Screening as part of In Dreams Are Monsters: A Season of Horror Films, a UK-wide film season supported by the National Lottery and BFI Film Audience Network. 

This autumn, the Midlands Arts Centre and the BFI are embarking on a journey into the monstrous as they celebrate horror on film.

The focus of MAC’s programme will use horror as a lens to reflect on LGBTQ+ issues and queer bodies - something the genre has done consistently over the decades, attracting those who feel like ‘others’ and using extreme storylines to examine hot button issues.

The screenings at MAC include:

Frankenstein (1931) Fri 28 Oct 6pm 

Helmed by Midlands born director James Whale - an openly gay public figure at a time when that was something of a rarity - the original 1931 version of Frankenstein is loaded with homosexual subtext that has given this classic monster picture a whole other subtextual life.

https://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/frankenstein

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) Sat 29 Oct 8pm

Probably one of the most faithful adaptations of the original Bram Stoker novel, Francis Ford Coppola’s early 90s take on the most famous vampire of them all is both a tribute to old school filmmaking and a deliciously camp delight

https://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/bram-stokers-dracula

Blacula (1972) Sun 20 Nov 2.30pm

One of the more interesting facts about 70s blaxploitation horror Blacula is that it actually features one of the first openly gay interracial couples to be seen on US screens. Not only that, but Blacula is also one of the first time a male vampire bit another male on screen, something producers were always keen to avoid for fear of ‘upsetting’ the paying public.

https://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/blacula

The Lure (2015) Sat 26 Nov 5.30pm

Directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska, 2015 Polish horror musical The Lure chronicles the lives of two man-eating mermaids adopted by a washed-up lounge singer (Kinga Preis) to entertain at a sleazy 1980s Warsaw club. It’s also a razor-sharp take on trans identity, tackling multiple trans experiences in one beautifully realised feature.

https://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/the-lure

The Old Dark House (1932) 27 Nov, 3pm

More James Whale delights courtesy of his 1932 horror The Old Dark House, seeing him again work with Boris Karloff for a suitably Gothic (and very queer) story about a group of travellers who take refuge in a sinister Welsh mansion inhabited by a bizarre family and their mute butler (Karloff).

https://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/the-lure

The Electric in Birmingham also participate with Beauty into Beast: Werewolves, Women & Wild Shapeshifters will explore the evolution of shapeshifting women:  and map how their on screen portrayals and the audience perceptions of them are a reflection of the changing role of women within society, and the female werewolf as a threat to patriarchal society, from CAT PEOPLE (1942) to DON’T SAY ITS NAME (2021) and live stream Q&As for THE HOWLING (1981) and GINGER SNAPS (2000).

More info about timings, releases, background and tickets please visit indreamsaremonsters.co.uk