February Blood Ritual - THE SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE (1982)

Date: Saturday 10th February 2024
Time: Starts around 8:30pm
Location: True North 2A Munro Street Coburg

Blood Ritual returns for 2024 with the driller killer classic 80s horror, THE SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE.
This female led production, directed by Amy Holden Jones and scripted by feminist author Rita Mae Brown was released in 1982 and puts a smart, subversive, and lightly satirical spin on the slasher genre that was booming at the time.

The wonderful Carina Hayden-Skok will be our guest presenter on the night, and if you were there for her hosting of 'Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?', you'll know to expect an informative and fun introduction to the film. We can't wait!!

Blood Ritual specs:
Come along any time from 5pm for pre-movie dins, drinks and hangs. Then the movie will get started as soon as it's dark enough - being Summer, this is likely to be pushing toward 9pm.
Bring 10 bucks cash for a membership (if you don't already have one). It gets you three BR screenings plus a free drink at the bar... bargain!

Come along!!
MHFS crew

MHFS Christmas: Black X-mas (2006)

Date: Tuesday 19th December 2023
Time: screening starts at 7:30pm
Location: Longplay 318

Ho, ho, ho!! It's Christmas time and here at MHFS there's a present under the tree for everyone - yes, including Billy AND Agnes
For this year, we're going to be screening the 2006 remake of Black Christmas, BLACK X-MAS. Yes, it's trashy; yes, it's totally mid-aughties fare but it can be a lot of fun, deserves a revisit and is festive AF!!
We'd love for you to join us on Tuesday, November 19th for our final screening of 2023. We're going to be taking January off, so it'll be our last screening for a little bit and LongPlay is opening just for us on the night, so we get to take over the whole place! We'll be there from around 6pm having pre-movie drinks and eats (you can even bring in takeaway food from elsewhere to eat in the bar area - so long as you're respectful and bin any rubbish), then the screening will start as normal in the cinema at the rear at 7.30pm.
Memberships are available on the night for $15 cash for three screenings or $50 for twelve.

Hope to see you there!
MHFS crew

December Blood Ritual - SANTA'S SLAY (2005)

Date: Saturday 9th December 2023
Time: Screening starts around 8:30pm
Location: True North 2A Munro Street Coburg

"Who's your Daddy? Father Christmas."

I cannot believe it's already time to talk about Christmas movies - absolutely ridiculous! And just as ridiculous is 'Santa's Slay' (2005) featuring Bill Goldberg as a killer Santa demon, so obviously that's what we're going to be screening at the December Blood Ritual.

Come to True North on Saturday, December 9th for all the Yuletide fun and a festive celebration at the end of what's been a HUGE year!!

You'll be able to get all the usual trimmings from 5pm and we'll cheers a few drinks together before the screening gets started after dark (usually a bit after 8.30). Blood Ritual memberships cost $10 (cash only) for 3 screenings plus a free beverage from the bar.

Hope to see you there!
MHFS crew

MHFS November: DEATHDREAM (1974)

Date: Tuesday 28th November 2023
Time: screening starts at 7:30pm
Location: Longplay 318 St. Georges Road, Fitzroy North

Our homecoming to LongPlay is all set for the last Tuesday of November and let's hope that things don't get as weird as they do in 'Deathdream' (a little weird is good, but not THAT messed up).
Released the same year as 'Black Christmas', Bob Clark's 'Deathdream' (also known as 'Dead of Night') tells the story of a soldier that returns home from the Vietnam War and something is a little.. off.

LongPlay is also likely to look a bit different (but in a good way), the new owners are serving pies with a vegan option and obviously a full bar with plenty of bevvies on offer. You'll be able to find us there from around 6pm before moving into the cinema at the rear for the screening. Normal start time of 7.30pm. You'll still need cash for memberships which are a steal at $15 for three screenings or $50 for twelve.

Looking forward to seeing you there!
MHFS crew

Blood Ritual - Brain Damage (1988)

Date: Saturday 11th November 2023
Time: Screening starts around 8pm
Location: True North 2A Munro Street Coburg

Well, Halloween is officially over for another year, but fear not, November's Blood Ritual is just around the corner and it'll have you wiping away those post-Spooky Season tears.
So, without further adieu... you must come along to True North on Saturday, 11th of November when our very valued member, Andrew Paynter, will be presenting BRAIN DAMAGE.

