The Nickel | Independent Cinema in Clerkenwell, London

Please note we are unable to offer refunds or exchanges on tickets. No late admissions from 15 minutes after showtime.

SPIDER BABY

(1967, USA, Jack Hill)

A decrepit mansion houses the Merrye family, whose surviving children suffer from a bizarre, degenerative disease that makes them increasingly violent, cunning, and feral. As outsiders arrive, the family’s twisted games and macabre antics escalate, revealing their darkly comic, horrifying nature and the strange, grotesque world they inhabit.

Spider Baby blends black comedy, gothic horror, and campy thrills into a deliriously twisted fable. With its eccentric characters, claustrophobic setting, and outrageous yet eerie atmosphere, the film has become a cult classic of macabre American cinema.

PHANTASM

(1979, USA, Don Coscarelli)

After the death of his parents, young Mike discovers that his small town cemetery is plagued by strange occurrences, including a mysterious mortician known as the Tall Man. As he investigates, Mike encounters flying silver spheres, reanimated corpses, and a nightmarish underworld that defies the laws of reality.

Phantasm is a surreal and terrifying horror classic, blending dreamlike visuals, relentless suspense, and inventive supernatural elements. Its eerie atmosphere, iconic villain, and imaginative scares have cemented it as a landmark of 1970s American horror.

WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE

(1995, USA, Todd Solondz)

Heather, a shy and awkward seventh-grader, navigates the trials of middle school life while dealing with neglectful parents and a socially aggressive sister. Her days are filled with humiliation, isolation, and small rebellions, as she struggles to assert herself in a world that seems determined to push her down.

Todd Solondz delivers a darkly comic and painfully honest coming-of-age story, mixing cringe-inducing humour with moments of genuine empathy. The film’s sharp observations of adolescence and suburban dysfunction have made it an enduring cult classic.

PALINDROMES

(2004, USA, Todd Solondz)

A young woman named Aviva returns home after a suicide attempt and struggles to reconnect with her family and the world around her. As she attempts to piece her life back together, she grapples with identity, belonging, and the chaotic tangle of her own emotions, friendships, and relationships.

Todd Solondz’s unconventional narrative loops and fragments mirror Aviva’s disturbed inner world, blending dark humour with raw emotional insight. The film confronts themes of forgiveness, alienation, and self‑destruction in a way that is unsettling, compassionate, and uniquely Solondz.

DEADBEAT AT DAWN

(1988, USA, Jim Van Bebber)

A small‑time criminal and his girlfriend try to escape the violent grip of a rival gang after a heist goes wrong. As tensions mount, the streets become a battleground of revenge, loyalty, and survival, leading to bloody confrontations that test both courage and morality.

Jim Van Bebber’s Deadbeat at Dawn is a raw, kinetic exploitation thriller, drenched in punk energy, fast-paced violence, and gritty urban chaos. Its relentless pace and unapologetic brutality make it a cult favorite for fans of underground action cinema.

DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS

(1971, Belgium, France, Germany, Harry Kümel)

A mysterious and alluring couple, Elisabeth and Countess Bathory, arrive at a Belgian hotel, where they befriend a young newlywed and his wife. Seduction, obsession, and supernatural undertones soon emerge, drawing the guests into a web of eroticism, manipulation, and dark secrets that threatens to consume them entirely.

Daughters of Darkness blends gothic horror with lush, sensuous visuals and slow-building tension. Its eroticized atmosphere, psychological intrigue, and nightmarish elegance have cemented it as a standout in European horror cinema.

THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE

(1974, USA, Joseph Sargent)

A routine subway ride in New York City turns into a high-stakes hostage crisis when a group of armed hijackers seizes a train full of passengers. With time running out and the city watching, a transit dispatcher becomes the unlikely point of negotiation, racing against both the criminals and the clock to prevent disaster. Every decision carries the weight of lives, and every second brings the tension closer to a breaking point.

A taut, urban thriller, The Taking of Pelham 123 combines meticulous plotting with relentless suspense. Director Joseph Sargent transforms the city’s underground into a claustrophobic arena of danger and strategy. Smart, fast-paced, and nerve-jangling, the film is a masterclass in tension, showing how ordinary people confront extraordinary peril with courage, cunning, and resolve.

NIGHT OF THE JUGGLER

(1980, USA, Robert Butler)

A tough, New York City ex-cop relentlessly searches for his kidnapped teenage daughter, held by a deranged drifter who’s mistaken her for the child of a wealthy businessman. As the chase rages through the city’s derelict streets and subways, both men are pushed to the brink.

Restored at long last, this notorious cult thriller has been nearly impossible to see on any format except VHS for over four decades and is a furious, grimy portrait of Manhattan at its wildest.

THE LAST HORROR FILM

(1982, USA/France, David Winters)

A delusional New York taxi driver and wannabe filmmaker (Joe Spinell) stalks beautiful actress (Caroline Munro) who is attending the Cannes Film Festival - which coincides with a series of savage killings of the her movie industry friends.

Shooting on the fly and without permits at the Cannes Film Festival in ‘81, the movie is an incredible time capsule of the festival with glimpses of Isabelle Adjani, Kris Kristofferson and Marcello Mastroianni, among other international stars. It also happens to be a blood-drenched meta-horror hoot, drawing influence from Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy and steam powered by Spinell's frantic central performance.

MYSTERY MOVIE

Not for the easily offended, and strictly programmed for adult audiences only - our mystery films are eye-popping forays into the bold and bonkers world of psychotronic cinema. Expect the unacceptable.

Please consider yourself forewarned that these films may (and probably will) contain offensive and upsetting content. Do not attend if you are of a sensitive disposition.

AMERICAN MOVIE + COVEN

(1997, USA, Chris Smith, Mark Borchardt)

Mark Borchardt, an aspiring filmmaker from Milwaukee, struggles to complete his low-budget horror film Coven amid financial hardship, family pressure, and his own obsessive perfectionism. The documentary follows his chaotic efforts to fund, cast, and shoot the project, revealing both the absurdity and earnestness of independent filmmaking.

This acclaimed documentary is a hilarious, heartfelt, and sometimes painful look at obsession, ambition, and the dream of making it big against all odds. Its humor and humanity make it a must-watch for anyone fascinated by the trials of creative pursuit.

SCREENING WITH COVEN

Within Mark Borchardt’s film-within-the-film Coven, a group of witches gather for a dark ritual that unleashes supernatural terror. The story is a low-budget horror tale filled with campy effects, eccentric performances, and tense, nightmarish sequences that showcase Borchardt’s passion for genre filmmaking.

The short horror film at the heart of American Movie demonstrates the chaotic charm and determination behind independent filmmaking, blending spooky atmospherics with the earnest energy of a homemade horror epic.

IN THE COLD OF THE NIGHT

(1990, USA, Nico Mastorakis)

A high‑profile fashion photographer named Scott Bruin is plagued by a series of increasingly disturbing nightmares in which he appears to attack and kill a mysterious woman. When that woman begins to step out of his dreams and into his waking life, Scott must confront whether his visions are merely fantasies or harbingers of something more sinister and real.

