There is something foreboding about the jungle. It is so thick, so menacing, and full of secrets, that it will always be scarier than the mountains or desert. Local filmmaker Alyscia Cunningham, writer and director of the new folk horror film Douen, deepens that tension with imagery of vulnerable children standing outside the jungle as they wonder what is inside. Just in time for the tail end of spooky season, Cunningham will host a special screening of her film—which was shot on location in Trinidad, as well as Silver Spring—at AFI Silver on Nov. 1. After the screening, there will be a discussion with Claudia Avril Carter, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Association of Washington, DC, moderated by Cécile Accilien, Ph.D., professor of French and Francophone Studies at University of Maryland, College Park. Like a lot of folk horror, Douen draws inspiration from things that go bump in the night: In this case, a Douen is a creature from Trinidadian folklore that is said to be children who died before they were baptized. No doubt the creature is misunderstood, a metaphor for tragedy or trauma, and Cunningham will find a fresh way to explore how it teaches something to her young characters, just not before scaring the living crap out of them. Douen screens at 6 p.m. on Nov. 1 at AFI Silver, 8633 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring. silver.afi.com. $44.52. —Alan Zilberman
Few bands are lucky enough to sustain a double-digit lifespan; Flipper make 47 years feel like an afternoon. In spite of lineup changes and a 12-year hiatus from 1993 to 2005, the West Coast punk pioneers have put fuzzed-out distortion pedals to proverbial metal since their formation in 1979, now with a rotating cast of rock figureheads performing vocals.
When I was 16, I saw them open for the Garden with Scratch Acid/the Jesus Lizard noise icon David Yow holding the mic; I’m not sure why two attendees contrived to sneak a coconut through Baltimore Soundstage security, but when they managed to bust it apart and shower the rest of the crowd in juice, Yow happily ate a flaky, white piece of fruit from their hands. On Nov. 3, Flipper take on D.C.’s favorite Eastern Market alleyway venue the Fridge with Justin Pearson of various screechy San Diego bands, most notably the Locust. Pearson also heads up Swing Kids, who performed at 2025’s Positive Force 40-year anniversary festival, and Deaf Club, who are set to thrash the District later in December. Rounding out the Fridge bill are crunch rockers DMV, anxious punk outfit Glycine, and grocery-themed goofballs Saafewaay. Flipper play with DMV, Glycine and Saafewaay at 8 p.m. on Nov. 3 at the Fridge DC, 516 ½ 8th St. SE. instagram.com. All ages. $15–$20. —Ash Newton
There has never been a better time to revisit the sacred and profane masterpiece that is Ken Russell’s 1971 The Devils. The lore around the film hews to a familiar template of other boundary-pushing pieces of cinema from the 1970s. Warner Bros. finances a big-budget film—in this case, a spectacularly grand X-rated movie about sadistic, horny clergy—but later kowtow in response to audience pearl-clutching and Catholic Church boycotts. However, unlike other controversial movies that eventually integrated into the fabric of the larger culture, The Devils remained hidden because executives found the film “distasteful.” I myself have only seen the film once during a brief stint on the Criterion Channel and it instantly became a favorite; come give me a knowing nod during Wednesday’s screening at the Alamo. It’s hard to overstate the grandeur of Russell’s heretic masterpiece and judging by the fervency the film has conjured in the few weeks of its uncut remastered rerelease, the world might have finally caught up. Ken Russell’s The Devils screens at 7 p.m. on Nov. 4 at Alamo Drafthouse, 630 Rhode Island Ave. NE. drafthouse.com. $12. —Matt S. Siblo
While the Trump administration has vowed to put signs outside the Smithsonian National Museum of American History contending that its leaders “have altered the museum’s role from accurately and coherently telling America’s story,” the ¡Puro Ritmo!: The Musical Journey of Salsa exhibit, which opened earlier this year in that museum, tells a very American story. Curated by a Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino team led by Ranald Woodaman and guest curator Frances Aparicio, Ph.D., the exhibit uses more than 300 artifacts, film, audio, and hands-on technology to tell the story of how Afro Cuban music came to the U.S. and developed via immigrants whose musicianship impacted jazz, R&B, and rock, and spread the sounds of rumba, mambo, Latin soul, and then salsa through New York, New Jersey, California, Texas, and elsewhere. The exhibit is presented so that it can be enjoyed by those who know nothing about this rhythmic, fast-tempoed music and its roots, and those who are fanatical about the danceable genre. An interactive display lets visitors push buttons and activate the sounds of salsa’s unique clave rhythm, and another where one can learn about salsa dance steps. The exhibition traces the music’s history through four sections, from its origin via enslaved Africans brought to Cuba on through a who’s who of musicians including Machito, Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Ray Barretto, and Gloria Estefan. There’s even a nod to Bad Bunny. This history is told not only via photos and detailed captions but also through Celia Cruz’s flamboyant dresses, Pedro Knight’s trumpet, album covers, Puente’s timbales, and vivid concert posters. The exhibit also includes a photo of the Harlem Hellfighters, a World War I-era Black U.S. Army marching band with 17 Black Puerto Rican members, who were sent to Europe and forced to face discrimination while serving, as the U.S. Army was then segregated. As Woodaman tells City Paper, “music gives us a window into ‘social movements and connecting global stories with local stories.’” ¡Puro Ritmo! The Musical Journey of Salsa runs through Nov. 26, 2028, at the National Museum of American History, 1300 Constitution Ave. NW. americanhistory.si.edu. Free. —Steve Kiviat
