HALLOWEEN SELECTS

CFI STAFF FAVORITES THAT YOU CAN STREAM ONLINE

While it’s sure to be a bit different this year, Halloween season is upon us and the CA Film programmers have just the right films to get you into the spooky mood! No tricks here, only treats, with these three films that represent a broad range of Halloween themes.

CFI EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT MAUREEN GALLIANI SELECTS
THE WICKER MAN
Director: Robin Hardy (UK, 1973) 88 min.

“The Wicker Man is a true original film, like no other. It can be considered a horror film, but not in the traditional sense. Robin Hardy’s slow-burning chiller, from a screenplay by Anthony Shaffer (author of Sleuth, and brother of Peter), was once hailed by the magazine Cinefantastique as “the Citizen Kane of horror movies.” Police Sergeant Howie travels to the isolated island of Summerisle, in search of a missing girl, and finds that inhabitants of the island practice a form of Celtic paganism. The music is glorious, and Christopher Lee as Lord Summerisle in his flares and turtleneck is a beautiful sight to behold, indeed. A must see!” –Maureen Galliani

Available with subscription: Criterion Channel
Available to rent or purchase: Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, iTunes

MVFF SENIOR PROGRAMMER KAREN DAVIS SELECTS
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
Director: Tomas Alfredson (Sweden, 2008) 114 min.

Based on the best-selling Swedish novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In tells the story of Oskar, a gawky 12-year-old tormented by bullies, who has no one to connect with until he meets an elusive new neighbor, Eli. Eli is different too, but in fantastical, unimaginable ways; and her sudden appearance strangely coincides with a series of killings in which the victims’ bodies have been drained of blood. As these two misfits form an unbreakable bond, Oskar acquires strength from Eli, and she learns compassion from him. (Joshua Moore)

“This elegant and evocative Swedish art film turns the tropes of the American horror genre on its head. Replacing fast-paced action and high-decibel shrieks with stillness, quietude, and a pervasive sense of longing (alongside some dark Nordic humor), Let the Right One In is an unforgettable coming-of-age vampire story that will leave you (of course) thirsty for more.” –Karen Davis

Available for free with ads: Roku, Tubi
Available with subscription: Hulu, Hoopla, Kanopy, Magnolia Selects
Available to rent or purchase: Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, iTunes

MVFF DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING ZOË ELTON SELECTS
BIUTIFUL
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Mexico/Spain, 2010) 148 min.

“Iñárritu consistently makes films on a grand scale, films that ponder the connections between human beings, and that push us to ask ourselves who we are, how we are, why we are. His stories ask life’s big questions, yet are peopled with characters who are, essentially, ordinary.

Biutiful tells the story of Uxbal (Javier Bardem), a man who can communicate with the recent dead and relay messages to their families, who learns he himself does not have long to live. He’s a street guy, making his living off the work of illegal immigrants–the Senegalese who sell knock-off designer bags and the Chinese who work in a sweatshop. They are all people who are unseen and marginalized, but Iñárritu approaches them without pity or condescension. And that’s the power of Biutiful.” –Zoë Elton

Available for free with ads: Tubi, Pluto TV
Available with subscription: Kanopy
Available to rent or purchase: Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, iTunes

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