The following are nine genre films indicative of fall’s most notorious characteristic, early darkness. Who says you can’t have fun in the dark.

1. Zombieland
Release Date: October 2nd
Director: Ruben Fleischer (dir. of Jimmy Kimmel live; prod. for MTV’s Rob and Big)
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg (The Squid and the Whale, Adventureland)
Story: Fun comedy Zombie film about Man and Young Man bonding over burnt Zombie; feels like Shaun of the Dead at Disney World with a modern family twist.

2. Where The Wild Things Are
Release Date: October 16th
Director: Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation)
Starring: Catherine Keener (40-Year-Old Virgin), Mark Ruffalo (Zodiac, Collateral)
Story: Big film version of the Maurice Sendak children’s novel with music by Karen O of the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs. Screenplay by Jonze and Dave Eggers. Great article in Paste.

3. An Education
Release Date: October 16th
Director: Lone Scherfig
Starring: Peter Sarsgaard (Garden State, Boys Don’t Cry), Carey Mulligan
Story: Young 1960s London urbanite falls in love with a guy twice her age and I suppose she gets some sort of education from the whole thing. Danish director and script by Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, Fever Pitch, About a Boy) pulls me in.

4. The Box
Release Date: November 6th
Director: Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko)
Starring: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden (27 Dresses, Sex Drive), Frank Langella
Story: A box that gives you a million dollars, but at a cost of someone’s life. By writer/director Kelly whose Donnie Darko has a cult following the likes of Rocky Horror.

5. The Men Who Stare At Goats
Release Date: November 6th
Director: Grant Heslov (actor/writer, wrote Good Night, and Good Luck)
Starring: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey
Story: Secret branch of the military trains soldiers for mental warfare…by literally staring at goats. And doing other stuff that might sound absurd but funny.

6. Ninja Assassin
Release Date: November 25th
Director: James McTeigue (V for Vendetta)
Starring: Rain
Story: In this film Korean superstar Rain is what the title says—Ninja Assassin. But with wicked choreography and slow motion that would make John Woo cry. The Wachowski Brothers are producers. Maybe they can redeem themselves after Speed Racer.

7. Avatar
Release Date: December 18th
Director: James Cameron (Terminator, Aliens, True Lies, Titanic)
Starring: Zoe Saldana (Star Trek), Sam Worthington (Terminator Salvation), Sigourney Weaver, Giovanni Ribisi
Story: 12 years since we’ve seen a Cameron film so this fictional 3-D mega Hollywood movie about human interaction with creatures from the planet Pandora better be good. The trailer reminded me of Mel Gibson’s Apocalypse. Is that a good thing?

8. The Lovely Bones
Release Date: December 11th
Director: Peter Jackson (Heavenly Creatures, Lord of the Rings, King Kong)
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci
Story: Adaptation of Alice Sebold’s novel by the same name; about murdered 14-year-old Susie who watches over her family after the fact. Ghosts are right up Jackson’s alley. Look for an Oscar for Tucci. I’m just saying.

9. Sherlock Holmes
Release Date: December 25th
Director: Guy Ritchie (Snatch, RocknRolla)
Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams (Wedding Crashers, Red Eye)
Story: Highly anticipated Downey film about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary consulting detective Sherlock Holmes. Expect blood, brawls and smoking pipes from the Ritchie arsenal. Seeing this film should be elementary.

And the following are a mix of nine genre films these films will be competing with for your hard earned cash: The Invention of Lying, Oct. 2nd; Whip It, Oct. 2nd; Pirate Radio, Nov. 13th; The Messenger, Nov. 20th; Precious, Nov. 20th; The Road, Nov. 25th; Up In The Air, Dec. 4th; Invictus, Dec. 11th; Brothers, Dec. 25th.