Midnight Screenings

David Cronenberg has set his latest film at an unspecified date in the future when people no longer suffer physical pain. Viggo Mortensen, Léa Seydoux, and Kristen Stewart star in another inimitably bizarre work by the Canadian icon of body horror as he asks where the “synthetic age” is taking us, what sex might look like in an era of newly discovered thrills, and who owns whose body today.

An ultimate, opulent, lavish, bombastic, and at times stochastic, action-packed ride through the multiverse that masterfully mixes fight choreography with existential questions. A mix of genres ranging from action comedy to family drama, firmly held together by the sensitive brutality of the duo behind the hit Swiss Army Man.

What would it be like to meet the movie stars of our fantasies? Leonor, an aging former screenwriter for cheap action films whose star dimmed long ago, falls into a coma after her neighbor’s television lands on her head. As a result, in her mind she lives out the unfinished story of the noble Ronwaldo, who decides to stand up to a criminal gang.

Seeking to recover from a personal tragedy, Harper sets out for some quiet time in the picturesque British countryside. But a comforting peace is the last thing the surrounding forests and the deranged villagers have in store for lonely visitors. This atmospheric nightmare mix of folk horror and body horror makes inventive use of symbolic language and carefully dosed humor while nevertheless appealing to thoughtful viewers who might otherwise turn up their noses at the usual rural fright-fest.

This anti-utopian story of an invincible cyborg haunted by terrible memories as he fights crime on the violent streets of Detroit was not only the most successful film of 1987 but has since become synonymous with the cult of the eighties. Futuristic criticism of Reaganite capitalism was never more fun.

Three mercenaries manage to capture a drug dealer along with his loot – gold and a large supply of narcotics. They then flee with their hostage to Dakar, but a technical malfunction forces them to make an emergency landing in a mystical island region filled with violence and supernatural forces where even the most closely-guarded secrets rise to the surface.

What is this film about? About superheroes who resemble the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers but call themselves the Tobacco Force and kill extraterrestrial monsters using nicotine? Or is it about the scary stories they tell each other by the campfire when their boss, the perpetually drooling rat Didier, sends them on a vacation in the woods? Hard to say. King of twisted ideas Quentin Dupieux returns with an (anti-)smoking comedy about saving the world.

The Kurdish village of Zalava is home to evil demons. At least, that is what its inhabitants think, and so from time to time the village is witness to bloody conflicts with those presumed to be possessed by them. When local police sergeant Masoud wants to confiscate the villagers’ weapons and dares to call the shaman Amardan a charlatan and even to arrest him, this triggers a massive wave of ill will within the community that leads to unexpected casualties.