Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Our man in the Windy City has the word on what’s going on after dark this summer, and if you’re in town, you’d do well to lisssssen up:
Hey, Harry. Capone in Chicago here. For years on end in Chicago, there’s really only been one place that played Midnight Movies in their truest form on a weekly basis. But that’s all about to change, and in the interest of keeping my fellow Chicagoans informed about where to find the most twisted films around, I’ll tell you about. Beginning officially on July 27, the Landmark Century Center Theatre (2828 N. Clark Street at Diversey) is starting up what promises to be a wonderful series of Saturday night/Sunday morning extravaganzas. With the help of regular host and pseudo-Chicago celebrity Dick O’Day, these midnight films will be a combination comedy show / movie screening / mind fuck. What may make this series of particular interest to some of you non-Chicagoans is the August 17 premiere of a new 35mm print of the never-before-seen director’s cut of FLESH GORDON. We’re talking hard-core, people. The people at Landmark actually paid a dude who owned an uncut print of this baby to let them strike new prints of the film. If you’ve got a Landmark theatre in your town, there’s a good chance this version of FLESH GORDON will slink onto a screen where you are. Here’s the schedule through the summer:
JULY 27--SHOWGIRLS (Contemporary camp classic)
AUGUST 3--BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (This Russ Meyer slice of heaven is a Chicago favorite since Roger Ebert wrote it.)
AUGUST 10--ELVIRA’S HAUNTED HILLS (A Chicago Premiere, featuring the Mistress of the Dark herself.)
AUGUST 17--FLESH GORDON (New 35mm print of the never-before seen Director’s Cut.)
AUGUST 24--SHORT CIRCUIT (interspersed with selections from Ally Sheedy’s poetry.)
AUGUST 31--LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: THE FABULOUS STAINS (Unavailable on video, this 1981 winner features Diane Lane, Ray Winstone, and Laura Dern.)
SEPTEMBER 7--FEMALE TROUBLE (New 35mm print!)
SEPTEMBER 14--STRAIT-JACKET (This 1964 film is from director William Castle and starring Joan Crawford. It’s only a movie...it’s only a movie...it’s only a movie...; banned in Finland!!!)
Look for me in the audience at many of these screenings.
As something of a preview of this series, this coming Friday (July 12) the Landmark theatre is hosting a midnight screening of a little 1987 German gross-out classic called NEKROMANTIK from director Jorg Buttgereit, who will be on hand to discuss the film. The band Corpse Corpse will also be performing as part of the event. If you haven’t seen, or even heard of, this film and you consider yourself a gore expert, you owe it to yourself. NEKROMANTIK is a low-budget but horribly graphic film about a couple who engage regularly in necrophilia (Yum!). When Rob brings a fresh bloating corpse home from work (for a living, he cleans up dead bodies after traffic accidents), his live-in girlfriend Betty gets all hot and bothered. Rob and Betty’s three-way with the corpse might make you puke up your strudel. And Rob’s final act of self-gratification might be the most repulsive thing I’ve ever seen. It’s a must see, folks. This movie has been banned in a whole lot of countries, and rightfully so. See it while you can. It is most foul.
See you at the witching hour,
