Special Events and Series

We’re Moving!

Our lease was not renewed in 2025 and we have moved out of 1403 NE 50th. Plans are underway to relocate the cinema and we need your help to build an even grander Grand Illusion!

Now Playing

The Elephant Man

David Lynch · 1980
124min · digital
  • Monday, May 5, 2025, 7:00pm
  • Tuesday, May 6, 2025, 7:00pm
  • Monday, May 12, 2025, 7:00pm
  • Tuesday, May 13, 2025, 7:00pm

Screening location: Northwest Film Forum – 1515 12th Ave, Seattle

45th anniversary! With this poignant second feature, David Lynch brought his atmospheric visual and sonic palette to a notorious true story set in Victorian England. When the London surgeon Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) meets the freak-show performer John Merrick (John Hurt), who has severe skeletal and soft-tissue deformities, he assumes that he must be intellectually disabled as well. As the two men spend more time together, though, Merrick reveals the intelligence, gentle nature, and profound sense of dignity that lie beneath his shocking appearance, and he and Treves develop a friendship. Shot in gorgeous black and white and boasting a stellar supporting cast that includes Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, and Wendy Hiller, THE ELEPHANT MAN was nominated for eight Academy Awards, cementing Lynch’s reputation as one of American cinema’s most visionary talents.

Part of To Live Is To Dream: A Northwest Tribute to David Lynch.

“I sometimes think that John Hurt’s performance in the title role of David Lynch’s sublime biography of Joseph Merrick (renamed John in the script) is the greatest piece of film acting I’ve ever seen… From the proto–Laura Palmer locket photo of Merrick’s mother that opens the film to its droning sound design and morbidly transcendent ending, [The Elephant Man] is like a template for three decades’ worth of brilliant variations.” Adam Nayman, The Ringer

The Elephant Man is a very pleasurable surprise.” Pauline Kael

“This is a tale of redemption and transcendence, of the hunchback of London Hospital, of the noble phantom who wanted to go to the opera, of Beauty and the Beast. In Treves’ account, though, the Beast was a Beauty. In Lynch’s hands, so is this film.” Richard Corliss, TIME

Vulcanizadora

Joel Potrykus · 2024
85min · DCP
  • Saturday, May 17, 2025, 1:30pm
  • Saturday, May 17, 2025, 4:00pm
  • Sunday, May 18, 2025, 3:30pm
  • Sunday, May 18, 2025, 6:00pm

Screening location: Here-After (21+) – alley entrance, 2505 1st Ave, Seattle

VULCANIZADORA is the utterly unique and intense new movie from writer/director Joel Potrykus and actor Joshua Burge, creators of the darkly bizarre, bracingly original indie flicks RELAXER and BUZZARD.

Two friends trudge through a Michigan forest with the intention of following through on a disturbing pact made years earlier. It is only after things go shockingly awry that the surreal and unsettling consequences of their actions are revealed.

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!

“[Vulcanizadora] will melt your face off before burying you under its bleak vision… There is no film you’ll ever see like it as it patiently builds to a terrifying explosion and then keeps going from where most would stop, leaving us to pick up the pieces that are forever shattered.” Chase Huthinson, Collider

“Shot on film, Vulcanizadora impresses in the way it explores heady questions through light banter or darkly funny gags before pulling the rug out from under you… Potrykus helms with edgy style, but it’s his and Burge’s performances that carry this unconventional gem.” Meagan Navarro, Bloody Disgusting

Vulcanizadora is a detritus filled masterwork of loneliness and lives which are lived without notice or social significance… supremely accomplished, unbearably sad, and the kind of film which is hard to shake off. Magnificent.” Nadine Whitney, Alliance of Women Film Journalists

CRITIC’S PICK! Spasmodically funny, though hardly a comedy, Vulcanizadora is raw, moving and, briefly, horrifying.” Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times

Buy tickets here or via the buttons above.

Coming Soon

Demons – 4K Restoration

Lamberto Bava · 1985
89min · 4K DCP
  • Monday, May 19, 2025, 7:30pm

Screening location: Here-After (21+) – alley entrance, 2505 1st Ave, Seattle

A beautiful restoration of the cult classic horror movie in honor of its 40th anniversary!