On the film, Andrew says "Directed by Frank Henenlotter (of Basket Case fame), Brain Damage is a horror comedy which revolves around Brian, who unwittingly becomes host to a talking parasite named Aylmer (not Elmer!). Aylmer provides Brian with feelings of euphoria and trippy hallucinations, for the low low price of feeding on people's brains. Quite transparently being an allegory for drug addiction, it isn't long before Brian's need for more of Aylmer's juice starts taking a toll on his relationships and general well-being. And of course there's plenty of blood and gore too."

Andrew has been coming to screenings for something like 7 years now. He's a lover of horror, sci-fi, excess cheese and campyness, anything neon, and BAD movies. When he's not killing off his brain cells with the most cringe inducing media put to tape, you can find him playing tabletop or video games, or knee deep in learning the ins and outs of running his own business, which he started not too long ago, buying and selling pop-culture collectables.

Being a late 80s b-horror, it won't come as a huge shock that 'Brain Damage' has some elements that could be triggering to some audience members. If this is a concern, please feel free to reach out for more details, or have a look online.

After taking over True North for our October screenings (thankyou, we love you), things return to normal this month - so, yes, back at True North for Blood Ritual and you'll need $10 cash to purchase a membership which gets you three screenings plus a free drink from the bar.

We cannot wait!
MHFS crew

MHFS Halloween Part 3: Trilogy of Terror (1975)

Date: Thursday 26th October 2023
Time: Screening starts around 8:30pm
Location: True North 2A Munro Street Coburg

Did you see a film or TV show when you were too young? Did said images freak you out? Do you still have nightmares from what you saw?
Join us at True North on another Thursday night (yes, you read correctly) for some kinda trauma that terrified 70s kids for...
Three discrete horror stories are presented with one of the few things tying them all together being star Karen Black in dual roles. That duality explicit in one instance and more veiled in the others.

The screening will get started around 8.30pm but you'll be able to find us there anytime from 6pm having a bite to eat and a chin wag.

Happy Halloween vibes
MHFS crew

MHFS Halloween: Once More With Feeling Buffy Special!

Date: Thursday 19th October 2023
Time: Screening starts around 8:30pm
Location: True North 2A Munro Street Coburg

There's nothing we can't face... except for bunnies
And if there's a time in your life to get self-indulgent, it's the week of your 40th birthday, right?
Join us on Thursday, October 19th for a Buffy extravaganza. All singing, all dancing, all talking, all spooking and lots of laughs (maybe mostly when we go mental singing Rest In Peace ).
Starting off with Buffy season 4, episode 4 Fear, Itself. This Halloween episode sees the Scooby Gang dealing with the issues of having just started university (or not in the case of Xander) and they head along to a fraternity haunted house party. It's a fairly standalone episode but introduces a lot of the themes that come to a musically catchy head in possibly the best episode of television ever, Once More With Feeling.
Once More With Feeling was the seventh episode of season 6 and the entire town of Sunnydale starts breaking out in musical numbers (or break-way pop hits).

This special night will be free and is open to anyone to attend. Whether you're a long-term Buffy stan, or have never seen an episode, both of these episodes are quite accessible and we'll give an introduction to set the scene and give context to where they sit in the grand narrative.

The screening will get started around 8.30pm but you'll be able to find us there anytime from 6pm having a bite to eat and a chin wag, and maybe warming up the vocal cords on this occassion. Come and sing along, or watch atleast a couple of us make fools of ourselves doing so.

Happy Halloween vibes
MHFS crew

October Blood Ritual: The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

Date - Saturday 14th October 2023
Time - Around 8pm
Location - True North 2A Munro Street Coburg

Here at the Melbourne Horror Film Society, we love to have fun during Spooky Season and the October Blood Ritual is going to be just that!

Come along to True North on Saturday, October 14th to see a film that's been on the agenda ever since Mel joined the MHFS organiser ranks back in 2016. Being an OG Buffy stan, a meta horror-comedy that is both a love letter to the genre, whilst at the same time deconstructing it and comes from the likes of Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon (I know, boo hiss) was bound to shoot straight to the top of the monster whiteboard.

