THE MISKATONIC INSTITUTE OF HORROR STUDIES Announces 2020 Schedule – Dread Central

THE MISKATONIC INSTITUTE OF HORROR STUDIES Announces 2020 Schedule

The worlds longest-running horror-centric educational organization with branches in London, New York, and Los Angeles is pleased to announce its spring lineup of monthly classes in horror history, theory, and production. Set against the mystical backdrop of Los Felizs storiedPhilosophical Research Societycampus, Miskatonic talks are fun and casual illustrated excursions into horrors dark corners led by some of the genres most renowned luminaries.

Miskatonic LA has one more class today, December 12th, before closing out the year: an illustrated masterclass with surrealist photographer, filmmaker, collagist, sculptor and performance artistPenny Slinger, best known for her collaborations with filmmakers Peter Whitehead (Lilford Hall, 1969) and Jane Arden (The Other Side of the Underneath, 1972) and her photo-collage masterpiece of psychic trauma,An Exorcism(1977) the latter of which prompted an invitation to create the scenography for Diors 2019/2020 Autumn-Winter fashion show. This particular class will be an intimate affair in the PRS campus famed occult library, surrounded by centuries-old books that have provided Penny with inspiration in her work. Limited tickets are available here:https://www.miskatonicinstitute.com/events/live-from-miskatonic-penny-slinger-in-conversation-los-angeles/

They come back from holidays to begin our new season on Monday, January 6th, with visiting instructorCaelum Vatnsdal(author of the bookThey Came From Within: A History of Canadian Horror Cinema) with his raucous illustrated lecture Northern Scars which he describes as a snowstorm of malevolent miners, ravenous rats, killer sex-slugs and ZED (not ZEE)-grade zombies.

Then on February 13th, theyre joined by filmmakerGillian Wallace Horvat(Sam Fuller docA Fuller Life, SXSW short jury winnerKiss Kiss Fingerbang) who will offer a presentation on the power and pitfalls of expository monologues in horror featuring special guest actorSteven Williams, whose monologue as bounty hunter Creighton Duke inJason Goes to HellGillian rates as one of the best.

On March 12th, comedy writerDavid Misch(Mork & Mindy,Police Squad!) joins us to give his dissection of how humor and horror writing and filmmaking techniques often mirror each other, in Ha! Aaah! The Painful Relationship Between Humor and Horror.

On April 9th, Andy Milligan biographerJimmy McDonough(The Ghastly One: The Sex-Gore Netherworld of Filmmaker Andy Milligan) visits LA to give a highly personal illustrated talk on the controversial low-budget director, in conjunction with a new edition of his acclaimed book.

And they close the season on May 14th with a giant of genre film criticism,Stephen Thrower(Nightmare USA) who has turned his two epic tomes on filmmaker Jess Franco into a visual deep dive into the prolific filmmakers confrontational works of horror, sadism and erotic spectacle.

See below for full class descriptions and ticket links.

++++

AboutThe Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies:

Founded by film writer/programmer/publisher/producerKier-La Janisse(author,House of Psychotic Women) in 2010,The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studiesoffers classes in horror history, theory, and production, with branches in London, New York, and Los Angeles, as well as hosting special events worldwide.

Miskatonic LA classes take place at:The Philosophical Research Society3910 Los Feliz Blvd, Los AngelesAdmission $12 advance/$15 doorwww.miskatonicinstitute.com

Any questions or interview requests should be sent tomiskatonicinstitute@gmail.com.

++++

FULL CLASS DESCRIPTIONS:

NORTHERN SCARS: THE FOUNDATIONS OF CANADIAN HORROR CINEMAwith instructorCaelum VatnsdalMonday January 6, 7:30pm-10;00pmBuy tickets:https://www.miskatonicinstitute.com/events/northern-scars-the-foundations-of-canadian-horror-cinema/

Prepare yourself for a snowstorm of malevolent miners, ravenous rats, killer sex-slugs and ZED (not ZEE)-grade zombies: all this and much more can be found in the frosty annals of Canadian horror movie history. Oh, and theres some Cronenberg in there too, of course.

Canada got into the horror game late, and even then started slowly, but by the beloved and despised tax-shelter years of the 70s and 80s the country more than made up for its initial delinquency. Movies by the dozens were being turned out: during the peak years of Canadian moviemaking, more films came out of Toronto than they did Hollywood, and a great percentage of these were horror pictures. Monsters and maniacs, scientists and shamans, Leslie Nielsen disco dancing and John Candy rolling around in his underwear: Canadian horror delivers more of what you want.

