As Maine feels the chill of an approaching October and we all bundle up and try to remember if we drained the old gas out of our snowblowers, Maine’s indie movie houses are still bringing audiences great movies in well-adjusted comfort. This week’s picks include a Hitchcock classic on glorious real celluloid, some freaky animated puppet devil action, a documentary about the most star-packed theater production in history, and an evening of dance that will have you up out of your seat (Please stay in your seat. People are trying to watch a movie). 

Starts Friday, Sept. 25, PMA Films, 7 Congress Square, Portland, portlandmuseum.org

Ever heard the saying, “about as entertaining as watching paint dry?” This unclassifiable new film from documentarian John Wilson asks the same question about that stuff you pour to hold up your mailbox, and the answer is a resounding and deeply surprising yes. Fans of the director’s equally quirky HBO series “How To With John Wilson” will know what to expect from Wilson’s first feature film. A seemingly simple, even dull subject (you know, like concrete) expands through the idiosyncratic filmmaker’s offbeat, deeply personal digressions into a fascinatingly all-encompassing meditation on life, awkward human connection, and unexpected discoveries. (That the film is produced by “The Rehearsal”’s Nathan Fielder makes perfect tonal sense.) Oh, and Wilson does indeed delve into New York’s crumbling, concrete-based infrastructure, when the mood strikes. Currently knocking out critics and audiences at the major film festivals, this is one of those movies (think “Sherman’s March” or “My Dinner With Andre”) where the stated, unlikely premise solidifies into something truly, shockingly wonderful. 

Sunday, Sept. 27, Space, 538 Congress St., Portland, space538.org

It’s a story as old as time (or at least 15th century Germany): a brilliant man unsatisfied with the knowledge and pleasures available to him as a mere mortal, makes a deal for his soul with the Devil for a few decades of unimaginable power and pleasure. There may be some thematic resonance that the Faust in this 1994 retelling (drawn from Christopher Marlowe and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s versions of the story, among other folk tales) is a marionette. But then again, this is a film from Czech master filmmaker and weirdo Jan Švankmajer, so maybe it’s just meant to look as cool and disturbing as the director’s other works (“Little Otik” still gives me the heebie-jeebies). Mixing puppetry, live-action, animation, claymation, stop-motion and other special effects, this tale of voluntary damnation is, well, one of the damnedest things you’ll ever see. 

Wednesday, Sept. 30 and Saturday, Oct. 3, Kinonik, 121 Cassidy Point Drive, Portland, kinonik.org

While it’s usual to look at the works of a truly great director and say, “I just can’t pick a favorite,” I’m telling you right now that Alfred Hitchcock’s 1946 espionage drama/romance is my favorite. Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman have never been better (or more impossibly gorgeous) than in this tale of a square-jawed G-man tasked with recruiting the party girl daughter of a disgraced Nazi spy in a plan to uncover a secret plot to revive the Third Reich. As engaging as the central pair are (their kissing scene is both hot and hilarious as talk of a chicken dinner is deployed to keep Hollywood censors off the film’s back), there’s a shockingly disturbing adult element to the story, as Grant essentially sends the woman he loves to prostitute herself by pretending to fall in love with slimy but charming Nazi Claude Rains. There’s a scene with a broken champagne bottle that may be the most expertly nerve-shredding sequence in movie history, and 10 more just as good. 

A poster for the documentary “You Had To Be There.”

Starting Saturday Oct. 3, Colonial Theatre, 163 High St., Belfast, colonialtheatre.com

What’s so special about a little Canadian theater production of “Godspell” from 1972? As this documentary suggests, the scrappy, colorful Toronto stage show laid the groundwork for essentially all of American and Canadian comedy from that day forward. If that sounds like a bold claim, check out the cast list: Gilda Radner, Eugene Levy, Paul Shaffer, Victor Garber, Dave Thomas, Portland’s own Andrea Martin and Martin Short, all at the beginning of their illustrious careers. Produced by Judd Apatow and featuring interviews with the surviving actors (I will miss Gilda until my dying day), plus glowing “I wish I’d been there” testimonials from everyone from Mike Meyers to Lin-Manuel Miranda, this documentary captures a moment in time when seemingly all the funniest people in North America (before heading off to found “SCTV” and “Saturday Night Live”) just happened to share the same dressing room. 

Saturday, Oct. 3, The Gem, 48 Cross St., Bethel, thegemtheater.com

Described as “a curated evening of dance films and dance performances for all ages,” this evening of people in thrilling motion is curated by Maine dancer Christina Belinsky and showcases short dance movies from Maine and elsewhere in New England. There’s a post-festival Q&A and a rocking afterparty where there will, no doubt, be dancing. 

Dennis Perkins is a freelance writer who lives in Auburn with his wife and his cat.