Monday, February 2, 2026
This Monday, February 2nd, we turn back time into the Victorian era to embark on two ghastly tales of romantic tragedy ripped right from the pages of gothic literature, cultivating among the most legendary monsters known to mankind inculcated with Grimm fairytale etiquette.
In this entry of Sacrilegious Cinema: Menagerie of Madness, we unravel February with Frankenstein and Dracula aboard, analyzing pulses of passion amid notions of rebirth and the dual nature intrinsic to humanity, with emphasis on the excess in ocular storytelling to guide our aching hearts with an examination of gothic horror in its finest form. Come out to Hot Wax Ybor and succumb to seduction and receive a lesson in yearning. 
At 8PM, we trek to 19th-century Europe, where we follow brilliant albeit brazen scientist Victor Frankenstein in his pursuit of conquering death via means of forging new life through viable discarded body parts, ultimately anointing himself a god. Although after Frankenstein’s experiment proves successful, he finds himself at odds with his creation, triggering a crescendo into utter chaos in the events to transpire.
Nurtured by the maestro of the macabre himself, Guillermo Del Toro crafts an operatic tragedy bore from the mind of Mary Shelley’s 1818 effort winning the young writer the credit for creating the science fiction genre- Del Toro translates the tale to the silver screen, imbuing FRANKENSTEIN (2025) with a deeply personal touch oozing in Biblical allegories and Catholic iconography. Beyond the prospect of creation and Victor’s megalomania, Frankenstein unleashes themes of intergenerational trauma and the perpetuation of abuse, fertilizing the seeds of fatherhood and paralleling dynamics between Victor and the Creature, as well as Victor and his own patriarch. The duality amongst Victor and the Creature stem from a Jungian spirit, acting as the antithesis of one another, but also, a reflection. Freudian psychology takes root in Victor’s devastating relationship with his mother, echoing into his adult life years after her dreadful demise, while Elizabeth behaves as a mirror to the maternal, allowing Victor’s projection to poison their dynamic. At the crux of what constitutes humanity lies a forbidden love story for the ages, caressed by petals and strangled by thorns in a bed of roses. With stellar performances by the entirety of the cast, including Oscar Isaac as the haughty, rebellious ‘mad’ Doctor and Mia Goth as the enigmatic Elizabeth, while Jacob Elordi compliments the Trinity with his embodiment of the Creature, casting a shadow on the majority of renditions in his sensitive approach to the character, exuding an innocence difficult to manifest. Frankenstein exceeds extravagance in its decadent sets and striking cinematography. Stitching through the seams, the breath-taking wardrobe conjured by costume designer Kate Hawley (Crimson Peak) weave an aesthetic narrative rife with symbolism in its rich patterns, depth, texture, and color palette waiting to sweep audiences off their feet. Peel back the layers of star-crossed lovers and man’s mortality in this gut-wrenching masterpiece laced in memento mori. 
At 10PM, we traverse to Dracula’s Castle in terrifying Transylvania, assisting Jonathan Harker in securing the Carfax Abbey property to the Count himself- later, crossing oceans of time back to London on the Demeter’s final journey, unearthing a reincarnated love riddled within a wake of carnage. Experience immortality with a an affection that burns an eternal flame in this 1992 adaptation of BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA, helmed by unwavering visionary, Francis Ford Coppola.
Boasting lavish backdrops and alluring optics, this iteration is poetry propelled to pictures, unveiling motifs of undying love, obsession, and reincarnation, uniting romance and death into an inseparable denomination. Dracula treads the line of polarity under a Jungian lens, in addition to a rejection of religion in its perversive pangs. Equipped with a stand out cast, delivering gripping shows of talent with names like Winona Ryder, Sadie Frost Anthony Hopkins- and Gary Oldman as the Count unlike viewers have ever before witnessed,merging history with folklore to entrench the character in bloodshed. Furthermore, with the help of the supremely skilled Eiko Ishioka, Dracula harbors an Academy Award for Best Costume Design, blending both Eastern and Western influences to fashion ornately surreal garments larger than life itself. I’m Accept defeat and give into the wiles of the phantasmagorical dreamscape spun by Dracula. 
Get tangled within the rapture and bask in the pinnacle of gothic romance avid literary dreams are made of. 
And per routine, no cover charge and FREE POPCORN with purchase. (In addition to psychological insight accompanied by behind the scenes information and observations by your hostess.)