2016 has been a horrible year. In just nine months, we’ve seen the loss of multiple cultural icons, the apparent erosion of the American political system, bigotry-fueled killings at the hands of police and madmen, while the destructive power of capitalism thunders on unabated and the environment rains down ecological disaster on a world that still refuses to acknowledge its own role in climate change. As bad as things are, we at Spectacle Theater would like to remind you, dear moviegoers, that things can always get worse, and probably will. In that spirit we have selected three films highlighting the failures of humanity to prepare itself for the inevitable downward spiral. In Bad2Worse, witness the bleak inevitability of downfall at the hands of drug addition and false hope (in Born to Win), literal false imprisonment and the rational belief that being right will save you (The Fifth Floor) and the randomness of violence in a world without boundaries (Caged Terror). Watch, enjoy, and remember, this WILL be YOU someday.
BORN TO WIN
Dir. Ivan Passer, 1971.
USA. 85 minutes.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 – 10:00PM
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 – 10:00PM
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 – 7:30PM
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 – 7:30PM
“They say I’m a charmer… that I charm the people I hustle. Well, that comes after dealing with women, after hairdressing. I love to dress hair! But being that I know what to do, being that I’m hip enough to know, I do it!” George Segal plays J, a down-on-his-luck-beyond-down-on-his-luck hairdresser, scam artist and junkie in this grim portrait of NYC in the early 70s, co-starring Robert DeNiro, Paula Prentiss, Hector Elizondo and the late, great Karen Black, from the director of the equally bleak Cutter’s Way.
THE FIFTH FLOOR
Dir. Howard Avedis, 1978.
USA. 90 minutes.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3 – 5:00PM
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9 – 10:00PM
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 – 10:00PM
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 – 7:30PM
She was just looking for a night out on the town, but after collapsing on the dancefloor of a disco with strychnine poisoning, a young woman is committed to a mental institution for suicide watch. Like Sam Fuller’s “Shock Corridor,” “The Fifth Floor” begs the question, can sanity survive in a sea of insanity? Co-starring b-movie stalwarts Bo Hopkins, Robert Englund, Sharon Farrell, Julie Adams, Mel Ferrer, Earl Boen and Patti D’Arbanville. From the director of Mortuary and They’re Playing With Fire.
CAGED TERROR
aka GOLDEN APPLES OF THE SUN
Dir. Barrie McLean and Kristen Weingartner, 1973.
Canada. 96 minutes.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 – 10:00PM
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 – 5:00PM
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 – 7:30PM
A young couple (or rather, a manipulative yuppie who convinces a young woman to go camping with him) is pushed to their physical and psychological limits when their vacation is interrupted by a sadistic cult. The man is caged, the woman is tormented. Things end badly.
Watched Born to Win on Amazon recently and didn’t realize until afterwards it was the edited, TV version they were streaming. Bummer.