Author: Ben Harris

SHRIEK SHOW XV

Posted on by Ben Harris

There are many traditions associated with Halloween but none are as resilient, or as brain-meltingly fun, as Spectacle’s annual SHRIEK SHOW (or SHRIEKSHOW, depending on the year, apparently).

Mark Freado unleashed Shriek Show upon an unsuspecting public in 2011 with seven gut-busting horror films back-to-back in a 14-hour marathon. Mark presided over nine years of Halloween carnage before passing the curse to Zach Fleming in 2020, and the marathon has continued almost every year since.

This year marks the fifteenth year of this beloved Spectacle tradition, so we wanted to celebrate by doing something nearly as crazy as the movies Shriek Show has inflicted upon audiences over the years: a three-day Shriek Show  marathon, playing one film from every previous edition. Mark and Zach have each delved back into their respective years to pick a favorite from every edition they programmed, and where possible we’ve dug up the original program text that accompanied each film when it first screened.

Fourteen years of regional oddities, shot-on-video nightmares, forgotten slashers, supernatural freakouts, bargain-bin monsters, and movies that probably should never have existed in the first place, dragged back onto the big screen for one long Halloween weekend.

We kick things off at 7 PM on Friday, October 30th with the very first film ever screened at Shriek Show, before working our way (almost) chronologically through fourteen years of the marathon.

FULL WEEKEND PASS

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30TH
7 PM / 9 PM / 11 PM
$10 DAY PASS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31ST
NOON / 2 PM / 4 PM / 6 PM / 8 PM / 10 PM / MIDNIGHT
$25 DAY PASS

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1ST
3 PM / 5 PM / 7 PM / 9 PM
$15 DAY PASS

Individual tickets are $5 at the door.

DAY 1 – FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30TH

SHRIEK SHOW 1 – 7PM:
X XXXX XXX XXXXXX
Dir. XXXXXX XXXX, 1958
United States. 76min.
In English.

A tense and atmospheric descent into madness, X XXXX XXX XXXXXX is a lean, low budget treat with art direction that’s equal parts Man Ray and poverty row.  This film is a must for lovers of great B movies and creepy cemeteries!

SHRIEK SHOW 2 – 9PM:
XXXXXX XXXXX’X XXXX
Dir. XXX XXXXXXX, 1989
United States. 80min.
In English.

XXXXXX XXXXX’X XXXX began life as a student film before expanding into a feature. Made on a shoestring budget with a largely local cast and crew, it’s a wildly inventive example of late-’80s DIY horror, packed with handmade effects and surreal imagery.

SHRIEK SHOW 3 – 11PM:
XXX XXXXXXXXXXX
Dir. XXXX XXXXXXXXX, 1986
United States. 100min.
In English.

Someone once said “Texas regional horror is the best regional horror.” It’s a bold statement, but it would be difficult to disagree. With a close community pushing the boundaries in pretty much every aspect of the genre, the output is impressive to say the least. Bret McCormick made XXX XXXXXXXXXXX on Super-8 and edited it on 3/4″ and the result is a heartfelt, lo-fi, gut munching success. Disconnected sound, hallucinatory loops, chanting, droning, and a world of practical effects pepper this nightmarish vision of the Lone Star state.

DAY 2 – SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31ST

SHRIEK SHOW 4 – NOON
XXXXXX’X XXXXXXX: XXX XXXXXXX XXXXX
Dir. XXX XXXXX, 1989
United States. 83min.
In English.

This years entry is…well, something special indeed. With the Spectacle Shriek Show IV in full swing this will be the proverbial “third bowl of porridge” to your melted brain.

SHRIEK SHOW 6 – 2PM
XXXXXX XXXXX XX XXXXXXX X
Dir. XXXXXXX XXXXX, 1985
United States. 87min.
In English.

One of the most confusing and compelling homemade horror films ever made, future music video director XXXXXXX XXXXX’X debut feature film, shot over years on nights and weekends, is a delirious collage of oddball gore, ludicrous plot twists, and a general milieu of weirdness unlike anything else in cinema history. A head-scratcher of this magnitude hasn’t graced the Shriek Show screen since…well, probably last year!

 

SHRIEK SHOW 7 – 4PM
XXX XXXXXXXXXX
 Dir. XXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX, 1985
 United States. 92min.
 In English.

An unsung behemoth of American horror, XXX XXXXXXXXXXX encompasses many if not all the elements that make up what a true “Spectacle” movie is. Filmmaker XXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX (who worked under the pseudonym David Michael Hillman) blends a stop motion, claustrophobia, homemade sets, and great characters into an impressive DIY terror slurry.

SHRIEK SHOW 8 – 6PM
XXXXX XXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXX XX XXXX
Dir. XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX, 1995
Japan. 62min.
In Japanese with English Subtitles.

Another entry in this year’s Shriek Shows XIII lineup that almost never was – XXXXX XXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXX XX XXXX was made in 1995, edited in 2005, finished in 2009, and not released until 2012. Clocking in at just over an hour, XXXXX XXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXX XX XXXX doesn’t waste any time getting to the bleeding heart of the matter. Although it’s often compared to 1977’s HOUSE or described as “the Japanese EVIL DEAD,” the film manages to subvert all expectations and take viewers on a ride unlike anything they’ve ever seen. Truly one of a kind.

