Just added: Antonia Carlotta, Hollywood historian and niece of Carl Laemmle (the founder of Universal Studios), will be joining us for a post-film discussion! 

Just added: Author Julian David Stone will be joining us to introduce the film and sell copies of his novel, It’s Alive!, in the lobby! 

Before Frankenstein. Before the Wolf Man. Before the Mummy. There was… Dracula!

Our Universal Monster Movie Weekend begins with the film that started it all: Tod Browning’s immortal 1931 classic Dracula!

When solicitor Renfield (Dwight Frye) travels to a remote castle in Transylvania to help Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi) finalize a real estate transaction, he has no idea he’s dealing with one of the most dangerous creatures on Earth. Soon, the seductive vampire has followed him to London, where he sets his sights on the innocent Mina Seward (Helen Chandler) and begins feeding on the city’s unsuspecting residents.

Adapted from Bram Stoker’s legendary novel and featuring Bela Lugosi’s iconic, hypnotic performance, Dracula transformed the vampire from literary monster into one of the most recognizable figures in popular culture. Its eerie atmosphere, expressionistic shadows, unforgettable imagery, and Lugosi’s unmistakable screen presence helped establish the Universal Monsters as one of Hollywood’s greatest cinematic legacies.

Just added: Antonia Carlotta, Hollywood historian and niece of Carl Laemmle (the founder of Universal Studios), will be joining us for a post-film discussion! 

Just added: Author Julian David Stone will be joining us to introduce the film and sell copies of his novel, It’s Alive!, in the lobby! 

One man. One monster. One of the greatest horror films ever made.

Our Universal Monster Movie Weekend continues with James Whale’s Frankenstein, the 1931 masterpiece that gave the movies one of their most enduring monsters.

Obsessed with unlocking the secret of life, the brilliant but reckless Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) robs graves and assembles a body from stolen parts, bringing his creation to life with a bolt of lightning. But the creature (Boris Karloff) is not the mindless monster Henry expected. Rejected and feared by everyone he encounters, he soon becomes the target of a terrified mob.

Adapted from Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, Frankenstein remains one of the foundational works of American horror, balancing genuine terror with a surprising amount of sympathy for its misunderstood creature. Boris Karloff’s performance turned the Monster into an icon, while James Whale’s striking production design and unforgettable laboratory sequence helped define the visual language of the Universal Monsters for generations to come.

Are you ready to make television history?

The Frida Cinema is bringing in a limited run of Primetime, the fascinating new docudrama from director Lance Oppenheim, starring Robert Pattinson, Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, and Phoebe Bridgers.

In 2006, To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen sets out to make television history. When a high stakes operation goes fatally wrong, his veneered dream of fame curdles into a nightmare of performative justice.

About as provocative as mainstream art house thriller can get, Primetime is an electric and audacious entry into the A24 canon filled to the brim with with brilliant performances.

Enhanced Accessibility Options: this film has Closed Captioning, Assisted Listening, and Audio Description capability!

You can’t run from who you are.

Our first Volunteer of the Month pick for October 2026 comes courtesy of Dorian, who has Luca Guadagnino’s cannibalistic road trip movie, Bones and All!  

Abandoned by her father, a young woman embarks on a thousand-mile odyssey through the backroads of America where she meets a disenfranchised drifter. But despite their best efforts, all roads lead back to their terrifying pasts and to a final stand that will determine whether their love can survive their otherness.

With Taylor Russell delivering a heartbreaking performance alongside Timothée Chalamet, Mark Rylance, and Michael Stuhlbarg, Guadagnino turns cannibalism into an unexpectedly tender metaphor, culminating in one of the oddest films of his career. Which, if you know his work, is really saying something!

Get your popcorn ready and start your Halloween week with a fright! The Frida Cinema would like to invite you to the 6th Annual Spooktacular Special on Saturday, Oct 24th!

The Spooktacular is an opportunity for local filmmakers and artists to showcase their work on the big screen. This year’s film submissions have a variety of flavors and emotions, from the macabre to the melancholy. There’s something spooky for everyone, so come on down! The show starts at 5:00PM!

