The Grand Illusion

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the hot spring…

In a small hot spring town in Japan, a ferocious ancient shark reawakens and begins terrorizing the local hot spring facilities. As the threat escalates, the townspeople band together to protect their beloved town from the menacing predator, leading to a fierce and thrilling battle.

In Japanese with English subtitles.

Please note: Here-After is a 21 and over establishment. The entrance is via the alley in back of The Crocodile building. Get there early to order tasty beverages from the bar and delicious food from Tat’s Deli! Plus, there will be shark trivia for HOT SPRING SHARK ATTACK poster giveaways before the show!

“…an entertaining ride that is incredibly zany.” Hannah Gearan, Screen Rant

“Hot Spring Shark Attack is a Tokusatsu import whose earnest embrace of absurdity immediately has it swimming with a different pack altogether… This is filmmaking with passion, filmmaking with effervescent love for the genre landscape that allows it to even exist in the first place.” Chad Collins, Dread Central

Rising musician Jeff Buckley had only released one album when he died suddenly in 1997. Now, never-before-seen footage, exclusive voice messages, and accounts from those closest to him offer a portrait of the captivating artist.

Like many fans of Jeff Buckley’s 1994 album Grace, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Amy Berg has long been fascinated by the enigmatic singer/songwriter, who died so tragically in Memphis at the age of 30. Buckley’s voice and songs, with their dreamy and ethereal qualities, have endured and riveted new audiences and emerging musical artists alike over the past 30 years. In IT’S NEVER OVER, JEFF BUCKLEY, Berg brings her questing curiosity to Buckley’s personal archives, much of it never seen by the public, and to conversations with Buckley’s family, former bandmates, and romantic partners, illuminating the heart and mind of a tender, young, creative soul finding his way in the world – and lost too soon.

Exclusive bonus material following the feature: Very few were fortunate enough to witness Jeff Buckley live, but those who did often described it as transcendent, jaw-dropping, and emotionally shattering. As part of the theatrical release of IT’S NEVER OVER, JEFF BUCKLEY, Magnolia Pictures proudly presents 26 minutes of exclusive, remastered footage from a rare solo performance at The Middle East in Cambridge, MA, filmed on February 19, 1994. This previously unreleased set will screen immediately following the film, offering both longtime fans and newcomers a rare opportunity to experience Jeff Buckley’s raw, unfiltered brilliance.

Please note: Here-After is a 21 and over establishment. The entrance is via the alley in back of The Crocodile building. Get there early to order tasty beverages from the bar and delicious food from Tat’s Deli!

“…a stirring tribute made with a lot of heart.” David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

“What Amy Berg accomplishes in It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley is to bring Jeff Buckley alive as the insanely charismatic budding rock star he was, but also to color in the underpinnings of his life that lent it an almost mythological aura.” Owen Gleiberman, Variety

Buy tickets here or via the buttons above.

A paranoid young man launches a bizarre crime spree against the citizens of Toronto. Rishi Rodriguez, Spencer Rice (Kenny vs Spenny), and Paul Bellini (Kids in the Hall) star in this psycho-spiritual thriller-comedy that blends suspense, absurdity, and satire into a one-of-a-kind cinematic experience.

Please note: Here-After is a 21 and over establishment. The entrance is via the alley in back of The Crocodile building. Get there early to order tasty beverages from the bar and delicious food from Tat’s Deli!

“Amid all the absurdity, the film still manages to capture a lot about alienation, especially in a very digital world, as well as the absolute terror and humiliation of getting poop dumped on you. For all its familiarities, it’s delightfully unlike anything you’ve seen before.” Micco Caporale, Chicago Reader

40th anniversary! New 4K restoration of Terry Gilliam's director's cut!

In Gilliam's dystopian masterpiece, Jonathan Pryce plays a daydreaming everyman who finds himself caught in the soul-crushing gears of a nightmarish bureaucracy. This cautionary tale, one of the great films of the 1980s, has come to be esteemed alongside antitotalitarian works by the likes of George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, and Kurt Vonnegut. And in terms of set design, cinematography, music, and effects, BRAZIL is a nonstop dazzler.

