Presents
THE BLOODY LADY 1981
Lady Elisabeth Báthory lives a charmed life in a resplendent Romanesque castle, surrounded by Disney-esque wildlife and a colorful cast of obliging servants. Taking ill one day while traveling through the forest, she’s nursed back to health by a handsome woodsman, and in gratitude gifts him with her own heart. But upon returning home, Lady Báthory’s sunny disposition quickly turns murderous and vampiric once she discovers the secret to heart-less eternal youth lies in draining the blood of all the young women and men in her castle.
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Widely considered one of Slovak animation’s crown jewels, The Bloody Lady is an improbable and bewitching fusion of gothic horror and classic children’s animation, retelling of the infamous ÄŒachtická castle and Báthory folk tale which is often cited as the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
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Thursday, April 3
Director: Viktor Kubal​
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Runtime: 72 min., Czechoslovakia
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Language: Slovak/No Spoken Language
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UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE 2024
In a mysterious and surreal interzone somewhere between Tehran and Winnipeg, the lives of multiple characters interweave with each other in surprising and mysterious ways. Gradeschoolers Negin and Nazgol find a sum of money frozen in the winter ice and try to claim it. Meanwhile, Massoud leads a group of increasingly-befuddled tourists through the monuments and historic sites of Winnipeg. Matthew quits his meaningless job in a Québecois government office and sets out upon an enigmatic journey to visit his mother. Space, time and personal identities crossfade, interweave and echo into a surreal comedy of misdirection.
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Thursday, April 10
Director: Matthew Rankin​
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Runtime: 89 min., Canada
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Starring: Matthew Rankin, Rojina Esmaeili, Saba Vahedyousefi
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Language: Farsi & French w/ English subtitles
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DISEMBODIED 1998
Indebted to David Lynch's ERASERHEAD, Ed Wood's PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, and Frank Henenlotter's BRAIN DAMAGE, DISEMBODIED is a cinematic acid trip that blurs the line between horror and experimental art. The story follows Connie Sproutz, a gothed-out scientist who checks into the decrepit Grand Hotel to continue her experiments... and turn people into slime before eating them. Shot in Reno by director Willam Kersten on gritty 16mm film, this D.I.Y. passion project is filled with stop motion effects, gory body horror, and surrealist visuals. Bleeding Skull is honored to present a 4K restoration of the original, uncut version of DISEMBODIED for the first time ever.​
Thursday, April 17
Director: William Kersten​
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Runtime: 78 min., USA
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Starring: Anastasia Woolverton, Hannah Nease, George Randolph
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Language: English
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RATS! 2024
Summer just got a lot shorter for Raphael Tinski. It's 2007 and the peak of emo-culture is in full swing. Raphael just got arrested by a psychotic cop. Raphael just fell in love with a girl at community service. Raphael might get blown up by nukes. He’s a good kid, so you can't blame Raphael for the events that unfold after his arrest. None of it is Raphael's fault, but it is his problem.
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Featuring an in-person Q&A with directors Carl Fry & Maxwell Nalevansky!
Monday, April 21
Director: Carl Fry & Maxwell Nalevansky​
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Runtime: 87 min., USA
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Starring: Darius Autry, Khali McDuff-Sykes, Jacob Wysocki
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Language: English
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