It’s October, which means that Spooky Season is well and truly upon us. To kick things off, the Brattle Theatre presents a brand new 4k restoration of one of the most beautiful horror movies ever made. Inspired by ancient folktales, Masaki Kobayashi’s “Kwaidan” (1965) is an anthology film for the ages, a quartet of spine-tingling ghost stories set in feudal Japan. In addition to its eerie atmosphere, “Kwaidan” is renowned for its eye-popping, widescreen technicolor and matte paintings; imagine if Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger made a supernatural thriller and you’ll be in the right ballpark. Though it’s not quite as famous as such similarly eyepopping spookfests as “Suspiria” (1977), it has devoted fans in Guillermo del Toro, Ari Aster, and Jane Schoenbrun, the latter of whom cited it as a major aesthetic influence on their new film “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.” “Kwaidan” screens Friday through Monday and is absolutely not to be missed on the big screen.
If “Kwaidan” whets your appetite for more of Kobayashi’s work, you’re in luck, as the Harvard Film Archive has the motherlode. Kobayashi’s “The Human Condition” trilogy (1959-61), which screens in its entirety this weekend on a trio of newly struck 35 mm prints, is more often namechecked than actually watched, owing in part to its cumulative ten-hour running time. Adapted from Junpei Gomikawa’s six-part novel of the same name, “The Human Condition” stars Tatsuya Nakadai as Kaji, a Japanese pacifist navigating the brutal conditions of World War II Japan. “The Human Condition” is one of the great monoliths of cinema, albeit one which is, understandably, rarely programmed. This is your chance to check it off your bucket list (and if you can’t make it to any of these screenings, there’s an encore engagement 10/16 through 10/18).
At the Somerville Theatre, this week’s installment of Cult Cinema Tuesdays highlights one of the very earliest films to earn the designation. Few horror filmmakers found greater success in the early years of Hollywood than Tod Browning, who achieved a series of silent hits with the great Lon Chaney, then ushered in the Universal Horror era with the original Bela Lugosi “Dracula” (1931). Nothing, however, could prepare 1930s moviegoers for what Browning had in store next. For the revenge tale “Freaks” (1932), Browning assembled a cast of dozens of actual differently abled sideshow performers, including microcephalics, conjoined twins, and a man self-explanatorily billed as “The Living Torso.” “Freaks” caused immediate outrage upon its release; it was heavily censored, dumped by its studio, and more or less ended Browning’s career. But nearly a century on, what stands is its compassion. Browning, who literally ran off to join the circus in his youth, clearly loves his characters, and the true villains of the piece are the able-bodied performers who exploit them. Those seeing it for the first time will surely become, as the freaks famously chant, “one of us.”
The Kendall Square Cinema, meanwhile, rings in the season with a trio of weekly repertory series. Saturdays bring a series of “Monster Madness” matinees, beginning with another selection from Browning: the iconic original “Dracula” (1931). On Tuesdays, the theater’s Retro Replay series highlights vampire films, beginning with Joel Schumacher’s oh-so-’80s classic “The Lost Boys” (1987). Then, on Wednesdays, the Kendall turns its Filmmaker Focus on master of suspense John Carpenter, beginning with his seminal slasher masterpiece “Halloween” (1978). All three series run the entire month of October, right up to Halloween itself.
Back at the Brattle, literate-minded moviegoers have their choice this week between two unique events. On Tuesday, beloved author Alice Hoffman will be in attendance for a conversation with fellow author and actress Hilarie Burton Morgan and a screening of the witchy classic “Practical Magic” (1998), followed by an afterparty at Lovestruck Books (admission includes signed copies of Hoffman’s “Practical Magic 2” and Morgan’s “Grimoire Girl,” plus a complimentary witch hat!). Then, on Wednesday, author R.F. Kuang returns to the Brattle for a screening of Edward Yang’s “Taipei Story” (1985) and a conversation about how it influenced her new novel of the same name. Whether or not “the book is always better,” it’s always fascinating to see how these two mediums interact.
This week brings a wealth of exciting new releases far outside the bounds of the multiplex. On Friday and Saturday, the Brattle has the new 16mm horror comedy throwback “Night of the Vamp-Friars” (2026), which is sure to appeal to those who grew up trolling their local video store. On Saturday, Cinefest Latino Boston takes up residence at the Brattle for Brenda Ávila-Hanna’s stirring new documentary “Libertad” (2026). On Sunday, the Brattle hosts Cinefest Latino’s shorts program, “Yo Soy P fkn R,” as well as the latest showcase from RPM Fest, “Intimate Observer: Family Portrayals by Marjorie Keller.” Also on Sunday, the Somerville presents the local premiere of Megan Rico & Kade Atwood’s indie punk rock comedy “Edie Arnold Is a Loser” (2026), followed by a Q&A with the directors and star Adi Madden Cabrera. As always, the multiplexes are just the tip of the iceberg.
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