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On Friday nights, IndieWire After Dark takes a feature-length beat to honor fringe cinema in the streaming age.

This September, we’re celebrating Back to School Night with four midnight movies that aren’t just academically themed but also teach the lessons essential to understanding this school of cinema.

First, read the spoiler-free bait — a weird and wonderful pick from any time in film and why we think it’s worth memorializing. After you’ve watched the movie, come back for the bite — a breakdown of all the spoiler-y moments you’d want to unpack when exiting a theater.

The Bait: Happy New World Pictures Day!

“It Gets Bad On Friday The 13th,” reads the inscription in an ancient book with enough power to rule the world. “But It Gets Worse On Saturday The 14th!”

That’s all you really need to know before watching writer/director Howard R. Cohen...

Welcome to IndieWire After Dark, where we pick a new theme for our midnight movie programming every month!

Join us Friday nights at 9:30 p.m. Et to explore the best in fringe films — available at any hour in the streaming age.

Kick up your feet and get ready to take note. This September, we’re celebrating Back to School Night.

IndieWire After Dark is practicing the fundamentals over the next four weeks, kicking off a fall semester of midnight movies that’s all about students, teachers, parents, and the lethal side of learning. Yes, the following recommendations are education-themed — but they’re also great building blocks for any new students in this school of cinema.

Not unlike Harvard, Yale, or the elite university in “Halloween H20,” the admissions rate for titles featured in our weekly watch-and-rewatch club is competitive. We want to see every Tubi, Freevee, and fringe Shudder effort out there.

The mythology for the long-running "Friday the 13th" film series has been notoriously shabby and amorphous. At the end of Sean Cunningham's 1980 original slasher, it was revealed that Pamela Voorhees (Betsy Palmer) had witnessed her developmentally disabled son Jason drown in Crystal Lake years earlier, largely thanks to the neglect of the boy's randy, sex-distracted counselors. Pamela set about getting madness-inspired spiritual revenge by murdering any new counselors who deigned to have sex at Camp Crystal Lake. Luckily, Pamela was killed before she could commit any more murders than she already did. 

In Steve Miner's "Friday the 13th Part 2," however, it was revealed that Jason (Steve Daskewisz and Warrington Gillette) was still alive, living in the woods for decades, presumably unbeknownst to his mother. But Jason, it is revealed, knew his mother was killing people and witnessed the events of the first "Friday." Why, one will immediately ask,...

Killer Collectibles highlights five of the most exciting new horror products announced each and every week, from toys and apparel to artwork, records, and much more.

Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!

Scanners Shirt from Rucking Fotten

Scanners may not be David Cronenberg’s best film on the whole, but its head explosion scene has become the most recognizable moment in his cannon. Rucking Fotten has immortalized it with a mind-blowing all-over print tee.

It’s up for pre-order for $54.99 through Sunday, June 16, as part of the Cronenberg collection alongside other apparel from Scanners, Videodrome, and The Fly. They’ll ship in 6-8 weeks.

Robot Monster Blu-ray from Bayview Entertainment

Robot Monster will be released on Blu-ray on July 25 via Bayview Entertainment. It has been newly restored in 4K from 35mm 3D archival elements with frame sequential Blu-ray 3D, anaglyphic 3D (with a pair of glasses included), and standard 2D versions.

Exclusive: Roadside Attractions, Grindstone Entertainment, and Lionsgate have picked up North American distribution for Charlie Day’s feature directorial debut Fool’s Paradise.

Related Story Sundance Film Festival U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize Winners Through The Years – Photo Gallery Related Story Latinx House Returns To Sundance; 'Going Varsity In Mariachi' Doc & 'Divinity' Events Planned Related Story 'Emancipation's Antoine Fuqua To Direct Michael Jackson Biopic For Lionsgate; John Logan Script & 'Bohemian Rhapsody's Graham King Producing With Estate

The pic, previously entitled El Tonto, during its production, will get an exclusive run in theaters later this year. Lionsgate will release Fool’s Paradise on home entertainment.

Also written by the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia EP and star, Fool’s Paradise is a satirical comedy following a down-on-his0-luck publicist (Ken Jeong), who gets his lucky break when he discovers a man recently released from a mental health facility...

Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions have acquired North American rights to the romantic drama The Good House from Amblin Partners, in association with Participant. The film based on Ann Leary’s New York Times bestseller is heading to the Tribeca Film Festival for its U.S. premiere in June 18, and will hit theaters via Roadside on September 30.