SHRIEK SHOW 9 – 8PM
XXXXXXXXXX XX X XXXXXXX XXXXX
Dir. XXXXXX XXXXXXXXX, 1981
United States. 99min.
In English.

A mental patient named George Tatum (played by a turned-up-to-11 Baird Stafford) is on the loose and fueled by nightmares of his childhood trauma and an unstoppable bloodlust George leaves a trail bodies in his wake on a coastline rampage with his former doctor and investigators hot on his tail. Meanwhile down in Florida, single mom Susan Temper has her hands full with one of her brood. Young CJ is a menace – acting out, pulling pranks on his siblings, and generally causing his poor mother to tear her hair out. Susan gets a night out of the house for a date leaving her kids with a babysitter. Things go from bad to worse on the homefront as creepy phone calls escalate into a home invasion and a devastating ending that has to be seen to be believed.

SHRIEK SHOW 10 – 10PM
XXXXXXXX: XXXXXXX XXXXXXX
Dir. XXXX XXXXXX, 1993
United States. 90min.
In English.

Shriek Show X closesd out with an early Nineties low budget “vampire flick”. Shot on 8mm for about $5k over the course of 2-3 years, this independent gorefest claims “the most exploding heads in a horror film ever” – and they’re not wrong. Also featuring a kickass heavy metal soundtrack and some of the best home-brewed FX ever committed to celluloid!

 

SHRIEK SHOW 5 – Midnight
XXXXXXXX
Dir. XXXX X. XXXXX, 1982
United States. 94min.
In English. 

Cynthia looks great and has a pentagram on her forehead and there’s a lot of blood drinking and people in cages. Also some other truly sadistic and harrowing shit goes down. The film is based on XXXXX’X novel of the same name and was followed by a sequel– XXXXXXXX 2–many moons later. DO NOT MISS THIS ONE.

CONTENT WARNING: SEXUAL VIOLENCE

DAY 3 – SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1ST

SHRIEK SHOW 11 – 3PM
XXXX XXXXX XX XXXXXXXXXX
Dir. XXXXXXX XXXXX, 1989
Italy. 90min.
In Italian with English Subtitles.

One of dozens of made-for-TV schlock gems by one of Italy’s most prolific horror directors – fans of our MADE FOR ITALIAN TV series from a few many years ago (or any of the GHOST HOUSE / LA CASA series), take note!

SHRIEK SHOW 12 – 5PM
XX XXXX XXXX XXXXX
Dir.XXXXX XXXXXX, 1999
 United States. 80min.
 In English.

A New England shot-on-mini-DV gem featuring vampires, angels, demons, incredible t-shirts and the best possum appearance in cinema history. Think FROM DUSK TIL DAWN made with the budget and enthusiasm level of a backyard wrestling video (the new blu-ray release features an archival blooper reel titled “scenes that hurt”), unhinged lore drops, and some of the best and most inventive gore no-money can buy.

 

SHRIEK SHOW 13 – 8PM
XXXX XXXXXXXXX
Dir. XXXXXX XXXXXXXX, 1979
Mexico. 98min.
In Spanish with English Subtitles.

Steeped in steadily building dread, this Mexican horror film from the late 70s is full of surprises, not to mention a knockout of an ending. Not to be missed.

SHRIEK SHOW 14 – 10PM
XXXXX
Dir. XXX XXXXX, 1974
United States. 80min.
In English.

A snake collector lures residents of a small town to his snake ranch.

TALES FROM THE TYNE

Posted on by Ben Harris

When you tell someone in the US that you’re from Newcastle upon Tyne, it will usually be followed by one of three questions: “I guess you support Newcastle United, then?” “Like the Brown Ale?” or “How far is that from London?” The answers, for the record, are yes, yes, and around 300 miles, which, in UK terms, is incredibly far. Newcastle is a city in the North East of England, sitting on the River Tyne about eight miles from the North Sea. Its roots stretch back to a Roman fort and bridge known as Pons Aelius, before a Norman castle built in the 11th century gave the city its modern name. By the 19th century, Newcastle had become one of the great industrial cities of Britain, a powerhouse of shipbuilding, coal, engineering, and heavy industry that helped drive the Industrial Revolution.

The people of Newcastle and the surrounding Tyneside area are known as Geordies, a name tied to both a distinctive dialect and a fiercely local sense of identity. The origin of the term is debated, but one popular explanation links it to the region’s loyalty to King George II during the Jacobite uprising of 1745, or possibly because they favored safety lamps invented by local engineer George Stephenson. What matters more than the etymology is what the word has come to represent: a culture built around working-class solidarity, humor, and pride in a region that has long existed outside the economic and cultural gravity of London. Today, Newcastle is a city shaped by both its industrial past and its present, where remnants of shipyards, coal staithes, and Victorian engineering sit alongside universities and music venues.

Despite this history and character, Newcastle and the surrounding area are rarely represented on screen. The films GET CARTER (1971), GOAL! (2005), and I, DANIEL BLAKE (2016), probably make up the majority of any list of movies set in or around the city. When Newcastle does appear, it often does so through stories rooted in working-class life and the social realities of the North East. These films hint at a place that is often overlooked within British cinema, overshadowed by the cultural dominance of London, even while the landscapes and communities of the North continue to shape the stories told there.

