The retrospective Hostile Dimensions – 3D in Genre Cinema is dedicated to three-dimensional horror in the analog age with nine works.
The titles already announced are joined by a staple of the Universal Monsters series that cannot be left out of such a retrospective: Jack Arnold’s CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON from 1954. The story of a team of researchers who encounter the “gill man” on a river expedition is as legendary as the film’s status as one of the most impressive fruits of the first 3D wave.
CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954 US, R: Jack Arnold)
© Images courtesy of Park Circus/Universal
Arch Oboler’s THE BUBBLE was released in theaters in 1966 and re-released ten years later under the title FANTASTIC INVASION OF PLANET EARTH. The plot revolves around a young couple who are forced to land in a town due to a storm, where something seems to be wrong with the inhabitants. The first 3D film shot using the Space Vision system, and thus with only one camera instead of two, delivers a fireworks display of spatial gimmicks.
In 1991, Rachel Talalay’s (TANK GIRL) FREDDY’S DEAD: THE FINAL NIGHTMARE was released, the sixth and only installment of the A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET series in which Mr. Krueger is allowed to wreak havoc in the third dimension—albeit only in the last 15 minutes of the film.
The retrospective is rounded off by stop-motion animation from the Soviet Union: Elbert Tuganov’s 1977 short film SOUVENIR.
The titles of the retrospective:
▶︎ HOUSE OF WAX (US 1953, D: André De Toth)
▶︎ CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (US 1954, D: Jack Arnold)
▶︎ THE BUBBLE (US 1966, D: Arch Oboler)
▶︎ FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN (IT/FR 1973, D: Paul Morrissey, Antonio Margheriti)
▶︎ DYNASTY (TW/HK 1977, D: Mei-Chun Chang)
▶︎ SOUVENIR (SU 1977, D: Elbert Tuganov)
▶︎ FRIDAY THE 13TH – PART III (US 1982, D: Steve Miner)
▶︎ TREASURE OF THE FOUR CROWNS (IT/ES/US 1983, D: Ferdinando Baldi)
▶︎ FREDDY’S DEAD: THE FINAL NIGHTMARE (US 1991, D: Rachel Talalay)
Nackt & Mutiert:
Talk about 3D genre cinema with Buttgereit and Fuchs
Nackt & Mutiert (Naked & Mutated) is the title of the talk series that horror director Jörg Buttgereit and FM4 film and music journalist Christian Fuchs have been hosting at the Rote Bar in the Volkstheater over the past few years to pay homage to wild cinema. In 2025, SLASH will be the venue for this cinematic excursion into shady worlds, dedicated to 3D cinema on the occasion of the retrospective. More details about the location and time will be announced in the coming weeks.