Spooky season is officially here, and while our Horrorville HQ is kicking off all the haunts and howls to keep you shrieking at night, here at Watchlist This we keep our sights remained on highlighting the cinematic treats that you don’t want to escape down a pumpkin hole never to be seen again. We couldn’t let October escape without hitting on at least one spookfest that’ll keep your pulse racing, but we’ve also packed this month’s edition with a bevy of documentaries that will want you to jump out of your seat and advocate for change. As we often strive for, innate humanity shines through in our latest selections… well, innate humanity and also some ass-kicking Indonesian thrills.

This month’s picks come from Marya E. Gates, Dan Mecca, Robert Daniels, Katie Rife, Claira Curtis and Ella Kemp. Happy watchlisting!

The Remarkable Life of Ibelin

Directed by Benjamin Ree.
Streaming October 25.
Netflix

For many, the internet is like a second home. For individuals who, for whatever reason, live their offline life in isolation, it offers a particularly unique freedom. Such was the case of Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer who was diagnosed with a degenerative muscular disease in his youth, ing away from it at the age of 25. His story is told in the Sundance award-winning documentary The Remarkable Life of Ibelin. James writes, “This is a truly original and brilliant piece of work. Repeatedly shapeshifting, it tells the life of young Mats several times over, variously through family archive, master interviews, and then a brilliantly devastating use of animation.”

From the perspective of his parents, Mats lived a lonely and isolated life, spending many hours holed away in his room on his computer. However, director Benjamin Ree uses detailed logs and blog posts to recreate the complex life Mats led online, especially the community he built on World of Warcraft. As his alter ego Ibelin, Mats lived a rich existence, filled with friends and adventure, heartache and joy. Nadiiachau notes that this archival work allows Mats’ “sense of humor, his comion, and his humanity” to shine just as brightly now as they did during his life. 

As someone who grew up in an isolated rural community, lived a double life online, and almost died at the age of fourteen, I felt very seen by this documentary. Austin shares this sentiment, writing, “Anybody who’s ever felt like a part of an online community should watch this. It’s a beautiful story, and you will cry.” MEG

The standout among the young, talented cast is White Lotus alum Brittany O’Grady as Shelby. Serving as the audience surrogate and relative moral center throughout, O’Grady is tasked with simultaneously navigating a crucial bit of character development alongside the cataclysmic consequences of Forbes’ game. That being said, the whole ensemble is doing superb work. A totally different Patrick shares what anyone who has seen the film can attest: “Looks like it would be a blast to be an actor in.”

A common critique of movies like this is that they are “all style, no substance.” Jardin is smart to infuse his style with substance. The manic tone reflects the social media-entrenched world in which many live. In one particularly effective sequence early on, the sound design pings, whooshes, and clicks constantly, underlining the pressure of being alive with our phones in our pockets, updating us constantly on how much better everybody else’s life is compared with our own. Brianne puts it well: “This was incredible. Absolutely epic. Acting wet dream and sound design literally made my ears tingle.” DM

Union

Directed by Stephen T. Maing and Brett Story.
In select theaters October 18.
Level Ground Productions

No forum in film is more defiant than the documentary. It stands as the one place where anyone can state their case, their cause and their heart even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Brett Story and Stephen Maing’s unflinching film Union is one such resilient documentary. It looks at the Amazon Labor Union, led by charismatic organizer Chris Smalls, as it works to unionize Amazon’s JKF8 Warehouse in Staten Island. The directors follow the ALU at ground level, attending the group’s rallies and sitting in on its meetings. What is captured is the hard-fought push and pull of collective organizing, where the daily, tiny victories of simply asserting one’s personhood are complicated by big business’s apathy.

