Here are a few of the many films that will be shown at Albuquerque’s Guild Cinema in May.
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s 1997 film “Cure” is a masterpiece of Japanese horror. The film follows a worn-out detective, played by renowned actor Kōji Yakusho, investigating a series of murders — each of which have been committed by a different person, but with the same calling cards left behind. His search leads him to a troubled young man who refuses to provide any answers.
“Cure” is set amid the metropolitan malaise of late-‘90s Tokyo. Its abandoned buildings and haunting shadows provide the perfect setting for an existential horror/noir mash-up. Kurosawa’s film is all the more terrifying because it could easily be real.
The rare horror film that provides scares through tension and atmosphere rather than cheap jump-scares, “Cure” can be seen on May 2.
Cinema legend David Cronenberg’s latest film, “The Shrouds,” can be seen from May 9-12. The film features an international cast, including Vincent Cassel, Diane Kruger and Guy Pearce. Cassel stars as a tech inventor who develops the titular device, which allows people to see into the graves of their loved ones.
“The Shrouds” arose out of Cronenberg’s grief after the death of his wife from cancer in 2017, according to the New York Times. The film’s protagonist’s wife has also recently died, and he begins an affair with his late wife’s sister, both of whom are played by Kruger.
Cronenberg, who has directed both horror classics like “The Fly” and unsettling cult favorites such as “Videodrome” and “Crash,” is one of the world’s most visionary filmmakers — he is a formidable artist who perpetually pushes against acceptable standards of on-screen violence and sexuality.
On May 10-11, the Guild will screen Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 film “The Conversation” as a tribute to its star, the late Gene Hackman, and as a part of its 50th anniversary, for which it has been newly restored.
Made directly between “The Godfather” and “The Godfather Part II,” “The Conversation” is worlds away from Coppola’s renowned gangster saga. Hackman stars as a San Francisco surveillance expert who is hired to record a conversation between a young couple.
Upon listening to the tapes, he discovers evidence that his subjects may be in grave danger. Released at the height of Watergate, “The Conversation” is a brilliant reflection of a deeply paranoid country.
From May 20-22, two newly rediscovered and restored 1980s cult films can be seen at the Guild. “Going Down,” an Australian film from 1983 directed by Haydn Keenan, centers around a group of rebellious young women living in Sydney.
When one of the women loses the money she was saving to move to New York, the friends embark on an all-night adventure throughout the city, complete with sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Also screening May 20-22, British filmmaker Robina Rose’s 1981 experimental film “Nightshift” is set during a hotel’s nocturnal hours. The desk clerk, played by punk icon Jordan, keeps watch over a variety of mysterious patrons who enter and exit the hotel over the course of the night.
The film was exquisitely shot on 16 mm film, which lends it a lush, otherworldly atmosphere. “Nightshift” may sound uninteresting to most viewers, but with a brief runtime of 67 minutes, it is sure to unfold like a visual poem for the more adventurous moviegoer.
Lucky McKee’s 2002 film “May” will be shown on May 31, presented by Dark Room Horror. The film stars Angela Bettis as the awkward and lonely title character, whose attempts at developing relationships with others grow increasingly unsettling and violent.
Also starring Anna Faris, “May” has become a cult favorite — particularly among women and Queer horror enthusiasts — for its bleak yet deeply relatable portrait of an outsider struggling to find human connection, and its frank depiction of the darker sides of the female experience.
A complete list of the Guild’s upcoming showings can be found on its website.
Elijah Ritch is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. They can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
