Friday, October 9, 2026 at 7:00 PM
WHAMMY!, Los Angeles
## Special guests in person! Dark Romances is a 1990 SOV anthology filmed at EZTV and conceived by director/producer Patricia Miller and (the late) Mark Shepard. It was originally shot as an episodic TV series for PLAYBOY, but was turned down due to it being deemed too violent & gory for their network. So, Mark and Patricia decided to distribute the 3-hour, 28-minute edited stories directly to video. Film Threat originally released these as a two-volume set. The set features scream queen BRINKE STEVENS in most of the stories and has a very EC / Tales from the Crypt vibe, with distincitve lighting and set design that truly sets this anthology apart from other shot-on-video films. 5 different auteurs who all worked at or frequented EZTV (PATRICIA MILLER, MARK SHEPARD, SAMUEL OLDHAM, JOHN STRYSIK, BRYAN MOORE and RODD MATSUI) created a genuine piece of analog you have to see. Many collaborators on this film also worked on the SOV film, CARDS OF DEATH which has a similar vibe and aesthetic. **VOL 1.**"The Black Veil" is a Grand Guignol-inspired gothic story set in 1988 where a psychiatrist's widow visits a college friend performing in a theatre that enacts mutilations. It is one of the longer stories in this set, running just about an hour. "Listen to Midnight" is a film noir style story about a photographer and a woman with a dragonfly tattoo who mates with and then lures men to their death. **VOL 2**"She's Bad, She's Blonde, She's Lunch" starts off with a bang, literally, and is my favorite of the bunch. A couple robs a store, leaving a trail of bloodshed, and then takes a trip to lover's lane where they meet a man, and his monster. In "Cardinal Sin," a young man is tempted by his dreams of Hustler star Elle Rio while dealing with his overbearing religious mom. "Pet Shop of Death": A submissive husband who wants to leave his wife for his neighbor (Brinke Stevens) goes to a specialty pet shop to find something to help free him from matrimony. "Last Love" is about a psychiatrist who, depressed over the loss of her husband, ends up having an affair with his ghost! Lastly, in "What Goes Around," a composer uninspired to create music after losing his wife and child finds new inspiration with a woman who is not what she seems. ## **dirs. Patricia Miller, Mark Shepard, John Strysik, Bryan Moore, Rodd Matsui, Samuel Oldham, 1990***United States, digital projection*208 min **Doors Open**: FRIDAY, 10/9*note earlier than usual start time*6:30 7:00 SCREENING **Screening Starts**: FRIDAY, 10/9*note earlier than usual start time*6:30 DOORS7:00 ## Brinke Stevens, producer/dir. Patricia Miller, dir. John Strysik in person! There will be a 15 minute intermission between Vol. 1 & Vol. 2. ## $10 general admission. ***Basic*** *&* ***Microcinephile*** *members, please log-in to your account at checkout for your discounts to apply*.* Don't have a membership? Get one* *[here](https://shop.whammyanalog.com/pages/get-a-membership)*. [Culture Shock Releasing](https://www.cultureshockreleasing.com/) is a Las Vegas based preservation company that releases films shot on both video and film, focusing mostly on titles from the '80s and '90s with some contemporary films mixed in. *****Whammy!*** *is located at* **1***2***00 N Alvarado St***, near the intersection of Sunset & Alvarado and in between Tierra Mia Coffee and Manly & Sons Barbershop. Street parking only, please* ***do not park*** ***in the library parking lot****, as your vehicle will get locked in when the library closes. The corner of Sunset & Alvarado is served by 3 major bus lines*, the** 2, the ***4****, and the* ***93.***