Monday, November 10th, 2025
Monday, November 10th, Sacrilegious Cinema: Menagerie of Madness presents a ghoulish birthday double feature dealing in repressed grief and the plights of motherhood, treading in often taboo perspectives to explore loss and the subsequent trauma equipped with the territory. This duo disguises the psychological under a supernatural cloak, blending the subgenres to excavate the metaphorical monsters manifested through mental illness. 
Beginning at 8PM, we enter the lives of struggling widow Amelia and her troubled son Samuel in the suburbs of Australia as they continue to pick up the pieces left behind by their late patriarch after a devastating car accident, fracturing their family’s unity. Just as matters couldn’t get worse, a figure from a children’s book entitled ‘Mister Babadook’ materializes in their home, terrorizing both mother and child, plunging the pair into further despair. In Jennifer Kent’s feature directorial debut,The Babadook (2014) addresses the stages of grief and the dangers of subduing residual emotions pertaining to past tragedies- ultimately allowing said grief to devour the sufferer until they are but a husk of their former self- showcasing the repercussions of unresolved trauma and the challenges thrust upon maternal expectations, especially concerning single mothers. In addition to investigating symptoms of projection and transference under the angle of the matriarch, The Babadook further inspects childhood abuse within the lens of both the oppressor, but the afflicted in the point of view upheld by the offspring- both of which cannot cope. Evocative of the bygone silent era of film, Kent draws inspiration from the brooding visuals of German Expressionism in the storybook illustrations bleeding fantasy into reality in its claustrophobic setting adorned in sharp edges and shrouded in darkness. Inadvertently placed in Netflix’s LGBTQ+ section, The Babadook not only excels in existential dread but has made a name for himself as a queer icon in the process- this indie horror distinguishes itself from its contemporaries with an unorthodox narrative and unconventional execution, increasing the currency of out of the box ideas in the realm of horror cinema. 
Then, at 10PM, we visit Spain to meet the acquaintance of Laura and her family on the way to her old childhood home- an orphanage she longs to reopen and turn into housing for disabled children. Upon arrival, her son Simón starts communicating with what she presumes are merely imaginary friends until a series of strange events are set in motion, causing her to second guess the nature of these friends, wondering instead if her son made contact with unrest spirits of the deceased. After the mysterious disappearance of Simón, Laura enacts a frantic search for her missing son, learning about the previous atrocities committed at the old orphanage in the midst of her search, fueling her belief in the haunting apparitions.THE ORPHANAGE [El Orfanato] (2007) serves as J.A. Bayona’s directorial debut, with help from the maestro of the macabre- Guillermo Del Toro- emerging as a poignant tale of loss orchestrated through a heavy atmosphere rife with euphemisms for sorrow veiled as ghosts for an optically arresting landmark of gothic horror saturated in symbolism. 
Mark your calendars for this dyad of independent foreign horror merging varying elements into a deconstruction of the bereaved, dissecting the familial ties holding the fabric of sanity thread together- only at Hot Wax Coffee Shop (Ybor).
FREE popcorn included with a mandatory purchase- no cover charge with a 1 drink (or snack) minimum from the bar.
Remember to try our themed drinks for this week’s cinephile double feature.
(Movie nights offer psychological insight accompanied by behind the scenes information and observations by your horror hostess).