As we move into the festive season, we thought the best way to spread some Christmas joy was to recommend a Spanish-language body horror, Murder Me Monster, a visually imposing nightmare filled with painterly landscapes, shadow play and lugubrious spectacle – and not a mince pie in sight. The atmospheric chiller is one of three new films we have available for you online this week – alongside Viggo Mortensen’s directorial debut Falling and A Girl from Mogadishu, based on the testimony of Ifrah Ahmed who flees war-torn Somalia and the mutilation she endured there, turning her experiences into a force for good.
For those of you who are craving Christmas cheer however fear not – later today we’ll be announcing our planned Christmas film programme (if we’re allowed to reopen when the Government reviews the Tier system), so keep an eye on our Twitter and Instagram and make sure to share your favourite festive film picks with us.
If you like your epidemics satirical, our widely-acclaimed online comic strip Our Plague Year returns today. In the latest episode, ‘At the Lydgate’, a midnight arrival sets in motion a horrifying chain of events…
And for an aural treat, we recommend Empty, Jaydev Mistry’s sonic adventure to find HOME’s unique soundtrack as it lay empty of people and activity. Wandering the halls, theatres, cinemas, galleries and even cupboards of the building Jaydev recorded the building at rest and has now transformed this into a unique composition unveiling the sonic heartbeats that were there all along. You can also read a Q&A with Jaydev about the recording experience and his inspiration by clicking here.
If you enjoyed artist Dominic Bennett’s weasels at this year’s Manchester Open Exhibition, check out his online exhibition Your Nightmares Are Coming To Life, created with Venture Arts. The work features the weasel army plus more of his drawings, ceramic work, papier-mâché, video tutorials and movie reviews.
And while we had to cancel our planned Jinkx Monsoon and Major Scales show, our friends at Soho Theatre are screening The Jinkx x Dela Holiday Special, the story of two queens who set out to create a classic Christmas TV variety show, but just can’t agree on how. With the help of a chorus of dancers and DeLa’s deceased grandmother – whose spirit lives on in a glass of eggnog – DeLa tries her hardest to uphold the cheery Christmas traditions of her childhood. Meanwhile, Jinkx is much more interested in bawdy jokes, cute boys, and boozy libations.
See, we did have a Christmassy recommendation for you after all…