The Grand Illusion

*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.”

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

After 43 horrific days working round the clock under constant bombardment in the emergency rooms of Gaza's Al Shifa and Al Ahli hospitals, British-Palestinian reconstructive surgeon, Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah, emerged to find himself as a face of Palestinian resistance. With news footage of him pale and shell-shocked reverberating around the world, he spoke of a catalogue of horrors from amputations without anesthetics to orphaned children with no surviving family, and the deliberate targeting of medics and hospital facilities.

This was the sixth and most horrific Gaza “war” during which Ghassan had traveled to provide critical medical aid. Why does he do it? Where does he find the strength to face it again and again? How does it impact his family? How do they process the risks he takes? The answer lies simply in their shared passion: Palestine; a passion they articulate through their support of his perilous humanitarian work.

In Arabic with English subtitles.

A portion of the proceeds from this screening will be donated to The Ghassan Abu Sittah Children’s Fund, providing medical attention to the children who need it the most and helping to relieve the medical sector in Gaza and Lebanon.

“…an important piece of work… Some of what it has to say will echo for decades, and nobody who watches it will forget what they have seen.” Jennie Kermode, Eye For Film

Directed by 9th-degree black belt/philosopher/author/inspirational speaker Grandmaster Y.K. Kim, the one-of-a-kind MIAMI CONNECTION is one of the most entertaining martial arts films made in America that you will ever see.

The year is 1987. Motorcycle ninjas tighten their grip on Florida’s narcotics trade, annihilating anyone who dares move in on their turf. Multi-national martial arts rock band Dragon Sound have had enough and embark on a roundhouse wreck-wave of crime-crushing justice in the streets of Orlando. It’ll take every ounce of their blood and courage, but Dragon Sound can’t stop until they’ve completely destroyed the dealers, the drunk bikers, the kill-crazy ninjas, the middle-aged thugs, the “stupid cocaine” . . . and the entire MIAMI CONNECTION.

Tickets are pay-what-you-will with a $5 minimum. All money from ticket sales will go to the Grand Illusion’s relocation fund. Please note that this movie is rated R and is not appropriate for the young’uns.

The movie will start at approximately 8:30 pm, but be sure to come early to hang out and get great drinks and good food from the brewery. The fine folks at Dirty Couch will also be cooking up some brats with sauerkraut, peppers, and onions for fixings.

“Clearly the greatest film ever made — at least on whatever planet it came from.” Matt Singer, ScreenCrush

“Sincerely, powerfully, supernaturally, unbelievably entertaining.” Zack Carlson, Wired

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.