The Other Side of the Underneath
Directed by Jane Arden
In 1972, screenwriter/feminist/radical theater icon Jane Arden adapted her own multimedia stage production "A New Communion for Freaks, Prophets and Witches" into a nightmarish exploration of reason, chaos and her own battles with mental illness unlike anything audiences have seen before or since.
Screenwriter/feminist/radical theater icon Jane Arden adaptation her own multimedia stage production "A New Communion for Freaks, Prophets and Witches".
Cast: Sheila Allen, Jane Arden, Jack Bond, Liz Danciger, Elaine Donovan
Member Reviews
Absolutely incredible. What a spectacular piece for Shudder to include. Thanks to Severin and Kier-La Janisse for putting this on my radar! Will be revisiting plenty.
Upsetting and vivid exploration of psychosis through women’s encounters with patriarchy. This is an experimental and dreamlike film that is creepy in the way that listening to other people’s delusions is creepy. Maybe outside of the traditional horror genre but I like that shudder takes risk
Arthouse arthouse arthouse! A very Letterboxd film if you will, maybe dont watch if youre a traditional spooky-splatter horror fam
Do you remember that segment in Monty Python’s Meaning Of Life, “where did the fish go?”, where they satire pretentious attempts at abstract avant garde surrealist art films? This is exactly the kind of cinema they were mocking. It’s like a giant montage of random mania with backgrounds heavily focused on scenes of decay. If there’s a statement, it’s lost under the utter pretentiousness of this wannabe art film.
Irredeemable, incomprehensible, abstract claptrap masquerading as horror.