Blood Ritual screenings at True North run each month on the second Saturday. It's $10 cash for entry, which gets you three screenings plus a ticket to take to the bar in exchange for a free drink. Dinner and drinks will be available for 5pm and the screening officially starts around 8.30, once the kitchen closes.

Hope to see you (and maybe a merman) there!
MHFS crew

MHFS September screening: Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

Date: Tuesday 26th September 2023
Time: Screening starts at 7:30pm
Location: LongPlay 318 St. Georges Road, Fitzroy North

For our next LongPlay screening, we have the incredible Carina Hayden-Skok stepping in as guest host. She'll be presenting Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? from 1962 at 7.30pm on Tuesday, September 26th and we can't wait!
Here's what Carina has to say about her film choice:

"In the wake of Barbiemania, what better excuse for another examination of gender in film, and what better way than through a seminal blockbuster that sparked an entire horror sub-genre?

Hagsploitation, Psychobiddy, Elder Horror, Grande Dame Guignol… Whatever name you give it, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962, Dir. Robert Aldrich) was the surprise hit that saw two of Hollywood’s most formiddle leading ladies (Bette Davis and Joan Crawford) reinvent their careers and take the power back for “women of a certain age” in cinema. Of course, they did this by leaning into the psychology of a deeply misogynistic trope rooted in folklore, but let’s wait for the screening to unpack all that!

For now, simply heed this warning from the film’s original trailer and join us if you dare: “As shock after shock assaults your senses, try to remember that this is only a motion picture. Try to remember.”"

Carina is a longtime MHFS member and devotee whose love of horror was ignited at the impressionable age of seven when she started sneak-watching her uncles’ VHS collection. Museum worker by day, she credits her appreciation of film to all the Cinema Studies electives she managed to squeeze into her BA. She has a penchant for dark explorations of the human psyche (both at an individual and societal level), as well as all things ludicrous and camp - which might go some way towards explaining her film choice!

We can't wait for Carina's screening and also to see all of our wonderful members again for what's sure to be an amazing night! Memberships will be available for $15 cash for three screenings or $50 for twelve. We organise those in the cinema room at the rear of LongPlay from 7pm. Before that, you can catch us in the middle room from 6 having a pre-film bite to eat and / or drink and a yak about all things horror. Everyone is welcome!

From
MHFS crew

MHFS August screening: Bone Tomahawk (2015)

Date: Tuesday 29th August 2023
Time: Screening starts at 7:30pm
Location: LongPlay 318 St. Georges Rd, Fitzroy North

Howdy friends!
For our August screening, we are so incredibly thrilled to have another of our wonderful, esteemed members stepping in as guest host!
Join us on Tuesday August 29th as Michael Layland takes the reins to show Bone Tomahawk. One of the most exciting parts of sharing these nights with our community is getting to see some of our friends' favourite movies and get a wider range of voices and film selections, and this is certainly exemplary of that!

Michael completed a Bachelor of Education in Media Studies, English Literature and Language with dreams of becoming the next Spielberg. Sadly a lack of talent for movie directing and a dislike of teaching saw him drift into one career and then another but never lost his love of horror flicks. Early influences on his film appreciation included Sergio Leone, Dario Argento and the music maestro Ennio Morricone. Michael has a passion for running, hiking, and of course movies. He now works from home in the commercial building sector and is a long time member of the MHFS.

As for Bone Tomahawk, Michael describes this film by first time director S.Craig Zahler as "a horror western genre mash-up that has shades of John Ford’s The Searchers and dialogue inspired by Quentin Tarantino. A violent and gritty movie that leads down paths most unexpected and does so with a sense of humour. If you haven’t seen this movie, expect the unexpected. Made on a budget, Zahler managed to get some serious star power with Kurt Russel, David Arquette, Matthew Fox and Patrick Wilson saddling up for the adventure. It will grab you by the throat from the very beginning… quite literally".

This is sure to be another special night that you won't want to miss! Memberships will be available on arrival at a price of $15 for three screenings or $50 for twelve. We're still only taking cash but a tap thingy will eventually come along, at which time we'll also be increasing prices cos we be poor peeps! Not exactly sure when it'll happen, and it won't be by too much but if you want to beat the price rise, grab yourself a full membership so you won't have to think about it for atleast a year!

