The Thousands

If you’re a fan of experimental film (or octogenarians with ‘LUCIFER’ tattooed across their chests) and are yet to get into Kenneth Anger, then this night of screenings organised by film buff Jason James gives you the opportunity to do just that. As a Theremin-playing Thelemite who’d happily organise a cake stall for the Church of Satan, Anger’s dialogue-free short films have become a huge influence on directors such as Scorcese, Lynch and Matthew Barney. He firmly believes “Lucifer is the patron saint of the visual arts,” – which, if you’ve ever sat through Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, you’ll know is fairly obvious – but Anger’s filmography really rams that point home.

Take Lucifer Rising, with its unsettling soundtrack by murderous Manson Family associate Bobby Beausoleil and depictions of pagan rituals – there’s little chance of it being mistaken for a Narnia-style paean to Christian Godliness. Even his films not directly about Satanic rites still fizz with malevolence; Scorpio Rising, ostensibly a celebration of 1950s rock n’ roll, has enough chaotically edited footage of gay bikers and Hitler memorabilia (plus a gang-member having a bottle of mustard emptied onto his naked groin) to put it as far from Hairspray as you’re likely to get.

This, then, is the screening to go to for heavy-to-industrial Occult symbolism and ominous goings-on – and might be a good way to avoid an Anger Curse on your mortal soul.