This 1990 erotic thriller blends psychological mystery with late‑night cable ambience and surreal dream logic. Its mix of neon‑soaked visuals, uneasy tension, and uncanny mood make it a standout example of early‑90s genre cinema that sits somewhere between noir, nightmare, and sleazy intrigue.

MYSTERY MOVIE

UNFAITHFULLY YOURS

(1948, USA, Preston Sturges)

A world-renowned conductor’s imagination runs wild after suspecting his wife of infidelity, leading him to fantasize about revenge in increasingly elaborate and comically dark scenarios. As his mind spirals through plots of passion, jealousy, and murder, reality collides with his vivid imaginings in unexpected and humorous ways.

Unfaithfully Yours is a brilliantly crafted screwball comedy that mixes Hitchcockian suspense with Howard Hawks’ signature wit and timing. Its inventive structure, playful tension, and Rex Harrison’s charismatic performance make it a sophisticated and enduring classic of 1940s cinema.

ROLLING THUNDER

(1977, USA, John Flynn)

A decorated Vietnam War veteran returns home to Texas, only to find his family caught in a violent robbery that leaves them traumatized. Driven by grief and a sense of moral duty, he embarks on a relentless quest for revenge, confronting both criminals and the darker realities of a society that seems indifferent to justice.

Rolling Thunder is a taut, gritty revenge thriller that captures the anger, alienation, and disillusionment of post‑Vietnam America. Its tense action sequences, brooding atmosphere, and emotionally charged performances make it a powerful exploration of trauma and retribution.

SALT ALONG THE TONGUE + Q&A

(2024, Australia, Parish Malfitano)

After her mother’s sudden death, Mattia is sent to live with her estranged aunt, her mother’s identical twin. As she struggles with grief in this new environment, a buried family secret begins to surface, and her mother’s presence lingers in unsettling ways. Through food and ritual, the boundary between the living and the dead begins to dissolve, drawing Mattia into something both protective and dangerous.

Blending possession, witchcraft, and coming-of-age drama, the film moves between tenderness and body horror, using food, memory, and the body itself as conduits for something uncanny. Its vivid, sensory style and all-female world give it a distinct, almost dreamlike intensity that sits somewhere between family melodrama and supernatural fever dream.

Plus Q&A with the director, Parish Malfitano

MY NAME IS MONDAY: A NIGHT OF SOVIET FILM, MUSIC & ANIMATION

Меня зовут понедельник
A night of Soviet film, music and animation.

“All evidence suggests that the history of mankind has ended. It is time to sum up the outcome, and I think it should be done calmly, without vulgar affectation"

My name is Monday and I am the spy who came in from the cold.
I am useless bureaucracy, flammable fashion and a ruse for criminal justice.
I welcome myself without knocking.
You will find me on the cutting room floor of animation laboratories, the kolkhoz, cults and behind the door of your office. I am in battleships, bunkers, and places in space.
I am Soviet and Cold War film from 1917 to 1991,
My name is Monday and expect me at 8.
Ku.

BETTER THAN NOTHING PRESENTS: THE REFLECTING SKIN

(1990, United Kingdom, Canada, Philip Ridley)

A young boy living in the rural American countryside becomes fascinated by a mysterious woman who lives alone in a nearby house. As his curiosity deepens, he begins to interpret strange events around him as signs of something supernatural and increasingly sinister, blurring the line between imagination, desire, and fear. His world slowly darkens as he becomes convinced that death itself may be watching over his community.

The Reflecting Skin is a haunting coming-of-age tale that mixes rural Americana with gothic horror and dreamlike imagery. Its sun-drenched landscapes contrast sharply with its themes of decay, violence, and childhood perception, creating a surreal and deeply unsettling atmosphere that lingers long after it ends.

COSMIK DEBRIS PRESENTS: HEAT

(1972, USA, Paul Morrissey)

A former child star, now reduced to living in a cheap Hollywood motel, drifts through Los Angeles trying to revive his acting career. He becomes entangled with a needy, washed-up actress and her volatile daughter, entering a world of transactional relationships, sexual manipulation, and fading dreams.

A bleak, often very funny portrait of Hollywood at its most desperate, the film strips away glamour in favour of something colder and more transactional. It plays like a warped echo of classic studio-era melodrama, where ambition, desire, and emptiness all blur together in a distinctly Warhol-era haze.

Introduced by filmmaker and programmer, Craig Williams

COSMIK DEBRIS PRESENTS: TRASH

(1970, USA, Paul Morrissey)

The movie follows Joe, a heroin addict, throughout his quest to score more drugs. The episodic plot occurs over a single day and centers on Joe’s problematic relationship with his on-off, sexually frustrated girlfriend. During the course of the day, Joe overdoses in front of an upper-class couple, attempts to fool welfare into approving his treatment by having Holly fake a pregnancy, and frustrates the women in his life with his drug-induced impotence.

Set in the Warhol Factory’s orbit, the film drifts between bleak realism and absurd, often very funny encounters, building a loose, improvisational portrait of addiction, codependency, and life on the margins of New York. Its raw performances and confrontational mix of sex, humour, and despair give it a strange, lived-in intensity that feels both chaotic and oddly intimate.

Introduced by filmmaker and programmer, Craig Williams.

VORTEX

(1982, USA, Beth B, Scott B)

PART OF OUR PUNK! AT 50 SEASON

A film noirish atmosphere follows a private detective as she investigates the plans of a powerful corporate businessman seeking government defense contracts through manipulation, political influence, and covert “corporate wars.” As she digs deeper, the case spirals into a web of paranoia, conspiracy, and shadowy power structures.

A key work of New York’s No Wave scene and starring Lydia Lunch, the film filters classic noir through a stripped-down, punk sensibility, full of murky visuals, jagged performances, and downtown energy. More concerned with mood and texture than clean storytelling, it plays like a lo-fi transmission from a decaying, conspiratorial city.

SALVATION!

(1987, USA, Beth B)

PART OF OUR PUNK AT 50! SEASON

A biting black comedy set in the world of televangelism in late‑1980s America, Salvation! follows Reverend Edward Randall, a slick TV preacher whose polished sermons mask a private life filled with hypocrisy and self‑interest. After accidentally seducing a stranger during a storm, he becomes entangled with her stridently religious sister Rhonda and her unemployed husband Jerome, setting off a sequence of opportunistic schemes and shifting alliances. What starts as an attempted blackmail quickly spirals into an uneasy partnership that forces each character to confront their own motives and desires.

Starring Stephen McHattie as the charismatic but compromised preacher, with Exene Cervenka as Rhonda and Viggo Mortensen as Jerome, the film satirizes the spectacle of televised faith and the entanglements of sex, money, and morality. Through off‑kilter humor and surreal, punk‑inflected energy, it skewers the self‑serving excesses of religious showmanship and the porous line between sincerity and exploitation.

