An exploration of terror and the fantastic from Northern Manhattan.  “Dimensions of Darkness” is a four-part series exploring the horror, science fiction and the fantastic, with a focus on filmmakers, writers and performers from or associated with the northern Manhattan and surrounding areas.  Curated and hosted by production and screening collective KHLOARIS and Inwood Art Works.

Kiss  had Marvel comics, action figures and all sorts of merchandising targeted to kids and teenagers. Their science fiction and horror-fueled costumes and imagery made Kiss appear as if they were really from another world. A movie seemed the natural next step, so Kiss teamed with kids’ animation powerhouse Hanna-Barbera for one of the strangest rock band vehicle movies ever made. Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park plays very much like a live action episode of “Scooby-Doo,” with songs by Kiss. Kiss founder Paul Stanley was born Stanley Bert Eisen, and was raised in Inwood,  The feature will preceded by “Supaidâman” (“Spider-Man,” Koîchi Takemoto, 1978), a Japanese theatrical short with a very unusual take on Spider-Man. Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee spent his formative years on Fort Washington Ave. in Washington Heights. He could often be found watching adventure films at the Loew’s 175th Street Theater (now known as the United Palace), This Japanese production is one of the first theatrical presentations of one of Lee’s creations.

From Edgar Allan Poe’s explorations of undeveloped northern Manhattan wilderness to H.P. Lovecraft’s documented walking tours of then-Inwood Forest (which Lovecraft described as “…a forest primeval, with winding paths, gigantic trees, and not a mortal in sight.”), the northern Manhattan area has been home to countless famous and unusual imaginations. The beginnings of the film industry were right across the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, where luminaries like famed magician Harry Houdini hung from the Palisades cliffs in early film serials; the origin of the term “cliffhanger”.

(Doors at 7:00pm) The Stuff and Dust Devil are both R-rated, and not suitable for children. Dracula and Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park are either unrated or PG-rated. After each screening, we’ll hang out to connect and talk about the films.