New York

The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival Brings Super-Scary Movies Back to the Big Screen

The 2023 lineup includes a restored version of the Japanese classic, "The Ring."

Image from Justin Timms (Yellow Veil Pictures), courtesy of Brooklyn Horror Film Festival
Image from Justin Timms (Yellow Veil Pictures), courtesy of Brooklyn Horror Film Festival
Image from Justin Timms (Yellow Veil Pictures), courtesy of Brooklyn Horror Film Festival

It’s that time of year when Spirit Halloween stores start popping up all throughout New York City, and with it means the return of the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival.

Since 2016, the annual festival has showcased the best horror films from around the world for Brooklyn theatergoers in search of a hair-raising good time. Taking place in mid-October during peak scary season, this year’s festivities include world premieres, retrospectives, and showings of classics celebrating landmark anniversaries.

There’s no better reason to ditch streaming on the sofa than a good scary movie at a theater. Here’s everything you need to know about the 2023 Brooklyn Horror Film Festival.

When is the festival?
The 8-day event takes place October 12–19.

Where in Brooklyn can I go watch the films?
Nitehawk Cinema Williamsburg and Nitehawk Cinema Prospect Park.

How many films are playing?
The 32 features include 25 new films and 7 retrospectives. For shorts, there are 45.

Image from Justin Timms (Yellow Veil Pictures), courtesy of Brooklyn Horror Film Festival
Image from Justin Timms (Yellow Veil Pictures), courtesy of Brooklyn Horror Film Festival
Image from Justin Timms (Yellow Veil Pictures), courtesy of Brooklyn Horror Film Festival

What are the world premieres and centerpiece films?
The festival kicks off with the world premiere of Kill Your Lover by directors Alix Austin and Kier Siewert on opening night. Additional world premieres throughout the festival include films by directors Jaco Bouwer, Aimee Kuge, and Tyler Chipman.

Red Rooms by director Pascal Plante is the festival’s centerpiece, and The Sacrifice Game, a ‘70’s-inspired Christmas-centric movie by director Jenn Wexler, concludes the festival on closing night.

What kinds of films can I choose from?
Attendees can watch films from Australia, Brazil, Ireland, Korea,, South Africa, and beyond ranging from thrillers and documentaries to animation and camp.

For the full 2023 Brooklyn Horror Film Festival lineup, check the website.

What’s some festival programming other than watching films?
Test your knowledge at Final Exam Horror Trivia hosted by director Ted Geoghegan and journalist Michael Gingold on October 18.

This year also marks the first-ever Leviathan Award which will be awarded to William Lustig, a horror flick legend known for his films and industry conservation. The presentation will be followed by a screening of his 1988 classic, Maniac Cop, and a Q & A.

How do I watch the Japanese horror classic, The Ring?
Ringu (The Ring) is part of the festival’s sidebar program, Fear in Focus presented by Arrow Video, with this year’s focus on Japanese films.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of director Hideo Nakata’s cult classic, Ringu, watch it in a special 4K restored version. Additional films include the 1926 silent movie, A Page of Madness, with a live score, and the 1988 hit from director Banmei Takahashi, Door.

How do I buy tickets?
Choose from festival badges or try for a limited amount of individual tickets per screening.

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Tae Yoon was born and raised in Queens, New York. He’s the Senior Editor of East, Local cities and oversees Thrillist New York, Thrillist Boston, Thrillist DC, and Thrillist Philadelphia.

New York

Scavenge for Peeps Cookies and More Fun Treats in NYC This Easter

The best Easter desserts in NYC this spring include Easter Bunny Churros and Carrot Cake Macarons.

Photo courtesy of Funny Face Bakery
Photo courtesy of Funny Face Bakery
Photo courtesy of Funny Face Bakery

As spring makes its way through New York City, not only do we get to enjoy beautiful weather, stunning cherry blossoms, and cool activities priced at $Free.99, but it’s also the perfect time for some limited-edition desserts.

With Easter fast approaching, bakeries are filling their shops with tons of chocolate eggs, carrot cake-flavoured everything and all types of flavours that offer both nostalgia and innovation within the city’s dessert landscape. After you’ve picked up a cake from the city’s best new bakeries, from Easter Bunny Churros to Carrot Cake Macarons, here are 8 Easter desserts to try in NYC right now.

