L.A. Weekly's Movie Picks are your look at the hottest films in Los Angeles theaters this week — from indie art-house gems and classics to popcorn-perfect blockbusters and new movies garnering buzz. Check our Film section every week before you make your big-screen plans.

Friday, Feb. 8

The Prodigy is the latest in a long line of creepy-kid thrillers dating back at least to The Bad Seed, and asks the familiar question: What if something evil lurks behind the angelic façade of an innocent child? Taylor Schilling (Orange is the New Black) plays the concerned mother of Miles, the titular youngster who manifests signs of possession. Nicholas McCarthy (The Pact, At the Devil's Door) directs. The trailer contains a well-timed shot in a darkened hallway — reminiscent of a moment in Mario Bava's Shock — that allows the 9-year-old boy to change into a full-grown adult without visible signs of a special effect.


Also opening this week:

A Violent Man; The Amityville Murders; Beneath the Leaves; Berlin, I Love You; Cold Pursuit; The Divorce Party; The Gospel of Eureka; High Flying Bird; Lego Movie 2; Lords of Chaos; The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot; Pinsky; St. Agatha; The Isle; To Dust; Under the Eiffel Tower; Untogether; What Men Want

L.A. Weekly also recommends (still in theaters):

Miss Bala; Glass; The Boy Who Would Be King; Jihadists; The Favourite; If Beale Street Could Talk; Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse; Vice; Roma; Bohemian Rhapsody; Ralph Breaks the Internet; Mary Poppins Returns; Green Book; A Star Is Born

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