Low-level bureaucrat Sam Lowry (Price) escapes the monotony of his day-to-day life through a recurring daydream of himself as a virtuous hero saving a beautiful damsel. Investigating a case that led to the wrongful arrest and eventual death of an innocent man instead of wanted terrorist Harry Tuttle (Robert De Niro), he meets the woman from his daydream (Kim Greist), and in trying to help her gets caught in a web of mistaken identities, mindless bureaucracy, and lies.

“A superb example of the power of comedy to underscore serious ideas, even solemn ones.” Janet Maslin, The New York Times

“[A] darkly funny and truly visionary retro-futurist fantasy.” Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

“Monty Python meets George Orwell, and it’s as clever, witty and subversive as that sounds.” The Guardian

Escape the city heat of Seattle, Washington and enter the sweltering streets of small town Landers, Texas for a 35th anniversary screening of Dennis Hopper's underrated, sweaty neo-noir, THE HOT SPOT.

Harry Maddox (Don Johnson) is a handsome drifter who is not above larceny to make ends meet. After staging a daring daylight robbery at a local bank, he receives an alibi from an unexpected ally: Dolly Harshaw (Virginia Madsen), a sexy and mysterious femme fatale who has her own plans for Maddox. But when Harry falls for another woman (Jennifer Connelly, stunning as ever), he incurs Dolly’s wrath and finds himself caught in a maze of jealousy, betrayal, and murder, in which escape is impossible… and danger is the ultimate aphrodisiac. Beautifully shot by Ueli Steiger and featuring the likes of William Sadler and David Lynch regular, Jack Nance, in supporting roles, THE HOT SPOT is full of suspenseful twists and passionate encounters and will keep you guessing until its final, shocking climax.

“Noir is typically shadowy, but The Hot Spot is all sunlight, making everything feel even more exposed and final. Somehow, that makes the double-crosses and bad decisions even more thrilling to watch.” Ima Ifum, Collider

“The Hot Spot seeps with atmosphere, unfolds at a deceptively relaxed pace, steadily accumulates noirish grit, then dizzily plunges into a Lynch-like plumbing of the dark passions and nasty secrets at the heart of Main Street, USA.” Variety

A gaudily-colored camp-romp satire, Jamie Babbit’s beloved queer comedy stars Natasha Lyonne as Megan, a high school senior with a secret eye for her fellow cheerleaders. Hoping to nip their daughter’s nascent lesbianism in the bud, Megan’s parents send her to the True Directions conversion therapy camp, where she winds up meeting and falling for the rebellious Graham (Clea DuVall). Adding to the fun is a crackerjack supporting cast featuring Cathy Moriarty, Melanie Lynskey, Michelle Williams, John Waters regular Mink Stole, and an out-of-drag RuPaul as the camp’s ostensibly cured counselor.

Part of our Summer Camp series at Here-After.

Please note: Here-After is a 21 and over establishment. The entrance is via the alley in back of The Crocodile building. Get there early to order tasty beverages from the bar and delicious food from Tat’s Deli!

“A delightfully subversive sendup of homophobia and ridiculously rigid gender roles that still feels all too relevant more than 20 years after its release.” Abbey Bender, Nylon

*Insert beaver pun here.* Eighteenth encore screening!

Our friends at Central Cinema are generously helping us keep the beavers gnawing away while we search for a new home. 60% of ticket sales go to our relocation fund!

In this 19th century, supernatural winter epic, a drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero and become North America’s greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers.

Created by Mike Cheslik and Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, the duo behind the modern cult hit LAKE MICHIGAN MONSTER (2018).

Named one of the 10 best movies of 2024 by Ty Burr of The Washington Post and Amy Nicholson of The Los Angeles Times.

“Starts strange, gets stranger, and yet remains resolutely adorable… embraces the defiant glee of art cinema and distills it into something so thoroughly pure and sincere that it is surely hard not to fall in love with it.” Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Alliance of Women Film Journalists

“It’s sure to develop a significant cult following with its unique mix of silent-era slapstick, animation elements, theme-park-style critter costumes, and general air of inspired absurdity.” Dennis Harvey, Variety

“Steroidally swollen with gags and smarts.” Guy Maddin

Macon Blair’s long-awaited modern-day retelling of Troma’s legendary 1984 classic, starring Peter Dinklage, Jacob Tremblay, Taylour Paige, Elijah Wood, and Kevin Bacon.

