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      In ‘Fear Street,’ a Lesbian Romance Provides Hope for a Genre

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      Mainstream horror rarely lets queer women be the heroes. The Netflix trilogy takes a defiant stance with a relationship that covers centuries.This article contains spoilers for the “Fear Street” trilogy.Type “queer horror films” into a search engine and you’ll get a bevy of articles poring over every gesture, sentence of dialogue and subtext in movie history, from “Psycho” to “The Babadook.” While queer characters have, in the last two decades, begun to move to the center in films like “Spiral” and “The Retreat,” they’re still too often merely implicit, made to seem like the other, or simply killed off.But in the director Leigh Janiak’s “Fear Street” movies, a Netflix trilogy inspired by the author R.L. Stine’s horror series, queer people not only are the lead characters, but a lesbian romance propels the entire narrative. For Janiak, that was intentional. It was an “opportunity to tell a story that hasn’t been told within that genre very often, if at all,” she said. “That involves creating this queer love story that drove everything.”In Janiak’s recollection, Stine’s stories were mostly “very straight and very white.” But “Fear Street: 1994,” which kicks off the Netflix slasher trilogy that includes successors set in 1978 and 1666, presents a gay Black teenager, Deena (Kiana Madeira), as the heroine. When it comes to her romance with Sam (Olivia Scott Welch), Deena allows nothing to get in the way — not a witch (Elizabeth Scopel) who put a curse on her town back in the 17th century, a killer in a skull mask or an ancient evil incarnate now taking the form of a white male cop (Ashley Zukerman).It’s not easy, as the films show. At the start of “1994,” Deena and Sam have broken up and the latter is passing as straight, with a jock boyfriend to boot, in order to satisfy her homophobic mother and society itself. The ’90s, as any millennial can attest, might have been an era when girls imitated mainstream pop stars like Brandy, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, but it also made it hard for those like Deena who fell outside of those cultural norms. She listens to Garbage, rocks oversize flannel and is into girls.Welch and Madeira in the first “Fear Street” film, set in 1994. Amid the scares, genre tropes are upended.Netflix“First of all, she’s not white,” Janiak said. “Second of all, she’s butch. Even if she wanted to try to pass as a straight girl like Sam, she couldn’t. Society looks at her right away and says, ‘I know who you are. I know what you are.’ So, she’s been forced to take ownership of that, but it doesn’t mean it’s easy for her. She’s still a teenager in 1994.”Other characters throughout the updated “Fear Street” universe similarly defy the typical “wholesome, white final girl” trope that has helped to define the genre. Deena and Sam’s classmate, Kate (Julia Rehwald), is an alpha Filipina American cheerleader. Deena’s brother, Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr.), spends hours in AOL chat rooms dedicated to conspiracy theories about the countless murders that have plagued their town, Shadyside, for years. There’s also Martin (Darrell Britt-Gibson), the dutiful mall attendant who’s continually profiled by the police.These characters don’t just play supporting roles or serve as punch lines for the leads. They are the protagonists anchoring the story. In addition to directing a fun, genuinely scary trilogy that thoughtfully pays homage to classics like “Scream” and “Friday the 13th,” Janiak wanted to shine “a light on a whole town of marginalized people that have been told that they’re outside.” She added, “And build that into the DNA. Not just have it be a gimmick of the movies.”They’re also the heroes. In a tender scene in “1994,” when Sam finally stops denying her feelings for Deena moments before the former becomes possessed, Deena makes a crucial vow to Sam. “Tonight, even though we are in hell, I feel like I have another chance with you,” she tells her. “I am not going to lose you again. Because you and me are the way out.”This simple statement is often heard in horror, but it’s usually uttered by a man to his female love interest. In “Fear Street,” the promise of a future feels more significant: It signals a change that requires Deena to be sent back to 1666. There, as Sarah Fier, the queer woman who was persecuted as a witch and hanged on account of her love for another woman (also played by Welch), she can seek justice against the same kind of hatred and violence that keeps Deena and Sam apart in the present day.In “1666,” Janiak wanted to highlight the idea that women who were accused of being witches back then were those who merely didn’t fit the standard.They were labeled witches “because they were other, because they were looking too long at the other girl, or because they didn’t want to get married,” she said. “They weren’t falling in line with whatever societal lines were.”As it turns out, the animus that humankind displays — as with Solomon (also played by Zukerman), who rallies an entire town to persecute Sarah in “1666” — is just as deadly as a witch’s curse, if not more so. It allowed Janiak to look beyond the supernatural scares to examine the evils of our fellow man. “That, to me, is always the scariest thing,” Janiak said. “I thought this was a cool opportunity that we could visit crazy genre villains, but then ultimately get to that underlying thing of ‘Who’s the real monster here?’”Ultimately, the “Fear Street” films are aspirational — though there is obviously much carnage along the way. Deena and Sam help to save the town, but more important, they preserve their love for each other. “The trilogy allowed us to give a little bit of hope that I don’t think usually exists in horror movies,” Janiak said, and with a laugh added, “When you only have an hour and a half, you’ve just got to kill everyone. But the experiment of the movies allowed us to push and question and change things a little bit.”And it was necessary. More

