Hudson Valley Crucial Viewing October 10-October 23

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Brian Whitney & Bel Simek
October 09, 2025

Your Guide to Repertory Movies in the Hudson Valley

Hello moviegoers! Back at it with another list of repertory films for you all. In case you haven’t noticed, the independent movie scene is kind of going crazy in the Hudson Valley right now. Upstate Midtown’s grand opening and the reopening of Catskill Community Theater has added a whole new layer to the wonderful second-run (and first run!) programming in the Hudson Valley. After some deliberation, we’re trying out a new format for this newsletter, hopefully to give you a better overview of the films that will be showing in the area. Down below we’ve got a list of all the second-run films we could find in the upcoming calendars, with a couple write-ups from yours truly. We’re excited to be giving the newsletter a revamp, and hope you all feel the same. Let us know what you think! With that said, on to the movies.

Friday, October 10

Cure - Community Theater, Catskill (playing through 10/14)
Bel’s Recommendation: It’s solidly October now which means it’s time to watch a lot of scary movies (if that’s your thing). It can be easy to get stuck in the loop of watching the classics or old favorites, but I try to make an effort every year to watch at least a few that are new to me, and it always makes the season more fun. If you haven’t seen Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cure then now might be the right time to pop it on your list. Solidly situated in the wave of Japanese horror from the 90s, Kurosawa’s Cure is often overshadowed by more internationally successful releases like The Ring or The Grudge, which is a shame because it’s absolutely fantastic. Following in the footsteps of other Japanese procedural films like Akira Kurosawa’s Stray Dogs, and inspiring international procedurals like Bong Joon Ho’s Memories of Murder (he cited it as one of the greatest films of all time!) Kurosawa achieves a level of calculated dread that is hard to find in even the best of psychological thrillers. This is a serial killer story without a true culprit, and the tension that racks up slowly but surely over the course of the film will have you clenching your teeth. Take the opportunity to watch it on the big screen if you can (you’ll have a whole weekend to do it!) I promise you won’t regret it.

Saturday, October 11

Sunday, October 12

Monday, October 13

Wednesday, October 15

Friday, October 17

Saturday, October 18

Sunday, October 19

Monday, October 20

Tuesday, October 21

Nightmare on Elm Street, Community Theater (TBA)

X, Community Theater (TBA)

Wednesday, October 22

Donnie Darko - Story Screen Cinema, Hudson (with Boondocks Film Society), 7:30pm
Bel’s Recommendation: Man, Donnie Darko. I think the first time I watched this was also the first time I smoked pot, and if I’m being honest, I didn’t get the appeal of either at the time (I was an innocent in my youth.) I rewatched it for the first time in probably 10 years on a family vacation with my partner this Summer and I gotta tell you, I definitely get it now. Richard Kelly manages to perfectly balance the malaise of youth with a science fiction mysticism that perfectly encapsulates what it feels like to be a misunderstood kid searching for answers in weird places. This movie was doing 80s nostalgia long before the likes of Stranger Things and it does it better, with a maturity and sensitivity that’s lost in today’s endless pop slog of reiteration. The character writing is phenomenal, the performances are evocative and emotional, and it’s shot excellently, with a sort of soft TV-movie vibe that feels intentionally referential rather than cheaply incidental. If you haven’t revisited this film in a while, I couldn’t more strongly suggest doing so. It’s more fun and heartfelt than you probably remember, and I swear, making it all make sense at the end really isn’t the most important part.

Gosford Park - Rosendale Theatre, Rosendale, 7pm
Bel’s Recommendation: Can you tell I like a mystery? This isn’t my favorite Robert Altman film, but it’s certainly close to the top of the list. You all know by now that I love a historical drama, and I love a murder mystery, so when you combine the two… I mean. Altman co-wrote this film with Bob Balaban (who plays a hilarious American director in the film), and it’s an expertly crafted script. This is a classic upstairs-downstairs drama a la Downtown Abbey but with a bit more of Altman’s sleaze seeping through at the edges. It also has an unbelievably stacked cast. Whether you know all their names or not, on a first watch you’ll spend half the time asking yourself “wait where do I know that guy from?” It’s got Maggie Smith, it’s got Helen Mirren, it’s got Clive Owen, it’s got Michael Gambon. Shall I go on? It’s also tightly paced, rife with cutting social commentary, and extremely entertaining. You can watch it a dozen times and still catch little moments that will blow you away. It’s the perfect ensemble film too, one in which the interactions between its enormous cast far outweigh the plot itself (though the plot is executed, and dealt with, to hilarious effect). This is a great one for those of us who might want a more a cozy BBC mystery vibe for the autumnal season rather than a chilling, Halloween frightfest. Or, you’re like me, and you want both. Either way, you won’t go wrong with this one.

Thursday, October 23