Movies to watch in September, from 'A Haunting in Venice' to 'Saw X'

Who said spooky season has to wait until October? Halloween comes early next month with the return of two iconic horror franchises and even a spooky murder mystery. But for non-horror fans, there are still plenty of options, including two big action flicks, a romantic comedy sequel, and a sci-fi epic that's actually — gasp — not based on a pre-existing intellectual property. These are the most anticipated new movies debuting in September 2023:

'The Equalizer 3' (Sept. 1)

Who better to kick off a strong September movie line-up than Denzel Washington? The actor returns as Robert McCall in the third and allegedly final "Equalizer" film, which Antoine Fuqua once again directs. After giving up his life as an assassin, McCall is living in Southern Italy, where he "discovers his new friends are under the control of local crime bosses," per Sony. "As events turn deadly, McCall knows what he has to do: become his friends' protector by taking on the mafia." Dakota Fanning also stars, reuniting with Washington nearly 20 years after "Man on Fire." Feeling old yet?

'The Nun II' (Sept. 8)

The "Conjuring" franchise remains one of Hollywood's most successful cinematic universes outside of Marvel, and its creators are back to give us more nightmares. In this follow-up to "The Nun," which was itself a spin-off of "The Conjuring 2," Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) is again terrorized by the demon Valak, which takes the form of a nun, after the murder of a priest in France. Storm Reid joins the cast for the sequel, which comes from the director of "The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It." The project was co-written by Akela Cooper, who penned this year's "M3GAN." Hopefully, that means Valak will bust out a TikTok-ready dance.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3' (Sept. 8)

Hollywood's most important film trilogies include "The Lord of the Rings," "Star Wars," and, soon, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." The third entry in the romantic comedy series sees the Portokalos family reunite for a trip to Greece. After the death of actor Michael Constantine in 2021, his character, Gus, has also died, so the rest of the family visits his childhood village to fulfill his final wishes. Star Nia Vardalos previously said that Constantine already wasn't going to be able to return, but he gave the film his blessing.

'Dumb Money' (Sept. 15)

Remember in early 2021 when no one could stop talking about Wall Street's GameStop saga, and Hollywood immediately rushed several projects about it into development? Well, one of them is here, and it could be the next "The Big Short." Paul Dano stars in this film based on the true story of retail traders from Reddit who boosted GameStop's stock and stuck it to hedge funds that bet against the company. Shailene Woodley, Seth Rogen, Pete Davidson, America Ferrera, Nick Offerman, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Sebastian Stan also star, and Craig Gillespie ("I, Tonya") directs. The movie is based on the book "The Antisocial Network" by Ben Mezrich, who wrote the book that inspired "The Social Network." Considering the talent behind "Dumb Money," we're placing stock in this one.

'A Haunting in Venice' (Sept. 15)

Hercule Poirot's latest case might just scare the mustache off him. Kenneth Branagh returns for another Agatha Christie murder mystery, continuing the series that also includes 2017's "Murder on the Orient Express" and 2022's "Death on the Nile." Based on Christie's "Hallowe'en Party," this film sees Poirot, now retired, attend a séance, only to have to solve the murder of one of the guests. Tina Fey, Kelly Reilly, Jamie Dornan, and Michelle Yeoh flesh out the cast. Together, they'll give spooky season a classy start.

'Expend4bles' (Sept. 22)

You know the 2010s are making a comeback when Taylor Swift is re-releasing "1989" and movie titles are once again replacing letters with numbers. The "Expendables" franchise, essentially "The Avengers" for iconic action stars, returns with this new entry mixing an old and new cast. Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, and Sylvester Stallone return, while the new stars include Megan Fox and 50 Cent. Good news for fans of over-the-top violence: The film is once again rated R after the third installment controversially bumped things down to a PG-13. Oh yes … there will be blood.

'Spy Kids: Armageddon' (Sept. 22)

It isn't game over for "Spy Kids." Robert Rodriguez returns to revive his family comedy franchise with this Netflix reboot centering on a new generation. "When the children of the world's greatest secret agents unwittingly help a powerful game developer unleash a computer virus that gives him control of all technology, they must become spies themselves to save their parents and the world," the streamer said. Gina Rodriguez and Zachary Levi step in as the parents, while newcomers Connor Esterson and Everly Carganilla play the kids. Give us a Fegan Floop cameo or we riot!

'Flora and Son' (Sept. 29)

The director of "Once" is once again going to make us cry with a music-themed film. John Carney, whose other movies include "Begin Again" and "Sing Street," directs this dramedy picked up by Apple after a strong Sundance debut. Starring Bono's daughter, Eve Hewson, the film follows a single mother and her rebellious teenage son, who together "discover the transformative power of music," per Apple. Joseph Gordon-Levitt also stars. Apple previously crashed the Best Picture race with "CODA," another music-themed Sundance movie —could history repeat itself?

'The Creator' (Sept. 29)

The creator of "Rogue One" will soon return with a new sci-fi film about artificial intelligence, assuming AI hasn't killed us all by then. In his follow-up to the acclaimed "Star Wars" film, Gareth Edwards directs this original sci-fi movie starring John David Washington that's set amid a war between humans and AI. Joshua, an ex-special forces agent played by Washington, "is recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI who has developed a mysterious weapon with the power to end the war," only to discover this weapon is "an AI in the form of a young child," the synopsis says. Gemma Chan, Ken Watanabe, and Allison Janney also star in the film, which re-teams Edwards with "Rogue One" co-writer Chris Weitz. Fingers crossed for another hallway scene.

'Saw X' (Sept. 29)

If it's Halloween — or at least Sept. 29 — it must be "Saw." The grisly horror franchise returns with this tenth entry, which, in keeping with the series' convoluted timeline shenanigans, takes place between the first and second films. That means Tobin Bell is back as his deceased character, John Kramer. The film sees the Jigsaw Killer travel to Mexico to undergo an experimental medical procedure to cure his cancer, only to find out it was a scam. So John exacts his revenge, subjecting those who tried to con him to a deadly game. According to the trailer, the torture traps this time include forcing a man to perform his own brain surgery. It may be wise to bring a barf bag to the theater.