MERMAID LEGEND

(1984, Japan, Toshiharu Ikeda)

After the sudden death of her husband during a night fishing trip, Migiwa Saijima begins to suspect that the incident was not an accident but the result of corruption involving local businessmen and powerful figures along the coast. Isolated and struggling with grief, she gradually uncovers signs that her husband’s death was tied to a larger conspiracy connected to land development and criminal interests in the region. As the truth becomes clearer, her sorrow transforms into a fierce determination for revenge.

Taking advantage of local folklore surrounding a legendary sea spirit, Migiwa begins a calculated campaign of retaliation against the men she believes responsible. Using the image of a vengeful mermaid to spread fear and confusion, she lures her targets into increasingly dangerous situations, turning the coastal landscape into the setting for a series of violent confrontations.

Directed by Toshiharu Ikeda, Mermaid Legend blends elements of revenge thriller, folklore, and exploitation cinema into a dark story of grief and vengeance set against the stark beauty of Japan’s coastal fishing communities.

ROLLING THUNDER

(1977, USA, John Flynn)

BRAIN DAMAGE

(1988, USA, Frank Henenlotter)

Set in the shadowy underbelly of New York City, a young man named Brian becomes host to a parasitic creature named Aylmer, which injects a euphoric, mind-altering fluid directly into his brain. As the addiction takes hold, Brian finds himself caught between pleasure and destruction, forced to commit increasingly violent acts to feed the creature’s insatiable hunger.

A grotesque and hallucinatory tour de force, Brain Damage exemplifies Frank Henenlotter’s signature blend of body horror, dark comedy, and urban decay. With surreal practical effects, pulsating gore, and a warped sense of humor, the film transforms the human body into a battleground of parasitic control, addiction, and the intoxicating allure of self-destruction.

ROADGAMES

(1981, Australia, Richard Franklin)

A long-haul trucker picks up a mysterious hitchhiker while crisscrossing the isolated roads of rural Australia. When a series of strange disappearances begins to surface, suspicion falls on everyone, and what starts as a routine journey becomes a tense game of cat and mouse. Trapped in a landscape where help is far away, each mile raises the stakes and deepens the sense of unease.

Roadgames is a taut, suspenseful thriller that combines Hitchcockian tension with the stark isolation of the outback. Richard Franklin crafts an atmosphere of paranoia and slow-building dread, keeping viewers uncertain about who can be trusted. Stylish, gripping, and chilling, the film transforms ordinary roads into a labyrinth of fear and obsession, proving that danger can lurk in even the most mundane places.

MYSTERY MOVIE

REPO MAN

(1984, USA, Alex Cox)

PUNK AT 50 PRESENTS

A disaffected young punk drifts into the strange, chaotic world of car repossession in Los Angeles, discovering that the job is far stranger than he imagined. As he chases delinquent vehicles, he encounters anarchic subcultures, shadowy government agents, and a mysterious car with dangerous, possibly extraterrestrial cargo. Every odd encounter pushes him further into a surreal landscape where reality and absurdity collide.

Repo Man is a darkly comic, offbeat cult classic that blends science fiction, punk energy, and social satire. Alex Cox’s direction revels in the absurdities of consumer culture, bureaucracy, and youth rebellion, capturing a city both alien and familiar. Chaotic, irreverent, and wildly imaginative, the film is a collision of genre, attitude, and off-kilter humor that continues to resonate with its anarchic vision of modern life.

DEADLY CIRCUIT

(1983, France, Claude Miller)

Michel Serrault (Kill the Referee) plays ‘The Eye’, a P.I. who becomes obsessed with the target of his investigation, a murderer (Isabelle Adjani, The Story of Adele H.) he follows across Europe as she moves from one victim to another. Believing her to be his long-lost daughter, he conceals evidence as she evades capture and leaves a bloody trail in her wake. A transcontinental noir with wild doses of pitch black humour, Deadly Circuit features both leads on top form alongside a stunning supporting cast including Stephane Audran (The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie), Macha Méril (Deep Red), Sami Frey (Bande à part), and Jean-Claude Brialy (The Bride Wore Black) among others.

GOD TOLD ME TO

(1976, USA, Larry Cohen)

A disturbed young man named Richie believes he is receiving direct messages from God, commanding him to carry out a series of violent acts. As he drifts through Los Angeles, his delusions intensify, pulling him deeper into a fractured reality where faith, madness, and brutality become indistinguishable.

God Told Me To is a strange, unsettling blend of police procedural, science fiction, and psychological horror. Its mix of religious paranoia, urban decay, and unexpected narrative turns gives it a uniquely disorienting edge, making it one of the more singular genre films of the 1970s.

MYSTERY MOVIE

WENT THE DAY WELL?

(1942, United Kingdom, Alberto Cavalcanti)

A group of villagers in a quiet English countryside community welcome what they believe to be British soldiers stationed in their town. It soon becomes clear that the men are actually German paratroopers in disguise, and the villagers must band together to resist the occupation and fight back against the enemy within.

Blending wartime propaganda with moments of genuine tension and brutality, the film presents a chilling what-if scenario of invasion on home soil. Its calm rural setting contrasts sharply with sudden violence, giving it a stark, unsettling power that lingers beyond its patriotic framework.

MESSIAH OF EVIL

(1973, USA, Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz)

A young woman travels to a small coastal California town in search of her missing father, only to find the place gripped by a strange, dreamlike malaise. As she stays in his deserted home, she begins to uncover cryptic writings and disturbing clues that suggest the town is under the influence of a dark, otherworldly force. Her investigation leads her into a series of increasingly surreal and terrifying encounters with its inhabitants.

An eerie, slow-burning horror film that drifts between waking nightmare and cosmic dread, it builds its power through atmosphere rather than conventional scares. Its haunting imagery and disjointed narrative give it a hypnotic, almost apocalyptic tone that has made it a cult favourite.

MATADOR

(1986, Spain, Pedro Almodóvar)

A young man obsessed with bullfighting and death becomes entangled with a former matador and a mysterious lawyer, both of whom are driven by a shared fascination with eroticism and killing. As their paths converge, desire and violence become inseparable, leading them into a dangerous, obsessive relationship where pleasure and death are intertwined.

A provocative blend of melodrama, dark comedy, and psychological thriller, the film explores the connection between sex, death, and spectacle with bold, stylised intensity. Its heightened tone and fixation on obsession and performance make it one of the more striking early works in its director’s filmography.

FUCKTOYS

(2025, USA, Annapurna Sriram)

For her debut feature, Annapurna Sriram delivers a gleeful slice of queer bubblegum grindhouse shot on gorgeous 16mm.

Psychics have predicted she has been cursed, and the only way out is to deliver one thousand dollars and slaughter a lamb. As she rides the streets of Trashtown, encountering violence, sex and love, the spirit of John Waters never feels far away. But here, we’re treated to a staunchly female gaze. Camp, trashy, distasteful and thoroughly enjoyable, this is a cult classic in the making.

