The end of Hartford Business Improvement District’s “Spooky Popcorn” series in Constitution Plaza doesn’t mean the season of outdoor movie screening. Happily, horror-themed films continue well into the fall all over Connecticut.
The “Movies in the Plaza” series, which takes place at Pitkin Plaza in New Haven, runs through the end of October. “Movies in the Plaza” has been showing a lot of comedy and adventure films in the summer weeks, but as the days get darker so do the movies.
Upcoming features include the comic time travel history lesson “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” on Sept. 3, the romantic comedy “Love Jones” on Sept. 10, the first “Spy Kids” adventure on Sept. 17, the Lin-Manuel Miranda hip-hop musical “In the Heights” on Sept. 24, the classic “Poltergeist” from 1982 on Oct. 1, the creepy 1978 Philip Kaufman remake of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” on Oct. 8, the Cannes Palme D’Or and Academy Award winning Korean psychosocial drama “Parasite” on Oct 15, the 2005 British horror flick “The Descent” on Oct. 22 and this year’s Depression-era vampire hit “Sinners” on Oct. 29.
All of the screenings are on Wednesday at 8 p.m., but there’s also a Sunday matinee family movie screening of Disney/Pixar’s “Coco” on Oct. 26 at 4 p.m. in the same Pitikin Plaza location.
The “Movies in the Plaza” screenings are free. Audiences are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets and pillows and to consider eating and shopping downtown before the screening. The organizers suggest that parents or guardians go online to acquaint themselves with the content of the films since “some Wednesday evening movies are not for all ages.”
Mohegan Sun’s annual “Moonlit Movies” event is Uncasville only one night, but it involves two movies as well as a fire pit, food trucks and more. This year it’s at the resort casino’s Sun Patio area on Oct. 3.
The usual double feature programming strategy is to show a family-friendly film followed by a more adult-oriented one — both of them creepy, befitting the Halloween season. This year, it’s the adventure classic “The Goonies” (which was given a PG rating when it was released in 1985) at 6 p.m. then Rob Zombie’s 2007 remake of “Halloween” (which was rated R and is suggested for viewers age 18 and older) at 8:30 p.m.
The casino tricks up the patio with autumnal decor and activities such as face painting and pumpkin decorating. Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ and Philly’s are the featured food trucks. The screenings are free but reserved seats by the fire pit are available for $25 for each movie. The fire pit seating includes “a complimentary beverage or a slice of pizza with soda or water.”
