Even though Halloween is past, it’s not safe to put away the horror films just yet. The New York City Horror Film Festival returns to the city for 4 gory days starting on Thursday, November 29th and running through Sunday, December 2nd at the Cinepolis Chelsea. This is the 16th edition of the festival started by the late Michael J. Hein and continued by his family and friends. When all is said and done nearly 40 feature-length and short horror films will be screened at the festival.

Le Samouraï
Blu-ray
Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
Written by Jean-Pierre Melville
Starring: Alain Delon, Francois Perier, Nathalie Delon, Cathy Rosier, Michel Boisrond
Release Date: October 25, 1967
Criterion Blu-Ray Release Date: November 14, 2017

– Why, Jef?
– I was paid to.

A simple line of dialogue like this has a tremendous amount of substance behind it. The hitman’s ruthless, taciturn response here embraces the rigid mentality of almost all of French director Jean-Pierre Melville‘s characters. In essence, they all remain true to their word. His characters are obsessively dedicated to their particular craft or talent, rendering them masters at what they do.

Just like some of his most memorable ones, such as the priest in Leon Morin, Priest, the gangsters in Le Circle Rouge, the resistance fighters in Army of Shadows, and the Nazi officer in Silence de la Mer, the hitman in Le Samouraï is governed through an austere, lonely landscape by an inexorable code they must adhere to. His code and his talent as a scrupulous assassin are everything he owns.

Another year of hectic times is upon us and another Black Friday looms as consumers go on a annual frenzy to find the best gifts for the best people in their life at the best prices. As always, music acts as so much more than an easy go-to gift, it’s also such a healing agent for the soul, a celebratory agent for the emotional, a fun agent for mindless loose times, and a true passionate art manifested for all, those creating it and those absorbing it. Here are some bright musical spots on the holiday radar this year, a bakers dozen to choose from.

Check out our 2018 Holiday Geek Gift Guide for Music“¦

Candyman (Collector’s Edition)
Blu-ray
Director: Bernard Rose
Screenwriter: Bernard Rose
Cast: Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd, Xander Berkeley, Kasi Lemmons
Distributor: Scream Factory
Unrated | 99 Minutes
Release Date: November 20, 2018

“The pain, I can assure you, will be exquisite. As for our deaths, there is nothing to fear. Our names will be written on a thousand walls. Our crimes told and retold by our faithful believers. We shall die together in front of their very eyes and give them something to be haunted by. Come with me and be immortal.”

Based on author Clive Barker‘s short story, The Forbidden, 1992’s Candyman is the definitive horror film of the 1990s. Written and directed by British filmmaker Bernard Rose (Immortal Beloved), the film stars Virginia Madsen (Dune, Sideways) as Helen Lyle, a Chicago graduate student who is researching urban legends. She stumbles upon a local legend, the Candyman (Tony Todd), a hook-wielding phantom who haunts the city’s notorious Cabrini-Green housing project.

A second official trailer has been released for The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, a sequel to the 2014 animated hit.

The voice cast features returning stars Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, and Alison Brie, while Tiffany Haddish, Stephanie Beatriz, and Arturo Castro join them for the sequel.

Continue below for much more info on The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part and to check out the latest trailer.