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!
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You can’t keep a bad girl down!
Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II is the next film up in our Art House of Horrors: Presented by Mubi series!
A rip-roaring sequel-in-name-only to the Jamie Lee Curtis slasher from 1980, this film delivers the goods in both the kills and teenage angst departments. Here, a ‘50s prom queen is sautéed alive in a school fire, and her horny, vengeful ghost pops up in the ‘80s to slice-’n-dice the Breakfast Club.
Featuring the iconic Michael Ironside as a high school principal and death via Apple II computers, this underrated slasher is a perfectly paced melding of Carrie, A Nigthmare on Elm Street, and Sam Raimi!
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Get ready for a Guillermo del Toro comic book double feature featuring Blade II and Hellboy II: The Golden Army, hosted by our buddy Jordan Morris!
First up, Wesley Snipes goes full vampire-hunting badass as Blade, forced to team up with his sworn enemies to battle a terrifying new breed of vampire. Then, after a ten minute intermission, Ron Perlman’s beloved Hellboy returns alongside Liz and Abe Sapien to stop an ancient prince from unleashing an unstoppable army of supernatural creatures. Both films were directed by del Toro, showcasing the monster-loving imagination that would go on to define one of cinema’s most distinctive auteurs.
Two comic-book classics. Two armies of monsters. Two awesome movies. Don’t miss these bad boys on the big screen!
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An entire civilization must confront its destiny in alternative-animation pioneer René Laloux’s final feature, Gandahar, a cult classic of mind-bending science fiction that has been restored in 4K thanks to fine folks at Janus Films!
In a distant world, a merciless army of automata attacks Gandahar, turning its peace-loving people to stone. Hoping to discover the source of these Men of Metal, a council of matriarchs enlists the brave yet inexperienced warrior Sylvain (Pierre-Marie Escourro), who, while journeying through his planet’s outer regions, teams up with the Deformed, a race cast out from Gandahar after failed science experiments rendered them mutants. Soon, Sylvain learns that a gargantuan brain called Metamorphis (Georges Wilson) is responsible for his utopian society’s strife, and together with the beautiful Airelle (Catherine Chevallier), travels through time to defeat him, in the process risking their lives and Gandahar’s very existence.
Featuring stunningly surreal creatures and wondrously bizarre environments designed by renowned comic-book artist Caza, Gandahar is a visceral, visionary head-trip in which animation opens a gateway to the furthest reaches of the imagination.
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See It On 16mm is back at The Frida to unspool the 1933 adventure classic King Kong!
Adventurous filmmaker Carl Denham sets out to produce a motion picture unlike anything the world has seen before. Alongside his leading lady Ann Darrow and his first mate Jack Driscoll, they arrive on an island and discover a legendary creature said to be neither beast nor man. Denham captures the monster to be displayed on Broadway as King Kong, the eighth wonder of the world.
Over 80 years later, King Kong has been remade and ripped off a hundred times over, but nothing can ever compare to the original! See it where it deserves to be seen: on the big screen!
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Our Walt Disney Studies series is headed down the rabbit hole as present a brand new 4K restoration of the original 1951 classic Alice in Wonderland! And make sure to get their early as our host for the evening, Jeff Kurtti, will be giving a very special presentation before the film!
In this beloved and oft-filmed story, bored young schoolgirl Alice falls down a rabbit hole and lands in a strange world where nonsense rules. She encounters “curiouser and curiouser” characters as she travels through Wonderland, trying to learn the logic of the place and find her way out.
Made under the supervision of Walt Disney himself, Alice in Wonderland and its animation are often regarded as some of the finest work in Disney Studio history, despite the lackluster, even hostile, reviews it originally received, though it did receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score!
In the presentation “Walt in Wonderland”, Jeff Kurtti tells the story of Walt Disney’s lifelong affection for the Lewis Carroll heroine, and how the stories wove a pathway through a lifetime of Disney projects, from the 1923 Disney “Alice in Cartoonland” shorts to coming to life in Disneyland.
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Board the submarine Nautilus and plunge into a strange undersea world of spellbinding adventure as we kick off our Walt Disney Studies series with 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea! This evening’s event will be hosted by Jeff Kurtti with a post-screening presentation by Disney Historian Kevin Kidney!
Kirk Douglas, Paul Lukas, and Peter Lorre star as shipwrecked survivors taken captive by the mysterious Captain Nemo, brilliantly portrayed by James Mason. Wavering between genius and madness, Nemo has launched a deadly crusade across the seven seas. But can the captive crew expose his evil plan before he destroys the world?
