Sometimes Aunt Martha Does Dreadful Things - Enzian Theater

Celebrate Pride Month in the freakiest way possible, with this overlooked, chapter of early queer cinema!

Dropping somewhere between PINK FLAMINGOS, BLOOD FEAST, and an episode of THE BRADY BUNCH on acid, SOMETIMES AUNT MARTHA DOES DREADFUL THINGS is a histrionic psychodrama that could only have originated in the alternate dimension known as Florida. After robbing a bank in Baltimore, Paul (aka Aunt Martha) and his partner Stanley hide out in the Miami suburbs. But it’s only a matter of time before Paul’s paranoia forces him to embark on a demented killing spree. Hardly progressive, even for its era, the film is a remarkable curio as it was a production destined for the regional drive-in movie circuit and marketed as a crime drama. What must audiences have thought as they watched two men (one dressed as a woman, to avoid being recognized in public) spend 90 minutes arguing like an “old married couple” and sharing a single twin bed when there was a whole house up for grabs!?! The American Genre Film Archive is thrilled to present one of the most unforgettable exploitation movies of all time—preserved from the only 35mm theatrical print in existence.

1971, USA, 95 minutes, Unrated, Directed by Thomas Casey

“Like a John Waters scripted version of the sitcom BOSOM BUDDIES.”
— Laird Jimenez, LETTERBOXD
“Gay relationships don't come any sicker than in this enjoyably bizarre drive-in slasher-cum-camp pic”
- Raymond Murray, IMAGES IN THE DARK: An Encyclopedia of Gay and Lesbian Film and Video
“A nugget of cinematic delirium, which still resembles nothing else ever projected on a movie screen.”
– MONDO DIGITAL