Welcome to the most life-enriching Italian terror-party of 1985. Produced by Dario Argento (SUSPIRIA) and directed by Lamberto Bava, DEMONS follows a panorama of punks, preppies, and ne’er-do-wells as they get trapped in a movie theater and possessed by gut-shredding Satanic demonoids. Featuring songs by Mötley Crüe and Billy Idol, gloopy effects, and the iconic Geretta Geretta in a lead role, this is the most fun you’ll ever have in a movie theater while watching a movie about beasties on the loose in a movie theater.

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!

Demons is a monument to the horror genre’s potential for Grand Guignol beauty.” Chuck Bowen, Slant Magazine

“This is a classic party movie that you have to watch with friends and a load of beer because you will not be bored at all… Bava’s horror film is a cinematic masterpiece, pure and simple.” Felix Vasquez, Cinema Crazed

Meditation, Creativity, Peace

David Lynch · 2012
105min · digital
  • Wednesday, May 28, 2025, 7:00pm

Screening location: Here-After (21+) – alley entrance, 2505 1st Ave, Seattle

Free screening! RSVP via the “Buy Tickets” button.

MEDITATION, CREATIVITY, PEACE follows David Lynch on a 16-country tour of Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America to spread the word about the individual and global impact of meditation. With equal parts wit and passion, the documentary shows Lynch’s commitment to Transcendental Meditation as a way of changing the world, starting from within.

The film also offers rare insight into Lynch’s creative process through interviews and revealing moments from the tour.

The feature will be preceded by a special half hour compilation of clips and shorts! And be sure to arrive early to claim your seat, grab a tasty beverage from the bar, order delicious food from Tat’s Deli, and enjoy a pre-show full of David Lynch-directed music videos!

Part of To Live Is To Dream: A Northwest Tribute to David Lynch.

Please note: Here-After is a 21 and over establishment. The entrance is via the alley in back of The Crocodile building.

“[Meditation, Creativity, Peace] will surely interest Lynch’s most devoted fans, whose number is not trivial, and is an intriguing present-day look at a practice whose popularity peaked when the Beatles discovered it.” The Hollywood Reporter

Hundreds of Beavers

Mike Cheslik · 2024
108min · DCP
  • Thursday, Feb 27, 2025, 8:00pm
  • Thursday, Mar 27, 2025, 8:00pm
  • Thursday, Apr 24, 2025, 8:00pm
  • Thursday, May 29, 2025, 8:00pm

Screening location: Central Cinema – 1411 21st Ave, Seattle

A dam good time at the movies! Fifteenth 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

Desert Hearts

Donna Deitch · 1985
91min · digital
  • Tuesday, Jun 3, 2025, 7:15pm

Screening location: Northwest Film Forum – 1515 12th Ave, Seattle

40th anniversary of Donna Deitch's landmark classic!

Deitch’s swooning and sensual first narrative feature, DESERT HEARTS, was groundbreaking upon its release in 1985: a love story about two women, produced and directed by a woman. In this 1959-set film, adapted from a beloved novel by Jane Rule, straitlaced East Coast professor Vivian Bell (Helen Shaver) arrives in Reno to file for divorce, but winds up catching the eye of someone new: the younger, free-spirited Cay (Patricia Charbonneau)--touching off a slow seduction that unfolds against a breathtaking desert landscape. With smoldering chemistry between its two leads, an evocative jukebox soundtrack, and vivid cinematography by Robert Elswit, DESERT HEARTS beautifully exudes a sense of tender yearning and emotional candor.

