What's Up, Berlin? Upcoming Film Events this Winter

Now that a crazy Halloween night has ushered us into the dark season, it's time to lean back and relax, and watch a couple of good movies and read some good books until the next film season comes around. To be honest things have been very frenetic and hectic around here and I plan on going out as little as possible this winter since I honestly just want to stay home and read books without falling asleep of the tiredness and stress of the day. Nevertheless there are some good screenings coming our way, so let's have a look at what's going on this winter.  

There are quite a lot horror (and thriller) movies being released in Germany in the next couple of months which is weird as winter is usually the time of cozy feel-good movies here, but you don't hear me complaining!

Crazy Old Lady (release date October 29) is a movie that I have already seen at the Fantasy Filmfest so I won't be stressing to see it a second time, but I do recommend it if you haven't seen it yet.

A controversial horror drama classic, The Devils, is celebrating its 55th birthday this year. For the occasion there are lots of special screenings all around Berlin and if you want to revisit this insane world of religious terror just look at the schedules of B-Ware Ladenkino and most of Yorck cinemas.

I just recently saw Strange Harvest (release date November 5) at the Creepy Crypt and I'm torn to be honest. The underlying idea is great, but I'm not sure I'm a fan of the mockumentary style. If a cosmic horror story packed into a fake documentary about a serial killer sounds good to you, go ahead and see it. And let's talk about it afterwards.

There's nothing cozier than to watch a good whodunnit when the weather outside is autumn raging. A Talent for Murder (release date November 5) is definitely a murder mystery I want to see at the movie theater. It is the fictional account of a man who visits real-life mystery author Patricia Highsmith to convince her to write one last Ripley novel. I'm intrigued.

Beware Boiúna (release date November 12) follows a group of scientists in the Amazons and looks like your run of the mill survival horror/creature feature, so although not very appealing, it's nevertheless a horror movie that made it to German cinemas, so worth a visit.

You would be surprised by the sheer number of people who come into the Hammett Bookstore and ask for a murder mystery that is set in tennis (or golf, or long distance runner) circles (other popular choices are books set in Italy or Spain or books with nice landscape descriptions), so it was nothing mind blowing to me that someone made a movie in tennis circles titled Bloody Tennis (release date December 10). The movie looks like a blend of dark academia and... tennis horror? Anyway, if you want to find out more about it, the director will be present at the Creepy Crypt screening on November 14, so despite it having an imdb rating below 5, I will probably be there to hear out the filmmaker and what he has to say, but I'm not holding my breath.

Hokum (release date December 31): If you want to do something unusual this New Year's Eve, why not go to the movies and watch one of the best films made this year? If you don't want to wait that far, you can see Hokum this Saturday at the Creepy Crypt. 

I have no idea whether or not there will be any more worthwhile movies in 2026 beside the ones I've listed above, but Robert Eggers' Werwulf which will be released on January 7 in Germany, offers at least a little potential for next year. The chances are high I will hate this Eggers movie too, but I'm not giving up trying to like his work.

In the winter months The Creepy Crypt is in full swing too, beside the two movies Hokum and Bloody Tennis that I mentioned above, there's an old Brian de Palma movie, Sisters screening on November 21 and a Sneak Preview a week later, which is always nice if it works out. For the month of December they seem to have packed the weekly horror screenings with Christmas horror and the films you can go and watch are Silent Night, Deadly Night, Dead End and the amazing classic Black Christmas from 1974.

Boulevard Noir, on the other hand, keeps on bringing noir classics like Kiss Me, Deadly (based on the Mickey Spillane novel by the same title) this Thursday, Glengarry Glen Ross on November 19, The French Connection on December 3, Gilda on December 17 and as the first film in the new year the racy Body Double on January 1st. I will try and go to some of them though Boulevard Noir is in the middle of the week and I live quite far from Kreuzberg, so it's always a chore. What I think I can do is find those movies and watch them at home at the same time Yorck is showing them. I know it won't be the same as watching the big screen, it might still be an option to not fall behind.

And once we reach the new year, Fantasy Filmfest White Nights which marks the beginning of Film Season isn't too far. The FFFWN has been extended from three to four days and is scheduled for January 21 through 24. I'm really excited to see the lineup, it's not online so far. 

I'm also curious what the Berlinale 2027 will offer because I heard rumors that they will be trying to bring in some new elements, like two "Publikumstage". Above all, I hope they will find a way to make it easier to buy tickets for us mortals who are not in the film industry.

Well, my heart breaks a little bit writing this, (thanks to our disgusting government who keeps on cutting funding in all areas of life, including film festivals) but it looks like the Final Girls Film Festival won't take place this March - or it will in an extremely slimmed down version. A very high amount of money is required to make it possible, about 70.000 €... This sounds very hopeless, but everyone can help - There is a fundraiser you can donate money (you can also see the breakdown of all the costs needed) - please do donate even if it's a small amount!- or you can help by joining the eBay auction where you can buy fun horror objects like posters or books, and most importantly, spread the word so maybe someone who can help can hear it.

If it does take place, the Final Girls Berlin Film Festival will be from March 3 until March 7 2027.

So all that's ahead for the quieter time of the year, I wish all of you peace of mind and time to read and enjoy what you read and watch.