This lecture will bring the audience through the development of this genre in Canada, including behind-the-scenes peeks into the making of the movies; personal stories of the makers and stars; scandals and controversies associated with them; and the political gamesmanship behind the development of the Canadian commercial film industry. Never a dry recitation of facts, the talk describes a wild tapestry of high drama and crazy incident, with characters from David Cronenberg to Lawrence Zazelenchuk: a sort ofEasy Riders, Raging Bullswith a much more specific focus and a lot more plaid flannel shirts.

This rollercoaster ride through history will be capped by a snapshot of the state of things today, and we may even take a guess as to where things will go next. A question and answer opportunity at the end ensures that any remaining bafflements will be addressed.

Accompanying the lecture will be mind-twisting clips from movies likeThe Mask(Canada first horror feature),The Corpse Eaters(its cheapest),Shivers,Black Christmas,Rituals, andSpasms.

++++

HOW TO DELIVER A TERRIFYING INFO DUMP: EXPOSITORY MONOLOGUES IN HORRORwith instructorsGillian Wallace HorvatandSteven WilliamsThursday February 13, 7:30pm-10:00pmBuy tickets:https://www.miskatonicinstitute.com/events/how-to-deliver-a-terrifying-info-dump-expository-monologues-in-horror-los-angeles/

Expository monologues the long speeches delivered by a character to provide backstory or motivation can be the downfall or the showstopper of a horror film, and theres at least one in a vast majority. The purpose of all these soliloquies is an extended, intense effort to overcome the unusually high threshold of disbelief concomitant with the horror genre, generally in an attempt to answer questions for the audience like: How is this possible? Why did she do this and in such a convoluted and oblique way? Why is this not a plot hole?

For actors and directors in the genre space expository monologues are an occupational hazard that have the potential to be a moment of cinematic glory if you have the right tools. In this presentation for both performers and filmmakers, we will study the four types of expository monologues and review instructive examples of each. They comprise:

In analyzing clips well explore the difference between a naturalistic approach and excess in performance, briefly digressing here into a discussion of the theories of genre scholars Linda Williams and Kristin Thompson.

Because a performance built around excess requires a lot of character work, in the second part of the class we will focus on more natural techniques when we study our text: Creighton Dukes monologue fromJason Goes to Hell. Using detailed textual analysis aided by Creighton Duke himself, Steven Williams, who will appear in person as a special guest well discover how to bring emotional authenticity to language dense with proper nouns and also examine patterns of inflection and breath in relating anecdotes in our own lives.

*Please note Steven Williams appearance is subject to change dependent on his professional schedule.

++++

HA! AAAH! THE PAINFUL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HUMOR AND HORRORwith instructorDavid MischThursday March 12, 7:30pm-10:00pmBuy tickets:https://www.miskatonicinstitute.com/events/ha-aaah-the-painful-relationship-between-humor-and-horror-los-angeles/

From 1920sHaunted SpookstoPride and Prejudice and Zombies, the genre of horror-comedy has never really, you should excuse the expression, died. Yet humor and horror seem pretty different; ones a pie in the face, the others an axe in the skull. Its obvious why watching someone being torn asunder would be horrible but why is the endless suffering of the Three Stooges funny? Could there be any congruencies between funny and fear, snickers and screams, gore and gags, slapstick and slaughter?

Yes.

This class proposes carefully, while remaining alert and well-armed that the two genres are not mortal enemies. For one thing, people in pain are a perennial part of every art; to be fascinated with human suffering is to be human. Both comedy and horror can show us how to live (and, of course, die); fromPsychowe learn that Death can come to anyone at any time. Also, to always shower with a friend.

The class will examine horrors relationship with philosophers explanations of comedy: Immanuel Carrot Top Kants Incongruity Theory (its funny when two things that dont go together go together); Sigmund Shecky Freuds Relief Theory (comedy is a rapid expulsion of tension); Thomas Nutso Hobbess Superiority Theory (Youre in pain and Im not ha!); Henri Giggles Bergson (comedy requires a momentary anesthesia of the heart); and Mel Brooks (Tragedy is when I cut my finger; comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die). Well explore the mechanics of both using video clips and examples ranging fromFrankensteinandDraculatoAbbott & Costello, and try to figure out what makes us laugh and/or scream. Well see that both genres love loss of control, anarchy, the breakdown of rules and conventions the beast within us set free. And both exploit our paradoxical feelings about helplessness: seeing someone out of control can be hilarious (a clumsy person falling) or horrifying (a clumsy person falling into a snake-pit suspended over a shark-pit next to a zombie zoo).

