By now, we’re all getting tired of hearing that we live in “unprecedented times,” but it’s true. Every day seems to bring a new possibility of political upheaval, scandal, or world-shaking disaster, and so far, 2025 hasn’t taken it easy on America.
It’s impossible to write a weekly film column without talking about the two biggest and most diametrically opposed happenings in the filmmaking world right now: the tight, unpredictable race toward the Academy Awards, and the devastating, heartbreaking wildfires that have destroyed much of Los Angeles County.
Indeed, there have already been a few high-profile calls to fully suspend awards season this year in favor of taking the money, resources, and attention the gala ceremonies would bring and instead redirecting it all to disaster relief.
I’ve never made any secret of my annual excitement for the big Oscar race, and it’s been my intention to cover it closely this year with full-length reviews of every major awards player. But it’s easy to see the potential benefit of halting the pomp and circumstance right now in service of something more important.
Time will tell if the awards shows and ceremonies happen, or if they’re even still able to happen once the literal smoke clears.
Still, in addition to donations and supporting outreach efforts to assist with emergency and recovery in Los Angeles right now, one of the best ways to support the filmmaking industry is to continue supporting film.
The L.A. community is largely dependent on moviemaking revenue and theaters all across the country are dependent on the filmmaking industry out there, so especially in the case of smaller pictures and indies, just going to the movies right now can be a source of support.
So in the face of California fires, Oklahoma snowstorms, an impending inauguration, and whatever else January will throw at us, let’s take a break from the awards talk this week and instead check out some thrilling early-year horror fare in OKC theaters.
Because with all the anxiety and fear we’re already feeling, why not?
‘Nosferatu’ – Now playing
There’s just something about the aesthetic and tone of dark, Gothic horror that’s had audiences in a death grip in recent years, and this take on the most classic of classic vampire films might be the most anticipated offering yet from the genre’s resurgence.
Writer/director Robert Eggers is no stranger to the strange – having already given us the slow-burn folk horror of “The Witch” and the absurdist descent into madness that is “The Lighthouse.” But here, in his remake of the classic German retelling of “’Dracula,” he leans fully into the darkness and sensuality of the tale more heavily than ever.
It’s dripping with atmosphere, blood, and real-life rats and the response it’s already seen from horror fanatics means that any other horror offering this year is likely to succumb to the dark, creepy charms of “Nosferatu.”
“Nosferatu” is playing everywhere now.
‘Wolf Man’ – Opens January 17th
Not another rehashed remake, but a complete reconsideration of the concept, “Wolf Man” looks to focus less on the animalistic power fantasy of losing control and more on the terror of that kind of unpredictability for the people caught in its orbit.
Writer/director Leigh Whannell – the original mind behind the “Saw” franchise – returns to genre reinvention here after bringing the same kind of consideration to 2020’s “The Invisible Man.”
Whannell shifts the perspective here to a wife and mother (played by the infinitely watchable Julia Garner) who is attempting to keep her daughter safe following a terrifying animal attack while her husband begins to slowly transform into something dangerous and feral.
Whereas “The Invisible Man” used the classic horror trope of the unseen killer to explore the sadly rampant experience of women facing stalking and private harassment and abuse, “Wolf Man” looks to examine the terror of a wife and mother watching her husband slowly lured into an animalistic, violent world.
Is Whannell on a mission to reframe every classic horror movie monster as an allegory for the ways that men and society perpetuate violence against women? Maybe so, and I’m here for it.
By centering these stories on the women at their hearts, he’s removing the romance of these tropes and highlighting the very real kinds of horror experienced by countless people every day.
“Wolf Man” opens wide Friday, January 17th.
‘Presence’ – Opens January 23rd; Oklahoma City Museum of Art – January 31st through February 6th
It’s another acclaimed, revisionist director and another genre-twisting shift of perspective as Oscar-winner Stephen Soderbergh (“Traffic,” “Ocean’s Eleven”) offers a new, ethereal spin on the classic haunted house story.
“Presence” covers the familiar ground of a troubled family moving into a new house only to discover that it’s occupied by a ghostly spirit. But in this case, the audience assumes the perspective of the ghost, with the camera floating unassumingly through the walls of the house and the candid moments of the occupants’ lives.
It’s a novel approach, arguably reframing the entire concept as though the house’s new human residents are in fact the ones haunting and invading the ghost’s space.
It’s also classic Soderbergh, who absolutely loves any new way to reconsider the camera and its place in the cinematic experience.
Either way, it’s inarguably another refreshingly artistic approach to the genre and another way to turn the tropes of classic horror into a new rumination on modern questions of privacy and voyeuristic access.
“Presence” opens wide Thursday, January 23rd and screens at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art January 31st through February 6th. For showtimes, tickets, and more information, visit okcmoa.com.
Catch Brett Fieldcamp’s film column weekly for information and insights into the world of film in the Oklahoma City metro and Oklahoma. | Brought to you by the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.
Brett Fieldcamp has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly 15 years, writing for several local and state publications. He’s also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.