Midnight Movies
Two films typically play at midnight every Friday and Saturday. However, only one film is scheduled in advance. Please check back every Wednesday when we post information about the second midnight film playing that coming weekend.
Stunt Rock
directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith in English (1980)
What’s not to love about a movie starring a bunch of stuntmen who moonlight as rock musicians? Australian stuntman Grant Page accepts a job on an American TV series, where he reunites with old friend and fellow daredevil Curtis Hyde, a man who nowadays performs magic tricks and feats of daring for heavy metal act Sorcery. The two meet some babes writing an article about, what else, musclebound stunt men. Grab your denim vest, your mullet, and your 12-sided die, because hijinks, wild stunts, and hard rock are bound to ensue!
The Rocky Horror Picture Show [35mm]
directed by Jim Sharman starring Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Richard O'Brien, Charles Gray, Meatloaf, Barry Bostwick (1975)
This notorious horror parody — a fast-paced potpourri of camp, sci-fi and rock ‘n’ roll, among other things — tracks the exploits of naïve couple Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon) after they stumble upon the lair of transvestite Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry). The film — a bizarre musical co-starring Meat Loaf and Richard O’Brien — bombed in its initial release but later gained a cult following at midnight showings.
Maniac
directed by Franck Khalfoun in English starring Elijah Wood, Nora Arnezeder (2013)
Frank is the withdrawn owner of a mannequin store, but his life changes when young artist Anna appears asking for his help with her new exhibition. As their friendship develops and Frank’s obsession escalates, it becomes clear that she has unleashed a long-repressed compulsion to stalk and kill.
A 21st century Jack the Ripper set in present-day L.A., Maniac is a re-boot of the cult film considered by many to be the most suspenseful slasher movie ever made — an intimate, visually daring, psychologically complex and profoundly horrific trip into the downward spiraling nightmare of a killer and his victims.
“This is down and dirty genre filmmaking, and the various slaughters, excruciatingly detailed scalpings and other atrocities are no less gruesome because of the highfalutin approach.” —Megan Lehmann, The Hollywood Reporter
Tommy
directed by Ken Russell in English starring Oliver Reed, Ann-Margret, Roger Daltrey (1975)
The pinnacle of the Rock Opera!
- From the Summer Music Film Festival 2013 collection
- Purchase advance tickets online
Wet Hot American Summer
directed by David Wain in English starring Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Michael Showalter (2001)
An endlessly quotable film, this is David Wain’s brilliant absurdist riff on the camp – as in summer camp – comedies of his youth.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
directed by Steven Spielberg in English starring Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Denholm Elliott (1989)
After a catastrophic tangent of a sequel, Indiana Jones is back to doing what he does best: fightin’ Nazis and kissin’ on girls!
The Room [35mm]
directed by Tommy Wiseau starring Tommy Wiseau, Juliette Danielle and Greg Sestero (2003)
The Room is back!
“Must be seen to be disbelieved.” —The Chicagoist
V/H/S/2
directed by Various in English starring Kelsy Abbott, Hannah Al Rashid, Fachry Albar (2013)
Inside a darkened house looms a column of TVs littered with VHS tapes, a pagan shrine to forgotten analog gods. The screens crackle and pop endlessly with monochrome vistas of static—white noise permeating the brain and fogging concentration. But you must fight the urge to relax: this is no mere movie night. Those obsolete spools contain more than just magnetic tape. They are imprinted with the very soul of evil. This is modern horror at its most inventive, shrewdly subverting our expectations about viral videos in ways that are just as satisfying as they are sadistic. The result is the rarest of all tapes—a second generation with no loss of quality.
Pee-wee’s Big Adventure
directed by Tim Burton in English starring Paul Reubens, Elizabeth Daily, Mark Holton (1985)
Eccentric man-child Pee-Wee Herman embarks on the big adventure of his life across the US mainland, as he sets out to find his beloved bike, when it is stolen in broad daylight.
Jurassic Park [35mm]
directed by Steven Speilberg in English starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum (1993)
During a preview tour, a theme park suffers a major power breakdown that allows its cloned dinosaur exhibits to run amok.
The Road Warrior
directed by George Miller in English starring Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Michael Preston (1981)
Remember when Mel Gibson was more of a badass than a psychopath? As Mad Max, Gibson put on a leather jacket and sunglasses, cocked a sawed-off shotgun and became the goddamned Australian Terminator when he defended a gasoline-rich community from a band of awesome looking vehicular-bound thugs. Thirty years out, this film is still an exhilarating look at a dystopic near future of peak oil.