Photo courtesy of Magnolia Bakery
Photo courtesy of Magnolia Bakery
Photo courtesy of Magnolia Bakery

Magnolia Bakery

Throughout April
Various locations
There’s great news for devotees of Magnolia Bakery’s Classic Banana Pudding: For Easter, the spot is mixing up the iconic dessert’s vanilla pudding with some carrot cake. The Carrot Cake Pudding is filled with freshly grated carrots, coconuts, pineapples, raisins, and walnuts. And if both bananas and carrots aren’t your thing, they’ll be offering their Classic Vanilla Cupcakes in pastel colours with a Cadbury chocolate egg hidden inside.

Photo courtesy of Funny Face Bakery
Photo courtesy of Funny Face Bakery
Photo courtesy of Funny Face Bakery

Funny Face Bakery

Through Easter Sunday
NoHo and Seaport
Known for their celebrity face and meme-worthy decorated cookies, fans of Funny Face Bakery know that a new fun design is always just around the corner. For Easter, they’ve created the adorable Hoppy Easter decorated cookie that resembles a classic box of marshmallow Peeps. Along with that, they also have the return of their fan-favourite Caramel Pretzel Chip cookie flavour, plus a set of three mini-decorated cookies perfect for gifting.

The Doughnut Project

Friday, April 7 through Easter Sunday
West Village
With the ever-changing flavours at The Doughnut Project, it’s super easy to miss out on trying out a new debut. But this Easter weekend, there will be two new flavours available. One is of course, a carrot cake doughnut topped with a cream cheese glaze, and the other is known as the Doughnut Nest-a French cruller “nest” with a cream-filled doughnut hole “egg” in the centre.

Photo by Cole Saladino, courtesy of The Fragile Flour
Photo by Cole Saladino, courtesy of The Fragile Flour
Photo by Cole Saladino, courtesy of The Fragile Flour

The Fragile Flour

Wednesday, April 5 through Easter Sunday
East Village
For stellar vegan desserts this holiday, head to The Fragile Flour, a plant-based bakery and dessert wine bar. They’re known for going all out for each holiday with a variety of new pastry options that you can pair perfectly with a glass of wine. This Easter, they’ll have a whole dessert menu that’s both delicious and gorgeous for posting on IG. The menu includes Stuffed Carrot Cake Cookies, a Lemon Cake (whole or by the slice), some festive cupcakes, and specialty macarons.

Photo courtesy of Kreuther Handcrafted Chocolate
Photo courtesy of Kreuther Handcrafted Chocolate
Photo courtesy of Kreuther Handcrafted Chocolate

Kreuther Handcrafted Chocolate

Through mid April
Midtown
For a luxurious take on Easter chocolates, browse the selections available at Kreuther Handcrafted Chocolate. You can even pick the Easter Signature Chef’s Selection for a special box curated by award-winning chefs. For something other than chocolate, choose between the Carrot Cake Macarons or the cake flavored Easter Marshmallow Trio, both of which are almost too cute to eat.

La Churreria

Throughout April
Nolita
This churro-centric spot is putting the cutest Easter spin on their crispy cinnamon churros by twisting them up into bunnies and bunny ears. At Churreria, choose from a Bunny Churro Lollipop topped with your choice of chocolate or dulce de leche and sprinkles, or the bunny ear churros in the Ube and Matcha ice cream sundae or the Ube Milkshake, both of which are made with ice cream from il laboratorio del gelato.

Photo by Briana Balducci
Photo by Briana Balducci
Photo by Briana Balducci

Lafayette

Throughout April
NoHo
You’ve surely seen this croissant tons of times while scrolling through IG or TikTok, whether it’s the Pain au Chocolat one or the latest of the month. Known as Suprêmes, these filled croissants went viral and continue to live up to the hype each time a new flavour comes out. April’s flavour-sour cherry amaretto with a Luxardo custard and toasted almonds. While you’ll have to be super early and wait in line during one of their three drops of the day to get a taste, we promise you it’ll be worth it.

Photo courtesy of Levain
Photo courtesy of Levain
Photo courtesy of Levain

Levain

Seasonal
Various locations
We all know the iconic cookies from Levain-they’re gigantic, perfectly crispy and chewy, and well worth the long lines. For spring, the shop is launching a new flavour: Caramel Coconut Chocolate Chip. Filled with gooey caramel chips, fresh shredded coconut, and melty dark chocolate, it’s one you’ve got to try while it’s still around. To further celebrate the new season, all of Levain’s storefronts will be decked out in spring floral displays, serving as the perfect backdrop for pictures.

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Alaina Cintron is an Editorial Assistant at Thrillist. Her work can also be found in Westchester Magazine, Girls’ Life, and Spoon University. When she’s not at her desk typing away, you can find her exploring a local coffee shop or baking a new recipe.

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