BLUE MONDAY - MYSTERY EROTIC CINEMA

Blue Monday presents the best of horny cult cinema - encapsulating everything from erotic thrillers, carnal noir, golden age porno and transgressive sleaze from both the underground and the mainstream.

This screening will feature adult-themed content, including sexually explicit and risqué material. Please consider yourself forewarned that these films may (and probably will) contain offensive and upsetting content. Do not attend if you are of a sensitive disposition.

Adults only.

TICKET OF NO RETURN

(1979, West Germany, Ulrike Ottinger)

A woman disillusioned with society boards a train with the intention of drinking herself to death in a public place, believing this to be her final act of defiance. As she moves through bars, streets, and encounters with strangers, her journey becomes a stark confrontation with social expectations placed on women, morality, and self-destruction.

Ulrike Ottinger constructs a rigid, episodic descent that feels both theatrical and clinical, using repetition, ritual, and performance to strip away any sense of comfort. The film’s cold structure and stylised behaviour turn it into a confrontation with public judgment and personal collapse, balancing provocation with formal precision.

Introduced and programmed by Juno Valentine

FREAK ORLANDO

(1981, West Germany, Ulrike Ottinger)

A stylised episodic journey follows Orlando, a figure who moves through a series of grotesque and theatrical tableaux, encountering a parade of eccentric characters, social archetypes, and distorted versions of history and identity. Across these shifting episodes, the boundaries between gender, time, and reality dissolve into a carnival-like procession of spectacle and performance.

Structured like a surreal stage play, the film turns its attention to the performative nature of identity, using costume, exaggeration, and absurdist humour to dismantle fixed ideas of gender and normality. Its deliberately artificial style creates a world where transformation is constant and nothing remains stable for long.

Introduced and programmed by Juno Valentine

SWEET BABY CHARLIE aka THE SADIST

(1963, USA, James Landis)

A trio of schoolteachers traveling by car through rural California stop at a junkyard for help, only to encounter a young man and his unstable girlfriend. What begins as a minor inconvenience quickly turns into a hostage situation, as the couple reveal themselves to be violent fugitives with a taste for sadistic control and escalating cruelty.

Shot in stark black and white by Vilmos Zsigmond early in his career, the film traps its characters in a pressure cooker of intimidation and unpredictability. Its stripped-down setting and relentless focus on power imbalance give it a raw, early blueprint feel for later home-invasion and exploitation cinema. Watch out for an incredible and demonic leading performance by Arch Hall, Jr.

MAD LOVE

(1935, USA, Karl Freund)

A brilliant but unstable surgeon becomes obsessed with a beautiful young woman, and when she spurns his advances, he uses his medical skills to manipulate her life in increasingly dangerous and controlling ways. His obsession escalates into a dark and twisted struggle between desire, power, and madness.

Karl Freund directs a tense and atmospheric melodrama, blending expressionist visuals with psychological suspense. The film examines obsession and control with a mixture of style and intensity, making it a compelling early example of Hollywood’s fascination with the darker side of desire.

MULHOLLAND DRIVE

(2001, USA, David Lynch)

A wide-eyed aspiring actress arrives in Los Angeles and befriends a mysterious amnesiac woman found wandering after a car crash on Mulholland Drive. As they try to uncover her identity, their search leads them into a labyrinth of Hollywood dreams, fractured identities, and uncanny coincidences that blur the boundary between fantasy and reality.

A hypnotic, dreamlike puzzle that shifts between noir mystery and psychological nightmare, the film builds an atmosphere of unease through disjointed narratives and haunting imagery. Its exploration of desire, identity, and illusion has made it one of the defining works of 21st-century cinema.

BLIND RAGE

(1976, Philippines, USA, Efren C. Piñon)

A blind Vietnam veteran is mistakenly framed for a bank robbery after a group of criminals use his presence at the scene to cover their escape. As he becomes the target of a police manhunt, he must rely on heightened senses, training, and determination to survive and clear his name while navigating a city that refuses to see the truth.

Blind Rage delivers a tight exploitation-era thriller built around a high-concept hook, using its protagonist’s condition to structure set-pieces of pursuit, confusion, and escalating danger. Its blend of crime narrative and survival tension gives it a brisk, grindhouse-style momentum.

SPRING BREAKERS

(2012, USA, Harmony Korine)

Four college friends head to Florida for spring break, determined to escape their dull routines and experience something more extreme than their everyday lives. When their money runs out, they are pulled into the orbit of a local rapper and small-time criminal, drifting into a world of parties, crime, and escalating recklessness that begins to spiral out of control.

Directed by Harmony Korine, Spring Breakers is a neon-drenched dream of excess, cutting between hypnotic imagery, repetition, and sudden bursts of violence. Its glossy surfaces and disorienting structure turn youth culture, consumerism, and desire into something both seductive and corrosive, constantly shifting between satire and immersion.

MYSTERY MOVIE

TRAPEZE

(1956, USA, Carol Reed)

A talented trapeze artist working in a European circus is drawn into a rivalry between an aging star performer and a younger, ambitious acrobat. As ambition, pride, and romantic tension collide under the big top, dangerous stunts and emotional entanglements push the performers toward both physical and personal risk.

Set against the bright spectacle of the circus, the film balances melodrama with athletic precision, using the trapeze sequences as both literal and emotional high-wire acts. Its focus on rivalry and desire gives the story a steady undercurrent of tension beneath its glossy entertainment surface.

Introduced and programmed by Ally Russell-Shields

THE MANITOU

(1978, USA, Canada, William Girdler)

A woman begins to experience strange physical symptoms linked to a rapidly growing tumor on her neck, leading doctors to suspect something far more unusual than a medical condition. As her partner searches for answers, he uncovers a chilling connection between her affliction and an ancient supernatural force tied to Native American mythology.

The film shifts between medical thriller and occult horror, building a sense of escalating absurdity as science collides with the supernatural. Its mix of practical effects, 70s genre excess, and increasingly unhinged narrative gives it a strange, uneven energy that leans into cult territory.

Introduced and programmed by Ally Russell-Shields

MYSTERY MOVIE

LONDON

(1994, United Kingdom, Patrick Keiller)

In London, an unseen narrator, voiced by Paul Scofield, returns to the British capital after several years abroad to accompany his reclusive friend Robinson on a series of reflective urban explorations. Through a series of three walks around diverse areas of the city, their observations mix personal insight with encounters and images drawn from real life, capturing the city’s architecture, public spaces, and cultural landmarks. The narrative bridges memory, literature, and everyday experience as it recounts events and social change in London over the course of a year.

More than a straightforward travelogue, London unfolds as a cinematic essay on the character and transformation of the city itself, using archival imagery and evocative narration to weave in political and historical context. References to literary figures and philosophical ideas subtly shape the film’s impressionistic portrait, linking the lived environment with broader cultural currents and the lived realities of early 1990s London.

