Spooky season hits the Criterion Channel in a big way this October. The platform is rolling out a full John Carpenter retrospective, horror-focused collections, a massive slate of classic Hong Kong action movies, spotlights on Charles Burnett, Kira Muratova, Edward Yang, and more. Plus restorations and an exclusive premiere.
Directed by John Carpenter
A career-spanning tribute to one of horror’s most inventive stylists, blending razor-sharp genre thrills with subversive social commentary. This 14 film playlist includes:
- Dark Star (1974)
- Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
- The Fog (1980)
- Escape from New York (1981)
- Christine (1983)
- Starman (1984)
- Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
- Prince of Darkness (1987)
- They Live (1988)
- Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992)
- In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
- Escape from L.A. (1996)
- Vampires (1998)
- Ghosts of Mars (2001)
2000s Horror
A survey of DVD-era cult shockers and mind-benders, from haunted houses to found footage to psychological dread. This 12 film playlist includes:
- What Lies Beneath (2000)
- Ghosts of Mars (2001)
- The Others (2001)
- Trouble Every Day (2001)
- Dahmer (2002)
- May (2002)
- Toolbox Murders (2004)
- [•REC] (2007)
- Rogue (2007)
- Stuck (2007)
- Lake Mungo (2008)
- Triangle (2009)
Hong Kong Action Classics
A gargantuan sampler of bullet ballets, wuxia epics, and bone-crunching fight films, featuring legends like John Woo, Ringo Lam, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Tsui Hark. This massive 42 movie playlist includes:
- Last Hurrah for Chivalry (1979)
- The Magnificent Butcher (1979)
- Dreadnaught (1981)
- Heroes Shed No Tears (1984)
- Police Story (1985)
- A Better Tomorrow (1986)
- A Better Tomorrow II (1987)
- City on Fire (1987)
- Prison on Fire (1987)
- As Tears Go By (1988)
- Police Story 2 (1988)
- School on Fire (1988)
- A Better Tomorrow III: Love & Death in Saigon (1989)
- The Killer (1989)
- Miracles (1989)
- Pedicab Driver (1989)
- Bullet in the Head (1990)
- Swordsman (1990)
- Once a Thief (1991)
- Once Upon a Time in China (1991)
- Prison on Fire II (1991)
- Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (1991)
- Full Contact (1992)
- Hard Boiled (1992)
- Once Upon a Time in China II (1992)
- Swordsman II (1992)
- The Heroic Trio (1993)
- Once Upon a Time in China III (1993)
- Executioners (1993)
- The East Is Red (1993)
- Once Upon a Time in China and America (1997)
- Infernal Affairs (2002)
- Infernal Affairs II (2003)
- Infernal Affairs III (2003)
- PTU (2003)
- Breaking News (2004)
- Throw Down (2004)
- Election (2005)
- Exiled (2006)
- Life Without Principle (2011)
- Drug War (2012)
- Blind Detective (2013)
Body Horror
Mutation, infection, and the fragile limits of flesh, from Cronenberg and Russell to Denis and Friedkin. This 12 movie playlist includes:
- Eyes Without a Face (1960)
- Matango (1963)
- The Face of Another (1966)
- Shivers (1975)
- Eraserhead (1977)
- The Brood (1979)
- Altered States (1980)
- Possession (1981)
- The Fly (1986)
- Trouble Every Day (2001)
- Bug (2006)
- Teeth (2007)
Directed by Kira Muratova
A long-overdue survey of the Ukrainian iconoclast’s singular, uncategorizable cinema. This 7 film playlist includes:
- Brief Encounters (1967)
- The Long Farewell (1971)
- Among Grey Stones (1983)
- Change of Fate (1987)
- The Asthenic Syndrome (1989)
- Three Stories (1997)
- The Tuner (2004)
Scary Sexy: 6 Films by Jean Rollin
Hypnotic, erotic horror visions—female vampires, crumbling castles, and moonlit melancholy. This playlist includes:
- Requiem for a Vampire (1972)
- Lips of Blood (1975)
- The Grapes of Death (1978)
- Fascination (1979)
- The Living Dead Girl (1982)
- Lost in New York (1989)
Directed by Charles Burnett
Landmarks, documentaries, and rarities from an essential American independent. This 7 film playlist include:
- Killer of Sheep (1977)
- My Brother’s Wedding (1983)
- To Sleep with Anger (1990)
- The Glass Shield (1994)
- The Final Insult (1997)
- The Annihilation of Fish (1999)
- Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property (2003)
Shorts: Several Friends (1969), The Horse (1973), When It Rains (1995), Quiet as Kept (2007)
Directed by Edward Yang
Sprawling tales of connection and change in a rapidly evolving Taiwan. This 5 movie playlist includes:
- Taipei Story (1985)
- A Brighter Summer Day (1991)
- A Confucian Confusion (1994)
- Mahjong (1996)
- Yi Yi (2000)
Hong Kong Ghost Stories
Hopping vampires, seductive specters, and gleeful practical effects. This 10 movie playlist includes:
- Encounters of the Spooky Kind (1980)
- Mr. Vampire (1985)
- Mr. Vampire II (1986)
- Evil Cat (1987)
- A Chinese Ghost Story (1987)
- Mr. Vampire III (1987)
- Rouge (1987)
- Mr. Vampire IV (1988)
- A Chinese Ghost Story II (1990)
- A Chinese Ghost Story III (1991)
What Else is Coming to The Criterion Channel in October?
View the entire list of the Criterion Channel’s October 2025 programming here.
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