The Cinematheque

“Don’t you dare go in there!”

Matsuo Masatoshi as Yabe Toshio in Pulse

This year’s observance of the spooky season at The Cinematheque assumes the form of eight nightmare-sowing pictures for your delectation. From the European arthouse to the American underground, ancient folklore to online necromancy, these offerings—many presented in new restorations—cover the pentagram points of sui generis scary movies. Ghosts and lady bloodsuckers feature prominently in our curation, as do assorted viscera unspooled from warm bodies. (Trouble Every Day and Begotten, we’re looking at you.) Be it J‑horror or BC-slasher, a contagious chime or a gothic ghoul, ​“Forbidden Rooms” should have accommodations for whatever fright keeps you up at night.