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      Stream These Five Action Films Now

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      This month’s picks span the globe and range from a solemn meditation on grief to a fight against bloodthirsty sharks.For action fans seeking out new movies on streaming, there are plenty of car chases, explosions and fist fights to sift through. We help by providing some streaming highlights.‘Agent Revelation’Stream it on Amazon.I love inventive microbudget films. It’s rarer to discover these treats in the action genre, since the form often requires higher production values. But “Agent Revelation,” from the writer-director Derek Ting, manages to deliver big thrills on a smaller scale.Ting also stars in this high-concept sci-fi movie as Jim Yung, a C.I.A. reject infected by an alien-made biological weapon: a red dust known as the Ash. While usually deadly to humans, the Ash instead gives Jim heightened reflexes and strength. When Dr. Victoria Jansen (Carole Weyers), the head of a secret underground military installation, hears of Jim’s survival, she recruits him for testing, pushing him through dangerous exercises. These claustrophobic battles featuring tactical movements through mazes provide the film’s biggest action moments.But the smart world-building is equally impressive. Jim comes under the watchful eye of the base’s rich benefactor, Alastair (Michael Dorn), the Morpheus to Jim’s Neo. Alastair teaches Jim how to harness the energy of his powers to wield against the invading aliens. A cross between “The Matrix” and “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” “Agent Revelation” places grand sci-fi imagination into a modest package.‘Great White’Rent or buy on Amazon or Google Play.Since the premiere of “Jaws” in 1975 made sharks a six-letter scare, the toothy predators remain a cinematic go-to for easy frights and outsized action. “Great White,” an Australian-set flick from the director Martin Wilson, follows in the footsteps of “Deep Blue Sea” and “The Meg” to deliver hair-raising survivalist set pieces.The financially submerged couple Charlie (Aaron Jakubenko) and Kaz (Katrina Bowden) provide private airplane tours to travelers. Joji (Tim Kano) and Michelle (Kimie Tsukakoshi), an affluent couple, employ the guides and their cook, Benny (Te Kohe Tuhaka), to transport them to an isolated atoll. Then, the menacing title character disables their plane, leaving them adrift in a raft. To pull through, the stranded humans engage in wild sea battles with the unrelenting shark, leading to an abundance of over-the-top defense methods involving weaponized paddles and flares against a sharp set of pearly whites. After watching “Great White,” it’s still not safe to go back in the water.‘Her Name Was Jo’Stream it on Amazon.If you turned Sean Baker’s “The Florida Project” into a road movie, you might end up with something like the writer-director Joe Duca’s intimate coming-of-age adventure trek “Her Name Was Jo.” The 10-year-old title character (Mary Cate Williams) lives along the Shenandoah River with her abusive, drug-addled stepfather. She dreams of one day traveling to Los Angeles to find her real dad, a folk singer whose records she often listens to for comfort.When her stepfather overdoses, Jo decides to take her best friend, Selma (Elisa Duca) cross country in search of the singer. Along the way the pair steal a car, are held hostage, help a pregnant woman deliver her baby and shoot their way through every hurdle. Closer to a drama than a big action or adventure spectacle, “Her Name Was Jo” is given a tragic edge through a heart-pounding score melded with touching folk ballads.‘Night in Paradise’Stream it on Netflix.For audiences well-versed in gangland films, the South Korean writer-director Park Hoon-jung’s “Night in Paradise” may offer few surprises. Rather, the simple mob thriller gives blood-soaked comfort in its familiarity. Park Tae-goo (Um Tae-goo) is a brash enforcer for the suave crime lord Mr. Yang (Park Ho-san). After the assassinations of Park’s half sister and niece, he is convinced that the hit was placed by a rival kingpin in the Bukseong clan, causing Park to murder that mob boss with the savagery of Viggo Mortensen’s tough guy in “Eastern Promises.”Park runs away to the tiny island of Jeju to hide, where he forms a platonic bond with the terminally ill Jae-yeon (Jeon Yeo-been). The stoic companions navigate a huge, bloody power grab between Yang and the merciless new Bukseong leader, Chief Ma (Cha Seoung-won), as Park becomes their shared scapegoat.The film’s director takes great pleasure in carnage. An extravagant barnyard shootout leads to jets of blood, and later, there’s a gory one-on-20 brawl involving a car key. Vicious knife fights likewise turn bathhouses into slaughterhouses. And all are captured with a clean, steady hand, allowing viewers, with a gleeful smile, to marvel at the unrepentant brutality.‘Riders of Justice’Rent of buy on Amazon, Google Play or AppleTV.When you first see the buzz-cut, salt-and-pepper bearded Mads Mikkelsen as Markus, a Danish soldier stationed in Afghanistan, you assume Anders Thomas Jensen’s “Riders of Justice” will offer only high-octane action. The death of Markus’s wife in a train bombing, however, adds deep, unexpected heart to this revenge flick.Now a single dad to his daughter, Mathilde (Andrea Heick Gadeberg), the stoic Markus must punish those who carried out the attack and grapple with his repressed anguish. Jansen explores how grief leads to a search for answers to the unanswerable. It’s that quest that makes Markus susceptible to a theory by two earnest scientists (Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Lars Brygmann) and a computer whiz (Nicolas Bro) that the bombing was perpetrated by a gang to silence a witness.Mikkelsen gives a well-shaped performance by adding exterior emotional textures to a character whose inner turmoil makes him prone to raging outbursts. His agile acting makes “Riders of Justice” a singularly humanist action film. More