A horrible toxic accident transforms downtrodden janitor, Winston Gooze (Dinklage), into a new evolution of hero: The Toxic Avenger. Now, Toxie must rise from outcast to savior, taking on ruthless corporate overlords and corrupt forces who threaten his son, his friends, and his community. In a world where greed runs rampant… justice is best served radioactive.

Please note: Here-After is a 21 and over establishment. The entrance is via the alley in back of The Crocodile building. Get there early to order tasty beverages from the bar and delicious food from Tat’s Deli!

“The Toxic Avenger is exactly as advertised. It does what it says on the tin. It’s comically violent, absurdly gory, and extremely silly. But it’s also a timely ‘eat the rich’ story infused with an earnest working class perspective.” Britt Hayes, The Mary Sue

“A bonkers and bloody delight. Macon Blair’s Toxic Avenger is a hugely enjoyable and rowdy escape that also feels like a celebration of movie magic, especially the wild things one can create with ingenuity, practical effects and a lot of passion for the genre.” Perri Nemiroff, Collider

Presented in partnership with the Frye Art Museum.

Experience an evening of music, film, and unease at the Frye Art Museum as cellist Lori Goldston performs an original live score to Vampyr (1932), the legendary horror film by Danish filmmaker Carl Dreyer. Inspired by the cinematic storytelling and eerie, evocative imagery in the current exhibit Jamie Wyeth: Unsettled, Goldston’s music will amplify the film’s emotional tension and surreal atmosphere.

Dreyer’s interpretation of the classical vampire tale follows Allan Gray, a student of the occult, who arrives in a small French village only to find himself entangled in the plight of a family beset by unexplained illnesses, dark forces, and sinister living shadows. Reality and nightmare blur amidst chilling atmospheres and dense fogs.

Initially dismissed, Vampyr is now recognized as a uniquely haunting and influential treasure. As filmmaker Guillermo del Toro notes, “Vampyr is as close as you get to poetry in film. It’s truly a meditation on life and death and the beyond.”

Tickets on sale soon.

In humdrum Fargo, North Dakota, an ordinary man named AJ (AJ Thompson) wakes up on the right side of the bed every day. Content with his mundane existence, his simple routine consists of buttering cinnamon toast for breakfast, eating dinner with his married best friends, and visiting his favorite dog park with his beloved chihuahuas, Diddy and Biff. AJ rejects any interruption to his tranquility, including a promotion at work – offered by his boss who happens to be his dad, but still. Unfortunately, the despotic local mayor has converted his dog park into a “blog park” – where happy dog walkers have been replaced with corporate stooges hunched over their laptops. Thus begins a chain reaction that completely upends AJ’s existence as he trains to embark on an unforgettable odyssey to fight, fish, scrap, scrape, and sap things back into place. Toby Jones (Regular Show, OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes!) brings the zany, gag-driven joy of cartoons to this surreal, no-budget testament to the average Joe.

“There’s a handcrafted warmth here, exuding a sort of ramshackle, ‘let’s put the show on in the barn’ energy that relies on building a team from friends.” Richard Whittaker, The Austin Chronicle

“Every frame feels like a labor of love, created by friends who genuinely enjoy making each other laugh. The rapid-fire jokes, sight gags, and wacky situations keep the laughs coming at an exhausting pace, but it never loses sight of its emotional core.” Stephanie Malone, Morbidly Beautiful

25th anniversary of one of the greatest dance movies ever made!

A dozen adolescents begin their training at the renowned American Ballet Academy, where they encounter tremendous physical and mental stress while vying for a coveted spot in a celebrated dance company. Jody Sawyer (Amanda Schull) has talent but the wrong proportions, the fiery Eva Rodriguez (Zoe Saldaña in her feature film debut) can’t seem to get along with her instructors, and Maureen (Susan May Pratt) is having a hard time enduring the emotional highs and lows that accompany ballet school.

Along with Schull, the film features a bevy of real-life professional dancers, such as Ethan Stiefel and Sascha Radetsky, both of whom were principals with the American Ballet Company. And although it’s far from the first film one would think of when considering campy movies, CENTER STAGE could conceivably be described as camp-adjacent. Regardless of its camp credentials, our Summer Camp series provides as good an opportunity as any to showcase this cult classic for its silver anniversary.

