Over the past few years, Spectacle has plumbed the depths of the disgusting effects, dubious morals, and devil fetuses of Hong Kong “Category III” cinema– the HK film industry’s rough equivalent to the American “X” rating labeling extreme content. This Spectober, we return to the sticky side with this trio of works featuring those most bloodthirsty, bite-prone, garlic-phobic, and godless of horror villains: Cats!

Cats have long played a role in Chinese mythology and horror lore, commonly depicted as xianli (仙狸 )– shape-shifting demons of divine or extraterrestrial original, trapped in our realm and intent on sucking the spirits out of humans. Though not as much a staple of Hong Kong cinemas as their hopping vampire and haunted house counterparts, the regional horror boom of the 1980s and 90s still found plenty of room for xianli stories replete with blood, guts, and a dose of kitty kung fu, truly putting the “cat” in “Category III”.

EVIL CAT
(凶貓)
Dir. Dennis Yu Wan-kwong, 1987
Hong Kong. 91 min.
In Cantonese with English subtitles.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5 – 10PM
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11 – 10PM
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18 – 10PM

TICKETS

For generations the Cheung clan has protected the world from a demonic cat with nine lives who returns every 50 years to feed on unsuspecting souls. Now the last of his bloodline, the burden falls on the aging kung fu sorcerer, Master Cheung (Lau Kar-leung), to enter into final battle with the demon and claim its last life, before a terminal illness claims his.

In one of the wilder collaborations in HK film history, horror and New Wave icon Dennis Yu (THE BEASTS) brings to life one of the Wong Jing-iest of ridiculous 80s Wong Jing scripts, with the legendary Lau Kar-leung in tow as star and choreographer. The result is an incredible convergence of its creators’ sensibilities, with its giallo-esque horror sequences blending seamlessly with superb wirework action and off-the-charts zaniness.

DEVIL CAT
(貓變)
Dir. Chow Cheung, 1991
Taiwan. 86 min.
In Cantonese with English subtitles.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4 – 5PM
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8 – 10PM
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18 – MIDNIGHT

TICKETS

The supernatural, shapeshifting Queen of Cats (Yukari Oshima) is engaged in a centuries-long war with the Dog King and his legion of bandits. After sustaining injuries during their latest battle, the Queen is nursed back to health by a kindly young man and his girlfriend, only for them to become the Dog King’s newest targets. The Queen must now serve as protector to them and a host of other locals lest her conflict with the King spill over into our realm.

Not to be confused with Kenny Ha’s earlier film of the same name, Chow Cheung’s DEVIL CAT features a hodgepodge of different story ideas united by future martial arts legend Yukari Oshima’s presence as a crime fighting cat spirit. A heavy synth score, shimmery special effects, and some solid gore make this the ultimate wish fulfillment fantasy for vengeance-minded felines, so be careful not to show this one to yours.

THE CAT
(衛斯理之老貓)
Dir. Lam Nai-choi, 1992
Hong Kong. 84 min.
In Cantonese with English subtitles.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4 – MIDNIGHT
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9 – 10PM
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18 – 5PM

TICKETS

A trio of shapeshifting extraterrestrials– one in the form of an old man, one a young woman, and one (of course) a cat– team up with adventure novelist Wisely to defeat an alien terror known as the Star Killer with the power to absorb and re-animate its human victims.

You’ll have to forgive us for throwing in a selection that’s technically only rated Category IIB, but how could we not include the mother of all Hong Kong cat movies. Loosely adapted from one of Shaw scribe Ni Kuang’s Wisely novels, THE CAT sees Lam Nai-choi (in his final feature, no less) one-up the gonzo absurdity that put him on the map with features like THE SEVENTH CURSE, THE GHOST SNATCHERS, and STORY OF RICKY. Lam’s swan song is a non-stop barrage of ludicrous sci-fi ideas, Lovecraftian creature designs, and latex gore, featuring endless gunfights, dogfights, catfights, a dog-and-cat fight, and enough pyrotechnics to put Hollywood to shame.

This October Spectacle presents Argentina’s first-ever zombie movie PLAGA ZOMBIE and its sequel PLAGA ZOMBIE: ZONA MUTANTE.

