Get Your Reps In: Halloween Week Calls for “Videodrome,”Body Horror Master David Cronenberg’s Techno-Surrealist Sci-Fi Flick

The film focuses on a skeezy TV executive (real-life slimeball James Woods) who discovers and then broadcasts a show that depicts people being tortured.

Videodrome
By Mia Vicino

Scream (1996)

In Wes Craven’s subversive slasher satire, a group of teens (Neve Campbell, Rose McGowan, Skeet Ulrich, Matthew Lillard) are terrorized by a ghostly (but not supernatural) killer. Before the screening of this definitive meta-horror megahit, Sin Nombre will present a Ghostface drag show for the film’s 25th anniversary—costumes encouraged! Clinton, Oct. 27.

Videodrome (1983)

Body horror master David Cronenberg directs this techno-surrealist sci-fi about a skeezy TV executive (real-life slimeball James Woods) who discovers and then broadcasts a show called Videodrome that depicts people being tortured. But when his girlfriend (Debbie Harry) auditions for the show and never returns, he comes to find that Videodrome’s violence is all too real. Clinton, Oct. 28.

Perfect Blue (1997)

When Mima retires from her pop star career to focus on acting, she experiences exploitation in the film industry, as well as stalking by an obsessed fan. Then, when the bodies start piling up, her grip on reality loosens—is she the one committing these murders? Satoshi Kon’s twisty anime psychological thriller is a prescient masterpiece, a must-see for fans of Darren Aronofsky’s similarly themed Black Swan. 5th Avenue, Oct. 29-31.

Halloween (1978)

When convicted killer Michael Myers escapes from the sanitarium on Halloween, he returns to his hometown and stalks a babysitter (Jamie Lee Curtis, in her debut) and her friends. Featuring a score composed by writer-director John Carpenter himself, this massively influential slasher flick is so iconic that two different theaters are screening it this week. Academy, Oct. 29-Nov. 4. Hollywood, Oct. 30-31.

The Crow (1994)

Based on the eponymous comic book series by James O’Barr, this gothic superhero film follows a dead musician (Brandon Lee, tragically killed accidentally during production) who is resurrected by a crow the night before Halloween to exact vengeance on those who murdered him and his fiancée. A special Devil’s Night screening! Cinemagic, Oct. 30.

ALSO PLAYING:

Academy: Carrie (1976), Oct. 27-28. The Shining (1980), Oct. 27-28. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Oct. 29-Nov. 4. Clinton: The Hunger (1983), Oct. 28. Hollywood: Kolchak-The X-Files double feature, Oct. 27. Nothing but Trouble (1991), Oct. 29. The Phantom of the Opera (1925), Oct. 30. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), Nov. 1. Nemesis (1992), Nov. 2.

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