Description

Remember the joy of discovering Plan Nine From Outer Space for the first time, or sharing Toxic Avenger with some friends? Do you recall the excitement of experiencing The Rocky Horror Picture Show with a wild, interactive audience, or the surreal delights of discovering Polyester or Slap Shot dubbed in Quebecois? If so, you’re in for a real zapping treat -Midnight style.

DJ XL5 wants to take the spirit of these experiences and create an event that mixes Italian Star Wars wannabes, God and Satan on a train full of breakdancing teenagers, obscure cult films condensed to a seven-minute format and cheesy scenes from selected flicks. You’ll discover, or rediscover, a no-budget science-fiction saga that inspired De Palma 2000 Mission To Mars, some of the most genuinely bizarre films to emerge from discount VHS stacks, surreal television moments and some of the worst dubbing jobs ever. You’ll witness an Indonesian remake of The Terminator, the world's only western musical with an all-midget cast, pathetic looking monsters, an Indian Superman, a Turkish and Berber Exorcist - and Nick Adams. You’ll witness extreme close-ups, low-budget eccentricities, many guilty pleasures, various way-out movie trailers, a few plain weird advertisments and other weirdness from DJ XL5’s video collection (and some borrowed from XL5’s friend’s collections - DJ Ultra Santo, DJ Baragon, DJ Sukubus, DJ Dead Cat, DJ Varan, DJ Contamination & DJ Kitchenette). An entertaining program for film fanatics with a sense of humour. Enjoy bad films for the right reasons, and some good ones for the wrong reasons!

As kids and teenagers, we didn’t care about bad acting and didn’t think of these productions as A, B or Z types of films. They were just plain fun, entertaining, exotic and sometimes scary. For us, not only were these films atmospheric, sincere and entertaining, but they were proof that it was a mad world out there. Problem is, we still live in a mad world, and has-been bad actors now succeed in politics.

DJ XL5 is a local multimedia artist whose short programs have traveled across Canada in several film festivals, repertory theaters and other film events. In 2006, DJ XL5 also created DJ XL5’s Zappin’ Party Cavalcade.

—Marc Lamothe (translated by Marc Lamothe)

Credits

Director: various