Tales From the Tyne at Spectacle Theater presents three films showcasing Newcastle upon Tyne and the communities built there: TISH (2023), PURELY BELTER (2000), and STORMY MONDAY (1988). Taken together, they offer glimpses of the city across different eras, from the everyday lives documented by photographer Tish Murtha, to the restless energy of two Newcastle teenagers chasing football tickets, to the rain-soaked jazz clubs and redevelopment anxieties of the 1980s. These films reveal a city shaped by industry, community, and change. Together, they offer a glimpse into a place whose stories and voices are too often overlooked by more than just cinema.

TISH
Dir. Paul Sng, 2023.
United Kingdom. 90 min.
In English.

THURSDAY, MAY 7th – 7:30PM
SUNDAY, MAY 17th – 5PM
MONDAY, MAY 25th – 7:30PM

TICKETS

A documentary about the life and work of Tish Murtha, a working-class photographer from Newcastle Upon Tyne. 

Growing up in the North East of England, Tish Murtha used her camera to capture the raw truth of life in Newcastle upon Tyne during the turbulent years of Thatcher’s Britain and beyond. Her stark black-and-white photographs show children playing in neglected streets, young people facing unemployment, and communities living with the daily consequences of political decisions made far from their homes. Tish Murtha’s photography didn’t just show everyday life; it highlighted inequality and pushed for social change. TISH is an intimate look at her life, her work, and the lasting impact of her art, showing how her message is still as poignant today as it was during her lifetime.

PURELY BELTER
Dir. Mark Herman, 2000.
United Kingdom. 95 min.
In Geordie with English subtitles.

MONDAY,  MAY 4th – 7:30PM
THURSDAY, MAY 14th – 10PM
MONDAY, MAY 25th – 10PM

TICKETS

The exploits of Gerry and Sewel, two down-and-out teens trying to raise £1000 to buy season tickets to their favourite football team, Newcastle United. 

PURELY BELTER  is a film that feels inseparable from the place it comes from. Set firmly in and around Newcastle, the film captures the rhythm of everyday life on Tyneside, a world of tower blocks, back alleys, and football obsession.

What gives PURELY BELTER its unmistakable flavour is its unapologetic embrace of Geordie culture. The title itself comes from Geordie slang: “pure” meaning very, and “belter” meaning brilliant. The film revels in the sounds of Newcastle, thick Geordie accents and dialogue so regional that some screenings reportedly handed out glossaries to help non-locals decode terms like “howay” and “radgie.” This commitment to dialect is part of the film’s charm. Even the film’s cameo from Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer adds to the sense that the story belongs completely to the city and its footballing culture.

Underneath the humour, though, lies a streak of social realism that makes the film more than just a football comedy. Gerry and Sewell grew up surrounded by broken families, poverty, and limited opportunities. PURELY BELTER balances this bleak backdrop with the resilient spirit of its characters: football becomes an escape, a dream that briefly lifts them above the grind of everyday life. For many Geordies, PURELY BELTER is a Newcastle classic, endlessly quoted in schoolyards, even if it never quite received the same recognition beyond the city. In that sense, the film itself feels like a Geordie phrase: rough around the edges, full of heart, and, in its own way, PURELY BELTER.

STORMY MONDAY
Dir. Mike Figgis, 1988.
United Kingdom. 93 min.
In English.

FRIDAY, MAY 1ST – MIDNIGHT
THURSDAY, MAY 7TH – 10PM
SUNDAY, MAY 17TH – 7:30PM
FRIDAY, MAY 29TH – 10PM

TICKETS

A corrupt American businessman tries to strongarm his way into buying a nightclub in Newcastle. However, Brendan, an employee of the nightclub, discovers a darker motive behind the acquisition. 

STORMY MONDAY (1988) marks the debut feature of director Mike Figgis, who spent many of his formative years in Newcastle. The film unfolds as a slow-burning neo-noir set against the decaying streets of late-1980s Newcastle, where smoky jazz clubs and rain-slicked streets become the stage for a web of corruption and uneasy alliances. Figgis brings the classic noir language of outsiders, seduction, and moral ambiguity to a distinctly British landscape, capturing a city caught between its industrial past and an uncertain future.

Roger Deakins’ beautiful cinematography pairs seamlessly with Figgis’s haunting, jazz score, transforming Newcastle’s misty Quayside into a neon dreamscape. Despite a star-studded cast, including Melanie Griffith, Sean Bean, Tommy Lee Jones, and Newcastle local Sting. STORMY MONDAY has fallen into relative obscurity since its initial release.

MASTERS OF INDONESIAN EXPLOITATION: H. TJUT DJALIL

Posted on by Ben Harris

Before 1979, Indonesian genre cinema was relatively limited, but a turning point came under President Suharto’s oppressive New Order regime. Suharto’s rule (1966–1998), a military-backed authoritarian government defined by censorship, propaganda, and the suppression of political dissent, created an environment in which direct criticism was nearly impossible. In response, filmmakers turned to exploitation cinema as a form of defiance, using horror and excess to push back against the regime. As director H. Tjut Djalil famously put it, “In Indonesia under a dictatorship, horror movies were a form of protest.”

