Hi friends -
First of all a huge thank you to everyone who subscribed last month! It meant a lot to me that so many of you were still interested in checking out my random reccos after almost a half decade away.
In fact I enjoyed writing September's entry so much that the pure serotonin of pressing publish completely annihilated the knowledge that committing to this blog meant having to start over for next month, and the month after that, and the month after that, and the month after that. That’s how writing gets ya!
It’s officially Spooky Season, altho, tbh, every month this year has felt pretty horrifying. If anything, let October be an opportunity to embrace death and demise in, like, a more fun and intentional way! In that spirit (get it, like a ghost), I bring you:
Something Old, Something New for OCTOBER 2025!
Television
Shoutout to Noah Wyle for winning his first Emmy, for what I am considering a lifetime achievement award for fake doctoring. Thanks to Dr.’s Carter + Robby, I fully believe I could intubate someone. Visualize the chords!!
Something New:
Talamasca: The Secret Order - October 26th on AMC
I mean if you read last month's blog this shouldn’t be a surprise. AMC has been working away on a little Anne Rice cinematic universe (“the Immortal Universe”) for the past couple years managing to turn out the VERY good Interview With the Vampire and the very much LESS good Mayfair Witches. This is their new attempt to create connective tissue within the Rice-a-verse, by following the adventures of an in-world secret society that keeps tabs on the supernatural. Think Giles from Buffy, but some of the researchers get to be girls. I have various hopes and reservations about this series which I will detail below:
Hope: I love vampires, this is more vampires.
Reservation: I don’t trust AMC with spin-offs anymore
Hope: Lady Grantham is a psychic detective
Reservation: Most of what the Talamasca does in the book is p boring, lots of tea drinking
Hope: Jason Schwartzman is a vampire!!!! Why!!! I live!!! (And die!!)
Ball’s in your court AMC!
Down Cemetery Road - October 29th on Apple+
Look. At. Emma. Thompson’s. Wig.
(The effort of a lifetime deciding where to put the apostrophes on this blog. First Dr.’s, now this.)
One can easily assume the wig will carry the bulk of this mystery drama, but in the unlikely event it falls down on the job, my terrifying wife Ruth Wilson is also here to solve crime. The trailer is giving “don’t worry, we’ve got jokes” - which for a show about a bomb and missing child, can only be a good thing.
Something Old:
Over the Garden Wall - Streaming on Hulu
There is no vibier Spooky Season vibe than Over the Garden Wall, think leaves, think pumpkins, think the glory days of Cartoon Network, and woods-dwelling monsters that will eat your soul! Self reflect this month and ask if you are a Wirt or a Greg, or maybe a Jason Funderberker.
Movies:
A ton of stuff is coming out this month so I'm only soft mentioning Frankenstein up here because you all already know. Still want to call out an opportunity to see Oscar Isaac in a billowy shirt tho. Also we’ve really decided that tall guys can do anything, huh.
Something New:
If Had Legs I’d Kick You - October 10th
What is spookier than motherhood! If this and Die, My Love (November blog!) are to be believed, probably nothing! I would watch Rose Byrne do anything, and I would certainly watch her feel big feelings and do existential battle with womanhood. And I guess I would watch Conan O’Brian be a therapist too, why not. Rose Byrne also has the best American accent, I will not be accepting alternate opinions on this.
The Mastermind - October 17th
Every month a new Josh O’Connor movie I guess! Look I love him too, but maybe he should pump the breaks just for half of a sip of a second. To paint you a real quick picture of this Kelly Reichardt movie: it’s the 70s, we got art thieves on the run, Josh is here, living a double life and grappling with the American dream natch, and we got a Haim and Bill Camp. What else do you need?
Something Old:
The Orphanage (2007)
In honor of the season, this is the scariest movie I’ve ever seen. I really don’t like watching horror movies (real life is scary enough imo) so it’s not a huge competitive pool BUT I have been haunted by the little mask boy in this movie every day since 2007. Truly, if I think about it too much, for too long, I will throw up. Anyway if you haven’t seen this and you do not value your peace, enjoy I guess!
Books:
Something New:
Herculine by Grace Byron - October 7th
Debut novel by Grace Byron whose Insta handle @EmoTrophyWife, really speaks to me on a soul level. Her first book follows a trans protagonist whose demons are literal and stalk her about on the streets of NYC. She escapes to a commune for transgirls, but there has never been a good thing to happen at a commune in the horror genre (or maybe ever?). Cults, guts, and the horrors of writing ensue (relatable!)
The Salvage by Anbara Salem - October 7th
One of my favorite shows is season 1 of The Terror — truly the feel-bad prestige cable event of a generation, loved every second (call me, Adam Nagaitis!). The Salvage is already giving me Terror vibes, it follows a marine archaeologist (sure!) who ‘salvages’ a ship only to find it’s haunted! Hopefully with the souls of the men who were burnt to death and/or rotted from scurvy on board. A girl can dream!
Something Old:
The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji (1987)
Mysteries are my favorite genre of anything, and of COURSE I’m a huge snob about them, because truly good ones are so hard to find! Hit me in the comments if you have a recco, and yes I already have a Tana French shrine. The Decagon House Murders is a classic, zero frills, Agatha Christie-style locked room mystery, written by a mystery lover, for mystery lovers. Yukito has a series of murder mystery ‘house’ novels, all of which are a delight — if you like And Then There Were None and the idea of a literal puzzle box — you will like this.
Someone to Follow:
Cogey
Cogey is a glamour satirist, combining vintage beauty with modern despair. She covers horoscopes, dating, and the horrors of the everyday with a hundred wigs and perfect cat eye. I want her to teach me how to get her eyelashes and how to get through every day without melting down
!!!!SPEED ROUND!!!!
To cap off I am going to try something new and give you some quick media bites, because EVERYONE loves a bulleted list:
My current video game obsession is Tiny Bookshop, where you open a…tiny bookshop and then make recommendations to the denizens of a vaguely European town who are absolute fiends for reading. Moira is our girlfriend, Fern needs to get their goddamn life together.
In season 5 of ER Noah Wyle grows a pre- Dr. Robby beard and wow
October is also the month of my new home Montclair NJ’s Annual Film Festival! I had so much fun last year, saw a ton of movies, and blogged about it to no one. Who knows what could happen this year!
I feel like Ethan Hawke’s character on The Lowdown is just who he is (complimentary)
As this newsletter evolves I am always open to your (The Reader) cherished and dreaded feedback - what do you want to see more of? Less of? I am rudderless without you, my beloved bloglings.
XO, MD ❤