DEEP END

(1970, United Kingdom, Jerzy Skolimowski)

Set in a crowded London public bathhouse, the film follows Mike, a teenage boy working a summer job, who becomes infatuated with Susan, a confident and enigmatic older woman. As he navigates desire, jealousy, and confusion, his obsession grows, leading him into increasingly risky and morally ambiguous situations. The confined, steamy environment heightens tension, reflecting the intensity and awkwardness of youthful obsession.

Deep End blends psychological drama with sensual tension and dark humor, using bold visual composition and a moody soundtrack to amplify the protagonist’s inner turmoil. The film explores themes of sexual awakening, obsession, and the vulnerability of adolescence, offering a sharp, sometimes unsettling look at the collision between desire and experience.

THE FIFTH CORD

(1971, Italy, Luigi Bazzoni)

After a New Year's Eve party, a series of savage murders occurs in Rome, with victims linked to Andrea Bild. The killer, a maniac wearing black gloves, leaves a gruesome signature at each crime scene: a glove with a finger cut off, representing a countdown.

As the police, led by a seasoned inspector, focus their investigation on him, an alcoholic and struggling Andrea tries to identify the killer to clear his own name, while his personal relationships with his ex (Silvia Monti) and current girlfriend (Pamela Tiffin) disintegrate. The film is noted for its high-contrast, atmospheric cinematography by Vittorio Storaro and a musical score by Ennio Morricone.

SHRINE OF ABOMINATIONS

(2025, USA, Ross Kennedy, Skinner)

The Library of the Occult presents...

On the cursed world of Orbus Kaal, the malevolent wizard Gar‑Gnargorath tries to invoke the cosmic horror forms of Demotep as part of his universal plans for revenge and domination. His ambitions set into motion an epic, otherworldly conflict when another terrifying being named Morgogg also looms within the realm, promising chaos and confrontation as these dark forces collide.

This stop‑motion animated short blends fantasy, horror, and cosmic spectacle into a wildly imaginative, handcrafted world. Packed with grotesque creatures, arcane visuals, and a raw, psychedelic energy, Shrine of Abominations delivers a unique horror fantasy experience that pulls from heavy metal aesthetics and old‑school fantasy imagination in a way few films attempt.

Plus a selection of The Library of the Occult music videos, short films + limited vinyls and merch available on the night.

Runtime: 85 mins

Certificate: 18

Monday 8/6

Bar 6pm

Film 6:30pm

Digital

Book here

SHRINE OF ABOMINATIONS

(2025, USA, Ross Kennedy, Skinner)

Runtime: 85 mins

Certificate: 18

Monday 8/6

Bar 8:15pm

Film 8:45pm

Digital

Book here

SHRIME TIME: A NIGHT OF BIZARRO UNDERSEEN ANIME

From radical student animation collectives to sun-bleached techno-dystopias and gore-drenched horror, Shrime Time shines where the sun daren’t: revealing the backside of seldom-seen Japanese visual culture. Expect screenings from the 1960s to the present day, paired with special guests: musicians, artists, researchers and those obsessed with the outermost edges of Japan’s visual imagination.

The Shirime a yokai (Japanese folkloric spirit and the evenings conveniently misspelled namesake) whose sole purpose is to startle unsuspecting samurai by revealing an eyeball in place of an arsehole. In his sick, twisted way, Shirime embodies the very spirit of B-cinema - a flash of grotesque brilliance, whose origin and intent remain a mystery, leaving the path forever altered.

So come. Sit still in the dark. Let the rectacular eye stare deep into your curious soul.

The Shirime is watching.

SHRIME TIME: A NIGHT OF BIZARRO UNDERSEEN ANIME

DISCREET CINE PRESENTS: TR BASKIN

(1971, USA, Herbert Ross)

Candice Bergen (Carnal Knowledge and Murphy Brown) is T.R. Baskin, a naïve young woman with a droll sense of humor, who ventures from small town Ohio to the bright lights of Chicago in search of an interesting career, intellectual stimulation, true love and happiness… and instead discovers that the urban existence is as unfulfilling and lonely as the one she fled.

A tender encounter with one man (James Caan) ends with an unfortunate misunderstanding. However, it leads to a therapeutic Sunday afternoon with a sincere traveling salesman (Peter Boyle), who provides hope and encouragement, as he confides in her about his own insecurities and disappointments. Herbert Ross (Footloose and Pennies From Heaven) directs this wryly humorous drama from a perceptive script by Peter Hyams.

Introduced and programmed by Agne Qami

DISCREET CINE PRESENTS: TR BASKIN

(1971, USA, Herbert Ross)

WWW.RACHELORMONT.COM

(2024, USA, Peter Vack)

Rachel Ormont lives in a tightly controlled dystopian environment where her existence is shaped by advertising, surveillance, and a parasocial relationship with a pop star known as Mommy 6.0. As her sense of self becomes increasingly unstable, the boundaries between identity, media, and performance begin to dissolve in a surreal feedback loop of consumption and control.

A dense, hyper-stylised experiment in digital-era satire, the film collapses internet culture, identity formation, and performance into a fragmented, overwhelming experience. Its abrasive structure and sensory overload aesthetic turn contemporary media life into something both absurd and unsettlingly intimate.

WWW.RACHELORMONT.COM

(2024, USA, Peter Vack)

NICKELFEST #1 - THREE DAY PASS!

To celebrate one year since the opening of the most depraved Grindhouse Cinema in all the land, we are dredging the cinematic sewers for our biggest marathon yet - the first ever NICKELFEST.

Three days, 15 surprise films - showcasing your selections of your very favourite screenings from the past year.

Except the wildest, rowdiest, most deranged treasures and the full grindhouse experience. Plus of course - birthday cake.

We will screen 5 films per day at regular intervals to be announced on the day. Passholders will be free to come and go at their leisure.

Passholders will receive a limited printed ticket with unique art, and will be free to come and go at their leisure.

Three day passholders get an extremely limited edition poster print by Jordan McLaughlin @doomsday_soiree.

NICKELFEST #1 - DAY ONE

DAY ONE ONLY (FRIDAY 12TH JUNE: 2PM-12AM)

To celebrate one year since the opening of the most depraved Grindhouse Cinema in all the land, we are dredging the cinematic sewers for our biggest marathon yet - the first ever NICKELFEST.

Three days, 15 surprise films - showcasing your selections of your very favourite screenings from the past year.

Except the wildest, rowdiest, most deranged treasures and the full grindhouse experience. Plus of course - birthday cake.

We will screen 5 films per day at regular intervals to be announced on the day. Passholders will receive a limited printed ticket with unique art, and will be free to come and go at their leisure.

NICKELFEST #1 - DAY TWO

DAY TWO ONLY (SATURDAY 13TH JUNE: 2PM-12AM)

To celebrate one year since the opening of the most depraved Grindhouse Cinema in all the land, we are dredging the cinematic sewers for our biggest marathon yet - the first ever NICKELFEST.

Three days, 15 surprise films - showcasing your selections of your very favourite screenings from the past year.

Except the wildest, rowdiest, most deranged treasures and the full grindhouse experience. Plus of course - birthday cake.

