The Warriors (1979)
QFS No. 178 -The Warriors is one in a line of post-apocalyptic New York films, John Carpenter’s Escape from New York (1981, QFS No. 61) being one of the preeminent in the subgenre which we saw a few years ago together. Throw in a little Soylent Green (1976), I Am Legend (2007), Cloverfield (2008), the terrible End of Days (1999) and top it off with this week’s selection and you’ve got yourself the makings of a viable subgenre.
Princess Mononoke (1997)
QFS No. 157 - We are all long overdue to be taken away to a different land. At least for a couple of hours. And there’s perhaps no one better suited to take us elsewhere than the Japanese master of animation, Hayao Miyazaki.
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
QFS No. 156 - Shaun of the Dead is directed by Edgar Wright, wacky genius behind one of my favorite Quarantine Film Society selections Hot Fuzz (2009, QFS No. 29), selected in our group’s first year. As it is the eve of All Hallow’s Eve, we are once again legally compelled to have a film with some sort of Halloween-appropriate content.
Sicario (2015)
QFS No. 153 - I’m sure many of you saw Sicario (2015) when it came out or in the ensuing nine years afterwards. I, however, am not one of them, hence this pick. It’s been on my list for a while, especially because of the filmmaker at the helm.
Godzilla Minus One (2023)
QFS No. 151 - This is the first kaiju film selected by Quarantine Film Society. Kaiju, of course, is the film subgenre in which giant monsters destroy things. I think it’s amazing that what seems like a very limited type of film has a named subgenre, but this is where I’m wrong. There are tons of these movies and television shows varying in quality in the 70 years since Godzilla (1954) came out from Japan. I’m certainly no expert on these films, but I do enjoy a good giant animal picture now and again.
Death Race 2000 (1975)
QFS No. 146 - The late great Roger Corman produced this film about a dystopic, mayhem-ridden future. And I, for one, have been keen on seeing it. It takes place in the distant future, the year 2000! What will life be like then? Who knows! Well, the late great Roger Corman will tell you!
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
QFS No. 2 - As perhaps with you, “thunderdome” is my stand by phrase for anything that has no rules with chaos as its only governing principle and where destruction is the norm. It entered the zeitgeist after this film and entered our collective lexicon even if you haven’t seen the movie. Related point – if you come to our home you will see that we have our fenced-in children play area in our main room that we have dubbed “Baby Thunderdome.” No holds barred, very few rules and the only directive is “to survive.” So far, both children have. But for how long?
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
QFS No. 1 - The invitation from April 29, 2020: SR Note: This email invitation contains the QFS origin story - our first ever email sent out to the group that would become Quarantine Film Society. The format became slightly more standardized as we went along. Enjoy.