Shock Value: The Movie — How Dan O’Bannon and Some USC Outsiders Helped Invent Modern Horror

Image Archive archivist Dino Everett assembled a feature-length compilation of SCA student works from the late ’60s and ’70s. The compilation features recently uncovered and previously unseen student films by Dan O’Bannon and John Carpenter. • BLOOD BATH (1969, written and directed by Dan O’Bannon) B/W (original 16mm) 7 min. • THE DEMON (1970, written and directed by Charles Adair) B/W (original 16mm) 19 min. • GOOD MORNING DAN (1968, written and directed by Dan O’Bannon, camera by John Carpenter) Color (original 8mm) 19 min. • CAPTAIN VOYEUR (1969, written and directed by John Carpenter) B/W (original 16mm) 7 min. • BLOOD BATH (1976, written and directed by Dan O’Bannon) Red tint (original 16mm blown up to 35mm) 8 min. • JUDSON'S RELEASE (1971, written by Alec Lorimore, directed by Terence H. Winkless) (original 16mm) Color 15 min. Total program time: 80 minutes.

Chumo

Juma is a poor fisherman who loves telling tales. Amina is the girl who loves to hear his stories. They long to be together, but Amina's father, Ali, wants a better life for her. Ali thinks that he has found this in Yustus, a rich but self-serving young suitor.Juma must put everything on the line to save their love, but he must sacrifice more than he bargained for in order to succeed.

Dead Hearts

A young mortician learns that not even death can stand in the way of true love. A whimsical, gothic bedtime story filled with love, loss, taxidermy, Kung Fu, and biker werewolves.

A Visit from the Incubus

Lucy, a young Victorian woman in the Old West, is being tormented by nightly visits from an incubus. Her friend Madeleine tries to console her, but is unable to help. A fallen woman, Lucy gets a job singing at the local saloon. However, the Incubus has followed her there; and things take an unexpected turn as Lucy and the Incubus, amidst the rowdy cowboys and saucy can-can girls, have their final showdown.

The Little Matchgirl

An animated short based on Hans Christian Andersen's tale about a poor young girl with a burning desire to find comfort and happiness in her life. Desperate to keep warm, the girl lights the matches she sells, and envisions a very different life for herself in the fiery flames filled with images of loving relatives, bountiful food, and a place to call home.

Mr. Dentonn

On a cold winter night, Laura reads her brother David the story of a strange creature that attacks children. Suddenly, a shiver runs Laura's body, feeling a strange presence in the house. It's him.

Super Christian

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's-- Super Christian? Clark Kant is a mild-mannered Christian teenager with a super secret. Through light-hearted humor, the Super Christian series sets out to teach us something about Christian growth. In the first installment of Super Christian, we find that Clark Kant lives in two different worlds. During the week, Clark follows the standards of the world. "Why not?" he asks himself. "Isn't everybody doing it?" But on Sunday, in his Super Christian Best, Clark presents quite a different image. Then Clark learns through a friend that the Christian faith is for every day of the week, not just for Sundays.

Little Matthew

An unemployed private investigator is offered a morally conflicting job regarding the abduction of a child.

Intruders

In the aftermath of a deadly haunting in a small suburban home, a sinister omnipresent entity proceeds to cause havoc in the private lives of a young boy, an unsuspecting teen, and an absent-minded inspector.

Invaders

A pair of home invaders consider their potential character choices just prior to their planned invasion.

Redaction

In a future where victims of traumatic crimes have the memory erased like it never happened, one woman finds herself struggling for her right to refuse the process.

Strange Thing

A newly married couple wake up to find a door has appeared in their living room tempting them to open it and discover the mystery inside.

An Episode Under Henry III

Salar

The intersecting lives of two otherwise unrelated people in a rural Bolivian village adjacent to the Uyani salt flats are presented. The first is Carlos, a poor salt miner. Unlike his colleagues, he is unwilling to take the one time compensation package from an American conglomerate who wants to purchase the mining rights. Carlos would rather get paid for doing actual work than risk living off a one time payment without a guarantee of any other work in the area. Carlos being the one holdout irks his fellow miners, who cannot get their compensation until Carlos also agrees to the terms. Carlos views all gringos in a bad light because of this situation. The second is Marc, an American doctor who has worked in various third world countries providing aide where needed. Marc is completing his term here. Carlos and Marc have a turbulent few meetings based on Carlos' feelings toward gringos and his want for a simple stable life.

Aïssa

Aïssa is a Congolese immigrant in France. She says that she is under eighteen but the authorities consider her an adult. To determine if she can be deported, a doctor must give her a physical examination.

The Infernal Cauldron

A green-skinned demon places a woman and two courtiers into a flaming cauldron.

Blacksmithing Scene

Three men hammer on an anvil and pass a bottle of beer around. Notable for being the first film in which a scene is being acted out.

The Nest

A doctor must remove a parasite infestation from within a patient's breast.

The Golem and the Dancing Girl

As a practical joke, an actor impersonates the screen monster he made famous. A lost film.

The Mistletoe Bough

During a game of hide and seek, a new bride hides in a chest and remains undiscovered until a strange visitation thirty years later.