DEATH WISH CLUB (1984) is a film that was repackaged many times for the home video market, desperately trying and failing to find an audience (also known as Gretta, also known as Carnival of Fools, also known as Erskine Caldwell's Gretta, also known as The Dark Side to Love). However it's mostly known in a heavily edited down short form as The Case of Gretta Connors, a part of the NIGHT TRAIN TO TERROR horror anthology, which is unfortunate as its full 90 minute version must be seen to be believed!

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Directed by John Carr, written by controversial Oscar-winning screenwriter Philip Yordan (!), and based very loosely on the 1955 Erskine Caldwell novel Gretta, the full cut of DEATH WISH CLUB unfolds a story that at no point will you know what comes next.

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Rich misanthrope George Youngmeyer (J. Martin Sellers) meets the eccentric Gretta (the incredible Meridith Haze in her only known role) working at the carnival, stuffs a few hundred dollar bills down her shirt and takes her home. Gretta wants to be "a star" so Youngmeyer introduces her to the world of pornography. After seeing one of her films in his dorm, college student Glenn Marshall (Rick Barnes) becomes infatuated with the actress, and follows the clues from the adult store where the film was rented, to the production company that produced the picture, eventually finding himself face to face with Gretta, who is playing the piano pantsless at the shady "Club Manhattan". Glenn is sucked into a dangerous triad, and what follows becomes more incredulous from one moment to the next, including getting caught up in the titular "Death Wish Club".

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Gender swapping, seances, giant bug POV shots, demolition balls, electric chairs, karate, and so much more await you in DEATH WISH CLUB.

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dir. John Carr, 1984
United States, digital projection
90 min

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THURSDAY, 11/12
7:30 DOORS
8:00 SCREENING

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$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.

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‍Whammy! is located at 1200 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.