Ghost Stories: Spirits, Hauntings and Worlds Beyond

Overview

Things are getting a little scary at Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art. Spooky, even. Haunted as well. For two and a half months between Friday, September 10–Sunday, November 28, the venue's Australian Cinematheque is dedicating its big screen to movies of the ghostly variety. If it's about spirits, spectres, apparitions, poltergeists, haunted houses and the like, it'll be playing here — and for free.

Playing on Wednesday and Friday nights, as well as on Saturday and Sunday during the day, the Ghost Stories: Spirits, Hauntings and Worlds Beyond lineup is filled with plenty of all-time greats that you'd expect to see in such a program. Yes, all work and no play will make Jack Nicholson grab an axe in The Shining. Yes, you might want to avoid saying either Beetlejuice or Candyman too many times. And yes, you'll also get Spirited Away, descend into The Fog, take a trip to Lake Mungo and get acquainted with The Others.

Also on the bill: J-horror standouts Ring and Pulse, the inimitable thrills of 1977 Japanese cult classic House, the sublime Kristen Stewart-starring Personal Shopper, and the excellent beDevil, the first Australian feature film to be directed by an Aboriginal woman. Or, from the eclectic selection, you can also get immersed in Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives and Cemetery of Splendour, enjoy a dark fairy tale inspired by Mexico's drug wars via Tigers Are Not Afraid, and watch an archival print of Guillermo del Toro's The Devil's Backbone.

If you haven't seen the weird and wild The Boxer's Omen, you owe yourself to. If you need something fluffier, The Muppet Christmas Carol also features. And if you're looking for something new, The Scary of Sixty-First screens direct from picking up the Best First Feature Award at this year's Berlin International Film Festival.