, the character should be seen as canon in the MCU multiverse. Kraven (played here by Aaron ‘Bullet Train‘ Taylor-Johnson) had been on paper to appear as a bit-player in several previous Marvel projects only to be scribbled out, which makes the decision to place him in a stand-alone, Sony-produced, R-rated movie, a bit of a gamble. Especially with the memories of the Morbin’ Time debacle still fresh in fans’ minds. We’re optimistic though, with the rare-miss component of Russell Crowe playing Sergei’s estranged mob boss father; the juicy prospect of John Wick levels of dispatchery; a Taylor-Johnson portrayed protagonist hopped up on magical lion blood who uses “his connection with animals to track his prey”; and the prospect of another outing for popular Spidey nemesis, The Rhino.

Foe

Expected: October 6

The latest in an unsurprisingly turbulent torrent of AI-driven narratives to arrive in 2023. This wasn’t written by ChatGPT though, it’s from the pen of the brilliant Canadian author Iain Reid, and directed by Garth ‘Lion‘ Davis. It’s got a bijoux but beaucoup-talented cast spearheaded by Saoirse Ronan, Paul Mescal and Aaron Pierre. There’s very little in the data dump of pre-release details, but scanning the chapters of the book it’s based on (which we implore you not to do for risk of massive grammatical spoilers) allows us to tell you that it involves the story of a very happy couple. That, of course, is not the best set-up for a gripping screenplay, so luckily for us (less so for them) an agitator muscles in and tells the male lead, Junior (Mescal) that he’s being shipped off to space for a special assignment. In his stead, an almost exact biomechanical replica will be left to comfort his wife. Imagine his delight.

57 Seconds

Expected: October 12

We suspect this one might attract low IMDB and Rotten Tomato scores, but the premise sounds fun so it made the cut. It’s a sci-fi caper that sees tech journalist, Franklin Fausti (Josh ‘Hunger Games‘ Hutcherson) bag the interview of a lifetime – Anton Burrell (Morgan Freeman) an eccentric entrepreneur (expect Musk nods). After the scoop, Fausti finds a ring that enables him to travel precisely 57 seconds back in time. One ring to correct embarrassing public faux pas. He uses the time skip drip to unravel the big pharma conspiracy that lead to his sister’s death and in doing so, uncovers yet more corruption and world-emperiling foul play. It’s at this point he should probably give up journalism and try something nice and safe like being a security guard for a pizza restaurant.

Killers Of The Flower Moon

Expected: October 19

A Martin Scorsese-directed epic western, based on a true story, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Brendan Fraser and Lily Gladstone. That’s genuinely enough to get anyone even remotely bothered about cinema into theatres and ill-patiently chewing through a box of popcorn, but there’s more. The movie is built on the golden screen principle of avenged justice. Seeking out those complicit in a series of targeted murders in the native American Osage community in the 1920s. A people whose land sat on an almost incalculable wealth of oil. It’s a tale of changing winds, of blood, creed and greed, and of the incidental foundations of the FBI. You might as well start enscribing the Oscars now.

The Mission

Expected: October ??

This is still yet to be green-lit for a UAE theatre release, but we’re truly hoping it does receive official blessing. It’s the documentary telling the story of American missionary John Allen Chau, who was killed by a hail of arrows whilst attempting to reach (and presumably convert) one of the world’s last remaining uncontacted tribes on North Sentinel Island, India. Themes of conviction and purpose will likely confront self-determinism and the Star Trek prime directive (outside influences should not meddle in the affairs of others). One to seek out by any means short of swimming to an island of hostile, bow-wielding natives.

Five Nights at Freddy’s

Expected: October 27

Based on the jump scare-riddled video game of the same name, and scourge of parent-school WhatsApp groups, Five Nights at Freddy’s gives us manmade horrors beyond our collective comprehension. Sweet. It also gives another outing to comic-scare-tzar Matthew ‘I’ll be right baaaack’ Lillard, so swings and roundabouts. In Five Nights, Mike Schmidt (Josh ‘seems like we were talking about him 57 Seconds ago’ Hutcherson, ) is drafted in to guard a derelict diner, Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, from vandalism and theft. The chief USP of the restaurant in its heyday was the gang of animatronic mascots that performed song and dance numbers from the up-curve of the ‘uncanny valley’ (Google it). If you’ve already made the leap to assume that these suspiciously creepy razzle dazzle robots are possessed by the spirits of murdered children, who go on gory killing sprees after midnight, congratulations you’ve officially completed the horror genre. And should probably be urged to sign some sort of register.

The Killer

Expected: October 27

Director David Fincher absolutely loves a good psychological thriller story with twisted killers and gnarled detectives — his body count includes Se7en, Gone Girl, Zodiac, Fight Club, The Game, and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, all of which are essential studies for fans of the genre. And potential seriel killers. To be fair, there may be some overlap there. Like many of his other films, his latest effort, The Killer is based on an established literary classic — in this case a French graphic novel of the same name. It stars Michael Fassbender in the lead role alongside the metamorphic Tilda Swinton, we know the subject matter deals with an assassin whose mental state is starting to show cracks, he wants out but is bonded to his role by some sticky bad blood. We also know that the screenplay has come from the pen of Andrew Kevin Walker, the man who wrote the masterpiece, Se7en. We’ve got some predictions about how this will fair in the office of box. But we strongly advise you not to look in the box.

Images: MovieStillsDB