Midnight Makers: Cult and Horror Docs

We Kill for Love: The Lost World of the Erotic Thriller

We Kill for Love goes in search of the forgotten world of the direct-to-video erotic thriller, an American film genre that once dominated late night cable television and the shelves of neighborhood video stores. Through interviews with the many directors, writers, and actors who fanned the flames of this sexy subgenre, to academics and film historians whose books ha...Read More

Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession

Xan Cassavetes' film explores the euphoric rise and tragic descent of Z Channel, Los Angeles’ first pay cable service and its virtuosic film programmer Jerry Harvey. Launched in 1974, Z Channel quickly became required viewing for Hollywood bigwigs and cinephiles alike. Harvey programmed old films, euro films, lost films as well as genre flicks, Hollywood blockbuster...Read More

Vangelis and the Journey to Ithaka

A NIGHT FLIGHT PLUS EXCLUSIVE: From music film director Tony Palmer comes an extraordinary inside look at the life and music of VANGELIS. It’s hard to escape the music of VANGELIS. His music for the cult movie Blade Runner is among the most influential film music ever written. And, of course, the music for Chariots of Fire (for which he won an Oscar) is still used ...Read More

The Kings Of Kung Fu: Releasing The Legends

Chris Poggiali, co-author of These Fists Break Bricks, narrates the early years of Kung Fu film distribution in the U.S. in a new documentary, now streaming in our "Midnight Makers: Cult & Horror Docs" section. In the 1960s, martial arts films were a rarity in the United States, with only a select few theaters showcasing them. Japanese cinemas featured samurai e...Read More

42nd Street Memories: The Rise and Fall of America’s Most Notorious Street

The Rise and Fall of America's Most Notorious Street. The story behind the rise and fall of New York’s 42nd Street. The cinemas, the films, the people, the crime and the rebirth of the block as “New 42nd Street” - this is the document of the world’s most notorious movie strip. Featuring interviews with exploitation era experts that include Lloyd Kaufman (Troma En...Read More

Fulci For Fake

He was known as The Maestro of Splatter and The Godfather of Gore. But who was the real Lucio Fulci? When an actor (Nicola Nocella of Easy and Pupi Avati’s The Youngest Son) agrees to portray the infamous director, he sets out to research the triumphs, tragedies and truths behind Fulci’s life, work and legacy. Through never-before-seen home movies, rare behind-the-s...Read More

That's Sexploitation!

From director Frank Henenlotter (Frankenhooker, Brain Damage) and co-producer Mike Vraney (the late founder of Something Weird Video) comes the epic documentary critics call "fascinating" (Video Watchdog), "titillating" (Time Out Los Angeles) and "jaw-dropping" (Seattle Weekly): Henenlotter and legendary exploitation monarch David F. Friedman - in his final film app...Read More

Skin: A History Of Nudity In The Movies

A definitive documentary on the history of nudity in the movies from the early silent days to the present, examining the changes in morality that led to the use of nudity in films while emphasizing the political, sociological and artistic changes that shaped this rich history. Skin delves into the gender bias concerning nudity in motion pictures and will follow the ...Read More

Mancunian Man: The Legendary Life of Cliff Twemlow

Bouncer. Novelist. Composer. Producer. Star. To '80s UK audiences, Cliff Twemlow was all of these and then some. Between 1982 and 1993, Twemlow gathered a devoted team of local doormen, martial artists, variety performers, girlfriends, gym friends, family members and B-listers to create his own cut-rate Hollywood empire. Shooting on early video tech and composing al...Read More

Deodato Holocaust

A documentary by Felipe M. Guerra that explores the film-by-film triumphs, tragedies and controversies of notorious filmmaker Ruggero Deodato. "Great information and insider stories, all coming from the man himself, Ruggero Deodato, who is never afraid to say exactly how he feels." — Sean Leonard, HorrorNews.net

The Trail of Dracula

Diabolical. Seductive. Immortal. Vampires have been an icon of evil in folklore and popular culture for more than three centuries, yet only one name still personifies the ultimate aristocrat of bloodlust. Now join the world’s foremost experts on Dracula – including academics, authors and horror historians – as they explore the untold story of the Transylvanian Count...Read More

Images of Apartheid: Filmmaking on the Fringe in the Old South Africa

From the creator of documentaries 42nd Street Memories and Eaten Alive, Images of Apartheid uncovers the likes of Joe Bullet (1973), Fishy Stones (1979) and Umbango (1986), blaxploitation productions devised as entertainment for African natives forced into dilapidated townships. This is the untold story of the B Movies that flourished under the brutal regime of race...Read More

Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All Time (Vol. 1 - Midnight Madness)

From The Rocky Horror Picture Show to The Big Lebowski and everything in between, this fascinating deep-dive documentary begins its celebration of the greatest cult movies of all-time discussing the birth of the midnight movie. Part 1 of the documentary series about the greatest Cult Films of all time! Starring Jeff Bridges, Jeff Goldblum, Kevin Smith, Rob Reiner and more.

