It’s summer 1969 in South Florida, and a reporter’s investigating an inmate’s wrongdoings, while his younger bro’s probing a sexed-up Barbie doll. You might need a bath after Lee Daniels’s steamy film noir so scuzzy you can feel the chiggers and smell the stank. Even with the filth caked on thick, the cast — including Matthew McConaughey, John Cusack, Zac Efron, and Nicole Kidman — shines.
It’s like: A Time to Kill meets To Die For.
Take: Swamp people.
Premieres: Today

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It left Martin Scorsese speechless. Nick Cave dubbed it Australia’s most terrifying film. We’re sold. But first some history: In 1971, director Ted Kotcheff debuts his Kafkaesque thriller about a man’s scathing weekend in The Yabba at Cannes. 1972: Despite critical acclaim, it’s pulled from theaters and shelved. 2009: Scorsese brings it back to Cannes. Enough yabber: Tie up the dingo and give it a go.
It’s like: Deliverance meets Straw Dogs.
Take: The blokes.
Premieres: Today (in NYC, national rollout to follow)

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You may not comprehend the French dialogue or recognize Agent Scully under that blond hair, but you will connect with Ursula Meier’s Berlinale Silver Bear winner about a 12-year-old ripping off the wealthy at an Alps ski resort to provide for his Swiss miss (Léa Seydoux). Sounds sweet — but leave it to the French-Swiss director to turn a warmhearted coming-of-age tale cold.
It’s like: Incendies meets the Artful Dodger.
Take: Broad-minded individuals.
Premieres: Today

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Les Mis, Anna Karenina, O (yes, as in Odin James) — the classics are a grab bag for directors. This time, Andrea Arnold matches her lens to the quills of Emily Brontë. Arnold’s take on Catherine and her stray, Heathcliff: a billowy, visceral two hours with little dialogue and lots of wind. It isn’t for everyone, but for those with patience, it ends with quite the Mumford & Sons reward.
It’s like: Cary Fukunaga’s Jane Eyre.
Take: Raconteurs of any ilk.
Premieres: Today

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America’s on drugs. And according to Susan Frömke and Matthew Heineman’s instructional, matter-of-fact documentary, which pulls the curtain back on health care’s secrets, it’s a problem. Experts weigh in (and actually provide solutions) on the hot topic everyone’s concerned about.
It’s like: Sicko without the witty schtick.
Take: Voters.
Premieres: Today

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Following up Gone Baby Gone and The Town, Ben Affleck is back, baby, back. But not in Boston. The director delivers a fluid and entertaining political flick about a fake movie that rescued six American hostages from Iran, while the actor takes home the award for best feathered hair. Hunker down for sharp wit from Alan Arkin and John Goodman, and chills from Led Zeppelin and Alexandre Desplat tunes.
It’s like: Munich meets Tropic Thunder.
Take: Your Friday night (film) crew.
Premieres: October 12

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’Tis the season for scare tactics, so spend a little time on the devil’s playground that is Scott Derrickson’s supernatural SXSW thriller. Ethan Hawke is Ellison, a true-crime writer haunted by a box of canistered catastrophes. Five, to be exact — each Super 8 revealing a different murder. Expect the tricks: jump scares, night terrors. Beware the treats: moaning statical score, kids creepier than Cronenberg’s Brood.
It’s like: The Amityville Horror meets Village of the Damned.
Take: Scream queens.
Premieres: October 12

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Crime comedy high jinks involving Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken, Woody Harrelson, Abbie Cornish, a shih tzu named Bonny, and some man with a bunny? You’d be crazy to pass up Martin McDonagh’s TIFF Audience Award winner.
It’s like: In Bruges meets Lost & Found.
Take: The boy. Let him out of the doghouse for a night.
Premieres: October 12

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Growing up is easy; being an adult is hard. Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Aaron Paul break bad as a saucy couple whose relationship is based on booze. Though the work is sobering, writer/director James Ponsoldt doesn’t lay it on thick in the festival hit. Think more simple syrup with a sweet aftertaste.
It’s like: The indie rendition of When a Man Loves a Woman.
Take: Those jonesing for Jesse Pinkman.
Premieres: October 12

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Two things. One, a tidbit fit for Alex Trebek: The director’s name, Leos Carax, is an anagram for his real name, Alex Oscar. And two. Holy sh!t. Buckle up for a fantastically weird ride starring Carax’s main man, Denis Lavant, as a beggar, monster, and others; Kylie Minogue; and Eva Mendes. 
It’s: Souped-up Cronenberg. In French.
Take: Fans of Pola X.
Premieres: October 17

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Ry Russo-Young’s third feature is a sensual, sexy indie about two noisemakers crafting sound effects for a film. Olivia Thirlby is Martine, the siren who brings all the boys to the yard; John Krasinski is Peter, a married man who’s ready to play. Lena Dunham cowrote the script, but it’s not funny. It’s as dramatic as Fall on Your Sword’s musical undertones.
It’s like: The Ice Storm meets Swimming Pool.
Take: Ear buds.
Premieres: October 19 (on demand now)

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Sundancers got the first peek at writer/director Ben Lewin’s true story about a paralyzed man who hasn’t left the sack in 30 years. Mark’s confined to an iron lung but wants to pull the plug on his virginity — so he hires a sex surrogate. John Hawkes and Helen Hunt get naked for therapeutic cupping, licking, and thrusting, and it’s the sweetest flick about poontang and polio out there.
It’s like: My Life meets The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
Take: Bare necessities.
Premieres: October 19

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David Mitchell’s gimongous novel, unfilmable? Psh, say the Wachowski sibs of Matrix trilogy fame and Perfume director Tom Tykwer. Together they spawned an epic sci-fi period piece dramedy thriller with more wow factor than fluffy A-listers. To tease the plot would take pages, plus it sounds better next to M83’s “Outro.”
It’s like: Six degrees of separation on a much larger scale.
Take: Moviegoers up for a challenge.
Premieres: October 26

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