Opening This Week: PSYCHO KILLER vs. HOW TO MAKE A KILLING

Death, death, death! Two wide releases will battle it out to the death in North America, while various indies clamor for attention. Here is our guide to what's opening this week in movie theaters.

Psycho Killer
The film opens Friday, February 20, only in movie theaters, via 20th Century Studios. Visit Fandango for locations and showtimes.

Yikes! Just knowing that the writer is Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en) should raise the curiosity level, even before watching the trailer. Our expectations have been lowered, however, because, as of today, we've not heard of any advance press screenings for the film, which usually does not bode well -- but not always! We shall see.

Official synopsis: "Following the brutal murder of her husband, a Kansas highway patrol officer (Georgina Campbell) sets out on a journey to track down the perpetrator. As the hunt progresses, she comes to realize the man responsible (James Preston Rogers) is a sadistic serial killer, and the depth of his mental depravity and his sinister agenda is more twisted than anyone could have imagined."

How to Make a Killing
The film opens Friday, February 20, only in movie theaters, via A24 Films.

The first clue that this is not a horror thriller, despite the title, is that John Patton Ford (Emily the Criminal) directed. Still, it could kill.

Official synopsis: "Disowned at birth by his obscenely wealthy family, blue-collar Becket Redfellow (Glen Powell) will stop at nothing to reclaim his inheritance, no matter how many relatives stand in his way."

Look for our review later this week.

Here come the indies!

This Is Not a Test
The film opens Friday, February 20, only in movie theaters, via Independent Film Company.

If the trailer doesn't freak you out, check your pulse: you may already be dead.

Official synopsis: "Sloane and a small group of her classmates take cover in their high school to escape their suddenly apocalyptic hometown. As danger relentlessly pounds on the doors, Sloane begins to see the world through the eyes of people who actually want to live and takes matters into her own hands."

Look for our review later this week.

Redux Redux
The film opens Friday, February 20, only in movie theaters, via Saban Films.

Stop me if you've heard this one before. Wait! No need to stop; this one's quite good. Our own J Hurtado saw it at SXSW last year: "After 2020's excellent aquatic chiller, The Block Island Sound, The McManus Brothers have returned with this horror-tinged sci-fi thriller that interrogates the efficacy of revenge as a tool for healing. Spoiler: it doesn't work."

We'll republish the review in its entirety later this week.

The Dreadful
The film opens Friday, February 20, in movie theaters and On Demand and On Digital, via Lionsgate.

Widely marketed as a reunion of two stars from HBO's Game of Thrones, this thrillers heads in a different direction, thanks to a great, non-GOT actor who leads the cast.

Official synopsis: "Experience an unnerving Gothic tale of horror reuniting Game of Thrones stars Sophie Turner and Kit Harington and featuring the Academy Award®-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden. Set in medieval England, Anne and her domineering mother-in-law Morwen struggle to survive on the outskirts of society. But when a man from Anne's past returns from war, a curse begins to take shape through a mysterious knight and threatens to destroy them all."

Look for our review later this week.

One Mile: Chapter One and One Mile: Chapter Two
The films open Friday, February 20, only in movie theaters, via Paramount Movies. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes.

Admittedly, I questioned the title and the simultaneous release of both films on the same day -- shouldn't it be The First Half Mile and then The Second Half Mile? Until, that is, I watched the trailer, which looks like a blast (or two).

Official synopsis, Chapter One: "Ryan Phillippe stars as a former special forces operative trying to reconnect with his teenage daughter during a college road trip. When an unexpected detour puts them in the sights of a secretive, off-the-grid community, his daughter is taken and the trip erupts into a high-octane fight for survival. Alone and outnumbered, he's forced to use every skill he has to track them down, take them apart, and bring his daughter home."

Official synopsis, Chapter Two: "A former special forces operative (Ryan Phillippe) is forced back onto a remote island when the violent, secretive community he fought once before abducts his daughter in an act of revenge. Launched into a relentless hunt, he faces an enemy that's ready and anticipating his every move."

Look for our review later this week.

After a limited release last year, an arthouse film heads for wider distribution.

Kokuho
The film opens Friday, February 20, only in movie theaters, via GKids Films. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes.

Official synopsis: "Nagasaki, 1964. After the death of his father, the leader of a yakuza gang, 14-year-old Kikuo is taken under the wing of a famous Kabuki actor. Alongside Shunsuke, the actor's only son, Kikuo decides to dedicate himself to this traditional form of theatre. Across decades, the two young men grow and evolve together - from acting school to the grandest stages - amid scandals and glory, brotherhood and betrayals, as each pushes to become the greatest living Kabuki master.

"From acclaimed director Sang-il Lee (Pachinko), Kokuho (meaning 'national treasure') is a film of awe-inspiring scope and sumptuous beauty, and a monument to the artists who would sacrifice everything in the pursuit of the ultimate performance."

Our review by Daniel Eagan: "Instead of an involving plot, Kokuho offers the splendor of kabuki, performed and shot with meticulous care. ... Director Lee Sang-il stages these brilliantly, DP Sofian El Fani's camera swirling around, up, and below the performers. Even the rehearsals are fascinating. When Kikuo and Shunsuke practice by a river, the camera spies on them from the water, then from a bridge, then under blossoming cherry trees."

Opening This Week celebrates the theatrical experience.