Secret 35mm Screening

1984 / 88min / 35mm

Produced at a moment in the 1980s when the problems of toxic waste disposal and its near-eternal afterlife were very much in the news, this infamous, acronym-titled sci-fi chiller illustrates the unfortunate side effects of a program of dumping green radioactive sludge in New York City’s subway tunnels—namely, the mutation of part of the city’s homeless population into cannibals whose ravenous rampaging poses a grave threat to the ruthless gentrification of Manhattan. A ringing indictment of corporate corruption that has, unfortunately, lost none of its relevance, featuring a remarkable rogues’ gallery of New York character actors, impressively stomach-churning practical effects, and underground atmospherics thick enough to stop up your nostrils.

Q&A with the cinematographer of the film on Sunday, October 20th