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Disreputable Cinema

Ongoing

Some of the most distinctive and beloved works of cinema exist well apart from the mainstream. Often called cult or underground, these films comprise a subculture of hidden gems and alternative classics that often challenge the norms of art and entertainment. The new monthly series Disreputable Cinema will celebrate unusual films that both exemplify and challenge various notions of genre, from grindhouse manifestos to foreign fringe frenzies to bold new re-imaginings and mashups. Resistance to mainstream acceptance or approval remains part of the appeal for these works of disreputable cinema, yet the series aims to welcome both fans and discoverers, the diehards and the curious.

Organized by guest curator Jesse Berberich.

Past Films in Series

A girl in a red flowery dress and dyed blonde hair looks up while standing at the beach, which the HOLLYWOOD sign far in the background distance
A priest on a sidewalk in the city looks in the camera and talks into a mic
A man tilts his head and manically bites something while a woman watches from the corner against the backdrop of a convenience store
People in animal masks stand behind a long stone wall behind a rural house
People in animal masks stand behind a long stone wall behind a rural house
A suited man with a skeleton face stands before a large sign that says OBEY.
A suited man with a skeleton face stands before a large sign that says OBEY.
A man with a serious expression and blue patterned shirt in front of a balloon game at a carnival looking serious with red pockmarks on his face
A woman in nurse's uniform falls to floor holding her hands up and screaming
A woman bathed in purple light recoils in terror from a face behind a distorting glass window staring at her
A woman with painted fingernails holds up a silver demon mask over her face and looks at camera
A man in an argyle vest and wearing fangs holds up a severed hand and smiles creepily at the camera
A woman with long hair sits at a table and raises one hand in the air and the other hovers above the table spread out, her fingers making strange signals
A woman in nurse's uniform falls to floor holding her hands up and screaming
A melancholy puppet with red hair sits on a dirty bed with a toy panda bear
A woman in a sporting arena looks concerned as she holds her child's head close to her and another child stands beside her
A black and white image of a gigantic dinosaur peeking out from the corner of a city street with people running in panic
A black and white image of a gigantic dinosaur peeking out from the corner of a city street with people running in panic
A woman and a man with a veiny, skinless face look at each other intently
A woman and a man with a veiny, skinless face look at each other intently
A man intensely looks out a window
A rubber dinosaur named Godzilla stands upright on its tail
A rubber dinosaur named Godzilla stands upright on its tail
A man touches a mirror, surrounded by a painting of goblin faces
An older woman with gray hair holds a burning piece of paper, her moth agape
A woman in a white dress sits on a barren landscape surrounded by large, foreboding black rocks
A woman in a white dress sits on a barren landscape surrounded by large, foreboding black rocks
A group pf people holding signs and slogans
Two sinister men stare at each other intensely on a couch
A man hovers sinisterly over a woman lying asleep in a dark basement
A man creepily reaches through a window's iron grate to grasp at a woman
Frankenstein's monster stands over a reclining woman's body by a waterfall
Two men dig up a grave on an early morning hillside
Dracula the vampire and a woman walk in a cobwebbed forest
A shirtless man holds a gun in his extended right arm. Black-and-white image.
A man in overalls (Stephen King) looks off camera with a green beard made of moss