Nico Pedrero-Setzer and Steve McFarlane’s rep series PRIMATE VISION: MAN OR MONKEY? came to a close earlier in June with the 35mm screening of Altered States at The Roxy Cinema. This was the only screening I managed to attend along with returning guest, Dan Lam, and we went in totally blind. It was a great audience turnout for a Friday night showing in the middle of peak summer blockbuster season and I was thrilled to see this many folks show up for such an obscure science fiction/horror from 1980. [Sometimes I wish there was a QR poll during the pre-show for audiences to input whether it was their first time seeing the film or not]. It really felt like the audience was locked in because there was lots of laughter and general sounds of engagement.
Just before the show started we were surprised with an impromptu live introduction by someone who I believe was his first wife, Shirley Kingdon. It happened so fast I couldn’t jot down her name. She told some great anecdotes about Ken’s research and filming of the movie. It was pretty neat to have her in the audience with us.
I recorded a snippet from her introduction here:
At home, I watched a couple of more titles from the series: Human Nature and Night of the Bloody Apes. Dan and I dig into both of these movies on the pod but I also want to quickly shout out Night of the Bloody Apes (Mexico, 1969). This is the first René Cardona film I’ve seen and I sorely missed out on catching it at Spectacle! Now I’ve got the bug to watch more from Mexico’s Golden Age of Cinema and cult horror films. I found some René Cardona films to watch on Prime Video in case you’re interested in discovering it for yourself.
Steve McFarlane and Kristen Yoonsoo Kim moderated Q&As with director Ken Kwapis for screenings of his films Dunston Checks In and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants at The Roxy Cinema. Nico Pedrero-Setzer attended and introduced most screenings, too.
Listen to this episode of Marquee Mixtape to hear about mine and Dan’s first visits to Spectacle and The Roxy Cinema. If you haven’t discovered them yet then put them on your list of things to do this summer! Happening now at The Roxy Cinema is a film series by Charlie XCX titled “The brat Collection” to celebrate her latest album and it includes mostly 35mm screenings through July 3. Then in July at Spectacle you can catch the fantasy epics of MICHAEL J. MURPHY: SWORD & SANDALS DOUBLE FEATURE.
NEXT: Alexander Fee returns to the show in July for JAPAN CUTS!
Ep. 015: PRIMATE VISION, Pt. 2 with DAN LAM