Monsters
Production still from The Bride of Frankenstein 1935 | Director: James Whale | Image courtesy: Universal Pictures
Monsters
19 April – 2 June 2013 | Australian Cinémathèque | Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) | Ticketed
Since the beginning of cinema, filmmakers have been driven to create monstrous characters, drawing on folklore and literature for inspiration. From the 1930s, Dracula embodied the lust and violence in society, while Frankenstein, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and King Kong, offered cautionary tales of science gone mad, and expressed fears of evolutionary theory and of the outsider. In the 1950s, anxiety regarding the atomic age inspired the oversized monster Godzilla, while in the 1960s, the shock of new wars brought plagues of the undead to the screen.
The Gallery's Monsters film program celebrates an enduring fascination with cinematic monsters, surveying the genre's most popular films across six strands: Bloodthirsty Fiends; Zombies, Mutants and Shapeshifters; Misunderstood Monsters; Mad Doctors; Foreign Entities; and Monstrous Absurdities. It also considers some of the most fertile periods of monster filmmaking: from the popular Universal Studios films of the 1930s and 1940s, the reinvigoration of these stories by Hammer Films in the 1950s, the drive-in creature features of the 1950s and 1960s, and subsequent revivals of the monster genre.
Monsters offers an opportunity to rediscover some of the genre's most popular films on the big screen, including recent digital restorations and archival film prints from around the world. Audiences can also experience a selection of silent films with live musical accompaniment performed on the Gallery's 1929 Wurlitzer Organ.
Audi GOMA Bar opens from 5.30pm for Friday and Saturday screenings. Audi GOMA Bar Beverages
Talk
Beyond King Kong: Projecting the Monster Within
Sun 12 May 3.00pm | Cinema A (Free admission)
Explore how the cinematic monster expresses the repression of humanity's animal nature, fears and desires with Kathryn Weir, Curatorial Manager, International Art and the Australian Cinémathèque.
Tickets
GENERAL ADMISSION
Adult $9
Concession/Child $7*
Member $6+
5-FILM PASS
Adult $36
Concession/Child$28*
Member $24+
Booking fees apply to tickets purchased in advance online^ or or via telephone 136 246.
Tickets also available from the GOMA Box Office from one hour prior to file screenings.
Become a QAGOMA Member to receive a free 5-film pass.
5-Film pass: 5 tickets to 1 film, or 5 tickets to different films
*Valid pensioner, seniors or full-time student card required. Child aged 2–12 years, under 2 years free
+Discount for QAGOMA and Foundation Members
^Booking fees apply
The Gallery's Australian Cinémathèque acknowledges the generous assistance of the British Film Institute, London; Cinémathèque québécoise,Québec, Canada; Library of Congress, Washington, DC; National Film and Sound Archive Australia, Canberra, ACT; UCLA Film and Television Archive, Los Angeles, CA; and Universal Pictures, Universal City, CA.
Screenings
Select from the films below for more information and to purchase tickets.
APRIL 2013
Fri 19 Apr 6.00pm | King Kong 1933 PG
Fri 19 Apr 8.00pm | The Bride of Frankenstein 1935 PG
Sat 20 Apr 2.00pm | The Mummy 1932 PG
Sat 20 Apr 3.30pm | The Invisible Man 1933 M
Sat 20 Apr 6.00pm | Cabin in the Woods 2012 MA15+
Sat 20 Apr 8.00pm | Splinter 2008 MA15+
Sun 21 Apr 11.00am | Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror) 1922 PG
Sun 21 Apr 1.30pm | White Zombie 1932 Ages 12+
Sun 21 Apr 3.00pm | Island of Lost Souls 1932 Ages 12+
Wed 24 Apr 6.00pm | Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde 1931 PG
Wed 24 Apr 8.00pm | The Invisible Man 1933 M
Fri 26 Apr 6.00pm | The Toxic Avenger 1984 R18+
Fri 26 Apr 8.00pm | Fright Night 1985 M
Sat 27 Apr 2.00pm | The Curse of Frankenstein 1957 M