The Good House follows Hildy Good (three-time Oscar nom Sigourney Weaver), a wry New England realtor and descendant of the Salem witches, who loves her wine and her secrets. Her compartmentalized life begins to unravel as she rekindles a romance with her old high-school flame, Frank Getchell (Oscar winner Kevin Kline), and becomes dangerously entwined in one person’s reckless behavior. Igniting long-buried emotions and family secrets, Hildy is propelled toward a reckoning with the one person she’s been avoiding for decades: herself.

The film acquired by Lionsgate and Roadside marks the third collaboration between Weaver and Kline,...

Don't let the title of Howard R. Cohen's Saturday the 14th fool you. Despite being released in theaters after both Friday the 13th (1980) and Friday the 13th: Part 2 (1981), Saturday the 14th has absolutely nothing to do with the iconic slasher franchise. Instead, it takes a satirical look at Hammer horror and Universal monsters, while also laying on a very thick layer of sight gags and jokes - that sometimes stick the landing. John Hyatt, the patriarch of the family, makes a sandwich - during a rather random moment in the movie - that consists of what looked like various deli meats, cheese, a tomato, and topped off with a bit of peanut butter. For any of our readers who may be interested in watching this movie after reading this retrospective, that sandwich is a lot like this movie. There are too many ideas, references, and jokes that don't mesh well together,...

When it comes to the pantheon of great Wtf horror movies of the 1980s, Howard R. Cohen’s Saturday the 14th Strikes Back ranks right up with classic gems like Troll 2, Blood Diner or Spookies, and is probably a film that most genre fans haven’t heard about, let alone have watched either. And yeah, I’m not going to try and sell you on ST14SB as this grand masterpiece – it isn’t – but it is definitely something I would say fans of oddball cinema should experience at least once in their lifetime. It may have more than a few rough edges, but there’s so much genre love coursing through Saturday the 14th Strikes Back’s schlocky veins, that I can’t help but admire its total disregard for cinematic rules, and just delivering up a full-blown monster mash that is a ridiculous amount of nonsensical fun.

Jeff Nichols' "Mud" started off very strong in its first frame this weekend. Opening on 363 screens, it was at a much bigger risk than typical platform releases starting in a handful of theaters in New York and Los Angeles. But it paid off -- thanks perhaps to the presence of Matthew McConaughey (not to mention Reese Witherspoon, though who knows what her appeal is post-arrest) and some excellent reviews. It grossed $2,185,980, placing just outside the overall 10 (at 11th), averaging $6,022. That made for the second best average in the overall top 20, just under the $6,103 of #1 film overall "Pain and Gain." "After world premiering in the Cannes Competition last year, the film picked up steam on a tour of Us Festivals including Sundance and SxSW, and opened to stellar reviews (98% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes)," Roadside's Howard Cohen told Indiewire. "'Mud' performed well in big cities in traditional arthouse markets,...

Thanks to the efforts of the Hero Initiative and comics fans and pros, Robert L. Washington was able to receive a proper funeral.

On Monday, June 25th, a funeral service was held for Robert L. Washington III in the Bronx borough of New York City, with a second service to come in Detroit, Michigan. The service was attended by various comic book creators, classmates, and friends from Robert’s various creative, work, and hobby circles.

Through the actions of Robert’s friends from Milestone Media, Inc. and his classmates from The Roeper School, The Hero Initiative was able to use all of your donations to pay for the service and provide Robert’s mother and two of his sisters with the means to travel from Detroit, Michigan to New York and give him a proper funeral.

via The Hero Initiative.

There were over 300 contributors to his cause, and we honor them below.

Director: Steve Carver; Cirio H. Santiago

Screenplay: John William Corrington and Joyce Hooper Corrington; Miller Drake; Howard R. Cohen

Starring: Pam Greir, Margaret Markov, Pat Anderson, Lenore Kasdorf, Lyllah Torena, Ken Metcalfe, Vic Diaz, Lindsay Bloom and Tara Strohmeier; with appearances by Dick Miller and Mary Woronov

To misquote Jack Nicholson, Roger Corman released so many movies, it's no surprise some real stinkers got into theaters. And the recent Shout! Factory Roger Corman Cult Classics release, Lethal Ladies 2 Collection, is intent on proving that statement. The two-dvd set includes a single-disc presentation of The Arena, and a second disc with the double feature of Fly Me and Cover Girl Models.

