CULT AND CLASSIC FILMS: CULT NITES

Calling all genre junkies, cult cinephiles, and midnight movie freaks! Cult Nites with Cult and Classic Films is your gateway to the weird, wild, and wondrous side of cinema.

Hosted by film historian and horror aficionado Nate Wyckoff, this series dives deep into the vaults of cult greatness—unearthing everything from surreal sci-fi oddities to sword-swinging epics, Gothic nightmares, and punk rock space cats. Each screening is a love letter to the offbeat, the obscure, and the undeniably awesome, with deep-dive intros and the occasional surprise.

So grab your popcorn, embrace the strange, and get ready for an after-dark cinematic ride through the best of the bizarre!

Come early at 6PM and enjoy themed pre-show entertainment.

All films screen at 7PM and include a hosted intro by cult and classic films followed by a film q + a in our cozy, mall style theatre 2.

Buy Tickets: Select the date which corresponds to the film of choice at checkout. Don't forget to pre-buy your drinks and Save $4 off the price of 2 drinks.

JAN 25 | PHANTASM (1979)

The Original Classic From The Director Of THE BEASTMASTER and BUBBA HO-TEP!Michael Baldwin and Bill Thornbury star in the shocker that started it all, in which two brothers discover that their local mortuary hides a legion of hooded dwarvish killer creatures, a flying drill-ball, and the demonic mortician known as The Tall Man (an iconic performance by Angus Scrimm) who enslaves the souls of the damned.More than 45 years later, it remains unlike any fright film you’ve ever seen. Reggie Bannister co-stars in the heart-stopping classic from writer/director Don Coscarelli that launched the most uniquely chilling series in horror history and is still hailed as one of the scariest movies of all time.

FEB 22 | VISITORS FROM THE ARKANA GALAXY (1981)
Imagine if Troma Films had been hired to make a Sid & Marty Krofft Saturday morning kids’ show, and if you have some idea of the unspeakable strangeness of VISITORS FROM THE ARKANA GALAXY, a truly gonzo Croatian sci-fi / fantasy. Featuring a collection of alluring, golden skinned androids and the rubber, multitentacled decapitating monster called "Mumu" (created for the film by legendary Czech animator Jan Svankmajer), this film is a feast of sheer madness!VISITORS was a rare feature film from animator Dusan Vukotic (1927-1998), best known for his stunning UPA-style cartoon shorts including “Cow On The Moon” (1959) and the Oscar-winning “The Substitute” (1961). The long-unavailable VISITORS has been beautifully restored in 4K by Deaf Crocodile and Zagreb Film for this release from the best-surviving 35mm elements. In Croatian with English SDH subtitles.

MARCH 15 | THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER (1982)

Meet Talon, a daring mercenary who conquers castles and dungeons alike with his lethal three-bladed sword. But when Talon learns that he is the prince of a kingdom controlled by an evil sorcerer, he is thrust into the wildest fight of his life. Can Talon rescue the beautiful princess and slay the warlock, or will he fall prey to the black magic of medieval mayhem? The directorial debut of the prolific cult filmmaker Albert Pyun (Cyborg) and featuring stars Lee Horsley (The Hateful Eight), Kathleen Beller (Dynasty), Simon MacCorkindale (Jaws 3D) and Richard Moll (House), The Sword and the Sorcerer is a delightfully grim action-packed saga, filled with brutal battles, plucky maidens, and savage monsters!

APRIL 19 BLOOD RITES OF THE VAMPYR (2020)

Driven by nightmarish visions of a ghostly girl, a tormented man accidentally unleashes an ancient vampire on a small community. Filmed in striking black and white and written and directed by film auteur Sébastien Godin (maker of the classic monster hit The Abominations of Frankenstein), Blood Rites of the Vampyr is a suburban Gothic tale inspired by legendary filmmaker Jean Rollin's vampire classics, German expressionism, and--of course--the grandfather of all vampire films, Nosferatu!Opening this screening are several short films from today's top underground filmmakers, and an introduction by filmmaker Seb Godin herself!

MAY 24 | TAMALA 2010: A PUNK CAT IN SPACE (2002)

Arguably the only anime ever made inspired by both Hello Kitty and Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49, TAMALA 2010 is a futuristic techno fever dream that flows back and forth in time, following the adorable wide-eyed kitty Tamala on her home world of Meguro City, Cat Earth, a BLADE RUNNER-like mega-city controlled by the Catty & Co. corporation.Written, directed and composed by the two-person team of t.o.L. – their incredibly addictive electronica / space-lounge score is worth the price of admission alone – TAMALA 2010 is equal parts Philip K. Dick, METROPOLIS and A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (with a few sly nods to THE SHINING thrown in for good measure.) In Japanese with English subtitles.

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Host or Publisher Palm Springs Cultural Center