New to TVNZ+: October 4-10

One of NZ’s most distinguished documentarymakers, Florian Habicht (James & Isey, Kaikohe Demolition), directed one of October’s Halloween attractions on TVNZ+, Spookers (October 10).

Made in 2017, it profiles the family behind the most successful scare park in the Southern Hemisphere. Reads the blurb:

Once the site of the notorious Kingseat psychiatric hospital in South Auckland, live haunted house attraction Spookers has a long standing reputation for offering thrills and chills to brave punters. In this fascinating and surprisingly moving film, local documentarian Florian Habicht gets to know the performers working there and goes inside the close-knit community that has grown within it.

“Habicht, who has an eye for finding the extraordinary in the very ordinary, looks beneath the gruesome makeup and raggedy costumes to reveal the humanity and tight-knit community that really haunt this haunted house,” said The Post.

Most reviewers gave it two bloody thumbs up while The Guardian headlined its review: “The terrifying New Zealand theme park with a cult following, and a big heart.” (Watch the trailer here.)

Spooky romp Ghostbusters: Afterlife spearheads a Halloween-themed movie slate that includes:

• Saw
• Saw 2
• Saw 3
• Saw 4 
• Saw 5
• Saw 6
• The Blair Witch Project

Also new are all five seasons of The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel (October 10) and Escaping Captivity: The Kara Robinson Story (October 5), which documents how an abducted 15-year-old who’d been brutally assaulted for 18 hours engineered her own escape and led authorities to her assailant’s apartment.

Streaming the same time as their linear debuts, as previewed here, are Counting the Beat and Joanna Lumley’s Danube.