Desert Hearts remains one of cinema’s greatest lesbian love stories.” Heather Hogan, Autostraddle

“Startlingly intimate and unabashedly erotic.” Michael Rechtshoffen, The Hollywood Reporter

“When is a film not just a film? When it’s a cultural and sociological icon like Desert Hearts.” Lydia Marcus, The Advocate

Lucky

John Carroll Lynch · 2017
88min · digital
  • Monday, Jun 9, 2025, 7:15pm

Screening location: Northwest Film Forum – 1515 12th Ave, Seattle

Starring the legendary Harry Dean Stanton and featuring a supporting performance by David Lynch, LUCKY follows the spiritual journey of a 90-year-old atheist and the quirky characters that inhabit his off-the-map desert town. Having out-lived and out-smoked all of his contemporaries, the fiercely independent Lucky (Stanton) finds himself at the precipice of life, thrust into a journey of self-exploration, leading towards that which is so often unattainable: enlightenment. Acclaimed character actor John Carroll Lynch's directorial debut, LUCKY is at once a love letter to the life and career of Harry Dean Stanton as well as a meditation on mortality, loneliness, spirituality, and human connection.

An addendum to To Live Is To Dream: A Northwest Tribute to David Lynch.

“There’s an extra-dramatic thrill to watching [David Lynch and Stanton], who have known each other for at least thirty years, play old friends… Love and respect light every moment.” Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com

Lucky is a remarkable film, a living testament to the talent and formidable screen presence of the late Harry Dean Stanton. I think we are the lucky ones to have such a beautiful film to remember the actor by.” Leonard Maltin

Before Sunrise and Before Sunset double feature

Richard Linklater · 1995/2004
181min · digital
  • Monday, Jun 16, 2025, 6:30pm

Screening location: Northwest Film Forum – 1515 12th Ave, Seattle

Richard Linklater's classic romance, BEFORE SUNRISE, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Join us for a double feature of it and the beloved follow-up, BEFORE SUNSET, on June 16th, the date Jesse and Céline first came into each others' lives.

BEFORE SUNRISE opens with a chance encounter between two solitary young strangers. After they hit it off on a train bound for Vienna, the Paris university student Céline (Julie Delpy) and the scrappy American tourist Jesse (Ethan Hawke) impulsively decide to spend a day together before he returns to the U.S. the next morning. As the pair roam the streets of the stately city, Linklater’s tenderly observant gaze captures the uncertainty and intoxication of young love, from the first awkward stirrings of attraction to the hopeful promise that Céline and Jesse make upon their inevitable parting.

In the breathtaking follow-up, Céline tracks down Jesse, now an author, at the tail end of his book tour in Paris, with only a few hours left before he is to board a flight back home to the States. Meeting almost a decade after their short-lived romance in Vienna, the pair find their chemistry rekindled by increasingly candid exchanges about professional setbacks, marital disappointments, and the compromises of adulthood. Impelled by an urgent sense of the transience of human connection, BEFORE SUNSET remains Richard Linklater’s most seductive experiment with time’s inexorable passage and the way love can seem to stop it in its tracks.

“Taken together–which they should be–Before Sunrise and Before Sunset make up one of the supreme movie romances of the post-’80s era, an affair of the film and flesh to make the heart leap and the mind dance.” Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

Harley Flanagan: Wired for Chaos (with Harley Flanagan in-person)

Rex Miller · 2024
96min · DCP
  • Monday, Jun 30, 2025, 6:30pm
  • Monday, Jun 30, 2025, 9:00pm

Screening location: Here-After (21+) – alley entrance, 2505 1st Ave, Seattle

Exclusive screenings of the brand new documentary about Cro-Mags founder Harley Flanagan, with Harley and his wife and manager, Laura Flanagan, joining for in-person Q&As after each showing!

Founder of the pioneering band Cro-Mags and a legend of the NYC Hardcore scene, Harley Flanagan is a punk rock icon who has defied the odds and come out the other side. But while his career has been a no-holds-barred ride, WIRED FOR CHAOS isn’t just about the music, it’s about a man forged in fire – a survivor of neglect, sexual abuse, drugs, violence and PTSD – who’s lived to tell the tale.

Featuring interviews with Henry Rollins, Flea, Darryl Jenifer of Bad Brains, and more!

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!

“Chances are if it happened in New York and it was important and interesting, Harley Flanagan was somewhere in the room.” Anthony Bourdain

“This film floored me… It’s a glorious portrait of the human spirit and of a person’s ability to change for the better.” Steve Kopian, Unseen Films