LIGHT HOUSE AND PÁLÁS LAUNCH 1970’S HALLOWEEN SEASON WAKING NIGHTMARES
The decade synonymous with discos, divas and dodgy fashion was in fact a time of global crisis, trauma, resistance, and rebellion. Sounds familiar!
This explosive social and political culture fuelled collective nightmares and inspired a new generation of filmmakers to channel their spirit of rage and revolution into a new era of modern horror. Both Light House Dublin & Pálás Galway are set to unleash a programme of Halloween horror films from the era that changed the genre as we know it. From the ferocious anger of Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre to the Gothic excesses of Dario Argento’s Suspiria and the parodic charm of Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein, the horror genre was transformed.
The films in this season range from mainstream studio productions to ultra-low budget cult classics. Together they reimagined the monstrous, rendering vampires sympathetic, children demonic, and patriarchy corrupted, while replacing cosy thrills and chills with nightmare visions of a damaged decade.
With The Exorcist already enjoying a return to screen for its 50th anniversary, a landmark film of 1970’s, William Friedkin and Peter Blatty’s legendary reimagining of demonic possession as a battleground between the Church, science, and the Devil.
Other titles to feature at Light House include the grief-laden despair of Nicholas Roeg’s haunting Don’t Look Now, the graphic body horror of David Cronenberg’s The Brood and the camp and cult mayhem of Paul Morrissey’s Flesh for Frankenstein.
Alice Black, Head of Cinema, comments: “There have been some great new voices in horror emerging recently but for this Halloween season we are going back in time to when modern horror really started - the dark and dangerous 1970s. These films still terrifyingly resonate today and we want to bring them back to the big screen where they belong. If you thought disco and polyester were the scariest things about the decade, think again!”
The films that will feature in this season throughout October are:
HALLOWEEN
SUSPIRIA
THE OMEN 4K
BLACULA
THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE
HOUSE
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
THE CRAZIES
THE EXORCIST (50TH ANNIVERSARY)
DON’T LOOK NOW 4K*
THE HILLS HAVE EYES*
THE BROOD*
IT’S ALIVE*
PHANTASM*
FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN
GANJA & HESS*
LONG WEEKEND*
*Denotes titles that are Light House only
As the nights close in and Halloween approaches, Waking Nightmares invites audiences to gather together and confront the horrors of the past, through a season of films that paved the way for the horror genre of the present.
For the season artwork, designer Conor Merriman was inspired by film posters of the time, and has created three unique versions.
Book Now At Light House and Pálás
