“Basically think of Troma as the high water mark—most of the shit we’ll be showing won’t even be that mainstream. If it’s fucked up, weird, or obscure, then that’s what we’re screening.”
These are the words of The 4th Horseman co-owner Jeremy Cross describing their “Freak Flix” nights coming to the pizzeria the last Wednesday of every month, noting specifically the famed Troma Entertainment—the country’s longest-running independent film studio—and its dedication to doing horror, gore, and monstrous storytelling with enthusiastic over-the-top-ness.
Does this mean screenings of “The Toxic Avenger,” “House 2,” and “Forbidden Zone”? Well, maybe—each month will be a surprise, with the first screening happening on April 26.
“These are the kind of films you play at a party,” Cross said. “The kind you want to get drunk and watch with your friends. Plus, we’ll have some pizza and beer specials so you can do just that.”
So expect the lights to be a little dimmer, the music to be turned off, and the movie to the be the star of the space.
But also? Expect some awesomely weird film history.
The Other Jeremy Co-Owner—Jeremy Schott, who also heads the art gallery behind the pizzeria, Dark Art Emporium, with Cross—will be heading the curation of the series, flexing his skills as both a film lover and collector, where the BFA in Film-holder (from Chapman University) will be perusing through his archive in order to showcase that film—both the obscure and major studio-produced—can be weird.
In other words, Schott isn’t just an academic when it comes to film but a true admirer of it.
“I’m lover all types of cinema: horror, comedy, westerns, sci-fi, documentaries…,” Schott said. “So I think that within any genre, there is room for weirdness—and that’s what I crave with all art. Just look at the Dark Art Emporium: It’s one big unit of weird and I am proud of that. With ‘Freaky Flix,’ I genuinely look forward to sharing some of what I deem absolute classics with our patrons.”
In other words, everything from “Troll 2″—one of the most lauded horror films when it comes to the worst being the best—to “Howard the Duck”—the massively expensive box office bomb that has become a cult favorite, particularly among Marvel fans who dub it the best Marvel film ever made.
Bring it.
The 4th Horseman is located at 151 W. 4th St. in DTLB, with Freak Flix being every last Wednesday of the month. The first will occur on April 26, with drink specials starting at 6PM and the film starting at 7PM.