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      Malcolm D. Lee on ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ and Directing LeBron James

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      The filmmaker recalls the “organized chaos” that went into making the new film and the studio pickup games with Chris Paul and other pros.The making of “Space Jam: A New Legacy” was a head-spinning exercise in the unfamiliar for the director Malcolm D. Lee.For one thing, the film went into production less than a week after he officially signed on to direct the film. Lee was a late addition in summer 2019, taking over directing duties from Terence Nance. The script was still in development. Lee, the veteran director of comedies like “Girls Trip” (2017) and “The Best Man” (1999), had never worked with animation before and had never seen the original “Space Jam,” the 1996 basketball-Looney Tunes crossover starring Michael Jordan.On top of all that, Lee was charged with taking care of a movie built around LeBron James, one of the most popular athletes in the world. James had appeared on the big screen before (most notably in a supporting role in the 2015 romantic comedy “Trainwreck”) but had never anchored a feature.“It was organized chaos,” Lee, 51, said in an interview this week.The director met James a decade earlier when they had discussed making a film together, but it never came to fruition. The new project is a gamble for both Lee and James: It will inevitably be compared to the now-beloved original in the same way that James is continually measured against Jordan. If it flops, a movie literally billed as “A New Legacy” may be damaging to James’s own.The movie is, if nothing else, self-aware. At one point, James, playing himself, notes how poorly athletes fare when they try to act. (Similarly to the original, other pro basketball players — including Damian Lillard, Anthony Davis and Diana Taurasi — have cameos.) The film also features Don Cheadle as the villainous manifestation of an algorithm named, well, Al G. Rhythm, who kidnaps James, his youngest son (Cedric Joe) and the rest of the Warner Bros. universe.James and Bugs share the screen.Warner Bros. In addition to preparing for the film, James, 36, also had to stay in shape for the N.B.A. season. Lee said that on shoot days, James would wake up at 2 a.m. and work out till 6 a.m., then show up for a full day on set.In an interview, Lee, who is the cousin of fellow filmmaker Spike Lee, discussed his own love for basketball and how he directed a star without a traditional acting background. Here are edited excerpts from our conversation.Did you grow up playing basketball?The third grade really is when I started playing organized basketball. I wasn’t as into it as my brother and my dad were encouraging me to. I started playing in this league in Brooklyn called the Youth Basketball Association. My dad coached a year. In fact, it’s funny, too, because Spike, who was living with us at the time, was the assistant coach. [Lee is 13 years older than his cousin.]No kidding.Swear to God. And Spike will tell you himself. There was one week when my dad went down to Alabama — that’s where he’s from — and Spike had to coach us. We had an undefeated season until that date, so Spike was sweating coaching us. And we actually got the victory. He didn’t want to spoil my father’s streak.What was your first conversation with LeBron like when you took the “Space Jam” gig?I think LeBron had the same agenda as everyone else in that he wanted to make the movie great. He wanted to make sure that I knew what I was doing, that my vision was clear and that he’d be taken care of. Not coddled, but that there was a leader aboard who was going to say, “This is what we’re going to do and this is how are we going to do it.” I assured him that there could be delays — I just don’t know — but I’m a professional, I’ve been in this for a long time and I will make sure that you’re taken care of.Lee signed onto the film late in the process. “It was organized chaos,” he said.Justin Lubin/Warner Bros.Did you have any reservations about working with a basketball star who doesn’t have the traditional acting training that someone like Don Cheadle has?Not really. LeBron’s been in front of the camera since he was 18 years old. Now, I mean, “Oh, those are just interviews,” but people get asked the same questions over and over again. So he’s got some rehearsed responses. He also was very funny. He wants to be good. He was good in “Trainwreck.” There’s some actors that get something and say, “OK, that’ll cut together.” And some that are just natural. I think LeBron has a lot of natural ability.Without spoiling it, there is a scene where LeBron has to convey a vulnerable emotion toward his son. Is there anything in particular either you or he did to prepare for that scene? Because that had to be out of his comfort zone.For sure. Look, the first thing that I try to get with any actor is trust, right? I have to trust them. They have to trust me because I’m going to ask them to go to some places that they aren’t necessarily comfortable going. So yes, we did talk about something before he delivered some of those lines. Then we did a couple of takes — just let him get warmed up. If I’m not getting what I’m looking for, then I’ll say, “Why don’t you think about this? And don’t worry about the line so much. Just have this in your brain and then say it.”From left, Nneka Ogwumike, Cedric Joe, Damian Lillard, Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson and Diana Taurasi on the set. Scott Garfield/Warner Bros.Film is a director-driven medium, and basketball is very much player-driven in that players can get coaches fired or disregard them entirely. Did that dynamic ever come into play in the course of filming?No. I don’t think there was ever any “I want to do it this way and I don’t care what you have to say.” I think LeBron likes to be coached. He’s a master of his craft. But at the same time, people are in your corner whose job it is to say: “Make sure you do this. Think about this. I’m seeing this on the court. You’re not seeing blah, blah, blah.” And I think he takes that information. Same thing with acting.During the filming of the original “Space Jam,” Michael Jordan hosted scrimmages with other N.B.A. players. Was there anything like that here?There was a court built for [James] on the Warner Bros. lot. I did go to one pickup game and that was thrilling for me, because I’m a huge basketball fan. Chris Paul was there, Ben Simmons, Anthony Davis, JaVale McGee, Draymond Green.You didn’t ask to play?Hell no.What an opportunity, man!Are you kidding? The opportunity to get embarrassed. A lot of those guys come into the gym, they don’t know I’m the director of the movie. They’re like, “Who’s this dude?” I can’t be like, “Hey, how you doing? I played intramurals at Georgetown.” That’s not going to impress anybody. More

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      Ford and Mellon Foundations Expand Initiative for Disabled Artists

