What's On
Poltergeist
A suburban California family is terrorized by ghosts in the machine — the machine in question being the TV set.
Possible Love
Lee Chang-dong’s first film since Burning (2018) is a sardonic, slow-burning satire about two couples: a documentary filmmaker married to a wealthy businessman, and a working-class family struggling to make ends meet after the husband has been laid off.
The Exorcist
Thirteen-year-old Linda Blair is Regan, the movie star daughter who is possessed by a demon, and whose body becomes a spiritual battleground. It builds slowly, carefully, into a maelstrom of sheer unadulterated horror.
La Bola Negra
A big, old-school historical melodrama gets a thrillingly modern, queer makeover from Spanish duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, who artfully juggle three gay protagonists across stories set in 1932, 1937, and 2017. Winner: Best Director, Cannes. Screening on 35mm.
The History of Concrete
After attending a workshop on pitching saccharine Hallmark movies, John Wilson tries to apply all the same best practices to his documentary about concrete. Frequently absurd and endlessly entertaining detours, asides, and digressions ensue.
Once Upon a Time in Harlem
Once Upon a Time in Harlem splices together footage shot by William Greaves in 1972 of a group of Harlem Renaissance luminaries in conversation at Duke Ellington’s townhouse. The film is a living archive of memory, disagreement, style, and Black genius.
An American Werewolf in London
Two American students get into a spot of bother with the wildlife in rural England. Then they introduce the virus to the big city... John Landis's goofy horror comedy is a very good night out. So long as it's not a full moon...
Shrek (Halloween Family Show)
The grumpy green ogre turned 25 this year. Come celebrate one of the milestone movies for millennials. This is an all-ages show!
Cure
This month's VIFF Premium member selection is a spellbinding thriller from Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Detective Kenichi Takabe (Koji Yakusho) is faced with a string of apparently unmotivated murders committed by different people, but bearing the same signature.
The Thing (1982)
Filmed in BC, John Carpenter's 1982 horror classic is a bone fide arctic chiller. American Antarctic researchers come across a burned-out Norwegian base — and the buried UFO which may be linked to the carnage.