Skip to content

The Manitou

Starring: Tony Curtis, Susan Strasberg, Michael Ansara, Burgess Meredith

“Possession marked
The Exorcist. Demonic Pregnancy erupted Rosemary’s Baby. Warnings followed The Omen. And The Manitou has it all combined!”

When Karen Tandy (Susan Strasberg) finds she has a rapidly growing tumor on the back of her neck that perplexes even the best San Francisco surgeon, she seeks guidance from her sometimes-lover Harry Erskine (a delightfully flamboyant Tony Curtis), a hack mystic with a specialty of forecasting the gastrointestinal futures of wealthy older women. Consulting a variety of experts in black magic and anthropology, Harry can’t ignore all the signs point to one thing – a Native American shaman is attempting rebirth through Karen’s body! Launching off of this insane premise, The Manitou never lets up, building to a wild psychedelic climax and peppered with unhinged performances including a confused-but-committed Burgess Meredith.

The Rapture

THE DEUCE will make Believers out of you in December, as we conclude 2017 with the ultimate end-of-the-year, End of the World blow-out THE RAPTURE!

Bored with mind-numbing work and bed-hopping swinger’s sessions, telephone information operator Mimi Rogers becomes a Born Again with mulleted ex-sex-partner David Duchovny – and begins a toxic relationship… with God! He’s such a jerk!!

A seriously demented and brazenly bonkers investigation of fathomless faith that goes for broke; adventurous and uncompromising beautiful and bewildering!

Shriek of the Mutilated

For November, THE DEUCE serves up a feast of freaky fun with Mike and Roberta Findlay’s bonkers “Bigfoot” bonanza: SHRIEK OF THEMUTILATED!

A gung-ho group of grad students and their professor take a fearful field trip to the far-off regions of… upstate New York (Croton-on-Hudson) for a yuck-filled Yeti hunt! Heart-felt Yeti songs are sung, and heart-felt discussions… until  the horrible heart-beat of the beast is heard!

When the students start dropping faster than their GPAs – will anyone survive the wrath of the wooly’s rampage?? A wacky, wholly WTF brain-drain of a Bigfoot (make that Yeti) yarn, chock-full of weirdness!…

With an ending that will put you in the perfect mood for Thanksgiving! Plus: a very energetic cocktail party set to that poppiest of tunes – “Popcorn” – aka the backgroundd music for The Deuce “Famous” Raffle!

The Final Terror

Starring: Darryl Hannah, Rachel Ward, Adrian Zmed, Joe Pantolliano, Mark Metcalf.

Kill, Baby, Kill

NEW RESTORATION! 

In the beginning of the Twentieth Century, the Dr. Eswai is called by Inspector Kruger to a small village to perform an autopsy on a woman who has died under suspicious circumstances. Despite help from Ruth, the village witch, Kruger is killed and it is revealed that the dead woman, as well as other villagers, have been killed by the ghost of Melissa, a young girl who, fed by the hatred of her grieving mother, Baroness Graps, exacts her revenge on them. Dr. Eswai, along with Monica, a local nurse, are lured into a fateful confrontation at the Villa Graps…

The Black Sabbath

One of the great horror anthology films of all time hosted by the great Boris Karloff, and Mario Bava’s personal favorite of his works, Black Sabbath solidified the director’s reputation as Europe’s maestro of the macabre. In The Telephone! a woman is haunted by menacing phone calls from a former lover. The Wurdulak stars Karloff as a vampire hunter whose family is stalked by the wandering spirit of an undead ghoul. A Drop Of Water involves a nurse who steals a ring from a corpse – not realizing the curse that is carried with it.

Five Dolls For An August Moon

FIVE DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON is Mario Bava’s deliriously mod spin on an Agatha Christie-style whodunit.

Bava was so closely associated with the horror genre that this twisting mystery was never released theatrically in the U.S., but it is deliciously entertaining all the same. A space age island retreat is visited by a group of friends and business associates, one of whom is a scientist who has invented a revolutionary chemical process, and is fending off various offers to buy it. Soon the vacationers start dying, and the survivors begin to wonder who has the most to gain from these murders most foul.

Anything but a drawing room mystery, Bava’s erotic thriller is enlivened by its psychedelic set design, a hip score by Piero Umiliani, and a swinging performance by giallo goddess Edwige Fenech (All the Colors of the Dark).

Bay of Blood

One of the most influential horror films of all time, Mario Bava’s A BAY OF BLOOD (1971, aka Twitch of the Death Nerve) is the spurting artery from which all future slasher films would flow.

When crippled Countess Federica is murdered at her isolated mansion, a gruesome battle ensues to secure the rights to her valuable property around the bay. Everyone, from illegitimate children to shady real estate agents, stakes a claim, only to be killed in increasingly bizarre ways, from simple shootings to impalement by fishing spear. The makeup effects are by Carlo Rambaldi, who would later earn Oscars for his work in Alien (1979) and E.T. (1982).

Initially scorned upon its original release because of its graphic violence, A BAY OF BLOOD eventually became a trendsetter, the model slasher film that Friday the 13th would emulate nearly a decade later.

The Whip and the Body

Steeped in sadomasochism and lushly photographed in the vivid hues for which the director is known, Mario Bava’s THE WHIP AND THE BODY is a Gothic thriller that far surpasses the API Edgar Allan Poe films that it was intended to emulate.

Christopher Lee (Dracula: Prince of Darkness) stars as Kurt Menliff, the sadistic son of a wealthy Count, who returns to the family castle, much to the dismay of his family, their servants, and the beautiful woman with whom he shares a fondness for the lash (Daliah Lavi). When Kurt is found murdered, it brings no peace to those who had feared him, as his vengeful spirit cannot be contained by the grave, and he returns to torment those unfortunate enough to remain within Menliff Manor.

Evil Dead 2

Starring: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks

Evil Dead 2 is a comedic take on a lone survivor (the estimable Bruce Campbell) and a group of strangers who fight the undead released after reading the Necronomicon (aka “Book of the Dead”). A parody sequel to director Sam Raimi’s original feature Evil Dead (when does THAT ever happen?) this version heavily features the handsome hero Ash who must fight squirly, soaring and scary demons as well as his very own hand and a flying eyeball. Cue the chainsaw and shotgun accessories. One of the best!