Now Playing: THEY WILL KILL YOU, YES, A MAGNIFICENT LIFE

Our guide to genre fare opening this week in movie theaters includes a straight ahead horror thriller, a comic horror movie, a different type of thriller, and four strong indies. Read on for more information about each film.

They Will Kill You
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Warner Bros. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes.

Our review by J Hurtado: "Kirill Sokolov has stepped into the Hollywood spotlight and made a big statement here, and horror fans are definitely going to respond. They Will Kill You is a big, bloody blast of energy, and isn't that the stuff big screen dreams are made of?"

Official synopsis: "The film unleashes a blood-soaked, high-octane horror-action-comedy in which a young woman must survive the night at the Virgil, a demonic cult's mysterious and twisted death-trap of a lair, before becoming their next offering in a uniquely brazen, big screen battle of epic kills and wickedly dark humor."

Our Hero, Balthazar
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Picturehouse. Visit the official site for more information.

Our review by Olga Artemyeva: "Our Hero, Balthazar takes an effective swing at contemporary social media culture. The film has lots of macabre fun, picking at how little the online world has to do with actual reality. But then it goes further."

Official synopsis: "A dark comedy by Oscar Boyson. Starring Jaeden Martell, Asa Butterfield, Noah Centineo, Chris Bauer, Jennifer Ehle, Anna Baryshnikov and Avan Jogia. Written by Ricky Camilleri and Oscar Boyson."

Yes
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Kino Lorber. Visit the official site for more information.

Our review by Dustin Chang: "Yes is a loud satire that reflects the uncomfortable present that the artistic community find themselves in, between a rock and a hard place, in an increasingly military fascist state. ... It's an obnoxiously pointy and honest, yet sad film."

Official synopsis: "One of international cinema's most fearless and provocative filmmakers, Nadav Lapid has long been an outspoken critic of his birth country's government policies, channeling a lifetime of fury and frustration into vital films like Synonyms and Ahed's Knee that brim with righteous anger, spite, and shame.

"In Yes, Lapid once again takes vigorous critical aim at the Israeli government with a new approach: submission. In the days following October 7, Y., a jazz musician, and his wife Yasmin, a dancer, resolve to say yes to everything. Y. and Yasmin sell their bodies and souls to the highest bidder, surrendering themselves and their art to Israel's social, political and military elite. Soon, Y. is entrusted with a mission of the utmost importance: to compose the music for a rousing, ruthless new national anthem.

"Feverishly whirling between moments of satire, sincerity, and complete submission, Yes is a visceral, blistering indictment of modern Israel, and an essential addition to post-October 7 cinema."

A Magnificent Life
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Sony Pictures Classics. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes.

Our review by Ard Vijn: "Still, as a story it comes dangerously close to being a hagiography. ... Thankfully it doesn't hurt the film too much, it's a pleasant enough trip through several turbulent decades of the 20th century. And if you're a lover of classic French cinema there is even a lot more to appreciate here, as there are plenty of famous faces to spot, it's a veritable feast of recognition."

Official synopsis: "In 1955, 60-year-old Marcel Pagnol is a well-known and acclaimed playwright and filmmaker. When the editor-in-chief of ELLE magazine commissions a weekly column about Pagnol's childhood, he sees this as a great opportunity to go back to his artistic roots: writing.

"Realizing his memory is failing him and deeply affected by the disappointing results of his last two plays, Pagnol starts doubting his ability to pursue his work. That is until Little Marcel - the young boy he used to be - appears to him as if by magic. Together, they will explore Marcel Pagnol's incredible life and bring back to life his most cherished encounters and memories..."

Kontinental '25
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via 1-2 Special. Visit the official site for more information.

Our review by Martin Kudlac: "Lacking the sharpness and pacing of Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World or the conceptual precision of Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, Kontinental '25 feels like an a temporary fix before Dracula Park, which may return to the more incisive satire of Jude's previous works."

Official synopsis: "When Orsolya oversees the eviction of a local elderly man in Cluj, Transylvania, the unintended consequences come to shatter her and her understanding of her place in society. Spiraling into an existential crisis, she traverses the city, meeting with various people in her life -- her husband, an old friend, her former student, a priest -- to consider and reconcile her place in an increasingly maddening modern world in award-winning filmmaker Radu Jude's latest furious and hysterical moral parable."

Forbidden Fruits
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Independent Film Company and Shudder. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes.

Official synopsis: "Free Eden employee Apple secretly runs a witchy femme cult in the basement of the mall store after hours - with fellow fruits Cherry and Fig. But when new hire Pumpkin challenges their performative sisterhood, the women are forced to face their own poisons or succumb to a bloody fate."

John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Oscilloscope. Visit the official site for more information.

Official synopsis: "The daring experimenter Dr. John C. Lilly dedicated his life to radical self-investigation and unlocking the mysteries of consciousness and communication. "My body is my laboratory" was the motto, and his research on the language of dolphins and whales - as well as psychedelics and sensory deprivation - assured his own cult status in 20th-century pop culture as the basis for Ken Russel's Altered States and Mike Nichols' The Day of the Dolphin.

"Directors Michael Almareyda and Courtney Stephens, along with narrator Chloë Sevigny, explore the life of a determined scientist and his experiments into the psychonautical unknown."

The A.I. Doc: How I Became an Apocaloptimist
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Focus Features. Visit the official site for more information.

Official synopsis: "From the Academy Award®-winning filmmakers behind Everything Everywhere All at Once and Navalny; a father-to-be tries to figure out what is happening with all this AI insanity. The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist is a hand-made, eye-opening documentary about the most powerful technology humanity has ever created... and what's at stake if we get it wrong."

Now Playing celebrates the cinematic experience, in movie theaters and at home.