The best film in the collection, 1974's The Arena (aka Naked Warriors), is little more than a retelling of Spartacus with women as gladiators. Corman decided it was the perfect vehicle for Pam Grier and Margaret Markov, following their successful...

Beginning with The Student Nurses in 1970 and culminating with The Candy Stripe Nurses in ’74, these softcore sex films appealed to a broad audience and helped start an entire subgenre: the young nympho professionals. Thanks to the boxoffice success of The Student Nurses, (the first title ever released by New World Pictures), films surrounding the sexual exploits of stewardesses, teachers and every other female-dominated occupation became ubiquitous throughout the decade.

What set the Corman Nurse titles apart from the rest was the surprising social and political commentary that was often intertwined within the sexual escapades. Indeed, several of the nurse films touched upon such weighty issues as abortion, civil rights, pollution, drug addiction and group therapy. Corman was a shrewd businessman and knew what kind of hot button topics would appeal to the young exploitation audience.

He would essentially give young filmmakers free reign with the script, as long as they delivered certain non-negotiable elements.

Roller Derby, a sport that peeked in popularity in the early 70’s, is based on formation roller skating around an oval track, with points scored as certain (mostly female) players lap members of the opposing team. Judging by last week’s poor box-office performance of Whip It, it appears that Roller Derby is not a fad currently in vogue, but Drew Barrymore’s new film gives me an excuse to revisit the greatest movie of all about the rough, tough world of this trashy sports phenomenon. That would be 1974’s Unholy Rollers, starring the late Claudia Jennings, a grimy, low-brow slice of 70’s exploitation that perfectly captures the grimy, low-brow sport that is roller derby. From its then-trendy premise, to its goofy use of humor, to its energetic but clumsy execution, Unholy Rollers is truly one hell of an entertaining R-rated 70’s time capsule but one that is Not available on DVD.

New York -- In the wake of harsh industry criticism over his $1,500 donation in support of Proposition 8, the California initiative that banned same-sex marriage, Richard Raddon has resigned as director of the Los Angeles Film Festival. He had held the post at the fest, run by Film Independent, since 2000.

"I have always held the belief that all people, no matter race, religion or sexual orientation, are entitled to equal rights. As many know, I consider myself a devout and faithful Mormon," said Raddon, whose donation became public after gay-rights supporters began scanning lists of political donors. Members of the Mormon Church contributed more than $20 million toward the "Yes on 8" campaign that helped the proposition pass in a 52%-48% vote this month.

"I prefer to keep the details around my contribution through my church a private matter," Raddon said. "But I am profoundly sorry for the negative attention that my actions...

The American Film Market unveiled a series of seminars and conferences set for Nov. 7-11 in Santa Monica.

Highlights include "Current Trends in Film Financing," featuring The Film Dept's Mark Gill, Screen Capital International's David Molner and the Weinstein Co.'s Lee Solomon. Another hot topic panel will be "The Indie Glut: Distribution at the Crossroads," with Lionsgate's Jason Constantine, Roadside Attractions' Howard Cohen, Landmark's Ted Mundorff, CAA's Dan Steinman and "Bottle Shock" helmer Randall Miller.

Other events at the Le Merigot and Fairmont Miramar hotels include "Pitch Me!," "Web Entrepreneurs: Imagination Meets Commerce," "Through Rose (and Aqua) Colored Glasses: The Future of 3D" and "Getting Your Film Seen."...

Directors Arthur Dong, Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass, Chris Eska, Clark Gregg, Davis Guggenheim and Freida Lee Mock are among the participants in Film Independent's fourth annual Filmmaker Forum, which will be held Sept. 26-28 at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles.

Producer Ted Hope will deliver this year's keynote address at the three-day event, which focusses on the latest developments in independent filmmaking.

The forum will kick off on Sept. 26 with a screening of Rian Anderson's "The Brothers Bloom," followed by a Q&A with producer Ram Bergman and other members of the creative team and a reception in the DGA atrium.

On Sept. 27 and 28, panel discussions will be held on such topics as "Finding the Financial Sweet Spot"; "What's Up Doc?"; "The Micro Budget Film as a Calling Card; New Tools for Audience Building; The Cost of Cutting Corners: Production Dos and Don'ts"; "Keeping Your Documentary on...