Following up on our SWORD AND SANDALS duo of features from Michael J Murphy come three more selects from his extensive catalog – QÅULEN, MOONCHILD, and DEATH RUN!
This trio of features finds Murphy working in various genres – gothic tinged domestic thriller, slow burn folk horror, and dystopian sci fi.
Stay tuned for more Murphy offerings across September and October….
QUALEN
dir. Michael J. Murphy, 1983
UK. 84 min.
In English.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 9 – 7:30PM
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14 – 7:30PM
FRIDAY, AUGUST 23 – 10PM
«TO TORMENT; TORTURE; FRIGHTEN TO DEATH»
After a man murders his wealthy father, mysterious things begin to occur in the house where the man must live in order to claim the dead man’s inheritance.
Also known as THE HEREAFTER, QUÅLEN is a semi-remake of one of Michael J Murphy’s earlier long-short films, SECRETS.
An almost-egregiously British film, featuring a few of MJM’s regular actors (Steven Longhurst, Caroline MacDowell, Colin Efford), one of this programmer’s favorite no-budget fist fights, and gloriously flat and unaffected performances across the board, QUÅLEN is a surprisingly effective and moody little horror-thriller.
MOONCHILD
dir. Michael J. Murphy, 1989
UK. 85 min.
In English.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 9 – 10PM
SUNDAY, AUGUST 11 – 5PM
TUESDAY, AUGUST 27 – 10PM
A young woman takes a position as an assistant to an author in a sleepy English village not realizing that she will become embroiled in a complex plot involving madness and murder.
A lazy programmer would describe this as a no-budget Wicker Man riff – but not this programmer. While MOONCHILD shares some DNA with the folk-horror classic, this is very much a Michael J Murphy joint, so expect lots of moody dialogue, an unnecessary brawl or two, and endless low budget charm along the way to a maybe-not-unpredictable-but-still-enjoyable twist ending.
DEATH RUN
dir. Michael J. Murphy, 1987
UK. 70 min.
In English.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 9 – MIDNIGHT
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14 – 10PM
FRIDAY, AUGUST 23 – MIDNIGHT
THE FUTURE IS DIM, WITH ZOMBIE LIKE CREATURES, ENSLAVED HUMANS AND A MANIAC RULER.
A scientist places her son and his girlfriend into a cryogenic sleep so that they can survive the coming apocalypse. They wake 25 years later in a world dominated by a fascistic ruler called the Messiah, who holds the “Death Run,” a deadly gauntlet.
“Some movies have training montages of shirtless men using exercise machines. But only one movie has a training montage of shirtless men using each other as exercise machines.” – Bleeding Skull
If you’re not sold on the above, I do not know what else to say! Probably skip it?
All films screened from new remasters courtesy of Powerhouse Films Ltd.