Thursday 2: American Regional Horror

Herschel Gordon Lewis, 1970 • Montag the Magnificent is a Chicago magician with a very unique act: he appears to brutally murder audience volunteers on stage. Of course, it's all an illusion...or is it? Soon Montag's former volunteers are found dead in just the manner they appeared to be killed on stage, and it's up to a local newspaper man to discover the horrifying and gruesome truth behind the supposed magician. Director H.G. Lewis earned his reputation as "The Godfather of Gore" for good reason: Wizard is a delightful bloody mess, chock-full of chainsaws, axes, knives, and all the usual tools of a seasoned magician. 35mm

S.F. Brownrigg, 1973 • In rural Texas, a young nurse arrives at a small institution for the insane. Confronted by a strange, almost non-existent staff and even stranger patients, she quickly realizes that the goings-on at the asylum are far from ordinary; there might even be a murderer on the loose. Underappreciated Texas auteur S.F. Brownrigg's debut feature, which earned him immediate acclaim in the exploitation film world, mixes a healthy dosage of gore with well-played suspense, moody performances and an unsettling atmosphere which knowingly acts as a commentary on the state of mind in rural America. Archival 35mm

Thomas Casey, 1971 • A head-scratchingly strange combination of pseudo-horror, melodrama and just plain bizarre characters, Aunt Martha and her cousin Stanley aren't what they appear: in fact, "Martha" is really Paul, a thief who has been hiding out (in full drag) with his partner, Stanley, in an unassuming Florida neighborhood, pretending to be his mild-mannered aunt. But "Aunt Martha" doesn't like visitors, so when anyone gets in the way, they're promptly killed. But Stanley's had enough and wants out. Over Paul's dead body. Archival 35mm (Not on DVD)

Joy N. Houck, 1972 • Joy Houck was Louisiana's most prolific filmmaker, known for directing intricate, socially charged thrillers. Night of the Strangler is a prime example of his work, as it mixes racial tensions with a suspenseful murder mystery. A young white woman, with a black lover, is murdered by an unknown assailant. When a black priest investigates, more murders occur as the killer tries to cover his tracks. Starring Monkees singer Micky Dolenz, Strangler is a rare example of a regional horror film that offers an exploitation narrative without trying to exploit its content. Archival 35mm (Not on DVD)

Frank Q. Dobbs, 1972 • Throughout the early- to mid-70s, many regional filmmaking hopefuls dipped their hands in the cinematic arts, but few regional films look as good as those made by Frank Dobbs, who managed to make $100,000 budgets look like a million. Dobbs' Enter the Devil, which follows a small-town cop who investigates murders connected to a Satanic cult in the middle of the Texas desert, is truly a cut above the rest. Supported by excellent acting and even better cinematography that captures both the mystery and majesty of the rural south, Devil is inarguably a forgotten horror masterpiece. 35mm (Not on DVD)

J.G. Patterson Jr., 1972 • Camp cinema in its purest form, two-shot-wonder J.G. Patterson Jr.'s The Body Shop is a fractured, southern-fried take on Frankenstein, chock-full of over-the-top gore, bizarre plot twists, and some truly dreadful country and western songs. Patterson directs and stars as Dr. Don Brandon, who, feeling lonely after his wife's death, decides to build the perfect bride by creating a jigsaw-puzzle woman, all with the help of his seemingly mute, hunchbacked, and secretly alcoholic assistant. An all-but-forgotten WTF horror gem that only gets stranger with age. 35mm

Bill Rebane, 1986 • Wisconsin's one-man-film-studio Bill Rebane directed this bloody slasher towards the end of his prolific career. In a small farming community, an evil bank agent has started forcing farmers off their property. The banker's young daughter, Jill, is now the target of the town's hate, but might also be the target of a mysterious serial killer who has been offing people ever since Jill's boyfriend's brother (a retarded clown!?) arrived in town. A brilliantly convoluted oddity which also happens to be the only starring vehicle for cult singer Tiny Tim (who sings most of his dialogue). Archival 16mm (Not on DVD)

Robert Voskanian, 1977 • Though technically not a "regional" project, this California-made work has all the elements to nestle it nicely within regional cinema. A completely independent film made by a one-time director, shot in the middle of nowhere, The Child follows a young woman's return to her childhood home to take care of a girl named Rosalie, an introverted and anti-social child with a select group of friends -- a group of zombies. And Rosalie's friends like doing violent favors for her. Distinguished by outstanding production design, atmospheric cinematography, and a pounding piano score, The Child is a sublime Gothic classic. 35mm

James L. Wilson, 1979 • Almost a decade after the early-70s' horror-anthology fad had died down, a group of southern film students decided to try their hand at the genre, with surprisingly good results. A group of college students gather in a supposedly haunted woods to swap horror stories, which range from green zombies hunting frat boys in a YMCA to a psychotic young woman to a lovers' lane couple being assaulted by Bigfoot. Although clearly amateurish in certain ways, Screams of a Winter Night is a product of pure, genuine love for the art of genre filmmaking, with some clever twists along the way. Archival 35mm (Not on DVD)