2/5/2019

Horror Noire (Philadelphia Premiere!) and Candyman

Presented by Exhumed Films and Fangoria

Members receive discounted admission to all collaborator screenings and events.

Become a member

Exhumed Films and Fangoria are proudly teaming up to present the Philadelphia premiere of an exciting new genre documentary! Produced here in the Philadelphia area and soon to debut on AMC’s streaming service Shudder, HORROR NOIRE: A HISTORY OF BLACK HORROR takes a critical look at a century of genre films that by turns utilized, caricatured, exploited, sidelined, and embraced both black filmmakers and black audiences. As a special bonus, we will also screen a rare 35mm print of one of the films spotlighted in the documentary, the influential horror classic CANDYMAN.  

HORROR NOIRE: A HISTORY OF BLACK HORROR
2019 / DCP / Dir. Xavier Burgin / 82 minutes

Based on the acclaimed book of the same name by Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman, HORROR NOIRE explores the often overlooked and downplayed history of Black Americans in Hollywood: the early days of silent cinema and the marginalized role of black actors; the emergence of black leading men in genre cinema in the late ‘60s with NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and into the ‘70s with BLACULA and films of the blaxploitation era; CANDYMAN and the growing popularity of urban horror in the 1990s; up to the genre’s recent resurgence with movies like the Oscar-winning critical and commercial hit GET OUT. HORROR NOIRE features interviews with filmmakers and scholars, showcasing a who’s who of black horror cinema, from those who survived the genre’s past trends to those shaping its future. Interviewees include Ernest Dickerson (BONES, TALES FROM THE CRYPT: DEMON KNIGHT), Rusty Cundieff (TALES FROM THE HOOD) Jordan Peele (GET OUT, US), Tina Mabry (MISSISSIPPI DAMNED), Ken Foree (DAWN OF THE DEAD, FROM BEYOND), Tananarive Due (MY SOUL TO KEEP) and Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman, among many others.

The Philadelphia premiere will also feature an introduction and discussion with HORROR NOIRE producers/co-writers Ashlee Blackwell (creator of GraveyardShiftSisters.com) and Danielle Burrows (freelance writer/producer, A&E, WHYY, Arcadia Publishing, Weird NJ),  and executive producers Phil Nobile Jr. (editor-in-chief of Fangoria Magazine) and Kelly Ryan (partner, Stage 3 Productions).

CANDYMAN
1992 / 35mm / Dir. Bernard Rose / 99 minutes

As far as horror movies go, CANDYMAN has quite the pedigree: it's produced by legendary horror novelist Clive Barker (HELLRAISER), written & directed by art house filmmaker Bernard Rose (IMMORTAL BELOVED, PAPERHOUSE), and scored by famed Avant-Garde composer Phillip Glass.  The film is also responsible for creating one of the most iconic, charismatic, and sympathetic horror villains of all time--who just happens to be African-American. Loosely based on one of Barker's short stories, CANDYMAN tells the tale of graduate student Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen), who is writing a thesis paper on urban legends.  In an inner-city housing project she hears the tale of "Candyman," a vengeful spirit who materializes and slaughters anyone brave enough (or foolish enough) to repeat his name five times. But when a series of shocking murders takes place in the city and Helen keeps encountering a mysterious stranger (the dynamic Tony Todd, in a career-defining performance), it soon becomes apparent that the legend may be much more real than she thought. Mixing gruesome imagery with social commentary, CANDYMAN is simultaneously terrifying and thought-provoking, and one of the finest horror films of the 1990’s.  

Special thanks to Fangoria, Shudder, and Stage 3 Productions for their sponsorship and support in presenting this screening.