For years, friends Pablo Parés, Hernán Sáez, Berta Muniz, and Walter Cornás had been making short films on the weekends with a video camera that Parés won at a raffle. In 1996, before they were 20, the four friends decided to make their first feature film. Armed with a budget of $450, a horde of friends, and countless weekends, the friends created Argentina’s first zombie movie, PLAGA ZOMBIE (1997).

After spending all their money creating the movie, they didn’t have funds left for distribution. However, they discovered they could earn $100 per person by presenting a case on the reality show FORUM (1985 – ), similar to JUDGE JUDY(1992 – ). The friends presented two fake cases, related to the filming of PLAGA ZOMBIE and received their $400, which they made VHS copies of PLAGA ZOMBIE with and self-distributed.

Due to the relentless distribution efforts of the friends, the movie gained a cult following in Argentina. As a result, they decided to make a sequel called PLAGA ZOMBIE: ZONA MUTANTE in 2001 and completed the trilogy in 2013 with PLAGA ZOMBIE: ZONA MUTANTE – REVOLUCIÓN TÓXICA.

PLAGA ZOMBIE eventually became open source, allowing other creators to continue the legacy, this resulted in the creation of comic books, animated shows, action figures, and much more. In 2021, director Garry Medeiros released an American remake/spinoff/sequel titled PLAGA ZOMBIE – AMERICAN INVASION (2021), which featured cameos from the original creators Pablo Parés, Hernán Sáez, and Berta Muniz.

PLAGA ZOMBIE (ZOMBIE PLAGUE)
dir. Pablo Parés and Hernán Sáez, 1997.
Argentina. 71 mins.
In Spanish with English Subs.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4 – 7:30PM
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12 – 10PM
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22 – 10PM
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30 – 7:30PM

TICKETS

An alien race aims to exterminate humanity by transforming a person into a zombie. It’s up to computer nerd Max Giggs, medical student Bill Johnson, and pro-wrestler John West to stop them.

Pablo Parés, Hernán Sáez, Berta Muñiz, and Walter Cornás were heavily influenced by Peter Jackson’s early films BAD TASTE(1987) and BRAINDEAD (1992), as well as Sam Raimi’s THE EVIL DEAD series (1980-1992). The friends set out to create a film in the same vein, with over-the-top practical effects, an insane storyline, and nonstop action. The outcome is a film that could easily fit into the early filmography of either of their idols.

PLAGA ZOMBIE: ZONA MUTANTE (ZOMBIE PLAGUE: MUTANT ZONE)
dir. Pablo Parés and Hernán Sáez, 2001.
Argentina. 99 mins.
In Spanish with English Subs.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4 – 10PM
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12 – MIDNIGHT
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30 – 10PM

TICKETS

The Argentine government is collaborating with the aliens, offering protection from the virus in exchange. Survivors Bill Johnson, John West, and Max Giggs are in line for execution but are released back into the zombie-infested town instead.

Like all great zombie sequels, PLAGA ZOMBIE: ZONA MUTANTE significantly expands the universe of the original film. While the first movie was predominantly set in a house, the sequel depicts the zombie outbreak in the surrounding town. The film had a budget of $3000 and involved over 180 extras. It took them nearly four years to complete the production, eventually being picked up by Fangoria and distributed internationally.

Similar to the evolution of THE EVIL DEAD series, PLAGA ZOMBIE: ZONA MUTANTE leans heavily into the comedy elements that the previous film touched upon. With an increased budget and more experience, an explosion of practical effects comes to life, painstakingly created by Cornás and Parés, who usually stayed up until 4 am the night before filming to perfect them. The resulting effort is a movie that could rival the scale of some Hollywood zombie blockbusters but with way more heart.

HOW TO RECYCLE
Dir. Ben Tripp, 2018.
United States, 53 min.
In English and Mandarin (with English subtitles).

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 – 5pm
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9 – 7:30PM w filmmaker Q+A (This event is $10).
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 – 5PM
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 – 7:30PM w Live Performance (This event is $10).

