Kick-start the New Year with a splattering of movie screenings from Grimm Up North

By Jen Lau

MM favourites Grimm Up North are bringing film fans new movies, special premieres and cult classics in a season of bi-monthly double bills.

The event opens with a seventies sci-fi special showing of John Carpenter’s anarchic cult classic Dark Star, which has been digitally re-mastered for the big screen.

This funny parody of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey will be followed by Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of ‘Dark Star,’ a new in-depth documentary about the making of the influential movie.

Screenings start at 7:30pm on Friday 20 January, at the International Anthony Burgess Foundation on Cambridge Street (behind Oxford Road).

Festival director Simeon Halligan said: “The strong hold of big movie distributors and cinema chains increasingly means that anything which isn't a studio blockbuster just doesn't get a look in on the big screen.

“Our aim is to fill that ever increasing gap that mainstream cinemas don't fill - to screen exciting genre films new and old and from all round the world.

“Unlike the big chains we seek disturbing, weird, strange and fantastic films and we’re not scared by subtitles or low budgets!”

The first monthly horror double bill starts with a cult classic Italian horror night at The Dancehouse Theatre on Oxford Road (next to Odder bar), on Thursday 26 January at 7:30pm.

Audiences will be entertained by Dario Argento’s lost 1971 masterpiece Four Flies On Grey Velvet and Michele Soavi’s overlooked Dellamorte Dellamore, The Cemetery Man, which stars Rupert Everett.

The Dancehouse theatre manager, Dave Crook, said: “We're very pleased to have Grimm Up North back here. We were looking at doing some regular midweek events with local organisations so Grimm's monthly cult film screenings fit into our thinking perfectly. 

“The Dancehouse is committed to developing relationships with local promoters in various genres so they can benefit from the support of a Manchester theatre.”

Dave described the venue as one of the city’s little secrets, decorated in an art deco style with an eclectic programme that reflects both the city's current culture and the type of performers who value the intimate atmosphere of the auditorium and the home-spun friendly vibe.

“If you want corporate sheen then look elsewhere, but if you want theatre that has kept a human face then please come down - you won't be disappointed!” he added.

With ushers, a bar and ice cream sellers in the auditorium during the interval breaks, the theatre presents a far more sociable experience than a trip to your local cinema.

For further information and to purchase tickets for these events, please visit: www.grimmfest.com/grimmupnorth/

Grimm are also keen for film-goers to make suggestions on what movies they should show in Manchester, so if there is a particular movie that you would love to see on the big screen then contact: info@grimmfest.com