Sat 27 Apr 3.40pm | Horror of Dracula 1958 M
Sat 27 Apr 6.00pm | Cronos 1993 M
Sat 27 Apr 8.00pm | Hellraiser 1987 M
Sun 28 Apr 11.00am | The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 Ages 12+
Sun 28 Apr 1.30pm | Mad Love 1935 All ages
Sun 28 Apr 3.00pm | Freaks 1932 PG
MAY 2013
Wed 1 May 6.00pm | Frankenstein 1931 M
Wed 1 May 7.30pm | The Bride of Frankenstein 1935 PG
Fri 3 May 6.00pm | The Lost Boys 1987 M
Fri 3 May 8.00pm | Evil Dead II 1987 R18+
Sat 4 May 2.00pm | The Wolf Man 1941 PG
Sat 4 May 3.30pm | Ginger Snaps 2000 MA15+
Sat 4 May 6.00pm | Night of the Living Dead 1968 R18+
Sat 4 May 8.00pm | Zombi 2 aka Zombie Flesh Eaters 1978 Ages 18+
Sun 5 May 11.00am | The Phantom of the Opera 1925 PG
Sun 5 May 1.30pm | Cat People 1942 M
Sun 5 May 3.00pm | I Walked with a Zombie 1943 Ages 12+
Wed 8 May | King Kong 1933 PG
Wed 8 May 8.00pm | Gojira (Godzilla) 1954 Ages 12+
Fri 10 May 6.00pm | Gremlins 1984 PG
Fri 10 May 8.00pm | Little Shop of Horrors 1986 M
Sat 11 May 1.30pm | Dracula 1931 PG
Sat 11 May 3.00pm | The Mummy 1932 PG
Sat 11 May 6.00pm | Grindhouse 2007 MA15+
MAY 2013 (continued)
Sun 12 May 1.00pm | Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein 1948 PG
Sun 12 May 4 .00pm | Robot Monster 1953 PG
Wed 15 May 6.00pm | Hellraiser 1987 M
Wed 15 May 7.50pm | Evil Dead II 1987 R18+
Fri 17 May 6.00pm | Near Dark 1987 R18+
Fri 17 May 8.00pm | Zombieland 2009 MA15+
Sat 18 May 2.00pm | Creature from the Black Lagoon 1954 PG
Sat 18 May 3.30pm | Gojira (Godzilla) 1954 Ages 12+
Sat 18 May 6.00pm | Bram Stoker's Dracula 1992 M
Sat 18 May 8.30pm | La Maschera del Demonio (Black Sunday) 1960 MA15+
Sun 19 May 1.30pm | The Thing from Another World 1951 Ages 12+
Sun 19 May 3.15pm | The Day of the Triffids 1962 M
Wed 22 May 6.00pm | Dracula 1931 PG
Wed 22 May 7.30pm | Horror of Dracula 1958 M
Fri 24 May 6.00pm | Re-Animator 1985 MA15+
Fri 24 May 8.00pm | The Fly 1986 R18+
Sat 25 May 1.30pm | Geung si sin sang (Mr Vampire) 1985 M
Sat 25 May 3.30pm | Bakjwi (Thirst) 2009 MA15+
Sat 25 May 6.00pm | An American Werewolf in London 1981 MA15+
Sat 25 May 8.00pm | Attack the Block 2011 MA15+
Sun 26 May 1.00pm | Them! 1954 PG
Sun 26 May 3.00pm | Attack of the 50 Foot Woman 1958 PG
Wed 29 May 6.00pm | Tremors 1990 M
Wed 29 May 8.00pm | Cronos 1993 M
Fri 31 May 6.00pm | The Howling 1980 R18+
Fri 31 May 8.00pm | Let the Right One In 2008 MA15+
JUNE 2013
Sat 1 Jun 2.00pm | The Thing from Another World 1951 Ages 12+
Sat 1 June 3.45pm | Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde 1931 PG
Sat 1 Jun 6.00pm | Monsters 2010 M
Sat 1 Jun 8.00pm | The Descent 2005 MA15+
Sun 2 Jun 1.30pm | Frankenstein 1931 M
Sun 2 Jun 3.00pm | Young Frankenstein 1974 PG
Bloodthirsty Fiends
Embodying repressed lust and violence, these thirsty exsanguinators have evolved cinematically from vicious fiends to sympathetic, often romantic, figures torn by feelings of love and remorse... Read more
Zombies, Mutants And Shapeshifters
From depictions of voodoo to tales of cannibal zombies, these films draw on folk superstitions, taboos, and bodily ambiguities... Read more
Misunderstood Monsters
Provoked into monstrous deeds by the actions of others, these emotionally-complex beings are often undone by personal tragedies and intense love... Read more
Mad Doctors
Cautionary tales of science gone mad, these films explore medical experiments that range from the well-meaning to the depraved... Read more
Foreign Entities
These films write large the anxieties surrounding political and social change, as well as contacts with ‘alien’ cultures which arose strongly in the anti-communist, atomic era of the 1950s and 60s... Read more
Monstrous Absurdities
A melding of comedy and horror, these films pay homage to their forebears through the incorporation of sly references and conventional monster-film tropes... Read more
