“Filth are my politics, filth is my life!” delivers drag artist and performer Divine as Babs in Pink Flamingos, an iconic 1972 film by John Waters, dubbed by many the “Pope of Trash.” Waters, along with a slew of other filmmakers, are famous for their “fringe,” “weirdo” and “oddball” cinema, as described by Moxie Cinema employee and “Mondo Moxie” curator Jaylen Early.
The Mondo Moxie series began after Early caught word of a previous screening of The Human Centipede for a past Mondo series, which ran in the early 2010s. They suggested that the theater bring the series back, and with some research and a short PowerPoint, they were able to get their screenings approved.
“These are the kinds of movies I love to watch. I love cult cringe cinema and stuff that is weird, horror and stuff like that,” said Early. “I was like, how can I get some more young and artistic people in here? And I think maybe programming something that pushes the envelope a little bit can maybe help also bring these people in.”
Early, who grew up in Bowling Green, Missouri, said they initially moved to Springfield in 2018 to pursue an art degree at Missouri State University but eventually decided to stay after finding friends in the music community and in their courses. After graduation, Early began to work at the Moxie.
Early said they had always enjoyed watching films, but their interest in filmmaking and taste in films didn’t fully develop until college.
“Growing up in Bowling Green, there's not really a lot of stuff to do, besides just kind of like driving around back roads with friends and listening to music or taking pictures of landscapes,” they said. “But it would always be a treat to drive like half an hour to Hannibal or St. Louis suburbs to be able to go to the movies.”
“And then as I got into high school, I spent a lot of time in my room on my laptop watching movies,” Early added. “But I wouldn't say I got into ‘good’ movies until I got to college. That's when they started going to the Moxie, where a friend worked.”
Early said they enjoy the Moxie because it has exposed them to independent, arthouse and foreign films that aren’t typically advertised to the average American audience.
Among the films that inspired their taste include Dogtooth by now Oscar-winning director Yorgos Lanthimos, Punch-Drunk Love, Buffalo ’66 and Black Narcissus. “[They] really changed my perspective of what a film could be.”
So what makes a film “mondo”? While the label has multiple definitions depending on the context, many consider a “mondo” movie to be one that contains bizarre, shocking and taboo subject matter. However, the name’s original usage is for describing “shockumentary” exploitation films, often containing sensationalized, violent plot points. Early examples of the “shockumentary” version of “mondo” include Mondo Cane and Faces of Death, while the colloquial use of the phrase is often used to describe the work of filmmakers such as Harmony Korine, David Lynch, Gregg Araki, David Cronenberg and the aforementioned Waters, who created the film Mondo Trasho.
Early said that these types of films naturally draw them in, like many other members of the queer community and minority groups.
“I think a lot of people, a lot of queer people specifically, are into horror and these kinds of fringe films because when you're ‘othered’ in society, you feel like you're being villainized in a way, and so having these kinds of villains take control can be therapeutic,” they said.
Early said they think the difficult subject matter in the films can be very cathartic.
“I have a lot of anxiety and we live in a scary time. It’s like an outlet for me to express my feelings,” said Early. “Sometimes it's a form of escapism and other times it's kind of a way to live through these difficult things and put stuff in perspective for you. It’s like exposure therapy.”
“It's really crazy to be able to kind of create a little community where you can connect and meet new people who want to talk about these weird films,” they added.
“I feel like it's been going great. It's bringing in a lot of people who haven't been to the Moxie before, young and old, just to see the space and be like, ‘whoa, they play cool stuff here and it's cheap.’ I just hope more people continue to support independent cinema, especially now with all the stuff going on with streaming services and them just being run by two or three wealthy people. It's taking the power away from the real storytellers.”
While the series is almost halfway done for the year, there are still many films to catch, including Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Ginger Snaps, Frankenhooker, Popcorn, The Fly, Häxan, The Slumber Party Massacre and Female Trouble.
Tickets are $8 for the public and free for Moxie members. Tickets can be purchased on the Moxie website or at the door while seats last.
For more information on the series, visit the Mondo Moxie Instagram or click here.