September 1, 2026
Auteur Almanac: September
Month 9 of Auteur Almanac: A Curation of Atmospheric, Alluring Assemblage Art
Welcome to Auteur Almanac, a new monthly series in which I will explore a unique dark theme curated through a gothic lens. Each installment will serve as a guide to the season, featuring these four categories:
- Visual Vault: A Moodboard
- The Midnight Marquee: A Movie Watchlist
- Ambient Accords: Fragrance Notes
- The Grim Advent: Curated Dates
With the success of A24’s The Backrooms and the ongoing internet obsession with liminal horror (that feeling of being both mesmerized and deeply unsettled), I really wanted to lean into full digital dread for September's theme. As we transition out of summer and into fall, I feel like it is the perfect time to explore some media that is empty, quiet, and uncanny. This month is dedicated to media-haunted spaces and liminal dread.
Happy Fall!
Visual Vault
The Midnight Marquee
Donnie Darko (2001) - dir. Richard Kelly
Synopsis: After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
Thoughts: This is one of my all-time favorite movies (I even dressed up as Donnie for Halloween back in 2023 after just seeing it). It’s the ultimate "tangent universe" film, and for me, it’s the absolute blueprint for a late-night rainy watch when it’s past midnight, and I’m too restless to sleep. What makes it stick with me every single time is how seamlessly it blends high-concept sci-fi time loops with raw, aching teenage isolation, which creates a heavy, dreamlike atmosphere. It’s a midnight movie in the truest sense. It might not be for everyone, but it is 100% for me.
I Saw the TV Glow (2024) - dir. Jane Schoenbrun
Synopsis: Teenager Owen is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate Maddy introduces him to a mysterious TV show — a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.
Thoughts: This is a modern masterpiece of liminal horror, and honestly, one of my favorite theater memories ever. I saw it when it first came out with a friend at a liminal theater in downtown Manhattan, and I think it truly added ot the experience. The movie itself manages to feel strangely comfortable and nostalgic, yet deeply isolating and eerie in all the best ways. With all the love for Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma right now, going back to Jane Schoenbrun’s previous work should be on the top of everyone’s list. It takes that late-night, analog TV nostalgia from growing up in the 90s/2000s and turns it into existential dread.
Skinamarink (2022) - dir. Kyle Edward Ball
Synopsis: Two children wake up in the middle of the night to find their father is missing, and all the windows and doors in their home have vanished.
Thoughts: I know this movie divided people when it came out, but I can appreciate how it was the perfect bridge for the liminal horror rise we are seeing right now. It strips away every traditional storytelling crutch with no jump scares, no exposition, and no real plot. I mean, of course, it was extremely risky to do, but I think it was more impactful to have the audience simply stare into the dark corners of a silent house at night. It captures that exact, visceral terror of waking up in the middle of the night as a kid. It’s absolutely a good example of an experimental look at a media-haunted childhood nightmare (which, I feel, is relatable to a lot of other fellow younger Millennials and older Gen Z).
The Ring (2002) - dir. Gore Verbinski
Synopsis: Journalist Rachel Keller investigates a strange videotape that may be behind the untimely deaths of four teenagers. There is an urban legend about this tape: the viewer will die seven days after watching it. Rachel tracks down the video… and watches it. Now she has just seven days to unravel the mystery of the Ring in order to save herself and her son.
Thoughts: Gore Verbinski’s remake is an absolute masterclass in atmosphere. I have such a soft spot for that hyper-stylized 2000s color grading—that cold, washed-out, sickly green and blue palette screams late September (very Twilight-esque, even though this came out years prior). It does so much heavy lifting to make the entire world feel bleak, damp, and utterly suffocating. What makes the film work so well is how it takes the weird, abstract dread of a cursed videotape and turns it into a relentless, ticking-clock nightmare, seamlessly bridging Y2K tech anxiety with an ancient curse. Watching this in the dark with only the glow of your screen lighting up the room is a genuinely terrifying experience, but man, is it worth it.
Videodrome (1983) - dir. David Cronenberg
Synopsis: As the president of a trashy TV channel, Max Renn is desperate for new programming to attract viewers. When he happens upon “Videodrome,” a TV show dedicated to gratuitous torture and punishment, Max sees a potential hit and broadcasts the show on his channel. However, after his girlfriend auditions for the show and never returns, Max investigates the truth behind Videodrome and discovers that the graphic violence may not be as fake as he thought.
Thoughts: David Cronenberg always delivers the absolute best, hyper-specific late-night watches, but Videodrome stands in a league of its own. Cronenberg saw the future here, and it is terrifying how right he was. Decades later, its take on media obsession and technology literally mutating human biology feels modern. It’s gritty, surreal, deeply prophetic, and easily one of the most brilliant, ahead-of-its-time films ever made.
Pulse (2001) - dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Synopsis: In the immense city of Tokyo, the darkness of the afterlife lures some of its inhabitants desperately trying to escape the sadness and isolation of the modern world.
Thoughts: No movie handles soul-crushing loneliness quite like Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Pulse. It takes that early-2000s internet anxiety and turns it into dread. What made it stay with me wasn’t loud jump scares or dramatic music, but the fear I got from the figures standing frozen in the dark corners of empty, liminal rooms, moving with a subtle, unnatural rhythm that feels utterly wrong. Easily one of the most haunting horror films on the list and honestly, ever made.
Ambient Accords
The Grim Advent
I’ve put together a few dates for September that feel perfect for this time of year, when the transition into autumn brings a strange, quiet isolation and the comfort of retreating indoors. Feel free to use these as blueprints for a late-night horror marathon.
Monthly Celebrations
Hispanic Heritage MonthHappy Cat MonthWorld Beach MonthDaily Celebrations
2: National Beheading Day2: Pierce Your Ears Day3: Skyscraper Day5: Be Late for Something Day5: Cheese Pizza Day6: Fight Procrastination Day6: National Coffee Ice Cream Day6: Read a Book Day7: Labor Day8: International Literacy Day9: National Chrysanthemum Day12: National Video Games Day13: Defy Superstition Day16: Mexican Independence Day18: National First Love Day19: Oktoberfest begins in Germany20: National Women’s Friendship Day20: Pepperoni Pizza Day20: Wife Appreciation Day21: International Peace Day21: World Gratitude Day22: Business Women’s Day23: International Day of Sign Languages 25: national Comic Book Day25: Native American Day 25: World Dream Day26: Breakfast in Bed Day28: National Good Neighbor Day30: Ask a Stupid Question Day