Category: Event

Monster Fest 2025 Jury

From 3rd to 11th October 2025 at Cinema Nova in Melbourne, Monster Fest acts as the perfect Halloween primer with an all-fun lineup of feature and short horror film titles.

This year’s all-killer/no-filler jury tasked with judging the three big awards – Best Australian Feature, Best International Feature and The Golden Monster – consists of Kate Fitzpatrick (MIFF programmer), Spiro Economopoulos (Artistic Director of Europa!), Simon Foster (President of Film Critics Circle of Australia) and my favourite ‘Scotstralian’ film journalist, Stephen A. Russell.

Somehow, I’ve managed to sneak into the lineup of judges too, which is amazing (for me).

Are you coming to Monster Fest this year? Be scared, be very scared…

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Presentation recording: LOOKING FOR MR GOODBAR

Those who don’t live in Melbourne have frequently asked me, ‘How can I see the Cinemaniacs‘ presentations if I can’t get to a screening?’. Until recently, I didn’t have an answer. But now, for the price of a Patreon membership, all Cinemaniacs’ presentations since the beginning of 2024 are available for you to enjoy.

You might not be able to recreate the Cathedral-like atmosphere of Melbourne’s The Astor Theatre in your living room, but this is the best way to savour the Cinemaniacs’ flavour of rarely screened films contextualised through introductions by film/cinema specialists of every ilk.

As a carrot-dangler, I’m at liberty to share my own presentation from July 2025: LOOKING FOR MR GOODBAR (1977) where I was honoured to celebrate Cinemaniacs’ co-founder Lee Gambin‘s birthday and his love for this sensational film. Diane Keaton has never been better.

Below, you can watch the video recording, including the accompanying slideshow. If you like what you see, get thee to Cinemaniacs’ Patreon page pronto and share in the love of classic, under-appreciated cinema.

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Screening: LOOKING FOR MR GOODBAR

I’ve been sitting on a draft of this blog post for weeks—not entirely sure how to express myself fully. So now, I’ll defer to the words of the Cinemaniacs team because they nail it….

On 12th July 2025, Cinemaniacs screen LOOKING FOR MR GOODBAR (dir. Richard Brooks, 1977) on the Astor SuperScreen, introduced by Emma Westwood.

“Cinemaniacs founder, Lee Gambin, always wanted to screen GOODBAR, but the screening rights were not available until recently. This is a very special screening for the Cinemaniacs team. We finally get to share this incredible film with our audience, something that Lee always wanted to do. The screening also takes place the day before what would have been Lee’s 46th birthday.

While GOODBAR is anything but upbeat, come and watch this wonderful film that Lee wanted to share with us. Celebrate him, stay healthy and live forever!”

Book your tickets directly with The Astor Theatre. See you there!

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Presentation recording: FATAL ATTRACTION

I’ve already shared my Cinemaniacs presentation from early 2024 of SECONDS at The Astor, now here’s another classic from the vault: FATAL ATTRACTION.

Psych thriller or monster movie? I take the latter position. I also played the original ending of the film, which you too can watch in this audio and clip-show recording of the presentation from November 2023 at ACMI in Melbourne/Naarm. All in all, it was a great event – one which I now look back on with fondness.

Ready, set, go…

Also, a reminder of Cinemaniacs’ Patreon page where you can access presentations from other speakers, as well as a veritable treasure chest of goodies. I’ve joined, so should you 🙂

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Presentation recording: SECONDS

I was the first presenter for Cinemaniacs when they moved to The Astor Theatre, Melbourne, at the beginning of 2024, 3rd Feb to be exact.

Here’s the photo evidence: Of itty-bitty me in front of the mammoth Astor screen, setting the context for a rare screening of SECONDS (about which I’ve co-authored a book), standing in front of John Frankenheimer and RFK OG while giving off major political rally vibes.

It was a night fraught with technical difficulties, but I feel it still came together well, despite being left without a couple of planned video inclusions.