Disney’s brilliant Academy Award®-winning (Best Art Direction and Best Special Effects) adaptation of Jules Verne’s gripping tale makes 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea a truly mesmerizing masterpiece, his first feature in the widescreen CinemaScope process!
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“Get the funk up!” Our Unsung 80’s Soundtracks series continues with Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman – or what happens when a movie studio also owns the recording contract of a pop superstar!
One of the defining films of its decade, Batman stars Michael Keaton as billionaire Bruce Wayne, who secretly spends his nights stalking the streets of Gotham City as the costumed vigilante Batman. As Batman closes in on dastardly villain Joker (Jack Nicholson, oozing charismatic menace), he also finds himself drawn to photojournalist Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger). With Burton’s gothic visual style, Danny Elfman’s soaring score, and Oscar-winning Art Direction-Set Decoration by Anton Furst and Peter Young, Batman proved that a comic-book movie could be dark, stylish, and strange, while also humorous and wildly entertaining.
Batman is something of an unusual entry in the soundtrack canon, with two very different albums coming out of the film. Danny Elfman’s orchestral score became one of the most recognizable superhero themes ever written, while Prince was brought in to create a separate album of songs inspired by the film. The resulting Batman soundtrack became a massive commercial success, spending six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and spawning hits including “Batdance,” “Partyman,” and “Scandalous.” The album was conceived around the Joker and Vicki Vale, with Burton reportedly giving Prince a rough cut of the film to inspire the songs. Elfman’s score and Prince’s album rarely appear together in the film, but both became essential parts of the movie’s identity, making Batman one of the biggest soundtrack phenomena of the 1980s.
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Based on the beloved fantasy novel by Peter S. Beagle, 1982’s The Last Unicorn is a beautiful – and beautifully strange – animated fantasy. The film follows a solitary unicorn (Mia Farrow) who learns that she may be the last of her kind. Setting out to find other surviving unicorns, she encounters bumbling magician Schmendrick (Alan Arkin) and spirited Molly Grue (Tammy Grimes), who join her on a journey that leads to the castle of the sinister King Haggard (Christopher Lee). Featuring iconic storybook animation by Rankin/Bass, The Last Unicorn has endured as a singular cult classic, equally beloved as a cherished family favorite and a genuinely strange piece of 1980s fantasy.
Part of our Unsung 80’s Soundtracks series, The Last Unicorn’s is built around an unlikely collaboration between composer Jimmy Webb and the the harmony-rich folk-rock of America, who perform the film’s songs. Webb wrote the score as well as the songs, including the haunting title track, “The Last Unicorn,” which became one of America’s most enduring songs from the film. America also performs “Now That I’m a Woman,” “In the Sea,” and “That’s All I’ve Got to Say,” while Webb’s orchestral score gives the film much of its wistful, dreamlike quality. A ’70s soft-rock trio scoring an animated medieval fantasy may seem like an unlikely pairing, but somehow, it works perfectly.
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Nosferatu has been The Invincible Czars’ most popular silent film score since it debuted in 2015. The show is ear and eye candy for fans of horror movies from all eras.
Nosferatu is most certainly the most important horror film of the silent era and one of the first vampire movies. Directed by F. W. Murnau and released in 1922, it’s an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula.” The film follows Thomas Hutter as he journeys to Transylvania to sell property to the eerie Count Orlok, a vampire played by Max Schreck. Orlok travels to Germany, terrorizing the village of Wisborg and preying on its inhabitants. His obsession with Thomas’ wife, young Ellen Hutter, leads to a climactic showdown as she attempts to thwart his evil plans.
The film is celebrated for its atmospheric cinematography, haunting performances, and enduring influence on the horror genre. Many consider it to be the pinnacle of German Expressionist film and it has been remade by directors Werner Herzog and Robert Eggers. (Count Orlok even shows up in an episode of Spongebob Squarepants!)
About the band: The Invincible Czars have made a name for themselves among horror and classic film lovers in the US and Canada with their original, tastefully modern live soundtracks for silent films which they started creating for the original Alamo Drafthouse in their hometown of Austin, TX in 2007, though they began making their whacky brand of cinematic rock in 2003. They are great at using music and sound to transform century-old movies into immersive and engaging experiences that allow audiences to approach, appreciate, and enjoy the depth and innovation of classic silent film. Czars shows are a lot of fun with opportunities for audience participation and costumery.
Doors open at 8:45pM and the show begins at 9:15PM! Frida Cinema member discounts and comp passes do not apply!
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