Schlock

(1973) dir John Landis w/John Landis, Eliza Garrett [80 min; DCP]

For this year’s celebration of all things art house, we’re excited to screen this rarely shown debut feature. John Landis went on to make some of the most successful features of the 1970s and ‘80s including The Blues Brothers and Animal House but his first true love was clearly the B-movie. In this absurdist send-up of drive-in features, Landis himself dons an ape suit to portray Scholck, a prehistoric ape rampaging across a quiet So-Cal suburb. The police are baffled. The army is powerless. The body count is rising but… when Schlock encounters a kindly blind woman (Garrett) who sees beyond his grotesque visage, the homicidal simian is presented with a chance at redemption. This creature feature is also the official debut of legendary makeup artist Rick Baker (Men in Black, Videodrome)