Sexy, bizarre new movies are playing in Athens at downtown's daring arthouse theater

Andrew Shearer, Athens Banner-Herald
·3 min read
Sofia Kappel is shown in this promotional still from Ninja Thyberg's "Pleasure," which depicts the adult entertainment industry from a woman's point of view.
Sofia Kappel is shown in this promotional still from Ninja Thyberg's "Pleasure," which depicts the adult entertainment industry from a woman's point of view.

For any filmmaker, having your new movie bought by indie film distribution powerhouse A24 would seem like a dream come true. But when the company announced its intention to cut up Swedish writer-director Ninja Thyberg's "Pleasure" for an R rating, she went with another company that promised not to edit out anything.

"Pleasure" will join a host of wild new movies as part of a recently-launched late night screening program at downtown theater Athens Ciné, which offers a full bar for those who might require a bit of "liquid courage" before viewing some of the bizarre and uncomfortable scenes on the big screen.

"Pleasure" is scheduled to play on Aug. 5-6 and again on Aug. 12-13, but the late-night series is already underway. Here's a look at what's currently playing and what's coming up. Visit athenscine.com for tickets and show times.

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This still from Phil Tippett's "Mad God" shows a stop-motion creature that is one among many of the film's disturbing images.
This still from Phil Tippett's "Mad God" shows a stop-motion creature that is one among many of the film's disturbing images.

"Phill Tippett's Mad God" (July 15-16): One of the last recognized masters of stop-motion animation in Hollywood, Tippett won Oscars for his work in "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Jurassic Park," but was quietly working on "Mad God" in pieces for 30 years. The final result is like something out of Ray Harryhausen's nightmares, set in a post-apocalyptic landscape where everything oozes, screams, and kills everything else.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jas8OABbn0Y

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Fatma Mohamed stars as bizarre performance artist Elle di Elle in director Peter Strickland's "Flux Gourmet."
Fatma Mohamed stars as bizarre performance artist Elle di Elle in director Peter Strickland's "Flux Gourmet."

"Flux Gourmet" (July 15-16, 22-23): British director Peter Strickland's track record of horror excellence includes "Berberian Sound Studio," "The Duke of Burgundy" and "In Fabric," but his latest is funny and disgusting in ways that no one will be prepared for. The plot concerns a performance art troupe that incorporates everything -- including a colonoscopy -- into their increasingly bizarre shows.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHraElR_v60

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Rebecca Hall stars in the psychological thriller "Resurrection," which concerns the return of an abusive ex-boyfriend (Tim Roth) after two decades.
Rebecca Hall stars in the psychological thriller "Resurrection," which concerns the return of an abusive ex-boyfriend (Tim Roth) after two decades.

"Resurrection" (July 29-20, Aug. 5-6): Rebecca Hall is no stranger to frightening and edgy material, from her turn as a real-life weather reporter who died by suicide on television in 2016's "Christine" to last year's supernatural murder mystery "The Night House," which she also produced. In "Resurrection," a figure from her character's violent past (Tim Roth) returns, building to a gruesomely intense climax.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6uIvEpxQ9o

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In Finnish director Hanna Bergholm's "Hatching," young Tinja (Siiri Solalinna) finds an egg in the woods that grows to a monstrous size after she takes it home.
In Finnish director Hanna Bergholm's "Hatching," young Tinja (Siiri Solalinna) finds an egg in the woods that grows to a monstrous size after she takes it home.

"Hatching" (Aug. 19-20, 26-27): In what is arguably the weirdest selection Ciné made for its late-night screening series, Finnish director Hanna Bergholm's body horror monsterpiece centers on a 12-year-old gymnast (Siiri Solalinna) who finds a bird's egg in the woods and takes it home. As the egg grows to enormous size, the girl tries to hide its disturbing and unbelievable contents from her family.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS1oDoElwqc

In addition to these films, Ciné will be pairing revival screenings of Nia DaCosta's "Candyman" with "Nope" on Jul. 22 and David Lynch's "Lost Highway" with "Pleasure" on Aug. 12-13.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Athens theater adds late-night movie screenings to downtown scene