A First Lady's Horror and Regular Horror: December 2's New Movies

With Thanksgiving behind us, we have a bit of a retooling week at the movie theater. There is only one wide release coming our way, a horror flick. There is a prestige picture about a hugely famous historical figure that we may all want to seek out. Let’s see what we’ve got in store for us.

Photo credit: Jackie/Facebook

Incarnate

Director: Brad Peyton

Writer: Ronnie Christensen

Starring: Carice van Houten, Aaron Eckhart, David Mazouz

This is not an observation based on statistically verifiable facts, but it sure seems like there has been a steady stream of horror films released throughout the year rather than being bunched in the summer and Halloween-friendly weekends of October. Incarnate, from San Andreas director Brad Peyton (albeit on a much smaller budget), is the latest scary movie to find itself placed in an odd weekend of the release calendar. Aaron Eckhart plays a paranormal investigator who uses some Inception-style technology to invade the consciousnesses of people who have become possessed by demons in order to rid those people of their unwanted (evil) guests. Game of Thrones star Carice van Houten plays the mother of a young boy (David Mazouz) who comes under a rather powerful spell. Production company Blumhouse has a somewhat spotty, but usually interesting track record with these super-low-budget horror indies, so there’s some reason for hope here despite the rather uninspiring trailer.

Jackie

Director: Pablo Larraín

Writer: Noah Oppenheim

Starring: Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig

In the immediate aftermath of a loved one’s death, there’s a lot to do. You have to sift through photos for use at the services, make arrangements with funeral homes, decide what kind of food to serve to your extended family and friends, among many other things. When you’re the first lady of the United States, as Jackie Kennedy was in 1963, mourning the sudden passing of your husband is amplified because the whole world is watching as you go through your grief. That’s the story of Pablo Larraín’s biopic of the glamorous first lady. Jackie, which stars Natalie Portman as perhaps the most well-cast performer of the year (on paper), follows the first lady and other White House officials as they deal with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy for one of the longest weekends the country has ever known. It looks fascinating and hard to watch.