BRINGING THE WEIRD, WILD WORLD OF CINEMA TO KANSAS CITY SINCE 2018.
This Week
In 1930, working at night, on the same sets that Tod Browning, Bela Lugosi, et al were using during the day, Mexican actors famously made a Spanish-language version of Dracula. Within a few years, Mexico's burgeoning film industry was turning out gothic horror pictures of its own, and Phantom of the Monastery was one of the first, an eerie, poetic concoction full of Expressionist shadows and haunting images, including a room full of real mummies - mummies that can still be visited today at the Museo de El Carmen, if you happen to be planning a trip to Mexico City.Blurb goes here
With the season of scares right around the corner, this month Magnetic Magic is loading the VCR with a shlocky spookfest from low-budget maestro Joe Castro. Analog Sunday presents a twisted tale of familial afterlife cannibalism: Near Death!
From Fernando Mendez, director of what is probably Mexico's most famous gothic, 1957's El Vampiro, comes this Edgar Allan Poe-inflected tale whose Spanish-language title more closely translates to "Mysteries from Beyond the Grave." When two doctors make a pact that the first one who dies will find a way to bring the survivor across to the "other side," it sets into motion an EC Comics style tragedy that reminds us to be careful what we wish for in this atmospheric gem filled with torchlit funeral processions, mist-shrouded courtyards, horribly burned faces, and much more.
The feature debut of Mary Harron (American Psycho) and one of the most controversial independent films of the 1990s, I Shot Andy Warhol stars an electric Lili Taylor as Valerie Solanas, a militant feminist whose attempted murder of Andy Warhol brought instant fame to her radically anti-male SCUM Manifesto. Dropping out of grad school in the midsixties, the brilliant yet volatile Solanas survived in New York City as a destitute artist, sex worker, and panhandler, soon striking up a friendship with Warhol superstar Candy Darling that brought her briefly into the orbit of the world’s premier pop artist. Anchored by pitch-perfect performances—and featuring a blistering score by John Cale as well as covers of sixties hits by some of the nineties’ most iconic bands (R.E.M., Wilco)!
To celebrate it's 25th anniversary. We're screening Mariah Carey’s magnum opus about a young singer navigating the vicious terrains of love and music in 80s NYC. With oscar-worthy performances from Da Brat and Padma Lakshmi, a knock-off Mark Wahlberg love interest, and earth-shattering operatics from Mariah, you will not want to miss this film event of a lifetime.
Mexico's most famous phantom, La Llorona has been the subject of dozens of movies over the years, including a recent installment in the Conjuring franchise and Jayro Bustamante's Golden Globe-nominated 2019 film. This, however, is almost certainly the wildest. Produced by and starring the legendary Abel Salazar (THE BRAINIAC, et al), CURSE OF THE CRYING WOMAN is Mexican gothic at its weirdest and most bombastic, throwing every imaginable trope and special effect at the wall to create a delirious concoction of haunted house hysteria complete with witches, dungeons, cobwebs, and a deranged spouse locked up in the attic, to name just a few.
For &drew's b-day month, Video Void is diving into all things sci-fi as the Void dedicates an entire night to a collection of unreleased (plus one returning) fasterpieces of schlocky sci-fi bullshit! We take 6 sci-fi features, take out all the bad parts, leavving only the good nuggets! Featuring your favorite sci-fi tropes: Mark Hamill's genius dog, sexy alien abductions, future girls, and cyborg Kim Cattrall!
Plus much, much more from the Void and a preshow featuring a hot-off the press digitization!
Prolific screenwriter-turned-director Carlos Enrique Taboada kicked off a "series of films that revitalized the genre" with this classic ghost story. "Taboada's films are some of the first to depict modern-day Mexico as the space of gothic horror," writes Kerry Hegarty. Even the Wind is Afraid's story of a haunting in a girls' boarding school not only helped to change the face of horror in Mexico, it also continues to inspire modern day directors, including Guillermo del Toro, who has cited Taboada as an influence. Also, let's be real, it has one of the best titles in horror history.
A VOlunteer-Run, Non-Profit Movie Theater in Kansas City
Stray Cat Film Center is a non-profit microcinema in Kansas City’s Crossroads neighborhood. Our 50-seat theater screens a wide variety of films, from French dramas to horror to socially conscious movies. Curated by a team of volunteer programmers, we offer a space for films that challenge and entertain.
We are committed to being an accessible and welcoming venue for film education, live art, and community events. Whether you're a longtime film lover or new to the scene, Stray Cat is a place to explore and connect through cinema.
MERCH!
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