Offscreen 2015: Mushroom people, Cannon films, and Tobe Hooper

During the next three weeks, I will introduce several movies at the Offscreen Film Festival in Brussels. 

Apart from a selection of premieres, Offscreen will showcase a retrospective on Tobe Hooper, a module on botanicals, and some of the most popular Cannon Films. 

I made an overview of the films I'll be talking about. I hope you'll come by if you have the chance. 

The Duke Of Burgundy 

Those of you who saw Peter Strickland's Berberian Sound Studio at Offscreen 2013, know that they're in for a visual and auditory treat with The Duke Of Burgundy (2014). Together with director Peter Strickland, I will introduce The Duke Of Burgundy on March 6 at 8 pm in the Cinema Nova in Brussels. 

Matango: Attack Of The Mushroom People

After the screening of The Duke Of Burgundy, at 10 pm, I will also introduce Ishiro Honda's Japanese cult classic Matango: Attack Of The Mushroom People (1963), this time in the company of Jasper Sharp (author of the 'slime molds' book The Creeping Garden and director of the documentary by the same name). This story about castaways who turn into mushrooms after having eaten weird fungi has rarely been screened outside of Japan, so don't miss this opportunity.  

Eaten Alive 

Deep in the Louisiana bayou, travelers find shelter in the dilapidated Starlight Hotel. They never stay long, since the psychotic owner feeds them one by one to his pet alligator. Director Tobe Hooper will join me for the introduction of Eaten Alive (1977) on March 8 at 9:30 pm at Cinematek. 

Salem's Lot 

I'm proud to present one of my favorite horror movies, Salem's Lot (1979), at the Offscreen Film Festival. Based on the novel by Stephen King, Salem's Lot was first released as a TV mini series before receiving the theatrical cut that will be shown at Offscreen. Don't forget to mark your calendars: March 12 at 9:30 pm (at Cinematek). But be warned: Salem's Lot contains some of the creepiest scenes in vampire movie history. 

Street Smart

On Saturday, March 13th, I'll be introducing the 1987 movie Street Smart at Cinematek. Part of Offscreen's Cannon module, Street Smart was originally an initiative from actor Christopher Reeve. After much insisting, he could convince Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus to finance the film, but he had to agree to star in Superman 4 in return. Yet it was not Christopher Reeve but Morgan Freeman who reaped the biggest success as his career got a big boost thanks to his nominations as best supporting actor for the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes. 

Invaders From Mars

Invaders From Mars (1986) is the second of the three movies Tobe Hooper shot back-to-back for Cannon. It's the remake from Invaders From Mars from 1953 in which a boy discovers that his parents, and possibly the entire village, has been taken by aliens. I will give an introduction to this movie on Sunday, March 15, at 10 pm at Cinematek. 

Avenging Force 

On Wednesday, March 18, I'll be introducing Avenging Force from director Sam Firstenberg (Ninja III: The Domination) at Cinematek. It's about a paramilitary group that organizes hunts on human prey. Yet it wasn't an original topic when the film was released. We already had The Most Dangerous Game in 1932 and Turkey Shoot (aka Escape 2000) in 1982. 

10 To Midnight 

Also on March 18, I'll be introducing 10 To Midnight (1983). Charles Bronson headlines as the police detective who chases a serial killer who strips his clothes before chasing and killing his victims. In the supporting roles, you'll recognize Andrew Stevens (The Fury, The Seduction) and Geoffrey Lewis (Salem's Lot). Roger Ebert called 10 To Midnight “a scummy little sewer of a movie.” Don't say I didn't warn you. 

The Mangler

Tobe Hooper based The Mangler (1995) on Stephen King's short story about a demon-possessed ironing machine in an industrial laundry. It was supposed to be part of the anthology film The Machines in which King's stories Trucks, The Lawmower Man, and The Mangler would be adapted. The death of the producer made sure that didn't happen. Despite Hooper-King-Englund combination, The Mangler was a flop. Yet, two sequels were made: The Mangler 2 (2001), which had nothing more to do with a mangler but with a computer virus that kills people, and The Return Of The Mangler (2005), which re-introduced the evil ironing machine. King wrote about the film: “Tobe Hooper is a genius. But when genius goes wrong, brother, watch out...” I'll be introducing The Mangler on Sunday, March 22 at Cinematek.  

Which movies would you like to see? Anything you've seen that you'd recommend?