Stuart Samuels’ documentary lovingly looks back at six films that during the 1970s kickstarted a new pastime among the hip … seeing weird-ass movies at midnight. The impact of these films … El Topo, Night of the Living Dead, Pink Flamingos, The Harder They Come, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Eraserhead, some of which ran for years … was such that by decade’s end, gore, aberrant sexuality and shock humor had moved into the mainstream. Sadly, what didn’t survive was the heady communal experience of watching a cult film, and it’s nearly impossible to convey today the fraternity these works engendered. Regardless, Midnight encapsulates a critical and amusing chapter of film history. Careers, too, were made at midnight, and it’s heartening to see how enthusiastic the directors, including zombie king George Romero and Mexico’s Western-surrealist Alejandro Jodorowsky, remain about their genre-busting works. Night of the Living Dead producer Russ Streiner will lead an audience discussion following the 7:30 p.m. Mon., May 15, screening. Starts Fri., May 12. Oaks (AH)

This article appears in May 11-17, 2006.

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