Special thanks to Santa Ana’s own Tony Ochoa for curating and hosting the event! 

Please note: we are still taking submissions. If interested in submitting, please see the link below. Deadline is October 18th.

Link to submit – https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfr2-QRveG_PIpntzij8tezeCusMr-PW9QqpgEnXP6VuV86Tg/viewform

Just added: Antonia Carlotta, Hollywood historian and niece of Carl Laemmle (the founder of Universal Studios), will be joining us for a post-film discussion! 

Just added: Author Julian David Stone will be joining us to introduce the film and sell copies of his novel, It’s Alive!, in the lobby! 

Our Universal Monster Movie Weekend howls on with The Wolf Man!

When Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) returns to his family’s ancestral home in Wales, a chance encounter with a mysterious gypsy named Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya) and a bite from a werewolf named Bela (Bela) sends his life spiraling into terror. As the full moon rises, Larry transforms into a bloodthirsty beast…and with every transformation, he becomes less certain that there’s anything left of the man he once was.

Directed by George Waggner and written by Curt Siodmak, The Wolf Man gave Universal its definitive werewolf, complete with the silver bullets, full-moon mythology, and tragic curse that would become staples of the genre. But beneath the makeup and monster mayhem is a genuinely melancholy story about a man desperately trying to escape a fate he cannot control, brought to life by Lon Chaney Jr. in the defining performance of his career.

After you’ve spent all day with Universal’s greatest monsters, it’s time to unleash them on Abbott and Costello!

Universal Monster Movie Weekend comes closes its opening night with the 1948 classic Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein!

Wilbur (Lou Costello) and Chick (Bud Abbott) are a couple of freight handlers who have the unfortunate job of delivering the remains of Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi) and the Frankenstein Monster (Lon Chaney Jr.) to a wax museum. Naturally, the crates don’t stay closed for long. Soon, Wilbur finds himself caught in a scheme involving Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, and the Wolf Man…and nobody is more terrified than the guy who thinks the whole thing is a joke.

Directed by Charles Barton, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is far more than a monster mash comedy. It’s a loving send-off to Universal’s classic horror cycle, bringing Bela Lugosi back to his most iconic role and giving Lon Chaney Jr. and Glenn Strange one last glorious collision of monsters and mayhem. 

After a decade of silence…the buzz came back. HorrorBuzz is slicing up our October lineup with a 40th anniversary party of unhinged insanity: Tobe Hooper’s gloriously deranged sequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2!

When late-night DJ Stretch accidentally records a pair of murders committed by the Sawyer clan, she teams up with the unhinged Lieutenant “Lefty” Enright (a chainsaw-wielding Dennis Hopper in one of the wildest performances of his career). Their mission: descend into the Sawyer family’s subterranean lair of meat, madness, and twinkling Christmas lights to put an end to the carnage once and for all.

Horror Movie Night takes filmgoing to another level with a full night of entertainment, including a themed HMN Video Pres-how, Trivia, Games, Prizes, and another outstanding horror short from HorrorBuzz’s The Screaming Room Film Festival at Midsummer Scream.

Doors open and video pre-show video begins promptly at 7:30 pm. Games, prizes, and short film begin at 8:00PM. Feature starts at 8:30PM.

This program is a venue rental engagement. The views and opinions expressed in this program do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of The Frida Cinema or its staff.

Enter the darkness of Begotten, the next film in our Art House of Horrors: Presented by MUBI series! 

A mysterious figure known only as God kills himself. From his corpse, Mother Earth emerges. From their union, a Son is born. What follows is a nightmarish cycle of birth, death, violence, and rebirth played out across a barren, otherworldly landscape.

E. Elias Merhige’s Begotten is less a traditional horror film than it is a true cinematic night. Shot in stark black and white, with every frame painstakingly processed to resemble a decaying photograph, the film unfolds without conventional dialogue or narrative. Its haunting imagery is the stuff of avant-garde cinema legend.  A legendary midnight movie experience that has influenced generations of experimental filmmakers and horror artists, Begotten is an unsettling vision of creation itself. Don’t miss this brand new 4K restoration on the big screen!