The biggest new release of the first weekend of December is a doozy. There are a lot of Christmas horror movies. Remember Krampus? Black Christmas? Silent Night, Deadly Night? The other Black Christmas? I’m not sure that’s exactly what Violent Night is. This is more like if Die Hard really leaned into its Christmas trappings. And if you’re not into watching Hooper from Stranger Things wisecrack while electrocuting bad guys with a tree topper, you probably need to seek professional help.
If you need something a little more serious, there’s The Inspection. Documentary director Elegance Bratton’s narrative feature debut stars Jeremy Pope as Ellis, a new Marine recruit going through boot camp on Parris Island. Ellis had to hide the fact that he is gay to get into the service in the first place, but his fellow fledgling soldiers figure it out, and he’s in for a world of hurt. Is it even worth it? He thinks so.
On the anime front, The Quintessential Quintuplets is a popular manga adapted for two seasons of television. The two-hour series finale was released theatrically in Japan, and cleaned up at the box office. This is teenage romance at its most kawaii.
The 2022 Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Nanny finally hits wide release this weekend. Anna Diop (who is actually from Senegal) stars as a Senegalese immigrant taking care of the daughter of an affluent New York couple who begins to loose her grip on reality — or maybe she’s seeing a deeper reality.
On Sunday, Jim Henson’s masterpiece The Dark Crystal gets a 40th anniversary screening (at the Paradiso and Collierville Cinema). If you’re a fan of The Muppets or ’80s fantasy or just things that are good, this one is a must-see.
And finally, tonight at Black Lodge, what is shaping up to be an annual Sh!tfest tradition: The Star Wars Holiday Special. First aired in 1978, it’s so infamously bad George Lucas once tried to have all the copies destroyed. Fortunately, he failed. Or maybe that’s unfortunate. There’s no trailer for this infamous misfire, but it’s very telling that there are 13 minutes worth of “most disturbing moments” in one 98-minute show.