The BSR October 2025 repertory movie roundup

David Lynch retrospective

Ever since the passing of David Lynch in January, the Philadelphia Film Society has been hinting at a major retrospective. They featured a program this summer of films that inspired Lynch, and when the first teaser art appeared for this October’s Philadelphia Film Festival, it prominently featured the visage of Naomi Watts in Lynch’s Mulholland Drive.

As announced on Wednesday, Mullholland Drive will indeed show in the Philadelphia Film Festival, as part of the From the Vaults section, on Saturday, October 25. And per PFS programmer Trey Shields, most of Lynch’s films, and some other “Lynch-adjacent” material, will show at PFS venues through December, as part of Deeper in Dreams: A David Lynch Retrospective.

Here’s what’s on the calendar so far, starting with the Philly-inspired Eraserhead, followed by the documentary Eraserhead Stories. All showings take place at the Philadelphia Film Center, 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia:

Eraserhead (in 35mm)
Friday, October 3
Saturday, October 4
Sunday, October 5

Lost Highway
Thursday, October 9
Saturday, October 11
Sunday, October 12

Dune
Friday, October 31
Saturday, November 1
Sunday, November 2

The Short Films of David Lynch, Part 1
Friday, October 31
Monday, November 1

There’s much more Lynch to come in November, including, Shields says, a marathon of Twin Peaks: The Return, from November 14-16.

From the vaults

In addition to Mulholland Drive, the Film Society has announced that the following From the Vaults films will be part of this year’s Philadelphia Film Festival:

Peking Opera Blues
Thursday, October 16, 9:45pm
Film Society Center

Demon Lover Diary
Sunday, October 19, 12:15pm
Sunday, October 26, 12:45pm
PFS Bourse

The Lovers on the Bridge
Wednesday, October 22, 8:30pm
Film Society Center

Three Days of the Condor
Thursday, October 23, 6pm
Film Society Center

Mulholland Drive
Saturday, October 25, 2:45pm
Film Society Center

Hard Boiled
Saturday, October 25, 10:15pm
Film Society Center

The Rocky Horror Picture Show: 50th anniversary
Saturday, October 4, 10:30pm
Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge Street, Phoenixville

Friday, October 10, 10pm
Friday, October 17, 10pm
Ritz Five, 214 Walnut Street, Philadelphia

Saturday, October 18, 8pm
Keswick Theater, 291 North Keswick Avenue, Glenside

Rocky Horror, the movie and the ritual, turned 50 years old in September, and there are plenty of chances to see it in October with several different unique touches. There are two Ritz Five showings this month, both with the usual Shadowcast, while the Colonial showing will feature a Blob-style “Time Warp” flashmob at 9pm the night of the showing.

Also, on Wednesday, October 8, and Thursday, October 9, the Colonial will feature Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror, a new documentary about the phenomenon.

More cinema screenings

Nashville (Cinema Classics Seminar)
Saturday, October 4
Bryn Mawr Film Institute

Barry Lyndon
Saturday, October 4
Film Society Center

A Better Tomorrow
Saturday, October 4
Sunday, October 5
Wednesday, October 8
Saturday, October 11
Film Society Center

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
Sunday, October 5
Colonial Theater

Brigitte and Brigitte
Sunday, October 5
Lightbox Film Center

Death Becomes Her
Tuesday, October 7
Ambler Theater

Friday the 13th (1980)
Tuesday, October 7
Ritz Five

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains
Wednesday, October 8
Bryn Mawr Film Institute

Young Frankenstein
Friday, October 10
Ritz Five

Friday, October 17
Colonial Theatre

Hocus Pocus (“Ghouls Night Out” adults-only screening and dance party)
Friday, October 10
Colonial Theatre

The Dark Crystal
Sunday, October 12
Monday, October 13
Fathom Events (various theaters)

Phantasm
Wednesday, October 15
PhilaMOCA

Stop Making Sense
Wednesday, October 15
Film Society Center

St. Elmo’s Fire (40th anniversary re-release)
Friday, October 17
Various theaters

Exhumed Films 24-hour horror-thon
Saturday, October 18
Colonial Theatre

Spirited Away
October 18-October 22, 2025
Fathom Events (various theaters)

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (50th anniversary screening with John Cleese)
Sunday, October 19
Keswick Theatre

Anatomy of a Relationship
Sunday, October 19
Lightbox Film Center

The Thing (1982)
Sunday, October 19
Monday, October 20
Ritz Five

The Sixth Sense
Sunday, October 26
Colonial Theatre

The Fly (1986)
Thursday, October 23
Ambler Theater

Nosferatu (1922, with live organ accompaniment)
Sunday, October 26
Colonial Theatre

Cannibal Holocaust
Monday, October 27
PhilaMOCA

Labyrinth
Tuesday, October 28
Thursday, October 30
Film Society East

Pan’s Labyrinth
Tuesday, October 28
Thursday, October 30
Film Society East

Dracula (1931, Cinema Classics Seminar)
Wednesday, October 29
Bryn Mawr Film Institute