The first of these films, PRIMITIF (1979), was directed by Sisworo Gautama Putra and attempted to capitalize on Italy’s late-1970s cannibal boom. Its success opened the floodgates for a wave of low-budget horror and exploitation movies, ushering in what is often described as the golden age of Indonesian exploitation cinema from 1979 to 1995.

Among the filmmakers who emerged during this period, H. Tjut Djalil became one of the most notorious. He came roaring onto the scene with MYSTICS IN BALI (1981) and went on to direct more than twenty films between 1981 and 1995. His most famous work, REVENGE OF THE SOUTH SEA QUEEN (1989), AKA LADY TERMINATOR, blended Indonesian folklore with THE TERMINATOR (1984), and achieved cult status domestically and internationally. The film has remained relatively available for decades; however, much of Djalil’s broader filmography has not survived in the same way, with many of his films now considered lost.

This April Spectacle presents three of H. Tjut Djalil lesser seen films, DANGEROUS SEDUCTRESS (1992), SATAN’S BED (1986), and DEMONIC SCANDAL (1992).

DANGEROUS SEDUCTRESS
(BERCINTA DENGAN MAUT)
Dir. H. Tjut Djalil, 1992.
Indonesia. 95 min.
In English.

TUESDAY, APRIL 7th 10PM
THURSDAY, APRIL 16th 7:30PM
FRIDAY, APRIL 24th MIDNIGHT
TUESDAY, APRIL 28th 7:30PM

TICKETS

An American woman in Indonesia strikes a deal with the Queen of Darkness for beauty, strength, and irresistible glamour. In return, she must kill to sustain the queen’s fading youth.

Initially developed as a sequel to LADY TERMINATOR (1989), and even though the similarities are obvious, DANGEROUS SEDUCTRESS ultimately becomes its own beast entirely. With jaw-dropping practical effects by Oscar-nominated makeup artist Stephen Prouty, the film is an unrelenting blood bath of sleaze and excess that is sure to satisfy even the most desensitized genre fans.

SATAN’S BED 
(BATAS IMPIAN RANJANG SETAN)
Dir. H. Tjut Djalil, 1986.
Indonesia. 83 min.
In English.

FRIDAY, APRIL 3rd – MIDNIGHT
MONDAY, APRIL 13th – 10PM
TUESDAY, APRIL 21st – 7:30PM

TICKETS

A razor-gloved serial killer terrorises a group of teenagers in their dreams.

If this logline feels familiar, that’s because Bollywood isn’t the only film industry with a long history of unlicensed Hollywood remakes. SATAN’S BED is an unabashed Indonesian reimagining of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984), perfectly balancing Craven’s original horror classic with Indonesian exploitation insanity.

DEMONIC SCANDAL
(SKANDAL IBLIS)
Dir. H. Tjut Djalil, 1992.
Indonesia. 72 min.
In Indonesian with English subtitles.

SATURDAY, APRIL 11th – MIDNIGHT
FRIDAY, APRIL 16th – 10PM

TICKETS

An archaeologist comes into possession of an ancient necklace. Little does she know this necklace contains the spirit of a bloodthirsty demon.

What do you get when you cross DANGEROUS SEDUCTRESS and SATAN’S BED with the budget of neither? DEMONIC SCANDAL, a delirious slice of Indonesian horror complete with scenes lifted straight from A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: THE DREAM WARRIORS (1987) and a plot centered on an ancient being searching for the fountain of youth.

Notoriously difficult to find with English subtitles—and even harder to track down in its fully uncut 72-minute form—this version has finally been unearthed from the depths, offering a rare chance to experience the film in all its complete, uncut gory glory.

 

MIX NYC Presents: FRIENDS OF THE DEVIL: QUEER OCCULT DEPRAVITY

Posted on by Ben Harris

MIX NYC Presents: FRIENDS OF THE DEVIL: QUEER OCCULT DEPRAVITY
dir. various, 1969-1994
US. 80 mins.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 6 – 7:30 PM – $10 SPECIAL EVENT

TICKETS

Amidst the latest techno-religious paranoia-fueled surge in evergreen fears of satanism, queers have – as always – found ourselves at the center of the fray. In the right-wing imagination, queer sexuality, gender nonconformity, devil worship, and a sordid lust for violence and carnage have long been inextricable. In this wide-ranging program, experimental film and video works at the intersections of these ideas offer self-reflection and humor as well as pure abject jouissance.

Featuring:

Stray Dogs
dir. Richard Kern, 1985
US. 10 mins.

Part of his anthology The Manhattan Love Suicides (1984), Richard Kern’s Stray Dogs is a transgressive tale of obsession and stalking inspired by the filmmaker’s life. Propelled by a grinding industrial score, this playfully garish work explores Kern’s belief that, “people that are so in love that their love kills them. They just can’t handle it. Because that was how all my relationships were.”

Sleeping with the Devil
dir. Reza Abdoh, 1990
US. 12 mins.

The first work playwright and artist Reza Abdoh made after his HIV diagnosis in 1990, Sleeping With the Devil uses Geraldo Rivera’s 1988 prison interview with Charles Manson as a visually absent animating specter. Monologues by a diverse cast of performers are fractured and fragmented, interrupted by video effects and linguistic division that metaphysically slice and dice them like an unseen killer – whether cult leader or virus.

