The Gothique Film Society presents The Return of Doctor X (1939) and Planet of the Vampires (1965)

About The Gothique Film Society presents The Return of Doctor X (1939) and Planet of the Vampires (1965)

Founded in 1966, the Gothique Film Society specialises in double bills ‘for the connoisseur of the macabre’.

The Return of Doctor X is not, as the title misleadingly suggests, a direct sequel to November’s Doctor X (indeed, it shares more in common with that fine, under-rated thriller from 1936, The Walking Dead) but it does give us a ‘before he became famous’ viewing of Humphrey Bogart, in his only horror film.

Here he is in fine form as an executed convict brought back to life, now with chalk-face and a white streak through his hair – and vampiric lusts!

Planet of the Vampires is a gorgeously atmospheric production from famed director Mario Bava, who had been Italy’s leading cinematographer in the fifties and into the sixties. On a mission to survey the planet Aura, a spaceship is forced to land by a strange gravitational pull. It turns out the planet’s inhabitants have designs on the astronauts…

The alien landscape is wonderfully conjured up out of little but pastel-shaded fog and cardboard rocks, but these combine to produce a wonderfully ‘otherworldly’ atmosphere. It’s amazing what can be achieved with a lot of imagination, especially given the not-exactly-generous budget! This is one of those films that deserves more exposure, especially as it came right at the beginning of Bava’s celebrated career in our genre.

Doors open at 18.00 for a 19.00 start.

Refreshments will be available in the licensed cafe/bar.