Thursday May 28, 2026
I have the long-awaited new horror film from A24 for anyone looking to spend two hours uncomfortable in the best possible way. If war dramas and historical biopics are more your thing, Brendan Fraser steps into the role of Dwight D. Eisenhower during the tense days leading up to D-Day. Families have a new comedy led by arguably the hottest comedian in America right now, playing a well-meaning disaster of a dad, and there’s also a smaller comedy starring Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas quietly landing in limited release for anyone looking to escape into those giant reclining theater seats for a couple of hours.
But honestly? The two movies pulling me in most this weekend couldn’t be more different from each other.
One looks like the kind of horror movie people will spend weeks arguing about afterward. The other feels built for the exact opposite reason: pure old-school movie comfort. And somewhere between those two extremes, there’s a decent chance we can find something worth watching this weekend.
A24’s Backrooms Turns Internet Nightmare Fuel Into A Feature Film
Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Backrooms is probably the strangest movie hitting theaters this weekend… and that’s saying something. The new horror film from A24 started life in one of the internet’s weirdest corners before somehow turning into a major studio release. The movie is based on a viral series of YouTube horror shorts created by filmmaker Kane Parsons, who first uploaded his eerie “found footage” Backrooms videos while still a teenager. Those videos exploded online thanks to their deeply unsettling idea: endless yellow office-like rooms hidden outside reality itself, where people accidentally “noclip” out of the real world and become trapped in an infinite maze of buzzing fluorescent lights, empty hallways, and things moving in the distance that probably shouldn’t be there.
The feature film follows Clark, played by Ejiofor, a struggling furniture store owner who discovers a strange doorway hidden beneath his showroom that leads into the Backrooms themselves. From there, the movie reportedly leans heavily into psychological horror, liminal spaces, looping realities, and the kind of dream logic that either completely hooks you or sends you reaching for something lighter afterward. Early reviews are all over the place, which honestly feels appropriate for a movie this bizarre. Some critics are calling it one of the most original horror films in years while others think the movie gets lost inside its own nightmare maze.
It’s playing basically everywhere.
- Mystic Luxury
- Regal Waterford
- AMC Classic Lisbon 12
- Westbrook Cinemas 12
- Mansfield Movieplex
- Showcase Warwick
Pressure Turns D-Day Into A Psychological Thriller
The number of movies and television shows built around D-Day and World War II probably numbers in the hundreds by now, maybe even more. Most focus on the battle itself. Explosions. Beaches. Chaos. Pressure takes a different approach. Instead of showing the invasion, the film focuses on the tense 72 hours leading up to the point of no return, when Allied leaders had to decide whether to launch the largest seaborne invasion in history… or delay and risk disaster. Brendan Fraser plays Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower as a man carrying the weight of the free world on his shoulders, and early reactions suggest he may already be entering the awards conversation for the performance.
What makes Pressure especially interesting is that much of the suspense comes from weather forecasts and military arguments instead of battlefield action. Andrew Scott, best known to many viewers from Sherlock and Fleabag, plays Scottish meteorologist James Stagg, the man tasked with advising Eisenhower on whether conditions were safe enough for the invasion to proceed. Damian Lewis also appears as British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, alongside Kerry Condon and Chris Messina in supporting roles. Directed by Anthony Maras and based on David Haig’s stage play, the film has already earned praise for its performances and its decision to focus on the psychological pressure behind one of history’s most important military decisions rather than simply recreating the battle itself.
It’s playing at the following theaters:
Nate Bargatze’s New Movie Feels Like A Sitcom In The Best Way
Nate Bargatze has quietly become one of the biggest comedians in America. The Tennessee-born stand-up has gone from selling out theaters to packing arenas and even major stadiums, which is something very few comedians ever pull off. So honestly, giving him a movie feels less like a gamble and more like Hollywood finally catching up with the rest of the country. Instead of building some giant over-the-top comedy around him, the film wisely leans into Bargatze’s strengths: awkward charm, everyday frustrations, low-key observations, and the kind of soft-spoken humor that sneaks up on you.
The movie almost plays like an old-school sitcom in the best possible way. And maybe that makes sense. Bargatze has said before that he prefers touring over being locked into a traditional television schedule for months at a time, so a lighter, self-contained comedy like this feels like a natural fit for him. The jokes stay pretty clean, the plot never gets too complicated, and the whole thing feels designed for families looking for an easy crowd-pleaser instead of a loud, chaotic comedy trying too hard to go viral. Adolescents will probably enjoy the goofy moments, while parents may appreciate how relaxed and surprisingly old-fashioned the movie feels compared to most modern studio comedies.
You can see it at:
Power Ballad Is About Music, Regret, And One Last Shot
The last film I’ll mention isn’t playing everywhere this weekend (it will go wide next weekend) and, it might be worth going a little out of your way to see it this weekend if you’re aching for something that warms the heart.
Power Ballad stars Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas in what starts as a pretty simple music comedy before slowly turning into something more bittersweet and surprisingly thoughtful. Rudd plays Rick Power, a washed-up wedding singer in Ireland who still quietly dreams about the music career that never happened, while Jonas plays Danny Wilson, a fading former boy-band star desperate for one more hit.
The movie comes from writer-director John Carney, the guy behind Once and Sing Street, so if you’ve seen those films, you already know the vibe here. Music matters in his movies. Relationships matter. Small emotional moments matter. Early reviews have been genuinely strong, with critics praising the chemistry between Rudd and Jonas along with the movie’s mix of humor, heartbreak, and music-business cynicism. A few reviews have even called it one of the year’s best feel-good movies, which honestly feels refreshing.
In 40 or so miles of Mystic, it’s only playing at:
Until Next Week
Whatever you end up seeing this weekend, enjoy the air conditioning, the popcorn, and the excuse to disappear into somebody else’s world for a couple of hours. Summer movie season is finally starting to wake up, which means the next few weeks are going to bring everything from giant blockbusters to weird little movies nobody sees coming until everybody’s suddenly talking about them afterward.
Until next week… grab the good seats, silence the phone, and don’t be afraid to take a chance on something strange. Sometimes those end up being the movies you remember longest.
Last modified: May 27, 2026