We will screen 5 films per day at regular intervals to be announced on the day. Passholders will receive a limited printed ticket with unique art, and will be free to come and go at their leisure.

NICKELFEST #1 - DAY THREE

DAY THREE ONLY (SUNDAY 14TH JUNE: 1PM-11PM)

To celebrate one year since the opening of the most depraved Grindhouse Cinema in all the land, we are dredging the cinematic sewers for our biggest marathon yet - the first ever NICKELFEST.

Three days, 15 surprise films - showcasing your selections of your very favourite screenings from the past year.

Except the wildest, rowdiest, most deranged treasures and the full grindhouse experience. Plus of course - birthday cake.

We will screen 5 films per day at regular intervals to be announced on the day. Passholders will receive a limited printed ticket with unique art, and will be free to come and go at their leisure.

FUCKTOYS

(2025, USA, Annapurna Sriram)

BLUE MONDAY - MYSTERY EROTIC CINEMA

CLEARCUT

(1991, Canada, Ryszard Bugajski)

In the wake of a failed protest against a logging company, a lawyer finds himself drawn into a violent confrontation led by an enigmatic Indigenous man who takes the fight far beyond the courtroom.

Shot in the forests of northern Ontario, Clearcut burns with moral ambiguity and environmental rage—part psychological thriller, part political parable. Graham Greene delivers a mesmerising, unsettling performance in this overlooked Canadian masterpiece.

FEAR IS THE KEY

(1972, United Kingdom, Michael Tuchner)

A former Royal Navy diver is pulled into a dangerous conspiracy after surviving a plane crash that was deliberately caused. As he investigates who was responsible, he becomes entangled with criminals, corrupt officials, and a hidden agenda tied to a larger financial and political scheme.

Fear is the Key is a tightly wound 1970s action thriller, mixing underwater set-pieces with car chases and paranoia-driven plotting. Its focus on pursuit, survival, and layered conspiracies gives it a steady, propulsive energy rooted in practical action filmmaking of its era.

COMBAT SHOCK

(1986, USA, Buddy Giovinazzo)

A traumatized Vietnam veteran living in a decaying urban neighbourhood struggles to adjust to civilian life while dealing with poverty, isolation, and the psychological aftermath of war. As his situation worsens, his reality becomes increasingly unstable, leading to violent and disturbing episodes that reflect his inner collapse.

Troma’s bleakest work trades its usual comedic tone for a grim, unrelenting portrait of post-war trauma and urban despair. Shot on a shoestring budget, its abrasive style and raw performances create an oppressive atmosphere that lingers long after its most shocking moments.

WOLF GUY

(1975, Japan, Kazuhiko Yamaguchi)

Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba is a martial arts "manimal" in the ultra-70's, 100% bizarre mixture of horror, action and sci-fi that is Wolf Guy, one of the rarest and most sought-after cult films produced by Japan's Toei Studio. Based on a manga by Kazumasa Hirai (creator of 8 Man), and never before released outside of Japan, it's a genre film classic waiting to be discovered and a completely unclassifiable trip into phantasmagoric funk.

Chiba stars as Akira Inugami, the only survivor of a clan of ancient werewolves who relies on his supernatural powers to solve mysterious crimes. After a series of bloody killings perpetrated by an unseen force, Inugami uncovers a conspiracy involving a murdered cabaret singer, corrupt politicians, and a plot by the J-CIA to harvest his blood in order to steal his lycanthropic powers. At the same time, Inugami also discovers the truth behind his family heritage, and that he may not be the last of his kind.

TRANSCENDING DIMENSIONS

(2025, Japan, Toshiaki Toyoda)

A hitman pursues a mysterious Japanese ascetic, encountering an entanglement of mystical power and space-time along the way. Blending science fiction with other genre elements, Toshiaki Toyoda brings new vitality to his “Mt. Resurrection Wolf” short film series which have culminated over the years to lead to this feature film.

THE HOLY MOUNTAIN

(1973, Mexico/USA, Alejandro Jodorowsky)

In an unnamed, fever-dream metropolis, a Christlike thief is recruited by an enigmatic alchemist who gathers a group of wealthy elites — each representing a planet and a vice — to undergo ritual purification. Their quest leads to a remote mountain where they hope to overthrow the immortals who rule the world’s illusions. What begins as a fragmented pilgrimage through consumerism, militarism, and spiritual commodification mutates into a series of allegorical tableaux that destabilise narrative, identity, and the very premise of transcendence.

A landmark of countercultural cinema, The Holy Mountain fuses surrealist theatre, occult symbology, and political satire into a deliberately overwhelming sensory design. Jodorowsky uses ritualised staging, vivid colour choreography, and confrontational imagery to interrogate systems of belief and authority, creating a film that operates simultaneously as esoteric initiation, anti-capitalist critique, and self-reflexive provocation.

SLUGS

(1988, Spain, Juan Piquer Simón)

Set in a small, isolated town, a mysterious outbreak turns ordinary garden slugs into vicious, carnivorous killers. As residents begin to vanish and panic spreads, a local scientist races to uncover the cause and stop the growing menace before the town is overrun.

A gruesome exercise in eco-horror, Slugs combines relentless creature attacks with grimy, small-town atmosphere. Packed with practical effects and escalating gore, the film transforms a seemingly harmless pest into a relentless force of terror, delivering a disturbingly visceral vision of nature turned lethal.

WHO KILLED CAPTAIN ALEX?

(2010, Uganda, Nabwana Isaac Godfrey Geoffrey)

A mafia leader's brother is captured in a shootout, prompting a revenge attack on the army camp. But when troop leader Captain Alex is killed during a raid, a violent war escalates between the two sides. The captain's brother takes matters into his own hands, while mafia henchmen take to the skies to bomb Kampala.

Narrated with energy and wit by 'Video Joker' Emmie, ultra-low budget thriller Who Killed Captain Alex became an international viral sensation when its trailer first hit YouTube. Self-taught film-maker Nabwana Isaac Godfrey Geoffrey produced, directed, shot, wrote and edited the film from his home in the slums of Uganda (a.k.a 'Wakaliwood') for under $200.

MYSTERY MOVIE

FOX AND HIS FRIENDS

(1975, West Germany, Rainer Werner Fassbinder)

A lottery win leads not to financial and emotional freedom but to social captivity, in this wildly cynical classic about love and exploitation by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Casting himself against type, the director plays a suggestible working-class innocent who lets himself be taken advantage of by his bourgeois new boyfriend and his circle of materialistic friends, leading to the kind of resonant misery that only Fassbinder could create.

Fox and His Friends is unsparing social commentary, an amusingly pitiless and groundbreaking if controversial depiction of a gay community in 1970s West Germany.

THE LEGEND OF THE STARDUST BROTHERS

(1982, Japan, Macoto Tezka)

A struggling music producer encounters two young men who are turned into pop stars almost overnight, only for their rise to fame to spiral into surreal rivalries, eccentric performances, and increasingly chaotic public spectacle. As their popularity grows, so does the absurdity surrounding their image, blurring the line between manufactured stardom and genuine identity.