Shock Video
dir. Ken Camp, 1985
US. 12 mins.

Cobbled together from a combination of found footage and original material Camp shot on Super 8 for a never-completed horror feature, Shock Video is a reflection on the chaos and violence with which San Francisco’s counterculture coincided and culminated in the late 1970s. Edited to a pulsating rhythm, the hypnotic collage thrusts the audience into the terror of a city and a world that seemed to be on the precipice of entropy.

CONTENT WARNING: this video contains footage of real-world violence that audiences may find disturbing.

Cattle Mutilations
dir. George Kuchar, 1983
US. 25 mins.

In the surreal B-movie style peculiar to his and his brother’s work, George Kuchar presents the noirishly-narrated tale of a man unsettled by news of cattle mutilations. Also featured in the anarchic para-melodrama are a lecherous documentarian, extensive discussion of enemas, and an environmentalist group called FARTS (Friends Against Renegade Terror Squadrons).

A Lot of Fun for the Evil One
dir. M.M. Serra, 1984
US. 20 mins.

Co-directed by Maria Beatty and featuring an unsettling soundscape designed by John Zorn, A Lot of Fun for the Evil One is a series of vignettes of female domination. A gleeful dominatrix shears, beats, burns, fucks, and force-femmes her victims in the gothic environs of a candlelit dungeon.

SPECTACLE X DESERT ISLAND PRESENT: THE ANIMATIONS OF LE DERNIER CRI

Posted on by Ben Harris

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4TH – 10PM W/ INTRO
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21ST – 10PM

10/4 TICKETS

10/21 TICKETS

LE MAUVAIS OEIL
Dir. Pakito Bolino, Stéphane Collin, Bernard Roelandt, 1997.
France, 20 min.
In French

HOPITAL BRUT
Dir. Le Dernier Cri, 1999.
France, 45 min.
In French

This October, we at Spectacle have teamed up with Desert Island Comics to serve up two of Le Dernier Cri’s mind-melting manic animations. First, we take you into the art studio for LE MAUVAIS OEIL! Originally released as part of the art television program L’oeil du Cyclone, this 20 minute visual assault will set your brain ablaze, slap you across the face, and send you home crying.

If that wasn’t enough, we’re following it up with a field trip to the HOPITAL BRUT where you’ll watch one of the most GUNKED UP, electrifying animation jams in recorded human history. During this 45 minute visit you’ll stop by each ward, spend some time with the patients, and try your best to not PUKE! Making use of nearly every animation technique known to man, HOPITAL BRUT is an unforgettable experience not for the queasy-stomached or faint of heart.

Founded by Pakito Bolino and Caroline Sury in 1992, Le Derner Cri has published countless books, zines, and prints by outsider artists like Mike Diana, Matthias Lehmann, Charles Burnes, Fredox, Henriette Valium, Stéphane Blanquet, and many more.

We’re thrilled to showcase 2 of their rarely screened animation compilations for the first time ever in New York! October 4th screening will feature an intro from Desert Island Comic’s Gabe Fowler who will also be bringing a collection of Le Dernier Cri books to browse or buy.

WOLF MOON RISING

Posted on by Ben Harris

WOLF MOON RISING
dir. Todd Sheets, 2025
United States, 82 min
In English

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16TH – 7:30PM W/Q&A

TICKETS

It’s always a full moon in space.

The crew of the starship Amberstar must battle for their lives after discovering savage werewolves in the deep void of space. 

This October, Spectacle is proud to present a one-night-only screening of SOV legend Todd Sheets’ latest Wild Eye film – the blood-soaked blast of low budget glory, Wolf Moon Rising.

With more than 40 movies to his name and no sign of slowing down, Sheets has conquered every corner of DIY splatter cinema… until now. For the first time ever, Sheets’ latest project takes us where he, and werewolves, have never gone before… space! 

Join us for the NY premiere of this sci-fi/ horror gore feast, best experienced with a packed crowd of fellow maniacs—plus a live Q&A with Todd Sheets himself and producer Rob Hauschild, moderated by Matt Desiderio of Horror Boobs / Wild Eye.

KING OF HOMESPUN CGI: PHILIP J. COOK

Posted on by Ben Harris

What if your afterlife took place in a PS2 cutscene? What if your house turned into a portal to a trans-dimensional realm run on Windows 11? Welcome to the world of Philip J. Cook, where big ideas meet barely-contained digital chaos—and it rips.

For over three decades, Philip J. Cook has been quietly building a parallel cinematic universe from his basement—one where cosmic battles, haunted landscapes, and low-poly monsters live side by side, held together by sheer imagination and a lot of green screen. Working far outside the studio system, Cook’s films embrace the uncanny charm of digital DIY, blending sci-fi, horror, and fantasy into a homespun genre stew that’s as earnest as it is otherworldly. Whether he’s conjuring purgatories or witches, his work pulses with the energy of someone who just really wants to show you something cool—even if he has to render it himself, one frame at a time. Shot on shoestrings and pure conviction, Cook’s films are scrappy, overambitious, and totally unhinged in the best way—proof that you don’t need a Hollywood budget to break reality wide open.