Please note: Here-After is a 21 and over establishment. The entrance is via the alley in back of The Crocodile building. Get there early to order tasty beverages from the bar and delicious food from Tat’s Deli!

“…an irresistible mélange of teen movie, dance drama, and clog-stuffed ’00s-era time capsule.” Hillary Busis, Entertainment Weekly

“…has proven itself to be the greatest dance movie of our generation. Thanks to its intense rivalries, dramatic dance-offs, and a memorable soundtrack, Center Stage was granted a place by fans among canonical dance films… It delivered camp… and incredible ballet sequences.” Ilana Kaplan, Marie Claire

Robert Zemeckis’s riotous, vicious black comedy, which features innovative and Academy Award-winning early employment of CGI, unforgettable performances from Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn, and has since been adapted to a hit Broadway musical.

Fourteen years ago, aspiring writer Helen Sharp (Hawn) found herself chucked aside by her plastic surgeon fiancé (Bruce Willis) after his wandering eye landed on her narcissistic actress frenemy, Madeline Ashton (Streep). But today, Helen appears to have gotten the last laugh, not having aged a day when she finally reappears in their lives, thanks to a magic potion (courtesy of Isabella Rossellini) that offers immortality—something that comes in handy when this acrid love triangle turns into all-out war.

Part of our Summer Camp series at Here-After.

Please note: Here-After is a 21 and over establishment. The entrance is via the alley in back of The Crocodile building. Get there early to order tasty beverages from the bar and delicious food from Tat’s Deli!

“Insistently grotesque, relentlessly misanthropic and spectacularly tasteless, Death Becomes Her isn’t a film designed to win the hearts of the mass moviegoing public. But it is diabolically inventive and very, very funny.” Dave Kehr, Chicago Tribune

“Death Becomes Her is clever, different and dementedly entertaining, while commenting on our unhealthy obsession with youth and beauty.” Jeff Menell, The Hollywood Reporter

Independent to the bone and shot fully on gritty 4:3 Mini-DV in the backwoods of New Jersey, writer/director Robbie Banfitch’s (THE OUTWATERS) sophomore feature, TINSMAN ROAD, takes the audience on an emotionally winding voyage into the wilderness of death and sorrow. The story centers on a young man as he navigates the serpentine mystery surrounding his long-missing sister and their family home.

Please note: Here-After is a 21 and over establishment. The entrance is via the alley in back of The Crocodile building. Get there early to order tasty beverages from the bar and delicious food from Tat’s Deli!

“Banfitch’s film plays out like a clenched fist around the viewer’s throat, tensing with the moonlight and releasing with the sunrise, over and over again until, eventually, the night and day meld together.” Richelle Charkot, Rue Morgue

“Tinsman Road builds upon a typical found footage foundation to bring the subgenre to new heights with a deeply moving story about the unbreakable bonds of family, even in the face of true evil… [it] is a harrowing journey into the shuddering soul of a dark mystery, one with its bloody heart on its sleeve, begging you to connect within the sorrow. Begging you to walk down the road alongside it. I hope you’ll take its hand.” Lex Briscuso, Dread Central

What if the devil was a VJ? What if MTV broadcasted from hell? GHOST ALMANAC features the best scenes from classic horror films soundtracked live by the vintage synthesizer enthusiasts of Montopolis. Tales from the Crypt meets VH1 in this 80-minute roller coaster ride of terror and old school beats.

Included in this program are excerpts from the following: The Skeleton Dance (1929); Haxan (1922); The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920); Buster Keaton’s The Haunted House (1921) (the complete short film); L’Inferno (1911); Betty Boop’s Halloween Party (1933); The Vanishing Lady (1896); Nosferatu (1922).

Please note: Here-After is a 21 and over establishment. The entrance is via the alley in back of The Crocodile building. Get there early to order tasty beverages from the bar and delicious food from Tat’s Deli!

Montopolis is an indie chamber music group from Austin, Texas that performs the works of composer Justin Sherburn. Their genre-busting music uses inventive instrumentation to create “stunning and transcendent” (The Austin Chronicle) concerts. Their programs are audience-engaging, multi-media events that combine live music with film and interactive storytelling. The Montopolis musicians include members of the Austin Symphony, Okkervil River, Tosca String Quartet, and The Polyphonic Spree.