> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.thesecretscreening.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Never Forget the Cyber Witch - URL: https://www.thesecretscreening.com/never-forget-the-cyber-witch/ - Published: 2026-09-11T16:00:32.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-11T16:00:32.000Z - Author: Aaron Hillis - Tags: Weekly Picks, Theatrical Picks, Streaming Picks, Music Picks, Film Industry Tips & Anecdotes ![Now Playing](https://storage.ghost.io/c/86/6b/866b2bfd-593e-41db-b4ad-b0afa3293fe4/content/images/2026/05/now-playing-NEW.gif) ****HOPE** (2026, dir. Na Hong-jin) South Korean writer-director Na Hong-jin's **Hope** is a monster movie that refuses to behave*.*His long-awaited follow-up to 2015's shamanic folk-horror *The Wailing* takes us to a rural village near the DMZ, where a sheriff (Hwang Jung-min) discovers half the population slaughtered by something that leaves no clear tracks. The first hour is a masterclass in withheld terror, building dread through widescreen devastation and paranoia, before detonating in a relentless collision of action, horror and CGI otherworldliness. Some have criticized the script's dopey lore-building (you want franchise with that?), but this bonkers 158-minute chase is more potent than any Hollywood spectacle junk. The budget's all on the screen! 📽️ ***Hope** (NEON) is [now playing in U.S. theaters](https://www.hopethemovie.film/?ref=thesecretscreening.com). --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/86/6b/866b2bfd-593e-41db-b4ad-b0afa3293fe4/content/images/2026/09/now-streaming-NEW.gif) ****HOT SPOT** (2026, dir. Agnieszka Smoczyńska) Fans of Polish auteur Agnieszka Smoczyńska's mermaid-horror musical *The Lure* may not be surprised her dystopian sci-fi noir ***Hot Spot*** was crushed by critics and ignored by mainstream audiences last month—a crime against weird, wild, algorithmically unsafe cinema. In a drought-ravaged future, mulleted detective Andrzej Konopka investigates a murder and tangoes with "cyber witch" Noomi Rapace, who can enter minds without plugging into the AI system that controls water, energy, and thought itself. It's a surreal, gory fairy tale for adults that admittedly doesn't fully add up, but the visual ambition and vibes are sensational. 🖥️ ***Hot Spot** (Focus Features) is [now available to rent/buy on VOD](https://www.focusfeatures.com/hot-spot?ref=thesecretscreening.com). --- ![Now Listen (icon of a guitar, cassette, vinyl record, headphones, microphone and an amp)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/86/6b/866b2bfd-593e-41db-b4ad-b0afa3293fe4/content/images/2026/05/now-listen-NEW-1.gif) ****HUG:** "Cow With Half Moon Parasol" excerpt from ****"HUG"** It takes three guitarists to make a **HUG**, the self-titled, mostly instrumental debut from the trio of Noah Georgeson, Gyan Riley and freak-folk mainstay Devendra Banhart. Incorporating field recordings (rain and wind here, a chorus of frogs there) into the rhythmic and ambient structures they glide between, this spontaneous three-week studio session sounds like old friends exhaling together. As a warm invitation to contemplation, the album is not without its playful whims, such as juxtaposing the sacred Sanskrit greeting "Sarva Mangalam" with the Spanish "leche condensada" (condensed milk). 🎵 ****"HUG"** (Luaka Bop) drops today [on vinyl, CD, Bandcamp, Apple Music, Spotify, TIDAL, Amazon Music, Qobuz, Deezer, and more](https://luakabop.lnk.to/HUG?ref=thesecretscreening.com). --- ![Just One More Thing... (icon, illustrated, of Peter Falk as Columbo)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/86/6b/866b2bfd-593e-41db-b4ad-b0afa3293fe4/content/images/2026/05/just-one-more-thing-NEW.gif) **The Best Films About 9/11 Aren't Really About 9/11\.** 25 years ago, I woke up in lower Manhattan to the sound of a plane crash. To this day, I see no point to the clinical, hindsight-lacking reenactment of *United 93*, and the first-responder lionization *World Trade Center* was the schmaltziest Ron Howard film that Oliver Stone ever made. Who were these movies for? The people who lived it didn't need to re-experience, and people who didn't couldn't possibly glean much in two hours. But there are worthwhile films about the aftermath, memory, and the strange ways trauma reshapes a life. Meditating on American violence across generations, ***The Cats of Mirikitani*** (2006) finds an 83-year-old homeless artist painting cats and internment camps near Ground Zero. ***The Falling Man*** (2006) uses a single controversial photograph to ask impossible questions about who deserves to be remembered and how. ***Control Room*** (2004) doesn't show the towers at all, only how Al Jazeera covered the ensuing war, revealing (at least then) how little we understand about how the rest of the world sees us. Now if you'll excuse me, it's time for a ***25th Hour*** rewatch. ****Hey, buddy!** Two ways to support The Secret Screening: ****\* Is your film headed for the fall festival circuit?** If you'd like a second set of eyes on your strategy, I have a few spots open for one-on-one consultations. Script notes, distribution tactics, and more. [\[Details here.\]](https://www.thesecretscreening.com/consulting/) ****\* Send this to a friend + subscribe for FREE below** – get this in your inbox every Friday. No spam. Just two minutes of useful recommendations. [Subscribe ](#/portal/signup/free)