Experiments in Terror (Expanded Edition)

Wed. November 19 8:00

1636 Wilcox

Creeping into the darkest corners of the cinematic imaginary, EXPERIMENTS IN TERROR disinters a body of ghoulish works to satisfy our most perverse celluloid cravings. Employing a mesmerizing montage of terrifying tropes and fiendish footage, our kino-coven conjures more than a bewitching hour of visionary cinema. Pounding a stake through the heart of genre convention, this shocking program expands the cinematic language of fear, breaking the chains of narrative logic and leaving only the black void of the infinite unconscious.

Part 1 8:00

Usama Alshaibi "Hold My Scissors" (4 mins.)
Rodney Ascher & Josh Fadem "Visions of Terror" (5 mins.)
Damon Packard "Dawn of an Evil Millenium" (20 mins.)
American Dental Association  “The Haunted Mouth” (13 mins.)

Part 2 9:00

Ben Rivers "Terror!" (24 mins.)
Clifton Childree “It Gets Worse” (32 mins.) 

Part 3 10:00

J.X. Williams "The Virgin Sacrifice" (9 mins.)
Jason Bognacki "The Red Door" (40 mins.)

Usama Alshaibi “Hold My Scissors” 
Mini-DV | 4 mins. | 2004 

Dominated by blood-thirsty Maenads, this video elaborates on the theme of obsessive love
that rapidly manifests into a mythical gore-fest.

Rodney Ascher & Josh Fadem "Visions of Terror"
2008 | Video | 6 mins.

The brilliant JOSH FADEM (Night Masters) and the beautiful ZOE JARMAN (Whisper Force 2) star in this unforgettable mind-bending horror thriller, directed by international horror maestro RODNEY ASCHER (Suspensia). NOT ON DVD

Ben Rivers "Terror!"
Beta SP | 2007 | 24 mins.

“This masterfully edited compilation documentary analyzes the morphology of the horror film. Stringing together the most common tropes and scenes of slashers, zombie flicks, slumber party massacres, etc. into a single meta-horror opus, Rivers not so much deconstructs the genre as provides a tribute that reveals its limitations but also its visceral power.   It’s films like this that explain why I do film programs like ‘Experiments in Terror’” – Noel Lawrence. NOT ON DVD

Clifton Childree “It Gets Worse”

16mm | 2008 | 32 mins.

In this nightmarish slapstick silent, an old sea captain is troubled by a cursed coffin-shaped nickel arcade game that changes his appearance and personality, transforming him into the Mr. Hyde alter ego of his character. “For me, it was the films edginess that made it endearing.  Gallery openings can be quite proper, but the film reduced much of the audience to children.  It doesn’t matter if you are a mature connoisseur with an Italian cut sports coat, flying poop and giant testicles are funny.  I felt like a kid sneaking into a rated R movie.” – Matt Berkshire NOT ON DVD

Damon Packard “Dawn of an Evil Millennium”
1988 | Super-8 | 21 mins.

Epic Super-8 short about a demon summoned to Earth who takes command of a souped-up 1970 Oldsmobile and goes on a road-kill rampage. Only one man stop him…Frank Bitt. “Damon Packard is to Stephen Spielberg what George Kuchar is to Douglas Sirk.” – Noel Lawrence.

American Dental Association  “The Haunted Mouth”
1973 | 16mm | 13 mins.

In a haunted house, the invisible spirit of plaque – which evidently has the ability to possess rocking chairs – warns children against the dangers of not brushing and flossing.  Stars: Cesar Romaro. 

J.X. Williams  "The Virgin Sacrifice" 
1969 | 16mm | 9 mins. (excerpt) 

“Before ‘Virgin’, I never put much stock in the idea of a ‘cursed’ production. Take a film like ‘Incubus’. Just cause the director’s nephew died, the production company went belly up, and Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate attended the premiere....Those could all just be coincidences. Shit happens. But with ‘Virgin’, you could just smell the vapor of evil clouding the set. It didn’t help that our chief investor was a ranking member of the Church of Satan. In the end, we tallied three OD’s, a maimed-for-life set designer, bankruptcy, and a car bombing (sort of). Even the film itself disappeared. Not just the prints. The film lab burnt down and we lost the negative. All I’ve got left is the nine minute opening to the main feature and the sound-sync is fucked.” 

-- J.X. Williams (from the forthcoming documentary “The Big Footnote”).

Jason Bognacki  "Loma Lynda: The Red Door"
2007 | HD Video | 40 mins.

A blood-drenched psychological mystery through the distorted gaze of Lynda and her fantasy self, Loma - heroines who both try to redeem Lynda from a tragic past. Described as a modern 'Giallo' filma reference to the Italian exploitation shockers of the '60s and '70 - it takes us through a dark and visually striking journey set in the streets of Hollywood and in the bent mind of its heroine(s). Highly-stylized and very committed to its roots - definitely not for the squeamish. NOT ON DVD