A wildly offbeat mix of musical satire and pop surrealism, the film treats the music industry as a space of absurd transformation and theatrical excess. Its collage-like style, shifting tones, and deliberate artificiality give it a cult reputation as one of Japanese cinema’s most eccentric experiments in pop culture critique.

MYSTERY MOVIE

OUT OF THE BLUE

(1980, USA, Dennis Hopper)

A rebellious teenage girl grows up in a fractured family in the Pacific Northwest, trying to find her place in a world that feels hostile and unforgiving. Her father is an alcoholic ex‑truck driver serving time for a deadly accident, and her mother drifts through addiction and unstable relationships while the girl clings to music icons and the punk scene as a form of escape. When her father is released from prison, the fragile balance in the household collapses and buried traumas come to the surface, driving her toward a devastating and irrevocable choice.

Dennis Hopper’s Out of the Blue is a raw, unflinching drama that captures the angst and alienation of youth in a world without direction. With a powerful central performance, the film confronts dysfunction, desire for belonging, and the corrosive effects of violence and neglect. Intense, harrowing, and emotionally stark, it offers a bleak but unforgettable portrait of a young life pushed to the edge.

THE LAST AMERICAN VIRGIN

(1982, USA, Boaz Davidson)

Gary, Rick and David are American teens with one thing on their mind. They move from party to party, trying out their latest chat-up lines, which usually ends in miserable failure for Gary, as he's more interested in finding true romance than a quick fumble in someone's parents' bedroom. So when Karen arrives at their school, Gary falls head over heels in love, but Rick's baser intentions towards her threaten to break up their friendship for good.

Championed as one of the most underrated films of its era, The Last American Virgin is a raucous but also surprisingly intelligent and sobering look at the hideousness of growing up, peer pressures, misplaced expectations and unforeseen consequences.

THE FOURTH MAN

(1983, Netherlands, Paul Verhoeven)

In Paul Verhoeven's last film produced in the Netherlands before he moved onto Hollywood to create such classics as Robocop and Total Recall, he takes us through the twisted psyche of Gerard Reve, a troubled writer whose life becomes entangled with mysterious women, murder, and the supernatural. As Reve spirals into a world of erotic desire and deceit, he must navigate the blurred lines between reality and fantasy to uncover the truth. Indulge your senses, challenge your perceptions, and join us for this showing of The Fourth Man.

FORBIDDEN WORLD

(1982, USA, Allan Holzman)

A group of scientists working at a remote space research facility create a new lifeform as part of an experimental project, but the creature rapidly mutates into something violent and uncontrollable. As it escapes containment, the crew must navigate a collapsing station while facing the consequences of their own unchecked scientific ambition.

A low-budget 1980s science fiction horror film that leans heavily into practical effects, synth-heavy atmosphere, and exploitation-era pacing. Its mix of claustrophobic space setting and creature-feature violence gives it a pulpy, grindhouse energy typical of early B-movie sci-fi.

THE LADY IN RED

(1979, USA, Lewis Teague)

Set against the backdrop of Depression-era America, The Lady in Red follows Polly Franklin, a young farm woman who flees small-town confinement for the promise of excitement and independence in Chicago. Drawn into the orbit of gangsters and nightclub glamour, she reinvents herself amid speakeasies, crime syndicates, and shifting loyalties. Her relationship with the notorious outlaw John Dillinger places her at the center of a world where danger and desire are tightly intertwined.

Starring Pamela Sue Martin as Polly and Robert Conrad as Dillinger, the film blends crime drama with pulp romance. Produced by Roger Corman, it balances period detail with exploitation-inflected energy, presenting Polly not only as a witness to criminal legend but as a woman navigating ambition, survival, and betrayal in a violent, male-dominated underworld.

BIKER LESBIANS FROM HELL BOOK READING BY CHRISTOPHER BRETT BAILEY + THE LONERS (16MM)

(1972, USA, Sutton Roley)

FREE COPY OF THE BOOK WITH EVERY TICKET

Christopher Brett Bailey launches his new book: BIKER LESBIANS FROM HELL at The Nickel… a collaboration with illustrator Daniel Kettle, out now via HAMMER PULP.

Biker Lesbians from Hell rumble with Earth Cops at the border. Expect guns, motorcycles and a double dose of pulp as '70s trash fiction meets '80s action bloodbath... This corrosive page-turner pairs the hallucinogenic hardboiled writing of Christopher Brett Bailey with the eye-ball searing illustrations of Daniel Kettle.

Christopher will read a 30 min. extract from the book with Daniel’s OTT illustrations up on the cinema screen.

Then there will be a 30 minutes interval for drinking and book signings accompanied by Christopher's mixtape of classic metal, hard rock and biker music.

Then: THE NICKEL have a 16mm print of a sleazy old biker movie from 1972 … we’ll chuck that on the big screen and drink some more.

'achingly hip and frighteningly savage' - The Guardian

'what a fucking genius' - Smiths Magazine

'A spectacularly brilliant wordsmith... his brain is permanently on fire. Hop on the back of his Harley, hold tight, you won’t regret it.' - Terry Gilliam

SURVIVING EDGED WEAPONS

(1988, USA, Dennis Anderson)

Originally produced as a police training video, the film demonstrates the dangers posed by knives and other handheld weapons through a mix of reenactments, interviews, and real-world case studies. Officers, medical professionals, and survivors recount violent encounters while the film breaks down how quickly ordinary situations can escalate into deadly confrontations.

Its reputation comes largely from the strange collision between instructional seriousness and unintentionally surreal presentation that feels like a cross between Killing of America and Deadbeat at Dawn. Detached narration, abrupt tonal shifts, and graphic practical demonstrations give it an uncanny quality that has transformed it from niche training material into a cult object of fascination.

GRAND CENTRAL

(2013, France, Austria, Rebecca Zlotowski)

A young man finds work at a nuclear power plant, entering a tightly controlled environment where danger is ever-present and closely monitored. As he becomes part of a crew accustomed to risk, he begins a passionate affair with a coworker’s fiancée, creating emotional tension that mirrors the invisible threat of radiation surrounding them.

Set against the hum of machinery and constant awareness of contamination, the film ties physical risk to emotional volatility, letting both build in parallel. Its focus on bodies—exposed, vulnerable, and desired—gives the romance a charged intensity that feels inseparable from the hazardous world the characters inhabit.

Introduced by Journalist, Charlotte Matheson

THE CRAZIES

(1973, USA, George A. Romero)

After the experimental outings of There’s Always Vanilla and Season of the Witch, Night of the Living Dead director George A. Romero returned to rather more distinct horror territory with his 1973 infection opus The Crazies.

When a plane carrying a secret biological weapon crash-lands in the vicinity of a small, rural town, the area descends into chaos. Infected with a virus that sends them into a homicidal frenzy, the locals turn on each other in an orgy of bloody violence. As the army cordons off the town and government agents clash with scientists over the appropriate course of action, a small band of survivors attempt to make their way to safety.