DESPISER
Dir. Philip J. Cook, 2001
United States. 104 minutes
In English

THURSDAY OCTOBER 2ND – 7:30PM
TUESDAY OCTOBER 7TH – 10PM
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 15TH -7:30PM W/Q+A
FRIDAY OCTOBER 24TH – 10PM

REGULAR TICKETS

Q+A TICKETS

In purgatory, there is no salvation. But there are a lot of flipped CG cars. The king of home-spun CGI, Philip J. Cook blessed the world with DESPISER in 2003 , a feature film filled with earnestness, polygons and gunslinging chase scenes. A political advertisement maker by day, Philip Cook found a creative outlet in the world of SFX, bringing to life the big budget sci-fi scripts he had written in the 80s. Phil worked on Don Dohler’s NIGHTBEAST in the 80s, making miniatures and filming SFX shots in his living room. Inspired by Dohler as well as Gerry Anderson (SPACE:1999), Phil set to work making his own films.

Described by Cook as “the story of an artist who travels to purgatory to rescue his wife from despotic forces,” DESPISER is a time capsule of the creativity in an age where at-home access to digital graphics programs was still new. Filmed in 1998 but released in 2003, DESPISER surfed the early wave of capturing performances on blue and green screen to be inserted in totally digital worlds before films like SPY KIDS of SIN CITY popularized the look. This indie gem of pure creativity stands as a testament to what one man can do with a computer and a lot of time.

PUNGO: A WITCH’S TALE
Dir. Philip J. Cook, 2020
United States. 102 minutes
In English

SATURDAY OCTOBER 4TH – 7:30PM
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 15TH – 10PM

 TICKETS

When Dr. Grace Sherwood moves into an old house in Pungo, Virginia, the claws of the witch Grace Sherwood come alive to seek revenge for her drowning. Dr. Grace and the two contractors she hired to remodel the old house are thrust into the world of dark rituals, masked hunters and ghost tornados. Created 20 years after DESPISER, this film retains Philip J. Cook’s signature CGI immersion style, blending hand-crafted green screen worlds with on-location footage.

The real life “Witch of Pungo”, Grace Sherwood, was a local midwife and healer in the tidewater area of Virginia in the late 17th century. For years neighbors had blamed her for bad weather or crop yields, resulting in her trial as a witch. She was ordered to be bound by the hands and “ducked” in water to test her innocence (if she floated, witch) and was thus drowned in the Lynnhaven river in 1706. This imaginative retelling of injustice and revenge retains the unique creative style and B-movie charm of Phil’s earlier work and continues themes of religion, astrophysics and the nature of reality.

SPECTOBER 2025

Posted on by Ben Harris

I LIKE BATS
dir. Grzegorz Warchoł, 1986
Poland. 90 mins.
In Polish with English subtitles.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3RD – MIDNIGHT
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9TH – 7:30PM
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12TH – 5PM
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24TH – 5PM

TICKETS

The only feature film directed by Polish actor Grzegorz Warchol, and written by feminist novelist and columnist Krystyna Kofta, I LIKE BATS is dreamy fugue of a vampire picture set in a storybook Poland where empty cobblestone streets are bathed in fog and a supernatural glow. Katarzyna Walter stars as the woman with a fondness for the flying mammals in question; Iza, a vampire living a quaint, simple life working in her aunt’s curio shop. Her aunt insists that everyone would be happier if Iza had a man, but she is far too content making pottery, tending to her beloved bats, and satisfying her bloodlust by wreaking vengeance on the town’s local creeps. That is, until a celebrity psychoanalyst catches Iza’s eye and she feels a sudden urge for something more human. A colorful, feverish oddity featuring several iconic shots of its protagonist, I LIKE BATS promises to quench your seasonal Spectober desires for blood, love, and nocturnal critters.

2k restoration by Severin Films. Special thanks to the American Genre Film Archive.

TERROR TRACT
Dir. Lance W. Dreesen & Clint Hutchison, 2000.
United States, 96 min.
In English

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5TH – 5PM
MONDAY, OCTOBER 13TH – 7:30PM
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24TH – MIDNIGHT
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29TH – 7:30PM

TICKETS

A real estate agent shows a newlywed couple houses, each with a darker secret than the last…

TERROR TRACT is a criminally underseen horror anthology film featuring performances by  Brian Cranston and John Ritter. Comprised of three chilling stories—NIGHTMARE, BOBO, and COME TO GRANNY—the film masterfully blends horror and dark humor. This October, come on a trip down the nightmarish streets of TERROR TRACT and uncover the sinister secrets lurking behind your neighbor’s door.

THE PASSING
Dir. John Huckert, 1984.
United States, 96 min.
In English.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3RD – 7:30PM
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9TH – 10PM
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19TH – 5PM
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30TH – 10PM

TICKETS

An elderly veteran is forced into an experiment where his consciousness is transferred into the body of a death row prisoner.

Produced on a budget of less than $100,000 over seven years by director John Huckert, THE PASSING is a heartfelt and thought-provoking exploration of aging, loneliness, and mortality. The film is elevated by the compelling performances and authentic on-screen chemistry of its two elderly leads, James Carrol Plaster and Welton Benjamin Johnson, who reflect deeply on their lives and relationships—described by author Arthur C. Clark (2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY) as “Amazing! Deeply moving.” THE PASSING remains a rare and touching gem, having seen limited exposure beyond its brief week-long theatrical run in 1985.

