15 Years of the American Genre Film Archive: Donnie Darko in 4K Fri, May 10 | 7:30pm | DGT Richard Kelly’s feature debut as a writer-director, blending teen angst with elements of sci-fi and horror, did not have a successful run during its initial release, but strong word of mouth kept adventurous filmgoers buying tickets as the number of screens showing the film dwindled. After its home video release generated new interest, pushing it into cult status, the Pioneer Theater in New York City began midnight screenings. Those continued for 28 months straight, only stopping at the distributor’s request when planning for a re-release. That success at the Pioneer continued to fuel the film’s following and solidified it as the new midnight movie of its era. DIRECTED/WRITTEN BY: Richard Kelly. WITH: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, James Duval. 2001. 114 min. USA. Color. English. Rated R. 4K DCP. 15 Years of the American Genre Film Archive: Glen or Glenda Sat, May 11 | 7:30pm | TMT The directorial debut from infamous B-movie auteur Ed Wood, who was posthumously dubbed the Worst Director of All Time, Glen or Glenda is a surprisingly tender, early depiction of a trans woman in 1950s America. Though a contemporary lens finds offensive terminology within this 70-year-old cult classic, Wood’s daring dive into the then- underground world of the trans experience ran at midnight at the Thalia in New York for five weekends in the summer of 1978 and traveled to China, to Belgium as Louis ou Louise , and to Argentina as Yo cambié mi sexo . Decades on, the film remains an imperfect yet significant milestone for trans representation in outsider filmmaking. DIRECTED/WRITTEN BY: Edward D. Wood Jr. WITH: Bela Lugosi, Lyle Talbot, Timothy Farrell, Dolores Fuller. 1953. 65 min. USA. B&W. English. Rated PG. DCP.
2010 that continues to this day. House ’s breakneck pacing, whiplash tone, and unpredictable plot about seven Japanese schoolgirls who visit an aunt in the countryside only to find her home infested with a supernatural presence is, as anyone who has seen it will insist, a singular cinematic experience. DIRECTED BY: Ōbayashi Nobuhiko. WRITTEN BY: Katsura Chiho, Ōbayashi Chigumi. WITH: Ikegami Kimiko, Jinbo Miki, Ōba Kumiko, Matsubara Ai. 1977. 88 min. Japan. Color. Japanese. 35mm.
Hellbound: Hellraiser II in 35mm Sat, May 25 | 7:30pm | TMT
The first film to screen in the inaugural year of Toronto International Film Festival’s Midnight Madness section in 1988—then called Festival of Festivals—this follow-up to Clive Barker’s original horror film, also based on his own novella The Hellbound Heart , elaborates on the implications of the enigmatic Lament Configuration and the realm of the iconic Pinhead and the Cenobites, this time with even more blood, gore, and surreal descents into hell. The openly gay Barker’s first Hellraiser film has since been embraced by the LGBTQIA+ community as a definitive entry into the queer horror canon, and these themes continue, though less overtly, into the sequel. DIRECTED BY: Tony Randel. WRITTEN BY: Peter Atkins. WITH: Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Kenneth Cranham, Imogen Boorman. 1988. 99 min. UK. Color. English. Rated R. 35mm.
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW
The Rocky Horror Picture Show Thu, May 30 | 7:30pm | DGT
This evergreen late-night classic and its audience’s zealous commitment to repeat viewings, shadow plays, elaborate cosplay, and practically mandatory audience participation might just make The Rocky Horror Picture Show the ultimate cult movie. After running at Greenwich Village’s Waverly Theater in 1976 for 95 weeks, Dr. Frank-N-Furter and the “Time Warp” flourished nationwide in the midnight hour in hubs like Austin, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Honolulu. Shortly after its premiere, a near-religious devotion to the magic of Rocky Horror ’s theatrical experience made its way to Los Angeles’s Nuart Theatre, which first launched weekly Saturday night screenings in September 1986 that continue to this day. DIRECTED BY: Jim Sharman. WRITTEN BY: Jim Sharman, Richard O’Brien. WITH: Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Richard O’Brien. 1975. 100 min. UK/USA. Color. English. Rated R. DCP.
HOUSE ( ハウス )
House ( ハウス ) in 35mm Fri, May 24 | 7:30pm | TMT Perennial midnight fare at repertory theaters around the country to this day, Ōbayashi Nobuhiko’s indescribable psychedelic horror flick was first brought to the attention of the Criterion Collection, who, through their theatrical arm, Janus Films, brought it to the IFC Center in New York, where it had a sustained midnight engagement beginning in
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