Starring cult icon Lynn Lowry (Shivers, I Drink Your Blood), the influence of Romero’s The Crazies can be felt in everything from the director’s own subsequent work, many commentators have noted the stylistic and thematic similarities to his zombie classic Dawn of the Dead, right up to Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later and beyond.

CARNE

(1968, Argentina, Armando Bó)

A young woman working at a meat-packing plant is assaulted after leaving work late one evening, setting off a chain of events that traps her within cycles of exploitation, humiliation, and violence. As she moves between abusive relationships and predatory men, her attempts to reclaim autonomy are constantly undermined by the brutal social world surrounding her.

Built around melodrama pushed to extreme intensity, the film mixes social exploitation cinema with lurid emotional excess, turning everyday environments into spaces of threat and spectacle. Isabel Sarli’s central performance anchors its collision of sexuality, suffering, and provocation, which became a defining element of Armando Bó’s films.

BEWITCHED aka EMBRUJADA

(1976, Argentina, Armando Bó)

Ansise is a former Indian whose only dream is to become a mother. The idea of motherhood gradually turns into an obsession for her. Unfortunately, she has married an impotent man. But she tries to get pregnant anyway. She even tries to work as a prostitute and goes to a local witch. But the real problem is that an evil entity called Pombero has fallen with love with her, killing all the men crossing her way.

A BETTER TOMORROW

(1986, Hong Kong, John Woo)

This timeless classic revolves around the gripping tale of two brothers, Mark and Ho, whose lives take divergent paths due to their involvement in the criminal underworld. As they confront betrayal, loyalty, and redemption, the film seamlessly weaves intense action sequences with poignant character development.

Set against a backdrop of the Hong Kong triad milieu, A Better Tomorrow showcases Woo's signature style, featuring mesmerizing gunplay and stylized choreography.

This cinematic masterpiece not only pioneered the "heroic bloodshed" genre but also solidified John Woo's reputation as a visionary director.

BOXING HELENA

(1993, USA, Jennifer Lynch)

A surgeon becomes obsessed with a woman he cannot emotionally possess, leading him into a spiral of obsession. As their relationship twists into a disturbing struggle over control, dependence, and desire, the boundaries between care and cruelty become increasingly distorted.

Jennifer Lynch, daughter of David Lynch, turns psychological obsession into something dreamlike and claustrophobic, using the confined setting and heightened emotional logic to blur fantasy with pathology. The film’s stylised approach to desire and control gives it the strange, feverish quality of a modern gothic melodrama.

MYSTERY MOVIE

COCAINE: ONE MAN'S SEDUCTION (VHS SCREENING)

(1983, USA, Paul Wendkos)

A successful real estate salesman is introduced to cocaine through his work and quickly becomes consumed by addiction, drawing his family and personal life into a downward spiral. What begins as casual experimentation soon escalates into dependency, financial instability, and emotional collapse as the drug takes over every aspect of his life.

Made-for-television cautionary drama collides with late-70s social realism here, creating a portrait of addiction shaped as much by middle-class anxiety as personal tragedy. Its straightforward approach and domestic focus give the story a grim inevitability as the protagonist steadily loses control.

ZARDOZ

(1974, United Kingdom, Ireland, John Boorman)

In a distant future where society is divided between the immortal elite known as the Eternals and the savage Brutals who live outside their enclosed world, a Brutal warrior named Zed is transported into the Eternals’ controlled utopia. As he explores this strange civilisation, he begins to question the nature of power, mortality, and control that governs both societies.

John Boorman’s sci-fi epic swings between philosophical allegory and surreal spectacle, using striking costumes, strange iconography, and conceptual world-building to construct an alien vision of the future. Its mix of earnest ideas and eccentric execution has made it a cult favourite for its sheer ambition and strangeness.

MYSTERY MOVIE

THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN

(1957, USA, Jack Arnold)

After being exposed to a mysterious radioactive mist while on a boating trip, a man begins to inexplicably shrink over time. As his condition worsens, he struggles to adapt to a world that is rapidly becoming larger, more dangerous, and increasingly hostile to his diminishing existence.

The film evolves from science fiction premise into an existential survival story, using its escalating scale shifts to explore vulnerability, isolation, and the fragility of human identity. Its inventive visual effects and shifting tone give it a surprisingly philosophical edge beneath its genre framework.

A BETTER TOMORROW

(1986, Hong Kong, John Woo)

IN THE CUT

(2003, USA, Jane Campion)

A New York literature professor becomes entangled in a police investigation after a brutal murder occurs in her neighbourhood. As she begins a sexual relationship with one of the detectives on the case, her sense of safety and emotional stability starts to erode, blurring the boundaries between desire, suspicion, and fear.

Jane Campion approaches the material with a fragmented, intimate style that prioritises sensation and interiority over procedural clarity. The film’s focus on language, erotic tension, and urban unease creates an atmosphere where intimacy and danger constantly overlap, leaving the viewer uncertain where one ends and the other begins.

WWW.RACHELORMONT.COM

(2024, USA, Peter Vack)

NIGHTS IN BLACK LEATHER

(1973, USA, Ignatio Rutkowski)

Nights in Black Leather (1973), directed by Ignatio Rutkowski and starring Peter Berlin, is a seminal, soft-core erotic film acting as a stylised travelogue of 1970s San Francisco gay life.

It follows a "Teutonic" German immigrant (Berlin) as he cruises the city's S/M bars, parks, and wooded areas, showcasing his tailored leather wardrobe and narcissistically admiring his own physique

BEWARE OF A HOLY WHORE

(1971, West Germany, Rainer Werner Fassbinder)

In Rainer Werner Fassbinder's brazen depiction of the alternating currents of lethargy and mayhem inherent in moviemaking, a film crew, played by, and not so loosely based on, his own frequent collaborators, deals with an aloof star (Eddie Constantine), an abusive director (Lou Castel), and a financially troubled production.

Inspired by the hellish process of making Whity earlier the same year, this is a vicious look at behind-the-scenes dysfunction.

THEATRE OF HORRORS: THE SORDID STORY OF PARIS’ GRAND GUIGNOL

(2025, France, USA, David Gregory)

THEATRE OF HORRORS: THE SORDID STORY OF PARIS’ GRAND GUIGNOL explores the grisly history and pervasive legacy of the Grand Guignol Theatre.

Occupying a former chapel in a seedy Pigalle alley, Paris’ Théâtre du Grand-Guignol first welcomed audiences to witness its unflinchingly horrific and naturalistic stage plays in 1897. During the next 65 years of gruesome performances, the ‘Theatre of Death’ developed a distinct brand of drama so sadistic yet brilliant, it captivated the world well beyond its final bow. Today the theatre’s name remains synonymous with macabre plots, and its legacy – from the modern horror genre to tabloid journalism, the true-crime phenomenon and beyond – continues to have a profound impact on popular culture worldwide.

Introduced by visual artist and author Madeleine Le Despencer and accompanied by short film THE JEST.