WE’RE PAST THE JANUARY/FEBRUARY MOVIE DUMP SEASON, BUT IT’S ALSO NOT YET THE TIME FOR STUDIOS TO ROLL OUT THEIR TENTPOLES WITH BUDGETS EQUAL TO THE GDP OF SMALL NATION-STATES. FIND JOY HERE INSTEAD IN THE MODEST PLEASURES AND CINEMATIC MICRO-SUCCESSES OF THESE SEVEN FILMS

BY DAN SALAMONE

UNTIL DAWN APRIL 25

From the popular modern choose-your-own-adventure esque video game comes this movie that seems to share the title and general location with the game but little else. Instead, this one features its principal characters dying over and over in a time loop, but in very different ways each time. Director David F. Sandberg gave us two horror flicks (Lights Out, Annabelle: Creation) that turned out surprisingly good, so we’ll ignore the fact that this sounds like Happy Death Day goes Final Destination

THE WOMAN IN THE YARD MARCH 28

The director here, Jaume Collet-Serra, hasn’t exactly been synonymous with horror in the last few years, focusing instead on big-budget action movies like Black Adam and Jungle Cruise. That said, he isn’t a novice either, having cut his teeth on horror movies like House of Wax, Orphan, and The Shallows. His return to horror is about exactly what its title indicates: the sudden appearance of a haunted woman, covered head to toe in funereal black cloth, in an understand ably freaked out family’s yard.

MOGWAI: IF THE STARS HAD A SOUND APRIL 11

Glasgow, Scotland’s brilliant instrumental post-rock pioneers, have been turning out incredible, mostly vocal-free records since their incomparable 1997 debut, Mogwai Young Team. This award nominated doc tells the story of the band’s rise from gloriously noisy indie rock provocateurs (they famously produced T-shirts that read “Blur: Are Shite” at the height of Britpop’s popularity in England) to UK’s No. 1 album crafters.

A MINECRAFT MOVIE APRIL 4

The popularity of the game and the presence of Jack Black suggests this semi-risky attempt at a summer (well, summer adjacent) blockbuster should be harmless family fare, designed to make 100 minutes pass painlessly in the dark. The release of the trailer (which was silly-cute, in this writer’s humble opinion) unleashed a volcanic reaction from Minecraft fans online. Apparently, it was the greatest crime against cinema and gaming since the ‘80s Super Mario Brothers movie, or that brief period where Sonic had disturbing human-like teeth. The choice of the eternal quirk factory Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre) as director will either be inspired or the apocalyptic end of popular culture as we know it. There to either enliven the proceedings or bear witness to the horrors therein will be Jason Momoa.

THE ACCOUNTANT 2 APRIL 25

The 2016 action-thriller that saw Ben Affleck as Christian Wolff – a numbers whiz, certified public accountant…and unstoppable killing machine for the mob – is back for a second go after nine years. Gavin O’Connor returns to the director’s chair, and the sequel will purportedly see more screen time for Jon Bernthal’s Braxton Wolff, Christian’s estranged brother. Early critiques prepare viewers to expect more guns and gore, but also more laughs, along with moments of heartfelt empath

HELL OF A SUMMER APRIL 18

Finn Wolfhard (of the beloved Stranger Things series and the considerably less-beloved Ghostbusters reboot series) co-writes, directs, and stars in this loving spoof/tribute to summer camp slasher movies of yesteryear. Says wiki: “As the counselors are getting Camp Pineway ready the night before the campers arrive, a masked killer begins killing the staff.” This one has been on the shelf since 2023, but it won an Audience Award at the hallowed genre-film-friendly Toronto International Film Festival that same year, and the presence of Adam Pally and a major studio giving this a prime wide release suggests this could be worth the wait.

SACRAMENTO APRIL 11

Yes, the idea sounds akin to about 40% of all Sundance movies between 1995 and 2005 (and last year’s A Real Pain): “Free-spirited Rickey convinces long-time friend Glenn to go on an impromptu road trip from Los Angeles to Sacramento…encouraged by his pregnant wife Rosie to go on the adventure to reconnect.” But the funny trailer and 95% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes suggest there is much more here worth seeking out. Michael Cera and Kristen Stewart star alongside first-time director Michael Angarano