Explore the bold and diverse films lighting up September's screens

5 September

Nearly 40 years after the campy 1985 film, the 2025 version of Red Sonja finally gives Sonja the narrative weight and emotional complexity she deserves. It follows a fierce barbarian huntress who escapes enslavement and rallies a band of unlikely warriors to battle a tyrant and his deadly bride, unleashing vengeance in a brutal, sword-swinging quest for justice.

This reboot marks a cultural shift in how female warriors are portrayed on screen. Gone is the chainmail bikini as a symbol of objectification; in its place stands a battle-scarred heroine forged by her own grit, not divine intervention or trauma-driven vengeance.

Matilda Lutz’s portrayal emphasises Sonja’s leadership, resilience, and emotional depth, aligning with modern feminist ideals and offering a more authentic lens on heroism. It also reflects Hollywood’s evolving appetite for female-led action films that aren’t just token gestures but fully realised stories. Read more.

In Stolen Girl, director James Kent and screenwriters Rebecca Pollock and Kas Graham retrace a mother’s long search for her stolen daughter, not as a procedural, but as a meditation on maternal silence, fractured systems, and the contours of hope stretched thin.

Inspired by the harrowing true story of Maureen Dabbagh, an American mother whose daughter was abducted by her ex-husband in 1993 and taken to the Middle East, the film transcends thriller tropes, offering a portrait of grief that drifts between continents and courtrooms, between the moment of loss and the ache of memory.

Every frame pulses with absence, every scene asks what identity remains when the bond of motherhood is ripped and stitched across borders. Read more.

In The Conjuring: Last Rites, the veil between sanctity and terror grows thin. Set against the unravelling quiet of 1980s Pennsylvania and the cloistered echoes of a Vatican vault, the film marks a chilling culmination of the Warrens’ legacy.

Drawing from the real-life Smurl haunting and whispers of a suppressed relic scandal, director Michael Chaves crafts a final chapter pulsing with theological dread, familial fracture, and the price of bearing witness to evil. It’s less an exorcism than an elegy—a requiem for belief in the face of possession, memory, and the haunting persistence of secrecy.

In its ninth and final instalment, The Conjuring: Last Rites functions as both a spiritual reckoning and a narrative crescendo, weaving threads from across the franchise into a tapestry of legacy, loss, and faith. Read more.

12 September

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is the third and final film in the beloved franchise, written by Julian Fellowes and directed by Simon Curtis.

Set in the early 1930s, it brings the Crawley family and their loyal staff to a moment of reckoning — both personal and societal — as they face scandal, financial strain, and the looming shadow of change. The death of the Dowager Countess in the previous film left a poignant gap, making space for themes of generational transition, grief, and quiet resilience to take centre stage.

With Lady Mary embroiled in scandal and Lord Grantham stepping back, the estate stands at a threshold between tradition and change. Read more.

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle marks the penultimate arc of the acclaimed anime and manga series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, firmly rooted in the shōnen genre—a blend of action, emotion, and coming-of-age intensity.

Set within Muzan Kibutsuji’s surreal, dimension-warping fortress, the arc plunges the Demon Slayer Corps into a labyrinth of shifting rooms and gravity-defying battles. Its significance lies in its emotional crescendo: long-awaited showdowns, personal vengeance, and the unravelling of legacy threads converge in a space that feels both mythic and claustrophobic.

As the stage for the series’ final reckoning, Infinity Castle transforms from mere setting into a crucible of fate. Read more.

Code 3 (2025) is a high-energy action comedy directed by Christopher Leone.The film follows Randy (Rainn Wilson), a burnt-out paramedic on the verge of quitting, who must endure one final 24-hour shift to train his replacement, Jessica (Lil Rel Howery).

What begins as a routine day spirals into a chaotic, emotionally charged ride through the extremes of emergency response—complete with absurd calls, unexpected heroics, and moments of raw humanity. Code 3 was inspired by the lived experiences of Patrick Pianezza, a former paramedic who co-wrote the script with director Christopher Leone. Read more.

In The Long Walk, director Francis Lawrence adapts Stephen King’s chilling dystopian novel into a relentless psychological thriller. Set in a totalitarian America, the story follows 100 teenage boys forced into a deadly endurance contest: walk continuously at a pace above three miles per hour, or be executed.

The film centres on Ray Garraty (Cooper Hoffman), a 16-year-old from Maine, as he joins the annual Long Walk alongside fellow competitors Peter McVries (David Jonsson), Stebbins (Garrett Wareing), and others.

As the miles stretch on, friendships form, rivalries intensify, and the psychological toll deepens. Read more.

19 September

London Calling is an action comedy directed by Allan Ungar, a stylish, snark-filled buddy film that blends bullets, banter, and unexpected bonding. Filmed in Cape Town, it blends gritty action with odd-couple comedy, offering a fresh take on redemption, mentorship, and the messy art of growing up. After a botched job in the UK, hitman Tommy Ward (Josh Duhamel) escapes to Los Angeles, desperate to return to his estranged son in London.

To earn safe passage, he strikes a deal with his new crime boss Benson (Rick Hoffman): mentor Benson’s socially awkward teenage son Julian (Jeremy Ray Taylor) and teach him how to “be a man.” Read more.

The Threesome (2025), directed by Chad Hartigan and written by Ethan Ogilby, is a romantic comedy-drama that explores the messy, tender terrain of desire and emotional accountability.

The story follows Connor, a kind and unassuming young man, whose long-held crush on Olivia finally blossoms, only to be complicated by the unexpected presence of Jenny, a sweet and alluring stranger. What begins as a fantasy encounter quickly unravels into a journey of consequence, as all three characters must navigate the emotional fallout and confront the realities of adulthood.

