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Letterboxd Journal

25 stories

Letterboxd JournalNeon Screams: twenty films where horror and noir bleed into one Both horror and noir use heavy, stylized atmospheres to communicate otherworldly dread and terror. Travis Woods counts off 20 essential films that combine both genres to chilling effect.

11.02

Letterboxd JournalFallen Angels and Human Flies: on screens and shelves this month The collected works of a Japanese New Wave master, David Bowie’s most luminous star vehicle and Bong Joon Ho’s monster movie are among the selections in this month’s edition of Shelf Life .

11.02

Letterboxd JournalScarred for Life: our crew shares the unexpectedly formative movies we watched way too young From The Sixth Sense to When a Stranger Calls , the Letterboxd crew shares the unexpectedly traumatizing films we watched through our fingers as children.

10.31

Letterboxd JournalRe-Enter the Void: 20 paranoid sci-fi mind-benders from the early 2000s With this year’s sci-fi movies harking back to the surrealist paranoia of the early 2000s, Payton McCarty-Simas curates twenty of the trippiest titles from the aughts to take a trip down memory lane.

10.30

Letterboxd JournalBy Popular Demand (Fall 2026): Our community’s picks for the films you want to watch next, newly available on Letterboxd Video Store From one of the best animated movies ever made to beloved auteur entry points, hypnotically haunting thrillers and Letterboxd’s all time official number one film—these are the films our community has…

10.29

Letterboxd JournalFinding Yourself: twenty essential cinematic journeys of self-discovery In partnership with adventure company Contiki, the Letterboxd crew selects twenty essential films that celebrate the transformative power of travel, the gift of getting lost and the universal impulse…

10.29

Letterboxd JournalBest of the Fall Film Festivals 2026 Our Letterboxd correspondents share highlights from the fall film festival season: from destabilizing documentaries to romantic sagas, powerhouse thrillers and doppelgänger dramas.

10.28

Letterboxd JournalThe Bard’s Best: a starter pack of twenty essential modern Shakespeare adaptations From musical comedies to pitch-black tragedies, films adapting the work of William Shakespeare run the full gamut.

10.27

Letterboxd JournalShelter from the Storm: Jeff Nichols on the sincerity, anxiety and longevity of Take Shelter Fifteen years after the release of Take Shelter , writer-director Jeff Nichols speaks with Mitchell Beaupre about the film’s complex and tender portrayal of marriage, its reckoning with economic…

10.27

Letterboxd JournalDown the Rabbit Hole: the cult-classic destiny of Donnie Darko at 25 As Richard Kelly’s enigmatic cult gem Donnie Darko turns 25, Ariel LeBeau considers its haunting, unexpectedly prescient depiction of time-space wormholes and teenage apocalypse.

10.26

Letterboxd JournalGray Areas: Paweł Pawlikowski on the rich history and simple storytelling of Fatherland With his Sandra Hüller-starring historical portrait out now, Polish auteur Paweł Pawlikowski tells Luke Hicks about the rich storytelling of his Cannes winner Fatherland .

10.23

Letterboxd JournalBeauty Costs: John Turturro on The Only Living Pickpocket in New York and his storied career as a character actor As his tense, tender crime drama The Only Living Pickpocket in New York hits theaters, John Turturro tells Dan Mecca about improving with age, accepting radical change and doing it his way across his…

10.22

Letterboxd JournalSavior Sisters: twenty sisters in cinema who offer salvation to their siblings As 2026 continues to celebrate sisters who offer salvation to their siblings with Wildwood out now, Claira Curtis curates a starter pack of twenty films illustrating all the ways our sisters can save…

10.22

Letterboxd JournalWatchlist This!: Our October 2026 picks of the best new bubbling-under films Our picks of under-the-radar gems from this month’s new releases. This edition includes spine-tingling creature features, vital documentaries, satirical mockumentaries and heartrending dramas.

10.21

Letterboxd JournalPractical Magic: Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige and Neil Burger’s The Illusionist at 20 As competing movies about 19th-century stage magicians, released within months of each other, turn 20 this year, Brian Raftery considers the lasting spell of Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige and Neil…

10.20

Letterboxd JournalBeyond the Infinite: the Letterboxd community ranking of Stanley Kubrick’s films As the Criterion Collection releases their massive The Complete Kubrick box set, we take a look at how the Letterboxd community ranks all thirteen features made by the legendary filmmaker.

10.19

Letterboxd JournalDancing Through Life: Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh on her illustrious, action-packed career After receiving the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Filmmaker of the Year prize in honor of her contributions to advancing Asian cinema, global acting icon Michelle Yeoh reflects on her…

10.19

Letterboxd JournalBehold the Holy Grail: the scandal, suppression and salvation of Ken Russell’s The Devils As The Devils returns to theaters worldwide 55 years later with a newly restored, uncensored version, Isaac Feldberg explores the desecration and resurrection of Ken Russell’s maligned masterpiece.

10.16

Letterboxd JournalDays of Wild: Sense and Sensibility’s Georgia Oakley on the Austen adaptation's independent spirit With her earthy, independent Sense and Sensibility out in the world now, director Georgia Oakley tells Ella Kemp about casting passionately and treating sisterhood seriously.

10.15

Letterboxd JournalRenaissance Recollections: Once Upon a Time in Harlem’s David and Liani Greaves on finishing their family’s Harlem Renaissance party portrait Once Upon a Time in Harlem co-director David Greaves reflects—alongside producer Liani Greaves—on revisiting an intimate gathering of Harlem Renaissance luminaries that his father filmed over half a…

10.15

Letterboxd JournalBoth Sides Now: Fjord’s Cristian Mungiu on confronting cultural and religious clashes in his thorny moral drama With Fjord in theaters now, writer-director Cristian Mungiu tells Luke Hicks about starting a dialogue with his provocative, Palme d’Or-winning story of persecuted parents in a progressive society.

10.14

Letterboxd JournalNever Really Gone: Ben Affleck breaks down some of his most memorable films With his political thriller Animals out now, actor and director Ben Affleck speaks with Brian Formo about some of the most memorable moments of his career, from Dazed and Confused to The Town and…

10.13

Letterboxd JournalBand Practice: twenty films featuring fictional bands that absolutely rock To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Tom Hanks’ That Thing You Do! , Kristen Lopez curates a starter pack of 20 fictional bands that absolutely rock.

10.12

Letterboxd JournalThe Myth and the Mundane: Guillermo del Toro on the deep magic and great pain of Pan’s Labyrinth at 20 To mark the twentieth anniversary and new 4K theatrical re-release of the mythical Pan’s Labyrinth , Guillermo del Toro tells Dan Mecca about the deep magic and great pain of his beloved film, which…

10.09