THE OCCULT EXPERIENCE
Dir. Frank Heimans, 1985
Australia, 95 min.
In English.

FROM THE DEPTHS OF MEN’S DARKEST SOULS COMES…

MONDAY, OCTOBER 6 – 10PM
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18 – 5PM
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24 – 7:30PM
MONDAY, OCTOBER 27 – 7:30PM

BUY TICKETS

The 40th anniversary screening of this seminal examination on Paganism and other esoteric spiritual practices.

A documentary collaboration between filmmaker Frank Heimans and the prolific English-Australian folk religion scholar Nevill Drury, THE OCCULT EXPERIENCE first premiered on TV via Sydney’s Channel 10. Further presented at the 1985 International Film and Television Festival of New York, and now, forty years later, for the most ominous of Spectobers. Cross-country explorations of the peculiar met with refreshing sympathy, treated to some of the most wholesome H.R. Giger along the way.

Special thanks to Megan Drury and Jay, the current webmaster for https://www.nevilldrury.com

THE KISS
Dir. Pen Densham, 1988.
United States, 101 min.
In English.

SUNDAY, 5TH – 7:30PM
SATURDAY, 18TH – MIDNIGHT
THURSDAY, 23RD – 10PM
WEDNESDAY, 29TH – 10PM

TICKETS

Amy’s estranged aunt comes to live with her after the sudden death of her mother. However, Amy soon starts to suspect her aunt may have something to do with the sudden influx of supernatural occurrences and the death of her mother. 

From Stephen Volk (GHOSTWATCH, GOTHIC) comes THE KISS — an ’80s suburban nightmare channeling the dread of POLTERGEIST and the social rot of SOCIETY; with special effects by Chris Walas (THE FLY, GREMLINS) and a pulse‑pounding score from J. Peter Robinson (THE GATE, RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD PART 2). Spectacle invites you to peel back the polite veneer of small‑town life and reveal the ravenous darkness beneath with… THE KISS.

THE CARRIER
Dir. Nathan J. White, 1988.
United States, 99 min.
In English.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10TH – 7:30PM
MONDAY, OCTOBER 20TH – 7:30PM
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28TH – 10PM

TICKETS

A small town is thrown into chaos after seemingly random objects start melting people when touched. However, they soon realize somebody is responsible, and a civil war of mistrust and violence erupts as residents desperately search for the elusive carrier.

With a premise that echoes something from the Troma catalog, THE CARRIER unexpectedly devolves into something far more disturbing. What begins as a seemingly straightforward werewolf melodrama rapidly morphs into a bleak, post-apocalyptic nightmare, evoking films like THREADS or THE CRAZIES. This October Spetacle invites you to a town overrun with trash bag-clad villagers, where wild house cats become the only currency worth risking your life for in a world spiraling into madness.

INCUBUS
(INKUBO)
Dir. Leslie Stevens, 1966
United States. 74 min.
In Esperanto with English subtitles.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2ND – 10PM
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7 TH- 7:30PM
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17TH – 5PM
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30TH – 7:30PM

TICKETS

Malbono neniam estis tiel alloga.

Living as a Jew in the Russian Empire through the latter half of the 19th Century, ophthalmologist L.L. Zamenhof was dismayed at the innumerable conflicts around him spawned by ethnic tensions, religious differences, and rising nationalist sentiment. Convinced that world peace would be achieved if disparate peoples could communicate easily with each other, Zamenhof developed Esperanto to act as a universal auxiliary language. His pet project became the center of a global community of goodwill and intercultural communication in the early 20th Century, a poignant example of the Utopian aspirations of the age (the word esperanto means “one who hopes”). Esperanto remains the most widely spoken constructed language in the world.

In 1965, after the cancellation of his television series The Outer Limits, Leslie Stevens began production on a horror film to keep his crew (which included future three-time Oscar-winning cinematographer Conrad Hall) working. Stevens figured that having all the dialogue spoken in Esperanto would be a neat way to inject some uniqueness into the picture, and would help it get into arthouses, “where subtitles were.” The distinctly Outer Limits-esque story features a village with a well that yields healing waters, attracting a soldier, Marc, who seeks to recover from his war wounds. A local succubus, Kia (Stevens’ wife Allyson Ames), tries to tempt Marc and secure his soul for Hell, but since he’s played by William Shatner, she naturally falls for his charms instead, incurring the wrath of the titular incubus (Alain Delon’s stunt double/bodyguard Milos Milos).

Shot in two weeks in NorCal, Incubusultimately premiered to jeers from Esperanto speakers at the 1966 San Francisco Film Festival. The performers all learned their lines phoetically, which is obvious even if you don’t know the language. Still, Stevens was correct that it lends the movie an eerie, otherworldly quality.The film only received a theatrical run in France before ignominiously fading into a curio. Stevens blamed the lack of interest not on the movie’s dialogue being spoken in what was essentially an alien language, but on its assocation with Milos, who had killed his lover Barbara Ann Thomason (Mickey Rooney’s estranged wife) and then himself. Shatner would, of course, in short order become involved with a much better-known Utopian project. (By the way, the Esperanto term for “a blade”? Klingon.) Esperanto cinema never really caught on–Incubusremains one of only a handful of features shot wholly in the language–but Zamenhof’s dream endures.