Jake praises the film’s openness in a five-star review: “For anyone who is interested in understanding what organizing on a large scale looks like today, this is the documentary for you.” Union isn’t intent on simplifying the messiness of collective action. Sometimes the union moves in lockstep; other times there are internal disagreements about strategy. Those disputes are greatly felt in the leadership of Smalls, who instantly becomes the face of this movement, even while his style rubs some in the union the wrong way. Story and Maing trust the audience to know that the messiness on display doesn’t undermine the central point: these workers deserve human conditions, immediately. Sadia nails why the film’s honesty is key, writing that “they told the story for what it was and what it was was beautiful.” RD

Even the yakuza whisper about the assassins at the Shadow organization as if they’re supernatural beings, and the style of killing preferred by Umbra (Hana Malasan) and her colleagues is swift, silent and utterly emotionless. So the temperature changes, let’s say, when a seventeen-year-old trainee known only as Thirteen (Aurora Ribero) starts acting impulsively after losing her nerve during the aforementioned mission in Japan. That’s when things get messy, as Tjahjanto pummels the viewer with set piece after set piece stuffed with his signature ultraviolence. (The sheer number of head impalements in this film is jaw-dropping.)

“Brutally violent, awe inspiringly athletic, coated in brain matter and arterial spray, Timo’s now cemented himself as possibly the most imaginative action director in the world,” Jacob declares of The Shadow Strays. It’ll either stun you to silence or make you stand up and cheer, depending on your temperament. Jeff is hyped, writing, “leave it to a new Timo t to turn you into a thirteen-year-old watching the coolest shit ever.” The effect is a lot like riding a roller coaster: A Timo movie might leave you a little shaken, but the exhilaration is worth it. KR

Black Box Diaries

Directed by Shiori Itō.
In select theaters October 25.
MTV Documentary Films

“If you have a trauma, make a film”, writer-director Shiori Itō stated during MIFF’s post-screening Q&A for her filmmaking debut, Black Box Diaries. Responding to that statement in their review, Pamela writes, “And what a film she has made—gutsy, vulnerable, and defiant.” Centered around Itō’s investigation of her own sexual assault by prominent TV journalist Noriyuki Yamaguchi in 2015, the documentary dives headfirst into navigating the judicial and societal barriers that Itō came face to face with over the course of her fight for justice. Her willingness to speak up draws national attention to the outdated laws in Japan surrounding sexual assault and consent and helps establish the #MeToo movement within the country.

Editors Ema Ryan Yamazaki and Mariko Montpetit intercut diary entries with cell phone video, covert recordings, formal interviews and archival footage to create a detailed chronicling of events that ensures the age of time feels especially tangible. With each ing year, Itō’s plight becomes all the more harrowing. As Wilson notes, “the way events unfold made me fearful and hopeless. The courage that it took to stand strong against everything battling against her, and the decision to document it, is so powerful.”

Itō’s courage and determination shines through in her work, even at her lowest emotional points, and her willingness to depict all aspects of the process leaves a staggering impression. MNur manages to encom it all, stating that “for a documentary to have such access and insight and daring, to be directed by the subject of the documentary, to be done so meticulously as to have the cool composed structure of a narrative paperwork movie (meaning that as highest compliment, referring to Spotlight and All the President’s Men) but to be the opposite of aloof—I am in awe.” CC

If you’ve seen Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, you’ll know that Will Ferrell is at his funniest when collaborating with writer Harper Steele. The pair started working at Saturday Night Live in the same week, in 1995—and the rest is history for the two friends. Josh Greenbaum’s big-hearted, earnest documentary follows the newest chapter in Will and Harper’s friendship, after she wrote him a letter during the pandemic to let him know that she now identifies as a transgender woman. The two comedians take a road trip across the US to ask each other every question they can, to figure out their relationship, but also, and maybe most crucially, to examine Harper’s changed relationship to their country.

Katie unpacks the different layers of the film: a moving, metatextual documentary about fame, friendship, visibility, transitioning, existing, it’s a lot—but it works. One specific line from Katie distills it all: “A very interesting meta-narrative about different kinds of visibility that can either condemn or shield you.” Claira acknowledges the doc’s imperfections, but also its fundamental potential, optimism and care. “I wish Will & Harper came out sooner so I could have shown it to my family before they fell into especially blatant transphobic mindsets, but I’m happy it’s here now for older generations to hopefully engage with in good faith.” One to share with those you love. EK