With standout performances from Zoey Deutch, Jonah Hauer-King, and Ruby Cruz, the film balances screwball charm with introspective depth, offering a modern twist on romantic entanglement. Read more.

Chickenhare and the Secret of the Groundhog is a vibrant animated adventure directed by Benjamin Mousquet, drawing inspiration from a blend of mythic storytelling, ecological urgency, and the emotional resonance of hybrid identity.

Rooted in the graphic novels by Chris Grine, the film expands the whimsical world of Chickenhare. This time, Chickenhare sets out to find a mysterious groundhog said to possess the power to reverse time, a mythical ability that may be the only hope to save his species.

Alongside his loyal companions Abe and Meg, he journeys through treacherous landscapes, facing rival factions and ancient obstacles. But they’re not the only ones chasing the legend, and the race against time becomes a test of courage, friendship, and self-discovery. Read more.

20 September

Based on Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 Cold War comedy, Dr. Strangelove, Steve Coogan leads this fun new stage adaptation from Armando Iannucci (The Thick of It) and Sean Foley (The Upstart Crow) as he takes on Peter Seller’s iconic roles.

Seen as one of the top comedy films of all time, Dr. Strangelove celebrates Kubrick’s legacy and the relevance of the story 60 years on. Seven-time BAFTA Award-winner Steve Coogan plays four roles in the world premiere stage adaptation of Stanley Kubrick’s comedy masterpiece Dr. Strangelove.

When a rogue US General triggers a nuclear attack, a surreal race takes place, seeing the Government and one eccentric scientist scramble to avert global destruction.

Dr. Strangelove is scheduled to show on 20, 21 and 23 September. Read more.

26 September

Loved Out is a quirky indie romantic comedy that delves into chaos, charm, and a touch of criminal intrigue, inspired by the creators’ own chaotic, vibrant lives, particularly the messy intersections of family, identity, and survival in a world that doesn’t always make room for softness.

This South African rom-com draws from real-life experiences and conversations that spilt over into a podcast and social media content, forming a whole creative universe around the story. It follows an insecure, brand-obsessed socialite who unexpectedly inherits her missing mother’s restaurant.

Her plans for reinvention are derailed when she receives a ransom video demanding repayment of a fortune her mother allegedly stole from a shady preacher—money that was meant to be laundered for the city’s most dangerous gangsters. As she scrambles to uncover the truth and navigate the chaos, she’s forced to confront her own identity and the legacy of secrets left behind.

The film stars Jane de Wet as the lead socialite, with support from Shamilla Miller, Louw Venter, and Rob van Vuuren. Read more

Set in the isolated village of Wupperthal, Carissa is a quietly riveting South African drama that traces a young woman’s yearning for self-definition against the shadow of rural inheritance.

Directed by Jason Jacobs and Devon Delmar, the film follows Carissa as she clashes with her stern grandmother and is cast out of her childhood home. Taking refuge with her estranged grandfather—a rooibos farmer resisting the slow erosion of ancestral land, Carissa’s journey unfolds within a community deeply tied to place and history.

Blurring fiction and reality, the film features non-professional actors playing stylised versions of themselves, imbuing each frame with lived authenticity. Read more.

The Strangers: Chapter 2 is the chilling middle instalment in Renny Harlin’s rebooted horror trilogy. Picking up directly after Chapter 1, the film follows Maya Lucas (played by Madelaine Petsch) as she continues her terrifying ordeal after surviving a brutal home invasion.

On the final day of a cross-country road trip, Maya and her boyfriend Ryan (Froy Gutierrez) break down in the eerie town of Venus, Oregon, forcing them to stay in a remote Airbnb. As night falls, the masked trio-. Pin-up Girl, Dollface, and Scarecrow return to finish what they started.

Directed by Renny Harlin and written by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland, based on characters by Bryan Bertino, all three chapters back-to-back, with Chapter 3 already in post-production. Read more.

Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie is a whimsical, live-action/CGI hybrid adventure from DreamWorks Animation. The film was inspired by the massive success and heartfelt charm of the original Gabby’s Dollhouse preschool series. The show’s unique blend of live-action and animation, surprise unboxing, and whimsical cat-themed adventures resonated with kids and families worldwide, becoming one of Netflix’s top preschool hits.

It follows Gabby (played by Laila Lockhart Kraner) and her Grandma Gigi (Gloria Estefan) on a road trip to the urban wonderland of Cat Francisco. But things take a magical detour when Gabby’s prized dollhouse ends up in the hands of eccentric cat lady Vera (Kristen Wiig), sparking a real-world quest to reunite the Gabby Cats and save the dollhouse before it’s too late.Read more.

One Battle After Another is an action-thriller film from director Paul Thomas Anderson, based on Thomas Pynchon’s novel Vineland. It follows Bob Ferguson, a disillusioned ex-revolutionary played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who lives quietly in California’s desert with his daughter Willa, portrayed by Chase Infiniti.

Their peace is shattered when Col. Steven Lockjaw, a vengeful white supremacist played by Sean Penn, resurfaces and begins hunting them. This forces Bob to reunite with his former comrades—played by Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, Wood Harris, Alana Haim, and Shayna McHayle—for one last mission. Read more.

The Dead of Winter is an action-thriller directed by Brian Kirk. The film follows a widowed fisherwoman (Emma Thompson) travelling alone through snowbound northern Minnesota. When she stumbles upon the kidnapping of a teenage girl (Lauren Marsden), she becomes the girl’s only hope, cut off from civilisation, with no phone service and hours from the nearest town.

The film was inspired by a blend of survival thrillers, real-world isolation, and the emotional resilience of women in extreme circumstances. Director Brian Kirk described the film as a “merciless thriller” with a “beautiful love story at its heart,” emphasising the emotional stakes behind the suspense. Read more.

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