Fright Night(s) at Showroom Cinema
Some films just work better at night. I’m adamant that you should only start Apocalypse Now after 11pm, letting the exhaustion and delirium take hold as you march to the end. And I have fond memories for the crude comedies and brutal action films of teenage sleepovers.
But nothing hits harder than horror. Past the witching hour, when all is dark except the glow of the screen, the frights are unforgettable.
On Saturday 27 April, Celluloid Screams return to Showroom Cinema for an all-night celebration of 1980s horror, with five films from sun down to sun up.
We start with Creepshow, the frightful anthology directed by George A. Romero and written by Stephen King. Prince of Darkness follows (director John Carpenter). A team of grad students and a priest find a jar of goo in an abandoned church. What could go wrong?!
Then a mystery screening, chosen by our programming team and bound to balance the camp, chills and stomach-churning sights you desire. We couldn’t forget A Nightmare on Elm Street (director Wes Craven), in which the dream demon Freddy Krueger terrorises a group of teens when they inevitably fall asleep.
To end, we ramp up the nastiness with Demons 2 from Lamberto Bava and Dario Argento. In this sequel, the titular demons invade an apartment building, turning its residents into bloodthirsty monsters.
A £20 pass covers all five films and includes a special discount for breakfast on Sunday. You can grab yours online or from the Showroom Cinema box office.
If you survive the night (or just fancy a single shot of horror) we’ve got more great titles coming in May.
Mel Gourlay, Director of FFS Festival, chose TerrorVision as next month’s Showroom Spotlight on 3 May. A bizarre story about an oozing, tentacled creature attacking a family through its television set. We can’t wait to screen it from Mel’s own VHS-copy! Then, Dr. Sheldon Hall’s season of films from 1964 rounds out on 8 May with the Japanese ghost story Onibaba.
Two further body-horror titles are on-sale soon. The Brood (director David Cronenberg) is our next philosophy screening, in which a man explores the mystery around his institutionalised wife and a series of attacks by mutant children. Then Tiger Stripes (director Amanda Nell Eu), a Malay horror about a schoolgirl named Zaffan who realises her body is changing at an alarming rate.
Find details for all our screenings at www.showroomworkstation.org.uk/guide
