What are you watching this weekend?

It’s that time of year again, when the nights start growing longer and the shadows seem a bit darker, which always puts me in the mood to watch movies that venture into life’s more forbidding spaces. The Criterion Channel has my back with its curated feature “Directed By Abel Ferrara,” which boasts 19 films by the filmmaker that I know will scratch this specific itch, including films I’ve seen and love (Ms. 45, King Of New York, Fear City) and others from his uncompromising filmography I hope to finally set aside time for, like his Ice-T-starring ’R Xmas or the 1993 Harvey Keitel/Madonna duet, Dangerous Game. Knowing me, I’ll likely end up revisiting some of Ferrara’s horror entries, such as his 1979 slasher classic The Driller Killer, his terrific Body Snatchers remake, and the Christopher Walken/Lili Taylor vampire-drug film, The Addiction. There’s no scuzzier or better way to enter the latter part of the year. [Jarrod Jones]

Carnivàle 

I’ve been working my way through some of the well-loved HBO shows that I never got to see during their original run, and Carnivàle is one of my favorites so far. I’m a little bit into its second and (sadly) final season, and the David Lynch connections—especially ones that anticipate the imagery he’d use in Twin Peaks: The Return—are coming hot and heavy as this ensemble of circus performers and sideshow oddballs prepares for a battle between Biblical good and evil. The whole cast is excellent, but I love fire-and-brimstone Clancy Brown getting such a juicy lead role, and the locations they must navigate (whether it’s a sunbaked slum or a Bradbury-like fairground) make the Great Depression into something so cursed and surreal that it elegantly blurs the extremes of history into fantasy. I’m not surprised it got axed early, but it’s a wonder it exists at all. [Jacob Oller]

Party Down 

I have to confess: I’m a rewatcher. My wife and I seek comfort in things we love, aided by our doggedly compiled physical media library. But occasionally the streaming demons thwart us, as has been the case with Party Down, whose short but excellent third season never hit DVD. Thankfully, Netflix (a service we do grudgingly pay for) just added season three last week, allowing our first rewatch since it first aired in 2023. The miracle of getting in-demand original stars Adam Scott, Ken Marino, Jane Lynch, Ryan Hansen, Megan Mullally, and Martin Starr on board after 13 years is one thing, but to pick up with the same peerlessly lived-in comic workplace desperation is another. Throw in a game Jennifer Garner and fresh new additions to the perpetually disgruntled Party Down catering crew in Tyler Jackson Williams and Zoë Chao (plus clearly enthusiastic guests Nick Offerman, Judy Reyes, Bobby Moynihan, Quinta Brunson, and James Marsden), and our weekend viewing is all set. [Dennis Perkins]