Criterion unveiled their titles for October 2025 and, true to form, their new releases in the month of October lean into the spooky and macabre. Among the new titles are a recent Guillermo del Toro classic, a Ken Russell favorite making its 4K debut and two gems from Canadian auteur David Cronenberg. Plus, we get 4K reissues of two of Criterion’s very best.
Let’s start off with the David Cronenberg titles. First off is “A History of Violence,” from 2005, which gave him a great second wind after years spent offering up more obscure films. The feature, based on a graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke, follows a small-town everyman (Viggo Mortensen) who, after a violent attack at his diner, unlocks his hidden past. Featuring memorable, suitably colorful supporting performances from Ed Harris and William Hurt, it’s one of Cronenberg’s very best. And the Criterion 4K edition comes with a new interview with screenwriter Josh Olson, excerpts from Mortensen and Cronenberg talking at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, a Cronenberg commentary, a documentary about the making of the film and more. It will be available at online retailers and in stores on Oct. 21.
Criterion is also releasing Cronenberg’s recent “The Shrouds” as part of their Criterion Premieres line (formerly Janus Contemporaries). It premiered at Cannes last year and follows a mysterious businessman (Vincent Cassel) as he introduces a technology that allows you to watch your deceased loved ones as they decay in their caskets. But it’s funny! A late-career triumph, “The Shrouds” only has a “Meet the Filmmaker” interview with Cronenberg, and since this is part of a more value-friendly line, it is only available on Blu-ray. You can also grab this on Oct. 21.
Also joining the Collection in October is a Halloween freak-out favorite, Ken Russell’s “Altered States.” William Hurt (again!) stars as a man working on the cutting edge of science with some decidedly nightmarish consequences. Responsible for inspiring everything from J.J. Abrams’ “Fringe” (which also co-starred Blair Brown) to Netflix’s wildly popular “Stranger Things,” it remains a stone-cold classic. And this new 4K edition is loaded with extras, including a new commentary with film historian Samm Deighan, a new interview with special effects artist Bran Ferren, and archival interviews with Russell and Hurt. This is also out Oct. 21.
Guillermo del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley,” from 2021, also joins the Criterion Collection in a massive, 4-disc set that includes both the color theatrical version of the movie and an extended cut in black-and-white. A truly grim new adaptation of the novel by William Lindsay Gresham (Criterion had released the original adaptation of the story around the time that del Toro’s version came out), it stars Bradley Cooper as a conman who makes his way through the circus and eventually starts preying on the wealthy as a fake psychic. From there, things go very badly. It’s stunning, beautiful and so, so creepy.
The black-and-white version has a new commentary with del Toro, with other special features including a new conversation with del Toro and Bradley Cooper, another new conversation with del Toro and co-screenwriter Kim Morgan, and a new documentary on the film’s production and archival marketing materials. Talk about a must-own title, this one drops on Oct. 28.
Also on Oct. 28 comes “Deep Crimson” from 1996. Directed by Mexican filmmaker Arturo Ripstein and based on actual crimes, it (according to Criterion) follows a lonely hearts newspaper listing that leads “lusty nurse Coral (Regina Orozco) to Nicolás (Daniel Giménez Cacho), a con man with whom she forges an increasingly intense, twisted bond as they crisscross 1940s Mexico, robbing and murdering the women he seduces.” The special features include a new conversation between Ripstein and screenwriter Paz Alicia Garciadiego, a conversation recorded at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences “featuring Ripstein and Garciadiego, hosted by film scholar Cristina Venegas” and more.
Additionally, two classic Criterion Collection discs, Georges Franju’s haunting horror favorite “Eyes Without a Face” and David Lynch’s prequel film “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me,” one of the late filmmaker’s very best films, are getting the 4K upgrade. “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” hits on Oct. 7, with “Eyes Without a Face” following on Oct. 14. And before you start selling blood or taking out a sizable loan from your local bank, you should keep in mind that, late in October, there’s typically a 24-hour 50% off flash sale on the Criterion Collection store. And if you’re a subscriber to the Criterion Channel, you’ll probably get a $10 coupon shortly before the sale starts. Tips!