Both humor and horror also share a mordant view of our relationship to pain; an obsession with the human body and its multifarious fluids; and a subtext of death and transcendence underlying the eviscerated flesh and fart jokes. What could be more blood-curdlingly fun?

++++

THE GHASTLY ONE: ANDY MILLIGANwith instructorJimmy McDonoughThurs. April 9, 7:30pm-10:00pmBuy tickets:https://www.miskatonicinstitute.com/events/the-ghastly-one-andy-milligan-los-angeles/

Andy Milligan is one of the most compelling, contentious lone wolfs in cinema history. A dressmaker, actor and puppeteer, Milligan cranked out titles likeBloodthirsty Butchers, The Body Beneath, and The Rats are Coming! The Werewolves are Here!on threadbare budgets. He made sexploitation movies, period horror films (elaborately costumed by Milligan himself) and even a landmark gay short. Unlike most exploitation filmmakers, he came out of a rarified NYC arts scene and started his directing career doing shocking productions at the legendary Caffe Cino. His films were deeply personal statements, despite limitations which made him the laughingstock of the 42ndstreet distributors who cashed in on his work. Ever the outsider, Milligan was homosexual, a sadist and an avowed misogynist, and all of this is quite present in his creations.

Am I sadistic? Milligan once said to me. Not really. No more than anybody else, hee hee. Everybodys a bit sadistic at timesand masochistic. Look at the sex act alone. The male part is sadistic, the female is masochistic. The whole act of sex is sadism and masochism, basically. Penetrationan act of violence. This sort of attitude permeates every frame of Milligans work, and it sets him apart from most of his contemporaries. Andy had a lot to say, and none of it was pretty.Life makes you bitter and cynical, he maintained. Im an injustice collector, babe. I never get over it. You cant stay nice in life.

And yet I loved Andy. Hell, I even thought he wasnice. Not only was I his biographer, I worked on his last pictures (even briefly appearing in one) and took care of him as he died of AIDS. We had a rich if complex relationship, and I will share my personal experiences to hopefully illuminate why I think Milligan is a fabulous, if deeply flawed filmmaker. To further that understanding Ill show some of my favorite clips from his movies and unlock the secrets that lie within. Ill also answer any audience questions about my time with Andy and talk about why I feel biography is also kind of an illness. By the end of this lecture, I promise you will feel something, even if its just the desire to kill Andy Milligan. Or me.

++++

JESS FRANCO: SHOOTING AT THE SPEED OF LIFEwith instructorStephen ThrowerThursday May 14, 7:30pm-10:00pmBuy tickets:https://www.miskatonicinstitute.com/events/jesus-franco-shooting-at-the-speed-of-life-los-angeles/

During a career spanning more than fifty years, Jess (Jess) Franco created a strange and unique style of commercial genre filmmaking, bordering at times on the avant-garde. Obsessed with aberrant sex, erotic horror and the writings of the Marquis De Sade, he took a resolutely personal approach to movie-making, and after spending the 1960s honing his technique on slightly more conventional projects he embarked in the 1970s on a sustained period of intensive shooting, making as many as ten or twelve films in one year. Shooting with a small crew, exclusively on location, he worked at a speed that allowed little time for the honing of a perfect finished product, instead creating a cinema of spontaneity, improvisation and caprice. Franco valued freedom above all: by combining a rapid-fire series of small-scale commercial film projects, a creative approach to finance, and a dedicated passion for the sensational, he was able to carve his own niche and digress into the most extraordinary experimental ellipses. In this evenings discussion, Stephen Thrower will explore Francos ability to juggle the commercial and personal dimensions of filmmaking through his confrontational works of horror, sadism and erotic spectacle.

Will you be attending any of The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studiess talks in 2020? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook,Twitter, orInstagram! You can also carry on the convo with me personally on Twitter @josh_millican.

Continue reading here:
THE MISKATONIC INSTITUTE OF HORROR STUDIES Announces 2020 Schedule - Dread Central