Fright School Returns to Facets for the Halloween Season

Fright School, an offshoot of Facets’ Night School curated especially for the Halloween season, begins today, September 30, 2011. As part of Facets’ film-education agenda, Fright School offers special Friday and Saturday night midnight lectures on cult favorites followed by screenings of the films and post-screening discussions. From classic horror to blood-gorged exploitation favorites, all go under the microscope at the hands of our horror experts and scholars. 

 

As always, the presenters choose the films they are introducing. This time around, the presenters include some familiar faces, some newcomers, and some Night School favorites. Fresh from the Underground Multiplex, Lew Ojeda and Joseph R. Lewis launch Fright School 3 with a special event—an original production titled Sisters of No Mercy. Presented as an interactive film extravaganza that also includes live circus performers, musicians, dancers and actors, Sisters of No Mercy tells the story of the pious Holy Order of the Sisters of Mercy and how they turned to vengeance when an evil priest and his assistants wreak havoc on their order and the world. Lew and Joseph will also present a primer on the history of video remixing in creating new-style entertainment. The theme of the evening is purgatory so come early to consume hellish treats at our modest reception organized by our own cute little devil, Jenny Grist.

Facets’ College Corner: Does All Disturbing Content Have Value?

Ed. Note: With students returning to college for the fall semester, Facets resurrects one of its recurring columns, in which a student offers a review or commentary on a film-related topic. This week, Brittany Pyle, my bright and erudite intern, offers some food for thought on appreciating disturbing imagery in the movies (or, not). Just in time for Fright School 3, which begins on September 30. 

In light of our 2011 Fright School programming being fleshed out, my thoughts have been on topics in the horror genre quite a bit lately. Before I began my internship at Facets, I already had a healthy regard for horror film. I found I really enjoy campy b-horror, and I greatly prefer films that are heavy with mood, atmosphere, and a kind of implied horror/terror. I don’t really go for the graphic, but there are exceptions: the corn-syrupy mess of The Evil Dead is delightful. I’m a David Lynch fan, and some of his graphic scenes are rendered with a distinct mood, which I so greatly appreciate. There is a specific kind of disturbing that I don’t mind and actually champion for its cleverness, like the films of Michael Haneke. This terribly confuses my friends, who ask, “How is a rape scene in a Lynch film okay, but you loathe The Human Centipede?”