Upon launching a Patreon page, the Cinemaniacs team cut together presentations from the last few years, including a mercifully edited version of this SECONDS presentation. It’s audio only, accompanied by slides, but hopefully you’ll get something out of it.

Just hit play…

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ACMI presents GODZILLA: Global Pop Culture Icon

That big ol’ lug GODZILLA is turning 70, and we’ve all been invited to ACMI’s monumental GODZILLAFEST party!


My role in the formalities is to front up to a panel on Sunday 3rd November @ 11.30am hosted by Silvi Vann-Wall called GODZILLA: Global Pulp Culture Icon.

Tickets are free but you need to register your place – and currently, the ticket allocation is exhausted. But, never fear, I’m hoping and praying we might be moved to a bigger space. Because any GODZILLA party deserves to be monstrous.

Keep your eyes on the ACMI link in the lead-up.

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Dark Nights Film Festival Jury 2024

Right at this very moment, I’m mid-judging for the Inaugural Dark Nights Film Festival, 11th to 13th October @ Ritz Cinemas, Sydney.

Talking about inaugural things, this is the first time I’ve been on a judging jury for Best Unproduced Screenplay, but having judged a number of categories at other festivals in the past (not just film), it’s a credit I’m very pleased to add to my résumé.

Hats off to the hard work of the many writers who have submitted their screenplays. I’m done with the shorts, now I’m onto the features.

Come along to the festival itself to hear the results.

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Screening: SECONDS

Saturday 3rd February is the day when you lucky folks get the chance to see one of the most misunderstood films of the 20th century, SECONDS (1966), on the gigantic Astor Theatre screen to kick-off Cinemaniacs‘ 2024 program.

IT WILL BE AND LOOK AMAZING!

Watch the trailer below for a taste of this forthcoming spectacle, then click on the link for tickets. I’m doing the intro and I’m proud to say I literally wrote the book on the film with my writing partner-in-crime, Jez Conolly.

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Screening: FATAL ATTRACTION

FATAL ATTRACTION is one of the biggest psychological thrillers of the 1980s, a film that divided opinion at the time of its release, and continues to reveal its hand in the decades proceeding it.

I’m the lucky one who’ll be contextualising it for the audience in a late addition to the Cinemaniacs program for 2023, at ACMI on Saturday 11th November.

The story goes like this:

Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas) is a happily married man and high-flying lawyer living the dream in New York City. When his wife, Beth (Anne Archer), and their young daughter, Ellen (Ellen Latzen), head to the country for a break, Dan succumbs to the sexual charms of work colleague, Alex (Glenn Close). The weekend ends, and so does the fling – for Dan. Alex, on the other hand, sees this as the start of something else. 

This film not only took the box office by storm; it spawned a host of rip-offs, was nominated for six Academy Awards, introduced the term ‘bunny boiler’ into our lexicon and had a generation of men quaking in boots. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!

I can’t wait to put this film under the microscope… without spoiling (both) its ending(s).

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Book Launch & Screening: BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (it’s a wrap!)

On 26th August 2023, Cinemaniacs launched our new book on James Whale’s classic BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN at ACMI in Melbourne, Australia.

This GLORIOUS event (emphasis intended) featured an introduction by the editor (me); followed by a screening of the film itself, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935); then a ‘meet the authors’ panel with Dr Eloise Ross, Stephen A. Russell, Dr Andrew Nette and Cerise Howard; followed by another screening from the Universal Monster Movie canon, FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN (1943).

Somewhere amongst it all, we managed to sell all our books, give away custom-made fragrances, distribute a number of movie-related raffle prizes and – the cherry on top – be welcomed by Sara Karloff, daughter of Boris Karloff, in a special video greeting recorded especially for the night.

For me, most thrillingly of all was the electricity in the cinema – a full house, nonetheless – with everyone there to celebrate a film as old as the hills; proof that the power of a masterpiece never fades.

Here it is immortalised in pictures:

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