Sun Ra declared in the early 1970s that Space was in fact The Place. This November Spectacle endeavors to posit the question, “is it though?” through a series of films spanning the 1970s and 80s dealing with unidentified flying objects, extraterrestrials and the fear of the unknown.
And for even more UFO fun: check out our friend’s at Screen Slate’s WATCH THE SKIES: UFOLOGY ON FILM series, screening concurrently this month at Anthology Film Archives.
FOES
Dir. John Coats, 1977
USA, 90 min
In English
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1 – 10 PM
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6 – 5 PM
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18 – 10 PM
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28 – 7:30 PM
After obliterating a fighter jet and its pilot, a mysterious flying object stalks a nearby island and its inhabitants: a young couple manning the lighthouse, and two visiting scuba divers. The craft jams all communications, making the nearby military installation unable to offer any help or deduce the intentions of this uninvited guest. The ship interacts with these poor trapped souls like a child wiedling a magnifying glass over ants, possibly not realizing the violent effects of its own actions, making escape from the island a nightmare.
Released the same year as Spielberg’s CLOSE ENCOUNTERS and another movie about wars in stars (or something like that), FOES was written and directed by a young John Coats. Coats also did the special effects and appears on screen as Larry, the lighthouse operator. While this would be his only directorial credit, Coats went on to have a prolific career as a visual effects artist with credits including: RAMBO III, AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME, UHF, and WHITE CHICKS. With that career in mind, one can look at FOES as the auteur triumph that it is: the creation of a young artist working with what they had at their disposal. An incredible achievement for such a low budget. It’s a shame that Coats did not go on to direct more features, as this is a rather remarkable freshmen effort.
Shot around the Anacapa island off the coast of southern California, the location is one of the biggest stars in this film. Coats combines stunning helicopter shots with dazzling special effects to create a vibe that is solely FOES.
THE MCPHERSON TAPE
Dir. Dean Alioto, 1989
USA, 66 min
In English
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3 – 7:30 PM
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12 – 5 PM
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22 – 10 PM
THE MCPHERSON TAPE (or UFO ABDUCTION) is a portrait of the middle class American family. The family who’s internal history of micro-aggressions, resentment, grief, and love(?) can erupt into cacophonous bursts of frantic irrational arguing. A family that can also sit around the kitchen table playing Go Fish while being terrorized by the world around them, convincing themselves that just taking their minds off the impending doom will make it go away. A family too inadequate to deal with their own interpersonal problems, let alone aliens.
The family is the Van Heeses, who have convened to celebrate the 5th birthday of the clan’s youngest, Michelle. The night’s events are being documented by Michael, the meekest of three brothers, on his newly acquired video camera much to the annoyance of his family. After turning the lights out to sing Happy Birthday and Michelle blowing out the candles on her cake, the lights don’t come back on. As they scramble to figure out the problem they find they are not alone, and thus begins a deadly encounter with an unknown force.
Often lauded as the first found footage film—that depending on your feelings towards CANNIBAL HOLCAUST, COMING APART, or THE CONNECTION—the home video camera adds to the realism, but it’s the family acting as irrationally as my own on Thanksgiving that really drives it home. We could play UNO through anything.
PREY
Dir. Norman J. Warren, 1977
United Kingdom, 85 min
In English
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2 – 10 PM
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11 – MIDNIGHT
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17 – 7:30 PM
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26 – 7:30 PM
HIS SAVAGE HUNGER MAKES US ALL… ALIEN PREY
The day after a weird green light is seen in the English sky, a strange young man stops at the country home of two lesbian housemates. It turns out that the man is an alien, and a hungry one.
While every available synopsis may read like a bit of a spoiler, PREY tips its hand to the audience almost immediately, and takes its time toying with expectations from there as the shape-shifting alien infiltrates the hermetic lifestyle of a queer couple for unknown reasons.
Directed by Norman J Warren (INSEMINOID, TERROR, BLOODY NEW YEAR) and featuring a gonzo freakout performance from Sally Faulkner (VAMPYRES), PREY is a surprisingly engaging (and occasionally hilarious) semi-sleazy slow burn sci-fi exploitation flick.
Hysterical and compelling: no-bra vegetarian lesbians forcefemming a dog-alien man so that they can have weird poly tension with him, interrupting his spree-killing of straight people and police officers. –Cate, Letterboxd
DEEP SPACE
Dir. Fred Olen Ray, 1988
USA, 90 min
In English
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4 – 7:30 PM
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7 – 10 PM
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15 – 10 PM
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26 – 10 PM
THEY CREATED A MONSTER OVER LUNCH. NOW IT’S BACK FOR DINNER…
Secretly engineered and blasted into space by government scientists, a vile monster crash-lands back on Earth and begins killing everyone it encounters. As the death toll rises, veteran cop McLemore bravely steps forward to crush the scary creature.
Almost a decade after the release of Alien and the iconic monster design refuses to die, this time resurrected by C-movie mogul Fred Olen Ray, in a movie that dares to ask, ‘what if Alien was set on earth and dumb?’
Unlike the rest of this series, the alien foe in this is man made, the product of military and scientific hubris, and only the gumption of an aging local cop named McLemore (pronounced ‘Macklemore’) can stop it.
Featuring a supporting turn from everyone’s favorite bastard cop Bo Svenson (BUTCHER BAKER NIGHTMARE MAKER), as well as a psychic cameo from Julie Newmar (the original CATWOMAN), this splatter B-movie midnight riff on a sci-fi classic is well worth your time.