Thank you to Michael Layland and all of our members that have upcoming screenings, as well as a massive thanks and congratulations to Jack Kramme for his incredible July screening

We hope to see you all in August!

MHFS crew

Blood Ritual - The Final Terror (1983)

Date - Saturday 9th September 2023
Time - Around 8pm
Location - True North 2A Munro Street Coburg

Do you like slasher movies? Do you like searching for that hidden gem that you missed during the slasher boom? Do you like venturing out into the woods?

If you answered yes to any, or all of these questions, you do not want to miss the August Blood Ritual!

We are going back to 1983 (and according to Mel who's jumped in, the greatest month ever - October 1983! So almost 40 years ago ) to help a bunch of rangers that go camping on unfamiliar forest grounds. All's well until the group members start getting knocked off by a cunning killer in the woods.

This almost lost gem might be unfamiliar to you but there are some familiar faces in this film, and even an Aussie!

The folks at True North will be dishing out delicious food and pouring drinks from about 5pm onwards so come hang with us and get yourselves a good seat before the intro and screening get started at a very loose 8:30pm

Memberships will be available from $10 cold hard cash on the night. If you have been before just remember to bring your card with the 3 red skulls on it (if the red skulls have been punched out you know it's time to get another card). Purchasing this card entitles you to a free drink.

Hope to see you there!
MHFS crew.

MHFS July Screening: THIR13EN GHOSTS (2001)

Date: 25th July 2023
Time: Screening starts at 7:30pm
Location: LongPlay 318 St. Georges Rd, Fitzroy North

For our July screening, we are thrilled to have Jack Kramme stepping in as our very special guest host for the night. We have an extremely talented and passionate community and you’ll see us handing over the reins over the coming months to introduce a wider range of voices and unique perspectives on the horror genre.

Jack is an audio and video editor who works on various projects and co-hosts multiple podcasts and livestreams. A self proclaimed pop culture aficionado, he has been a horror fan for most of his life - since an older sibling introduced him to A Nightmare on Elm Street at the age of five because they thought it would be funny to see him terrified. It indeed terrified him, but also kick started a lifelong love of the genre. Jack's tastes lean more towards horror of a supernatural nature rather than more practical horror inspired by real life. Ghosts, monsters and demons, as opposed to serial killers and more real world stuff if you will. Because of that he is excited to present a film that sort of came and went without a lot of fanfare, but has since garnered a bit of a cult following. That film is, of course, the 2001 remake of 13 Ghosts, Thirteen Ghosts (or THIR13EN Ghosts). A film that Jack describes as "Kinda silly and over the top, but also fun and self aware with a great overall production design and horror aesthetic".

You’ll be able to catch our screening of this under-appreciated early-aughts flick on Tuesday, July 25th at LongPlay in Fitzroy North. The screening officially starts at 7:30 but you’ll be able to catch us there from opening time at 6pm. We’ll have memberships available to purchase on the night at $15 for a mini-pass (three screenings), or $50 gets your twelve screenings. At this stage we’re still only taking cash but we are in the process of (eventually) switching to card payments. As a word of warning, the cost of our memberships will also be increasing at some point, so you might want to get yourself a twelve screening pass at that rate to beat the price rise. It won’t be a big increase and we hate to do it, but we currently pay for film rights out of our own pocket (and that’s becoming much less do-able financially) - **insert the “help me I’m poor” gif from Bridesmaids**.

Hope to see you there for no talk about cost of living pressures etc etc (that horror is way too real!) Let’s just squeal and laugh watching a fun horror flick!

Much love,
MHFS Crew

Blood Ritual - Demons 2 (1986)

Date - Saturday 8th July
Time - Around 8pm
Location - True North 2A Munro Street Coburg

We here at MHFS try to help our amazing members, especially when they are having trouble with Inner Demons. Almost a year ago we showed Demons and since then we have noticed a few heads spinning so it is our duty to do something about this...

Join us as we finish off our 3-month Italian Horror film series with Lamberto Bava's Demons 2. This was written by Bava and Dario Argento who also produced the film.

