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.

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)

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.

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.

Programmed and introduced by visual artist Lula Rousson

Runtime: 68 mins

Certificate: 18

Friday 19/6

Bar 7pm

Film 7.30pm

Digital

Sold Out

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.

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. Daniel will do drunken portraits. There will be classic heavy metal from vinyl.

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.

ARGENTINE FILM FESTIVAL PRESENTS - CARNE

(1968, Argentina, Armando Bó)

ARGENTINE FILM FESTIVAL PRESENTS:

Set in and around a meatpacking plant, the film follows Delicia, played by Sarli, a sweet and humble girl who dreams of marrying her artist boyfriend (Victor Bó) and starting a family. But her dreams are shattered when she becomes the target of sexual violence and male obsession: a co-worker repeatedly rapes her then arranges for some of his friends to do the same. Rather than telling her boyfriend about the assaults, Delicia instead acts as if nothing has happened, fearing both consequences from the rapists, and an angry response from her fiancee, which could put his own life in danger.

Bó’s direction deliberately blurs the line between social critique and exploitation. The film sensationalises assault in a way that makes for an intensely uncomfortable viewing and underscored by the the slaughterhouse imagery, positions female flesh as another commodity to be consumed alongside the carcasses hanging in the factory. At the same time it presents a deeply pessimistic and portrait of machismo and industrial masculinity in Argentina during the 1960s.

ARGENTINE FILM FESTIVAL PRESENTS - BEWITCHED aka EMBRUJADA

(1976, Argentina, Armando Bó)

ARGENTINE FILM FESTIVAL PRESENTS:

Set in in the remote subtropical regions of northern Argentina, Embrujada draws heavily on Guaraní folklore and rural jungle landscapes, Sarli play Ansisé, a young Indigenous woman obsessed with becoming a mother despite being trapped in a loveless marriage to an impotent husband. The story revolves around the legend of the Pombero, a mythical forest spirit from local Paraguayan and Argentine folklore. Increasingly desperate to conceive, Ansisé will go to extreme lengths to get what she wants, turning to prostitution and occult rituals, only to finally come face to face with the sinister supernatural force of el Pombero.

Blending Argentine folk horror with themes of seduction, fantasy, and myth, Embrujada transforms the erotic body into a symbol of mystical feminine power, while the men drawn into its orbit meet increasingly violent ends.

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)

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.

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.