SPECIAL EVENT TICKETS
GENERAL ADMISSION TICKETS

Filmed entirely on smartphones, and set to an original score, HOW TO RECYCLE and its short sequel WHAT TO RECYCLE run between documentary and traditional narrative. HOW TO RECYCLE features an ensemble cast of local musicians, artists, and a guy staying on his friend’s couch. The familiar melo-dramedy of a roommate situation in Queens, NYC is shot with a no-frills, utilitarian approach.WHAT TO RECYCLE is a slightly more enigmatic piece and reflects the director’s development. Both pieces form an idiosyncratic portrait of the filmmaker’s neighborhood.

screening with
WHAT TO RECYCLE
Dir. Ben Tripp, 2020.
United States, 5 min.
In English.

screening with
CHARLIE AND SON
Dir. William Lea, 2024.
United States, 22 min.
In English.

Arthur Peabody is a documentarian. He has chosen Charlie Howsam, a washed-up one-hit wonder as the subject for his new project, CHARLIE & SON. Charlie has taken on a protégé, the unwitting Douglas Rayborn, a struggling actor who is lucky to get work as an extra in Law & Order. A meditation on the nature of patios, grilling, passing down wisdom, and how to make it in show business.

The September 24 screening will feature a live performance of CHARLIE AND SON.

screening with
GOTHAM SHORTS
Dir. William Lea, 2020.
United States, 23 min.
In English.

Who is the Worm, the mysterious serial killer haunting The Narrows in Gotham City? This neo-noir character study is as much a work of fiction as it is a documentary of Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 2019.

2024 marks a full decade since the release of Gareth Edwards’ attempt to memory-wipe Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich’s misbegotten GODZILLA (1998). And despite being curiously stiff and overburdened by an ensemble of screaming A-listers, Edwards’ GODZILLA was successful enough to trigger further reexhumations like KONG: SKULL ISLAND, APE VS. MECHA APE, PACIFIC RIM, THE LAKE and 2025 ARMAGEDDON, while Japanese audiences were blessed with SHIN GODZILLA in 2016 and GODZILLA MINUS ONE in 2023, both of which took the radioactive reptile seriously in discretely breathtaking ways.

But even if kaiju season has returned to the world of cinema, the DARK KNIGHT-ification of Godzilla seems to have hit a wall in the Legendary/Warner Brothers “Monsterverse”, as each of those movies tend to feature their version of “Godzilla” onscreen for about fifteen minutes or less. Thus, it feels like a strange blessing that Gamera – giant firebreathing turtle, friend to children worldwide, and Godzilla’s most formidable competitor outside the Toho constellation of monsters – is yet to receive a full CGI makeover or, worse yet, American “reboot”. (To commemorate the half-centennial of Gamera’s debut in 1965, Gamera’s rightsholders did commission a quite promising trailer from filmmaker Katsuhito Ishii, but pulled the plug on the project thereafter.)

For these reasons, it feels like a better time than ever to reexamine the trilogy of Gamera films made by Shūsuke Kaneko between 1994 and 1999, glorious remnants of the late pre-digital era of kaiju cinema regarded by fans as some of the greatest monster films ever made.

“Kaiju films are the Japanese equivalent of American action movies… In U.S. films, the panic arises from a focused situation. For example, the siege of the building in DIE HARD. In kaiju films, this comes from a national, collective panic. Godzilla and Gamera films have the same goal: to show Japan in a panic. Toho’s way is to present Japan as an economically strong, traditionalistic country that then has inharmonious elements dropped in that disrupt the flow of order. In my Gamera films, I approach Japan from underneath, showing the people and their daily lives, and create panic from threatening that life.” – Kaneko Shūsuke, Fangoria

GAMERA: GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE
(ガメラ 大怪獣空中決戦)
dir. Kaneko Shūsuke, 1995
95 mins. Japan.
In Japanese with English subtitles.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 – 5 PM
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 – 5 PM
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 – 7:30 PM

TICKETS

A great duel of supersonic speed.

A ship runs aground on a mysterious atoll leading to an investigation by insurance representative Kusanagi, who discovers an ancient bead that he gives to his daughter Asagi. Meanwhile, ornithologist Nagamine investigates reports of a new species of large bird named Gyaos. As the Gyaos begin to attack, an ancient guardian with a bond to Asagi emerges.