A documentary is shown on TV of a group of teens who investigate the legendary forbidden zone, in which a demon infestation once took place (see Demoni I). Finding a lifeless corpse of a demon, one of the teens causes its resurrection of it, and the demon makes its way into the nearby world via TV broadcast - An unlucky girl having her birthday party at that time gets possessed by the demon while watching the documentary, and soon the entire building in which she lives turns into a living nightmare.

The Bellissimo folks at True North will be dishing out delicious food and pouring drinks from about 5pm onwards so come hang with us and get yourselves a good seat before the intro and screening get started at a very loose 8:30pm

Memberships will be available from $10 Cold hard cash on the night. If you have been before just remember to bring your card that has the 3 red skulls on it (if the red skulls have been punched out you know it's time to get another card). Purchasing this card entitles you to a free drink.

We hope to see you there!
MHFS Crew (not Demons).

MHFS June screening: Body Bags (1993)

Date: 27th June 2023
Time: Screening starts at 7:30pm
Location: LongPlay 318 St Georges Rd, Fitzroy North

Join us as we unzip ourselves from 'Body Bags', a John Carpenter Presents film. This fun 90s anthology film has 3 segments and a wrap-around story starring John Carpenter himself.
The Gas Station - dir by John Carpenter.
Hair (starring Stacy Keach from Road Games) - dir by Carpenter.
Eye (starring Mark "Skywalker" Hamill) - dir by Tobe Hooper.
It was originally made as a pilot episode for a proposed anthology series but Showtime pulled the plug and it was released as a TV movie on video rental. We (Australia) even had it released here.

Full of cameos by directors and producers, it is fun for fans to spot their favourite. It was good to see Stacy Keach dipping his toe back into the horror waters.

The screening gets started at 7.30pm in the cinema at the rear of LongPlay but you'll be able to find us there from 6pm having a bite to eat/catch up beforehand. Please bring cash for memberships, which are available on the night at $15 for three screenings, or $50 for twelve.

Hope to see you there!
MHFS crew

Blood Ritual - Creepers (1985 aka Phenomena)

Date - Saturday 10th June
Time - Around 8pm
Location - True North 2A Munro Street Coburg

Welcome to the second film in our 3-month Italian Horror film series.

Join us as we show Creepers the shorter version of Phenomena. This version was what was available to rent back in the day on video. It stars Jennifer (Labyrinth) Connelly and Donald (Halloween) Pleasence.

A young girl who has an amazing ability to communicate with insects is transferred to an exclusive Swiss boarding school, where her unusual capability might help solve a string of murders.

The soundtrack fits right in at True North, when it isn't Goblin blasting us with keyboards and prod rock it is Iron Maiden and Motorhead plus others keeping the score.

The Bellissimo folks at True North will be dishing out delicious food and pouring drinks from about 5pm onwards so come hang with us and get yourselves a good seat before the intro and screening get started at a very loose 8:30pm

Memberships will be available from $10 Cold hard cash on the night. If you have been before just remember to bring your card that has the 3 red skulls on it (if the red skulls have been punched out you know it's time to get another card). Purchasing this card entitles you to a free drink.

Hope to see you there!
MHFS crew.

MHFS May Screening - MAY (2002)

Date: 30th May 2023
Time: Screening starts at 7.30pm
Location: LongPlay 318 St Georges Rd, Fitzroy North

MAY is a hugely underseen horror from the early oughts, written and directed by Lucky McKee. Angela Bettis plays the lonely titular character of May, who yearns for connection. She has a habit of becoming tragically infatuated but no one lives up to her hopes. Not Jeremy Sisto as her crush, Adam; Anna Faris (in her greatest performance) also falls short as Polly, the flirtatious fellow vet nurse. Will May find her true love, or will she have to take matters into her own hands? You'll need to come along to LongPlay on Tuesday, May 30 to find out...

The screening gets started at 7.30pm in the cinema at the rear of LongPlay but you'll be able to find us in the middle room from 6pm having a bite to eat / catch up beforehand. Please bring cash for memberships, which are available on the night at $15 for three screenings, or $50 for twelve.

For new members, we run two nights, one @ LongPlay (last Tuesday of the month) and the second one is Blood Ritual @ True North (second Saturday of the month). For each venue there is a different membership card.

