2015 can only be described as the year of the sequel. Jurassic World, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Terminator Genisys have dominated our screens, and there is more to come with the eagerly awaited additions to the Star Wars and James Bond franchises. It seems as though originality is becoming a thing of the past and instead we are overwhelmed with a constant stream of cheap thrills and box office sell-outs.

 

However, there is a way to add some spice to the blandness of today’s cinematic viewing. Picture House cinemas show a unique mixture of cult and genre films in their ‘Culture Shock’ section. Each month they screen films that scream originality and whether you love them or hate them, they are sure to offer something a little different.

 

Some of the highlights include;

 

1. The Breakfast Club (1985): John Hughes’ cult high school film may seem simple on the surface, with five students from different social groups sitting through detention on a Saturday, but with its sharp script and spectacular soundtrack it has become one of the most powerful coming of age films. “We think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us - in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions…Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club.”

 

2. The Thing (1982): John Carpenter, director of horror classics like Halloween, offered up another hit with this icy horror. This timeless film really packs a punch with graphic visual effects, a claustrophobic atmosphere and Morricone's iconic score.

 

3. A Clockwork Orange (1972): Produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick this is a personal favourite.  A seamless adaption from the classic novel, the viewer is flung into a dystopian future that is filled with violence and where characters speak a fictional slang made up of a mixture of Russian and English.  Not for the faint hearted this film uses disturbing imagery to tell the story of Alex, whose main interests are classical music and ‘ultra-violence’.

 

To find a cinema and screening near you visit the Picture House website. If you can't make it to a screening, why not watch the films at home and have your very own 'culture shock' night!