London Grindhouse Cinema: Sex & Subversion
- Tucked away in central London,the Nickel,a red building adorned with an image from The Man with the X-Ray Eyes,offers a unique cinematic experience.
- Hicks describes The Nickel as "a safe place for weirdos and outsiders," providing an choice to mainstream cinema.
- The nickel is part of a growing European movement of DIY film clubs and hyperlocal venues that challenge the dominance of streaming services and multiplexes.
discover London’s Teh Nickel, a micro cinema reviving the spirit of grindhouse and exploitation cinema, and creating a community space for film lovers. Founded by dominic Hicks, this unique venue champions boundary-pushing B-movies and obscure cinematic gems. The Nickel, opening June 11, offers an alternative to mainstream cinema, embracing physical media and fostering collaboration.Explore its diverse programming, mirroring the anything-goes approach of London’s Scala cinema, while connecting to a growing movement of DIY film clubs. News Directory 3 highlights the Nickel’s significance in a cultural ecosystem that is challenging the dominance of streaming. This innovative space promises a tangible, shared cinematic experience, moving beyond the typical multiplex offerings. What exciting projects and screenings are on the horizon?
London’s The Nickel Revives Grindhouse and Exploitation Films
Tucked away in central London,the Nickel,a red building adorned with an image from The Man with the X-Ray Eyes,offers a unique cinematic experience. Founded by filmmaker Dominic Hicks, this micro cinema celebrates the gritty charm of retro American grindhouse theaters, showcasing boundary-pushing B-movies and deranged gems of exploitation cinema.
Hicks describes The Nickel as “a safe place for weirdos and outsiders,” providing an choice to mainstream cinema. June’s screenings include a diverse range of films, from Todd Browning’s silent horror The Unknown to Roman Polanski’s erotic thriller Bitter Moon. The programming, inspired by London’s scala cinema, embraces an anything-goes approach.
The nickel is part of a growing European movement of DIY film clubs and hyperlocal venues that challenge the dominance of streaming services and multiplexes. These repertory pop-ups, like Liverpool’s trans-inclusive ‘Paraphysis Cinema’ and the feminist-themed ‘Tonnerre’ in Paris, foster a sense of community and shared revelation.
Hicks emphasizes the importance of these community spaces for bringing people together to discuss movies. “You don’t have to all feel the same, but the idea of being challenged, or getting the giggles together about some strange little forgotten gem, is always going to be entertaining,” he said.
“I like films where the beauty in them comes through how the audience receives and nurtures them in their collective inventiveness,” Hicks said. “Whether it’s the practical effects, or the score, or the bad acting that they find really quotable — it belongs to the audience in the long run.”
Hicks prefers the moral ambiguity of 1970s films,believing that audiences are intelligent enough to challenge what they see on screen. This contrasts with the “new literalism” in contemporary cinema, where meanings are often explicitly spelled out.
Before establishing a permanent space with nearly £14,000 in crowdfunding, Hicks ran The Nickel as an event program at a local pub and The Cinema Museum, often screening rare 16mm prints. This focus on physical media taps into a desire for a more tangible connection with art, similar to the vinyl revival.
“You can’t come close to the aesthetic experience of watching an original film print being projected in public when you’re streaming things digitally,” Hicks said.
The Nickel’s basement bar will serve as a communal hub for film-related workshops, with plans for collaborative projects and screenings. Hicks is excited about working “on weird shit” with others.
Despite challenges facing independent cinemas, with almost a third of UK independent cinemas under threat according to the independent Cinema Office (ICO), Hicks remains optimistic. He believes that smaller, independent cinemas offer a more compelling experience than multiplexes.
“I think we’re seeing a return to that neighbourhood, smaller, independent cinema, because multiplexes don’t give people a compelling enough reason to leave their sofas,” he explained. “But I have faith that people won’t surrender something so essential as the experience of going to the movies. I really hope not, anyway. And if they do, it’ll be a hill worth dying on for me.”
What’s next
The Nickel aims to foster a community of film lovers and creators, offering a unique space for experiencing and celebrating exploitation films and other cinematic oddities. The cinema officially opens June 11 in London.