Incubus was believed lost for decades before a well-worn 16mm print was discovered in the Cinémathèque Française in the late ’90s, which served as the basis for a new 35mm version and a DVD release. A 35mm copy in much better condition was found in 2023, and Le Chat Qui Fume used it to restore the film in 4K. Spectacle is excited to present the New York premiere of this restoration.

Thanks to Phil Ginley, Esther Rosenfield, and the American Genre Film Archive.

SHRIEKSHOW XIV

Posted on by Ben Harris

Hold on to your skulls for Spectacles’ 14th annual Shriek Show Marathon! Featuring fourteen hours of mind-melting mystery horror films from six different countries.

Day passes are available online for $25, and single screening tickets will be available at the door on a first-come, first-served basis for $5.

OCTOBER 25th: 12PM- 2AM

DAY PASSES

NOON
XXXXXX
Dir. XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXX, 1988.
Indonesia. 94 min.
In Indonesian with English Subtitles.

A woman learns the ways of black magic to exact revenge. 

2PM
XXXXX
Dir. XXX XXXXX, 1974.
United States.  83 min.
In English.

A snake collector lures residents of a small town to his snake ranch. 

4PM
XXXXX
Dir. XXX XXXXXXXXX, 2005
United States. 85 min.
In English.

I know what you did in Louisiana last summer. 

6PM
XXXXXX XX: XXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX
Dir. XXXXXX XXXXXXX, 1991.
Germany. 72 min.
English Dub.

8PM
XXX XXXXXXXXX
Dir. XXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX, 2006
Thailand. 97min.
In Thai with English Subtitles.

A woman visits a gothic mansion to find her lost husband.

10PM
XXX XXXXX XXX
Dir. XXXXX XXXXX, 1989
Italy. 96min.
In English.

Dario Argento’s New Nightmare.

MIDNIGHT
XXX XXX XXXX XXXX
Dir. XXXX XXXXX, 2004
Japan. 50 min.
In Japanese with English Subtitles.

A woman tries to bring her child back from the dead. 

HOWLING AT THE HARVEST MOON

Posted on by Ben Harris

This September, in honor of the Harvest Moon, Spectacle is proud to bring you three underseen gems of werewolf-dom.

LYCAN COLONY
dir. Rob Roy, 2006
United States. 92 min.
In English.

TICKETS

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 2nd – 10PM
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 6th – 7:30PM
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 15th – 7:30PM
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 19TH – MIDNIGHT

WELCOME TO NEW HAMPSHIRE …. LIVE FREE OR DIE!

Some small towns hold many secrets. Two siblings and a newly settled doctor’s family are about to find out this town’s darkest secret…the hard way. The town folk are good and evil werewolves! And all things are not as they appear.

While you can probably count the werewolf features from the early aughts on one hand, the best of them for this programmers money is LYCAN COLONY.

It’s clearly a labor of love, and though it may have gotten the RiffTrax treatment in 2020, I would respectfully argue that it makes enough baffling and unique choices that it circles around past bad into something totally singular, dirt cheap digital (and practical) effects and all.

Director Rob Roy has had a strong connection to wolves his entire life. It started after he first saw Balto (1995) and it inspired him to create his own wolf film which eventually became Lycan Colony. He even attempted to contact Kevin Bacon for a cameo but was chased off the actor’s property, ironically by dogs in 2003. – Imdb Trivia

MOM
dir. Patrick Rand, 1990.
United States. 95 min.
In English.

TICKETS

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 2ND – 7:30PM
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 5TH – MIDNIGHT
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 15TH – 10PM
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 19TH – 10PM

A string of ferocious animal attacks terrorizes Los Angeles, and when a kind elderly woman is bitten by the creature, she begins a terrifying transformation. Now, her son Clay must stop his mother from harming anyone else and find a way to reverse her horrifying condition.

Starring horror legend Brion James (HOUSE 3, BLADE RUNNER) and Jeanne Bates (ERASERHEAD, MULHOLLAND DRIVE), MOM presents as a typical comedy-horror flick but quickly evolves into something much darker that will stay with you long after the credits roll. Using the werewolf as an analogy for a degenerative disease, Rand masterfully guides the audience through the emotional tolls of watching a loved one lose themselves and become something unrecognisably monstrous.

LONE WOLF
dir. John Callas, 1988
United States. 97 min.
In English.

TICKETS

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 5TH – 10PM
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 9TH – 10PM
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 17TH – 10PM
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 22ND – 7:30PM

The quiet town of Fairview, Colorado is rocked by a rash of gruesome killings that the locals blame on packs of wild dogs. Meanwhile, recent Chicago transplant and heavy metal frontman, Eddie and his fellow students learn that they must take matters into their own hands to end the madness, when the token nerd among them discovers an eerie moon-related coincidence between the killings.

Written by the late experimental horror maven, Michael Krueger (NIGHT VISION, MINDKILLER), LONE WOLF is an underseen and underrated gem among the 80s bumper crop of werewolf movies. A grisly DTV creature feature featuring some of the oldest looking “teenagers” ever put to film, and enough hair— human and lycanthrope— to flesh out at least a dozen other werewolf features.