Flesh And Blood: The Hammer Heritage Of Horror

From the 1950s when they pumped Technicolor blood into old monsters like Frankenstein and Dracula, to today's chillers like 'Let The Right One In" and "The Lady In Black", Hammer Films combined ghastly horror with erotic tension. Your hosts and narrators are Count Dracula and Baron Frankenstein (Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing) known to Star Wars fans as Count Dou...Read More

Ghostheads

Ghostheads is a documentary that explores the extreme side of the Ghostbusters fandom, and looks back at the impact the franchise has had on the world over the past three decades featuring interviews with key cast and crew - including Dan Aykroyd, Ivan Reitman, Ernie Hudson and many others - as well as with Ghostbusters fans all over the world.

Claydream

Known as the “Father of Claymation,” Will Vinton revolutionized the animation business during the 1980s and 90s, creating such iconic characters as the California Raisins and Domino’s The Noid. But after thirty years of being the unheralded king of clay, Vinton’s carefully sculpted American dream came crumbling down. Structured around interviews with this charismati...Read More

Eaten Alive! The Rise and Fall of the Italian Cannibal Film

From Grindhouse Releasing: A documentary on the short-lived craze of Italian cannibal films in the ’70s and ’80s, (to which we are no strangers!) featuring interviews with Umberto Lenzi, Ruggero Deodato, Sergio Martino, Giovanni Lombardo Radice, and Robert Kerman.

Category III: The Untold Story of Hong Kong Exploitation Cinema

Welcome to your crash course on the history of Hong Kong Exploitation Cinema, one of the most curious and invigorating periods in exploitation filmmaking. This new documentary arrival covers the rise and fall of Hong Kong's notorious Category III (think UK Video Nasties or US's NC-17) cinema which reached a peak during the years 1988 and the lead-up to the Handover ...Read More

Fascism On A Thread: The Strange Story Of Nazisploitation Cinema

Inspired by the success of arthouse films like THE NIGHT PORTER and THE DAMNED, shrewd and shameless exploitation movie producers were quick to the market with low budget cash-ins and created arguably the most sordid, if short lived, sub-genres in the history of the grindhouse: the nazisploitation film! This new award-winning documentary features eye-opening inte...Read More

Elstree 1976

In 1976, during the hottest summer on record, "Star Wars" was shot in suburban North London. Nobody involved had any idea how big the film would become and many couldn't even remember the title. Yet, for the extras and actors in smaller roles, their faces hidden in masks and helmets, this seemingly insignificant job would go on to color their lives four decades late...Read More

Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All Time (Vol. 2 - Horror & Sci-Fi)

The greatest cult horror and science fiction films of all-time are studied in vivid detail in the second volume of Time Warp. Includes groundbreaking classics like Night of the Living Dead, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and sci-fi gems such as Blade Runner, and A Clockwork Orange. Starring Joe Dante, John Waters, Ileana Douglas, and Jeff Goldblum.

Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All Time (Vol. 3 - Comedy & Camp)

The final volume of Time Warp digs deep into what makes us laugh over and over again as we reveal the greatest cult comedies and campy classics of all-time. From Fast Time at Ridgemont High and Office Space to Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and Showgirls. Starring Illeana Douglas, John Cleese, Roger Corman, and Kevin Smith.

William S. Burroughs: A Man Within

This engaging documentary profiles the beat generation legend, whose powerful way with words influenced the countercultural movement. Scored by Patti Smith and Sonic Youth. A Man Within features never-before-been-seen archival footage of Burroughs, as well as exclusive interviews with colleagues and confidants such as David Cronenberg, John Waters, Laurie Anderson, ...Read More

Trekkies

Get ready to beam up to a galaxy where autograph hounds abound, dentists drill in Federation garb and the debate over "Trekkies" vs. "Trekkers" rages on. Denise Crosby of Star Trek: The Next Generation hosts this often hilarious documentary about the Star Trek "fan-nomenon." Featuring interviews with hundreds of devoted fans and such Star Trek cast members as Leonar...Read More