GAMERA 2: ATTACK OF LEGION
(ガメラ2 レギオン襲来)
dir. Kaneko Shūsuke, 1996
100 mins. Japan.
In Japanese with English subtitles.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 – 5 PM
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 – 10 PM
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 – 5 PM

TICKETS

Who will be extinct, Japan, or Legion?

A strange meteor lands in Japan and unleashes hundreds of insect-like “Legion” creatures bent on colonizing the Earth. When the military fails to control the situation, Gamera shows up to deal with the ever-evolving space adversary. However the battle may result in Gamera losing his bond with both Asagi and humanity.

GAMERA 3: REVENGE OF IRIS
(ガメラ3 邪神覚醒)
dir. Kaneko Shūsuke, 1999
108 mins. Japan.
In Japanese with English subtitles.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 – 10 PM
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 – 7:30 PM
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 – 5 PM

TICKETS

I will not forgive Gamera.

With the Gyaos re-emerging, Gamera’s ties to humanity have been severed with his bond to Asagi broken. Nagamine and Asagi investigate while an orphaned girl named Ayana discovers a new creature she names Iris. Nagamine and Asagi must reach Ayana before she takes her revenge on Gamera, who she blames for the death of her family.

HÉCATE
dir. Daniel Schmid, 1982.
France/Switzerland, 105m.
In French with English subtitles

screening with

THE WOMAN WITH A HUNDRED FACES
(LA FEMME AUX CENT VISAGES)
dir. Jean-Daniel Pollet, 1966.
France, 10m.
In French with English subtitles.

TICKETS

Despite sharing intimate personal and professional relationships with both Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Werner Schroeter, the work of Swiss filmmaker Daniel Schmid remains significantly underappreciated compared to that of his New German Cinema friends. Indeed, as actress-screenwriter Bulle Ogier wrote in her book J’ai oublié, “Some of [my friend Daniel Schmid’s] films are disappearing, and not only because my memory keeps fading.”

Yet during his life, Schmid’s films were celebrated at international festivals and were allegedly the subject of the first full Japanese retrospective of a non-Japanese filmmaker, curated by the critic Shigehiko Hasumi. Those who champion Schmid’s work are taken by the way his films oscillate between classical, operatic Italian references from the south and German expressionist and avant-garde influences from the north, frequently exploring how details, surfaces, and surroundings disclose the uneasy spirit below—how the heart is known through the mask.

HÉCATE explores these ideas through an allusion to the ancient Greek three-headed goddess of boundaries, travellers, the underworld, and witchcraft. The film begins with Julien, a consular attaché who is escaping the tensions of the European interwar period by absconding to the “international city” of Tangier, where he begins an affair with Clothilde, a mysterious woman played by Lauren Hutton. They consummate a physical relationship, but intimacy remains elusive and a burgeoning limerence demands increasingly extreme gestures to sustain itself. The creeping shadows erasing Julien’s sense of self are brilliantly captured by Renato Berta’s camera. The colonial horrors concealed by fantasies of the bon vivant class are ultimately disclosed.

While many readers interpret the source novella, Hecate and her Dogs by Paul Morand, as an autobiographical examination of the author’s guilt about his own wartime collaborationist sympathies, Schmid carries no such history and instead uses the myth to hint at a condition perhaps more ontological: the perversity haunting the human desire to possess.

Preceding the feature is one of Jean-Daniel Pollet’s most enigmatic works, THE WOMAN WITH A HUNDRED FACES, which was built around Antoine Duhamel’s music for Godard’s Pierrot le fou. Its script, written by Jean Thibaudeau, evokes the constitutive distance at the heart of desire.

New Circle of Cinema is a microcinema project that has hosted pop-up screenings across Toronto since 2021. Inspired by Henri Langlois’ Circle of Cinema film club, which held in his mother’s cramped living room clandestine screenings of salvaged films discarded by the studios, New Circle of Cinema is similarly committed to screening undistributed and out-of-print films in intimate, unconventional spaces. As Langlois said, “A film that isn’t screened is dead.”