LIVE FROM MISKATONIC: GARY SHERMAN IN CONVERSATION (London)
In association with the Abertoir Film Festival, we are pleased to welcome Gary Sherman to the Miskatonic Institute for an evening of history, anecdotes and practical tips from his 50-year career in filmmaking, including iconic genre films such as Death Line (1972), Dead & Buried (1981), Vice Squad (1982), Wanted: Dead or Alive (1986), Poltergeist III (1988) and more.
GOD OF THE OUTSIDERS: SATAN IN LITERATURE, CULTURE, AND ENTERTAINMENT—OLD MYTH AND NEW INSIGHT (NYC)
Tracing the earliest origins of humanity’s conception of an opposing force in the Eastern and Western worlds, Mitch Horowitz (author, Occult America) explores some of history’s most bracing and provocative interpretations of the Satanic—from the work of Milton and the Romantic poets (William Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell; Lord Byron’s Cain) to more recent fiction and nonfiction literary efforts (Arturo Pérez-Reverte’s The Club Dumas; Anton LaVey’s The Satanic Bible; Michael Aquino’s The Diabolicon), and examines how even some of our most recognized supernatural films (Devil’s Advocate; Rosemary’s Baby; The Ninth Gate) enunciate Satanic themes with penetrating classical validity. In the process, Mitch strips away historical and cultural preconceptions, misunderstandings, and shibboleths to open an entirely fresh window on the intellectual and cultural idea of the Satanic in Western history and contemporary life. He shines a new light into ancient myths, canonical literature, legends, and pop culture to trace out an authentic outsider tradition of Satanic thought. Join us for a challenging and eye-opening evening. You will come away with an entirely new conception of a “familiar devil.”
DEAD EYES OF LONDON: THE GERMAN ‘KRIMI’ FILM (NYC)
This class will explore the German krimi film, or Kriminalfilm, a genre of West German crime thrillers inspired by the novels of British mystery writer and King Kong creator Edgar Wallace starting in the late 1950s with Der Frosch mit der Mask (The Fellowship of the Frog, 1959), With their lurid violence and macabre humor, and shadowy, fog-drenched sets in an imaginary London or in spooky castles replete with secret passageways, the Kriminalfilm is an important but relatively unexplored subgenre. Perhaps this neglect is due to the death of home video releases for English language audiences, but the krimi represent a vital stepping-stone: they are effectively the bridge between German Expressionism and film noir, and later horror subgenres like the Italian giallo film and Eurohorror of the ‘70s. Though they retained common themes and shared stock characters—often embodied by beloved cult actors like Christopher Lee and Klaus Kinski—krimi plots would become increasingly lurid and pulpy as the series wound to a close in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, directly influencing the Eurohorror of the ‘70s.
LIVE FROM MISKATONIC: PENNY SLINGER IN CONVERSATION (Los Angeles)
The Miskatonic Institute is pleased to welcome filmmaker, collage artist, sculptor and performer Penny Slinger to our LA branch for an exclusive, in-depth conversation about her dark surrealist work in multiple mediums, frequently addressing themes of interior space, body horror, female sexuality and psychosis. Penny’s work – from with her early student short films and first book of collage art, 50% The Visible Woman to her collaborations with filmmakers Peter Whitehead (Lilford Hall, 1969) and Jane Arden’s Holocaust Theatre troupe (culminating in the feature film The Other Side of the Underneath, 1972), and her masterpiece of psychic trauma, the collage art book An Exorcism (1977) – was the spark for a new mode of surrealism focused on the female experience that would have ripples throughout the film and art worlds, though it would take many years for her pioneering influence to be acknowledged.
THE MORBIDO CRYPT’S GUIDE TO MEXICAN FANTASY AND HORROR CINEMA (Los Angeles)
Join us for a scenic tour of Mexican genre cinema guided by Morbido Fest’s head programmer, Abraham Castillo Flores. Delving beyond luchadores and psychotronica, Abraham unearths the monsters that fomented a distinctive but barely acknowledged corner of our cinematic consciousness.