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      The foundations are adding $5 million to the Disability Futures program, which will continue through 2025 with two more classes of 20 fellows each.The Disability Futures initiative, a fellowship established by the Ford and Andrew W. Mellon Foundations last fall to support disabled artists, is expanding. The foundations announced on Friday that they will commit an additional $5 million to support the initiative through 2025, which will include support for two more cohorts of 20 fellows.The fellowship, which was created by and for disabled individuals, was conceived as an 18-month initiative. It provided 20 disabled artists, filmmakers and journalists, selected from across the United States, with unrestricted $50,000 grants administered by the arts funding group United States Artists.But Margaret Morton, the director of creativity and free expression at the Ford Foundation, said it was clear from the beginning that it couldn’t just be a one-off venture.Projects undertaken by members of the first cohort will be showcased at the first Disability Futures virtual festival, on Monday and Tuesday, with programming from some of the country’s leading disabled artists, writers, thinkers and designers. It is free and open to the public.Among the highlights: A session on disability portraiture with the filmmakers Jim LeBrecht and Rodney Evans, the painter Riva Lehrer and the journalist Alice Wong; a conversation exploring the connections between climate justice and disability justice led by Patty Berne; and a virtual dance party hosted by the garment maker Sky Cubacub, with music by DJ Who Girl (Kevin Gotkin). Evening runway performances from models wearing items from Cubacub’s Rebirth Garments and a meditation experience with the initiative Black Power Naps, featuring Navild Acosta and Fannie Sosa, are also on tap.“It’s been really profound for me to see how much the fellows chosen in the first cohort were interested in elevating others in the community,” Emil J. Kang, the program director for arts and culture at the Mellon Foundation, said in an interview on Thursday.The next class of fellows will be announced in 2022. They are chosen by peer advisers who are themselves disabled artists.But the feedback from the first class, Morton said, was frank: Do even better in the selection process.“One of the fellows challenged us,” she said, about there being only one Native American fellow. “And we appreciated that and were challenged to get it right and make sure we have a deeper pool.”The grants offer flexible compensation options. The money can be distributed in a lump sum, in payments or even be deferred, depending on what works best for the artist.The fellowship “has made an incredible difference in my life and career,” the writer and photographer Jen Deerinwater said in an email. “It’s allowed me more financial freedom, without the risk of losing my disability and health care services, to pursue more artistic pursuits such as music.”The pandemic has made foundation leaders “deeply aware” of the challenges disabled professionals face, Morton said. About one in four adults in the United States has a disability, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.“We gained a deeper impression and perspective about what it’s like to navigate through the world,” she said.The program’s overarching goal is to help the artists make connections, Morton said.“Our biggest dream is visibility,” she said. For audiences to see the artists and for funders to see that “they should start investing in disabled practitioners.” More

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      Anthony Bourdain Documentary ‘Roadrunner’ Seeks to Understand His Death, Career and Struggles

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      “Roadrunner” takes an intimate look at Mr. Bourdain’s career and his struggles, using archival footage and interviews from members of his inner circle.In 2016, Anthony Bourdain sat back in a leather coach to talk to a therapist in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was the first time he had gone to a session since his parents sent him to one after catching him with drugs as a teenager. He put on his reading glasses, and went through a list he called “all of my ailments and problems.” More

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      ‘Toofaan’ Review: Raising a Storm

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      The Bollywood director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra attempts — with some success — to deepen the standard-issue sports drama with sociopolitical strife ripped from Indian headlines.When Aziz Ali (Farhan Akhtar), the starry-eyed gangster at the heart of “Toofaan,” first comes across videos of Muhammad Ali, he’s hooked. Though it goes unsaid, the appeal clearly isn’t just the boxer’s athletic artistry — it’s also his chosen name. To our hero, Ali is one of his own.That surname, and the faith that it represents, becomes the albatross around Aziz’s neck. In “Toofaan,” the Bollywood director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra attempts — with some success — to deepen the standard-issue sports drama with sociopolitical strife ripped from Indian headlines. Aziz, who hails from a lower-class Muslim neighborhood of Mumbai, finds himself imbued with new purpose when he’s taken underwing by the top boxing coach Nana Prabhu (a superbly committed Paresh Rawal). The grizzled mentor sculpts his overeager student into a formidable talent: a “toofaan” (storm).Nana is a pious Hindu whose grief at losing his wife in a terrorist attack has calcified into Islamophobia. His passion for the sport transcends his faith, but only to a limit. When he discovers that Aziz is dating his daughter, Ananya (Mrunal Thakur), he kicks them both out. “Toofaan” takes a surprisingly gritty turn at this point, switching from slick fight montages to scenes of Aziz and Ananya’s struggle to live as an interfaith couple in Mumbai — a city where cosmopolitanism coexists with crude bigotry.This brief stretch of the movie is its best: life-size, attuned to everyday urban realities, and bravely blunt in its portrayal of prejudice. But Mehra takes the easy way out with a contrived, tragic turn that returns the film in its second half to the much-beaten path of the tarnished athlete fighting to reclaim his honor.ToofaanNot rated. In Hindi and Marathi, with subtitles. Running time: 2 hour 43 minutes. Watch on Amazon. More

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      ‘The Works and Days’ Review: The Time of Our Lives