Hope to see you there!
MHFS crew

Blood Ritual - The Beyond

Date - 13th May
Time - Around 8pm
Location - True North 2A Munro Street, Coburg

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you opened one of the Gates of Hell? Does Louisiana seem like a nice place to visit or restore an old hotel? If you say yes to either of these, you should attend this month's Blood Ritual on Saturday 13th of May.

This month we are showing, 'The Beyond' which, like last month's film, was released in 1981 and was also on the Video Nasty list in the UK. 'The Beyond' was directed by Lucio Fulci, otherwise known as the godfather of gore. He was an incredible Italian filmmaker who tackled most genres but was mostly known for his outrageous gore epics.
A young woman inherits an old hotel in Louisiana where, following a series of supernatural "accidents", she learns that the building was built over one of the entrances to Hell.

This is the first in our 3-month Italian Horror Film series, at Blood Ritual.

The good folk at this fine establishment will be dishing up delicious grub and pouring drinks, some in skulls, from about 5pm so come hang out and get yourself a good seat before the screening gets started at a very loose 8:30

Memberships will be available for $10 cold hard cash on the night. If you have been before just remember to bring your card that has the 3 red skulls on it. And you not only get 3 screenings for that but also a drink on the house. Bargain!

Hope to see you there!
MHFS crew.

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MHFS March - The Orphanage (2007)

Date: 28th March 2023
Time: Screening starts at 7.30pm
Location: LongPlay 318 St Georges Rd, Fitzroy North

We are continuing our Spanish Films cycle that started with Day of the Beast (Mel's December screening) this March.

Join us for a ghostly sad film from Spanish director J.A. Bayona on the last Tuesday of the month.

Laura, a former orphan, raises her adopted son Simón together with her husband Carlos in an old house and former orphanage where she was raised. While at the orphanage Simón tells Laura that he has five invisible friends which she believes are a product of his active imagination. Laura decides to reopen the orphanage to cater to disabled children and throws a party. During the party, Simón tries to persuade Laura to go and take a look at his friend's cabin but she's too busy. Later on she sees a mysterious masked boy and realizes that Simón has also disappeared. Laura feels the presence of other people in the house and months later Laura invites a team of parapsychologists to try to unravel the mystery.

The screening will officially start at 7.30pm in the cinema room at the rear of LongPlay, but you'll be able to find us in the middle room from around 6pm if you would like to join us for a pre-film drink and/or bite to eat. Everyone is welcome!
Memberships will be available on the night for $15 for 3 screenings or $50 for 12. Please bring cash.

Let's get spooky!
- MHFS Gang.

Blood Ritual - Phantasm

Date: 11th of March 2023
Time: Around 8pm
Location: True North 2A Munro St, Coburg

For this months Blood Ritual we will be presenting Don Coscarelli's cult classic Phantasm. Those who attending John Dies at the End last year (also directed by Coscarelli) have had a taste of what is in store, crazy cosmic horror and even crazier set pieces. What is the tall mortician doing to all those people who have mysteriously died in this small town? 

Be there Saturday night, March 11th for all the fun. Food and drinks from 5pm, we'll be there by 6 with the film to start when the sun goes down. We encourage you to get there early to get a seat as 2023 has gotten off to an insanely chockers start. Memberships will be available for $10 cash on the night - and that measly note gets you 3 screenings and a free drink!

Hope to see you there!
- MHFS gang

MHFS WiHM2023: VIOLATION

Date: 28th February 2023
Time: Screening starts at 7.30pm
Location: LongPlay 318 St Georges Rd, Fitzroy North

Nik McGrath is guest host for our Women in Horror screening of VIOLATION (2020).

Content warning - VIOLATION includes sexual violence and family betrayal, which might be triggering for some viewers.

Produced, directed, and written by Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli, who have collaborated since 2017 on a number of shorts. This is their feature film debut. Madeleine stars in a tour de force performance that she has described as physically and emotionally draining. A complex and graphic portrayal of the most shocking violation.

Come join us for a drink and dinner in the second room at LongPlay from 6pm. The intro and screening will kick off at 7:30pm in the rear cinema.

Memberships will be available on the night, $15 for 3 screenings or $50 for 12. Please bring cash.

Hope to see you there,
MHFS gang.