Leaves are changing and temperatures are dropping in Athens, signaling the exciting start of fall and scary movie season. In the weeks leading up to Halloween, the Athena Cinema will bring two Black horror classics from the 1990s to the big screen in the free-of-charge “Horror in Color” event series.
The series opened Thursday with a screening of the original “Candyman,” and it will conclude Oct. 25 with a showing of “Tales from the Hood.”
“Horror in Color” is a spin on a previous series run through the Athena titled “Heroes in Color.” These events are facilitated by Athens locals Gordon Briggs and Brandon Thompson, the former a professor at the University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College, and the latter coordinator at the Survivor Advocacy Outreach Program and local performer known as DJ B-Funk.
“‘Heroes of Color’ was a synthesis of education and entertainment,” Briggs said. “We want to entertain people and we also want them to maybe think about the movie on another level.”
Along with the films themselves, the entertainment aspect will come in the form of trivia contests and moviegoers dressing up in costume. The educational aspect of the series will be represented in the underlying social commentary of each film.
“‘Candyman isn’t just a horror film, it’s also a movie that directly addresses the issue of gentrification and … things we don’t like to talk about,” Briggs said.
According to Briggs, “black horror films are undergoing a renaissance now,” partly because of the cyclical historical contexts of the '90s and the modern age. Thompson and Briggs both recall the L.A. riots occurring around the initial release of “Candyman” in 1992, which was mirrored by the release of the film’s remake just after the uprisings of 2020.
“I think Black horror is a way to address some of this stuff that if a drama addresses might seem a little sappy,” Briggs said.
Alexandra Kamody, the director of the Athena Cinema and another key facilitator of the series, recognizes the modern relevance of these two films and encourages students and locals to engage with its themes.
“Often we see repeated where film as an art form reflects our anxieties as a society, so I love hearing what Gordon and Brandon have to say about the way that’s playing out and how timely things can be now to our current events,” she said.
The series’ purpose is also to give people the chance to experience these iconic horror films as they were intended to be seen.
“When you’re watching a movie and other people are scared … it gets you scared,” Thompson said. “It just makes that communal experience … that is so vital to the series and we want people to experience what the directors who made these movies want us to experience.”
In the same vein, the series organizers hope to provide fresh experiences for audience members through their film selections.
“We wanted to do something people hadn’t seen in a theater already,” Briggs said. “When we choose the movies we usually like to do something that’s old enough that it hasn't been in theaters for a while, but maybe fresh enough that people are still aware of it.”
The organizers recognize how a person’s upbringing may influence their perception and familiarity with these films. For example, Thompson said many people of color will recall seeing films such as “Tales from the Hood” in their young life.
“Sometimes in Black houses … some parents made you go see (“Tales from the Hood”) because (the movie) had to do well,” Thompson said.
Meanwhile, these films were less prevalent in Kamody’s childhood and she is seeing some of them for the first time.
“I really have learned a lot from the movies I came to see and got to hear a little bit from Gordon and Brandon about the way their experience differed from mine growing up,” she said.
A final mission of the series is to inspire students to frequently visit the Athena and partake in similar events, and also, encourage diverse creativity in students and Athens residents alike.
“We’re happy to work with anybody who is interested in these types of collaborations,” Kamody said. “I’m excited about the series, and I think it’s going to be really fun, which is a really big bonus when you can learn something and have a meaningful experience and have a really good time.”