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      This eight-hour drama follows a woman’s life on her family’s farm.In “The Works and Days (of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin),” a woman moves through life on her family’s farm in a Japanese mountain village. As her husband falls ill, she spends more and more time on the chores, though visits from friends and relatives bring comfort and joy. Shot over 14 months, the film is a life event in and of itself, spanning eight hours.You may flash back to a line from “Inside Llewyn Davis,” delivered by Bud (F. Murray Abraham) after hearing Llewyn’s (Oscar Isaac) song: “I don’t see a lot of money here.” But watching “The Works and Days,” I began to feel that it could perfectly suit someone breaking a pandemic moviegoing drought: Its homey environs and lushly photographed natural world induce a heightening of the senses and an attention to lovely subtleties of light, color and fellow feeling.How the movie passes the time is how you or I would probably pass the time, or much of it — through the routines and conversations that bind together our moments and ourselves. The film opens with a hilarious drinking session, followed by a drive home that drops us into the domestic sphere at the film’s heart. Tayoko (Tayoko Shiojiri) — whose real diary entries are periodically read in voice-over — is seen minding the household, chatting with neighbors who bring food (a touching community bond), sharing stories with her granddaughter and visiting a shrine. Junji (Kaoru Iwahana), her husband, whom she dotes on, likes to shoot the breeze and watch matches of the board game Go on television.A thread of nostalgia and even regret curls its way through the conversations. The filmmakers, C.W. Winter and Anders Edstrom (who is Tayoko’s son-in-law), linger on objects so that they feel vividly present but also like memories, reminiscent of shots from a lost-and-found camera roll. This isn’t durational cinema that’s dead-set on making you feel the heft of labor (though it can). The directors’ camera eye fosters more of a muscle memory for these places through sonic overtures and finely wrought images of lattices (brambles or wires), opaque screens and windows, and careworn pots. “The Works and Days” also plumbs the depths of night and twilight like few films do, harnessing a theater’s darkness.The movie reflects upon how people organize experience through our memories and our actions, but the filmmakers also have a self-awareness about their steadfast methods. One of the movie’s five sections opens with the following observation: “By the fifth month, one has had his fill of seeing willows.” Their penchant for decentered shots can feel a tad obdurate. But as someone in the film says, what one wishes of the people you love is that you could spend even more time with them — and the same could be said of the loveliest images in this film.The Works and Days (of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin)Not rated. Running time: 8 hours. In theaters. More

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      Summer Movies That Deliver Chills and Skyline Views

