Programmed by Oscarbate / Sponsored by Hopewell Brewing
MS. 45 - Dir. Abel Ferrara, 1981, 80 min., 35mm (This original print has moderate color fading)
COFFY - Dir. Jack Hill, 1973, 91 min., DCP
Like two avenging angels emerging from the night, the wrath of a woman’s pain will be felt by those on the wrong side. For this month, we present you twin titans of the grindhouse screen, Abel Ferrara’s MS. 45 and Jack Hill’s COFFY. The late actress and screenwriter Zoë Lund, plays the lead role in MS. 45, a mute designer who, while on her way home from work, is assaulted twice by street thugs. As the tension builds in the aftermath, she will dawn the garb of vengeance and exact it on all those who have been unfortunate enough to treat her as less than human. Moving from grimy New York City to seedy Los Angeles, screen icon Pam Grier delivers a powerhouse performance as the sister of a girl who was left to die by a bunch of drug dealers. While waiting for justice to be served, her patience wears thin, as she wages all out war on every pimp, dealer, pusher, and low level street criminal who had the audacity to harm her sister. Dueling tales of revenge, sisters formed in the violent twilight, both of these films will help deliver a blazing cinematic double feature of cathartic retribution.