Now Playing: VERITY, DIGGER, BEWARE BOIUNA, GHOST IN THE CELL

The first movie weekend in the fall season is headlined by a would-be erotic thriller and Tom Cruise looking more, er, full-figured than usual.

Representing the early days of scary season, we have ghostly thrills in the newest by Joko Anwar, as well as Mike P. Nelson's 'predator in the Amazon' thriller.

More genre delights are offered in a "a psychological horror about the weaponization of deepfake technology," while Chris Rock's new directorial effort revolves around a look inside the inner workings of Hollywood.

Whatever your taste, may you find something delicious in movie theaters this weekend.

Verity
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Amazon MGM Studios.

Our review by Olga Artemyeva: "Verity, the latest adaptation of Colleen Hoover's bestselling prose, has two great elements in it.

"First is that wonderful meet-cute when Dakota Johnson's Lowen meets Josh Hartnett's Jeremy while being solidly covered in blood.

"The second one is that if you love it when you exit the screening with no thoughts or emotions other than a shrugging "well, that happened", boy, do the authors of Verity have a treat for you."

Digger
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Warner Bros.

Our review by J Hurtado: "Digger is a hot mess of a movie, juggling too many ideas, too many philosophies, and too much shouting for any reasonable viewer to withstand. However, it's that insistence that also makes me lean in to discover what obscenely irrational decision the film is going to make next, and more often that not, I was amused - though by a rather slim margin. There's no doubt that Cruise is acting his ass off, but is more acting the same as better acting? Perhaps not, but it certainly is memorable, and maybe that is enough for me."

Ghost in the Cell
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Well Go USA.

Official synopsis: "Director Joko Anwar plunges viewers into a high-security prison ruled by feuding gangs and a tyrannical warden. The arrival of a new inmate kicks off a series of mysterious gruesome murders that leave its victims on morbid display. The hapless inmates trapped in the prison must overcome their rivalries to unmask an invisible, otherworldly enemy. No one is safe as the cells cage in the horrors and a ghost roams the prison with murderous intent."

Beware Boiuna
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Lionsgate.

Our review by J Hurtado: "It doesn't take much for me to completely buy into your giant snake movie. Number one, show me the snake; number two, make the snake exciting; and number three, make the movie fun. Somehow, Mike P. Nelson's Beware Boiúna comes up short on all three counts, delivering a turgid, overly serious eco-fable about a monster boa with very little action, and even less payoff."

Appofeniacs
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Magenta Light Studios.

Our review by Andrew Mack: "Built for anyone who misses the grunge, the fast dialogue, and the moral ambiguity of 1990s indie cinema. It successfully takes the stylized violence of Quentin Tarantino and the tight tension of a Tony Scott shootout and anchors them to modern digital anxieties. It forces a hard look at our own confirmation bias and the ease with which we believe baseline lies, making it an easy recommendation if you want a thriller that handles nostalgia without losing its edge. Look at the mirror it's holding up."

Misty Green
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via A24 Films.

Our review by Ankit Jhunjhunwala: "Chris Rock, as a Hollywood insider kimono-opener, wants to regale us with joyously crass anecdotes about the business' lurid inner workings.

"In his telling, everyone is a coke-addled fuck-up cheating on their partners, sleeping around for roles and money, and uninterested in art or progressivism. With Misty Green, he's breathlessly eager to spill the tea, only he can't get out of his way. His profane Hollywood satire needs to compete with issue-based digressions about police brutality, mental illness, and racism, making even the slender 100-minute runtime feel crowded."

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