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      Outdoor venues in and around the city are reliable resources for scary movies this summer. Here are our picks, for the squeamish and slasher-lover alike.The outdoors is a terrible place to be if you’re in a horror movie being pursued by a knife-wielding maniac. He’ll always know the woods better than you.But for horror-movie fans, outside has been a refuge this past year. When theaters went dark, old-school drive-ins stayed alive with the help of scary movies, some of which became box-office hits, at least by pandemic standards.This summer, outdoor venues in and around New York continue the promise of spine-tingling nights under the stars. Most of their programming is heavy on blockbusters, classics and children’s films, but a few evenings are devoted to actual screams. From creepy-cuddly animated films for kids to terrifying exploitation shockers, here’s a selection of horror movies (and a sprinkling of sci-fi) to accentuate your summer. Most films begin at dusk, with venues encouraging viewers to arrive an hour before to set up blankets or lawn chairs.Not-So-Scary ScaresMovies Under the StarsVarious locations in New York City; free.Outdoor movie screenings come to green spaces across the five boroughs in this summer-long series presented by the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment and NYC Parks. Showing on July 22 is the 2016 reboot of “Ghostbusters,” starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones, in Highbridge Park in the Bronx. Seating is limited so get there early.Pix on the PlazaManhattan; $30 spending minimum; reservations recommended.The Standard, High Line, a chic Meatpacking District hotel, has turned its open-air terrace into a summer cinema, free popcorn included. A night of nostalgia is in store for Gen Xers on July 26, when the hotel shows “The Goonies” (1985). The antic-adventure movie, starring Corey Feldman and Josh Brolin, isn’t quite in the horror category, but it will definitely keep kids — and parents — on the edge of their seats.Movies With a ViewBrooklyn Heights, Brooklyn; free.“Grit” is the theme for the 21st season of this popular film series from the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy. “Shaun of the Dead” (2004), a surprisingly tender zombie apocalypse comedy, kicks things off on Aug. 5. The movie will be shown at Harbor View Lawn, located at the highest point in Brooklyn Bridge Park, and that means fantastic views of the Statue of Liberty and downtown Manhattan. Before the movie starts at sundown, there will be music courtesy of Brooklyn Radio at 6 p.m. and a short film selected by BAMcinématek. There’s also a free bike valet and vendors from Smorgasburg.Queens Botanical GardenFlushing, Queens; $10 for members; $15 for nonmembers.On Aug. 20, the Garden’s movie night series — its first — will feature the animated film “Abominable” (2019), about a cuddly Yeti named Everest. In addition to after-hours access to the Garden, attendees can sample icy treats and make snowpeople-themed crafts out of botanical materials.Greenville Drive-In in upstate New York is about a two-and-a-half hour drive from the city.Beth Schneck Greenville Drive-InGreenville, N.Y.; $8 per ticket.This Catskills drive-in, established in 1959, has become a popular spot for visitors to Greene County, about a two-and-a-half hour drive north of New York City. The summer film schedule includes a two-night stint (July 30-31) of the sci-fi meta-comedy “Galaxy Quest” (1999), starring Tim Allen, about a group of actors from a “Star Trek”-like show who are transported to outer space for an actual mission. Pair the film with concessions that include a rotation of beers from local breweries.Demarest FarmsHillsdale, N.J.; $25 per car.Founded in 1886, this Bergen County farm is known for peach picking, cake doughnuts and an annual Halloween light show. But this summer there are movies on the calendar as the venue brings back its popular drive-in theater space. The very family-friendly film lineup includes the animated comedy “Monsters Inc.” (2001), on July 16; the scarier-than-you-remember creature feature “Gremlins” (1984), on July 24; and the undead-with-a-smile teen comedy “Zombies 2” (2020), on Aug. 14.Movies by MoonlightOyster Bay, Long Island; free.Here’s another chance to see “The Goonies,” this time at Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park and Beach on July 28, as part of this summer series of pop-up drive-in movie nights. Vehicles will be admitted to the parking lot on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 7 p.m.Be Very AfraidMost drive-ins like Skyline allow viewers to watch from their cars or set up lawn chairs.Jeenah Moon for The New York TimesSkyline Drive-InGreenpoint, Brooklyn; $55 per car; $22 per outdoor seat.Located on the East River with killer views of Manhattan, this popular outdoor cinema offers a dark slate of very scary horror movies at midnight all summer long. High points include “The Nun” (2018), on July 16; “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2” (1986), on July 17; “Grindhouse: Death Proof” (2007), on July 24; “Army of Darkness” (1993), on July 30; and “The Cabin in the Woods” (2012), on July 31. Watch from your car, or get there by bike or by foot and use a chair provided by the venue. Movies are shown rain or shine, and pets are welcome.Rooftop FilmsVarious locations in New York City; $16 per ticket.Adventurous programming is on the calendar for this outdoor cinema organization celebrating its 25th anniversary. On July 19, Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn will show “October Country” (2010) with a live score by Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher, a member of the troubled family featured in the 2009 documentary. On July 24, the cemetery will also present a program of eerie short films about “the living, the dead and those caught in between the two,” as the listing puts it. On July 28, the Old American Can Factory in Gowanus, Brooklyn, will play host to a free screening of the playfully dark German psychological thriller “Sleep” (2020).Movie Lot Drive-InBayshore, N.Y.; $40 per car.This Suffolk County pop-up venue, located in a parking lot at the Westfield South Shore Mall, is heavy on horror all summer. Late-night screenings include “Us” (2019), on July 16, and “Night of the Living Dead” (1968), on July 17. There’s also a Christmas in July lineup that includes some playfully dark ones: “Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale” (2010), on July 30, about a monstrous Santa Claus; and “Krampus” (2015), on July 31, about a demonic creature who terrorizes children on Christmas. Even better: They’re shown on a 52-foot screen, the largest on Long Island.The Mahoning Drive-InLehighton, Pa.; $10 per ticket.About a 90-minute drive from New York City, this is a go-to destination for die-hard horror fans. Highlights include a deadly Christmas double feature (July 23-24) that includes the ’80s slasher films “Silent Night, Deadly Night” and “Christmas Evil,”; a 10-film, 35-mm “Schlock-o-Rama” series (July 30-Aug. 1) that includes “The Tingler” (1959) and other movies by the schlockmeister director William Castle; and Herschell Gordon Lewis’s exploitation jolter “The Wizard of Gore” (1970), on Aug. 3. Parts of the grounds are available for folks who want to set up a tent and camp overnight. In the dark. In the woods. (You’ve been warned.) More