In the golden days of yore, it was still possible for us Europeans to make films that rivalled those of Hollywood. Not on equal terms, of course, but the lack of money was always made up for in sheer audacity and showmanship. If the production company couldn't afford to travel to the far corners of the world, the filmmakers would always find a way to improvise themselves out of the stranglehold of poverty! Needless to say, a heavy dose of sex, violence and other highly commercial ingredients would be put to good use, and garish poster art would hide what inadequacies lurked in those examples of guerrilla art ...
It is no wonder that there is an ever-increasing multitude of people all over the world who are interested in this kind of cinema. Good showmanship doesn't always translate to good entertainment, but many directors and their crews managed to come up with hours of golden film magic that possessed a charm that none of the major productions could hope to reduplicate. There are always surprises and inexplicable eccentricities to be found, and the "family feeling" of the films of the likes of, say, Joe d'Amato is really hard to beat.
DER GEHEIMNISVOLLE FILMCLUB BUIO OMEGA (translated: "The Mysterious Film Club Buio Omega") was founded in October 1998 by a group of young German film mavericks who thought it a shame that so many of the wonderful pieces of cinema should rot on the shelves instead of being shown in a movie theatre. In the years of its existence, the Club has found an audience of followers who are excited by all those things that cannot be discovered in today's movie world.
Every third Saturday of the month, a double-feature program can be watched, consisting of some of the golden oldies that haven't been shown in a long time. The titles of the movies shown are always kept secret, although some hints may be given on the self-made fun posters that you can find on our webpage. Most of the films are European, although some American schlock entrepreneurs may pay us a visit now and then ... The film prints (carefully restored by the Club members) are accompanied by trailers from 60s, 70s and 80s exploitation pictures, and there are also numerous frame attractions that mirror the fun and the commitment of the Omegists.
The main goal of the Club is simply to have a grand old time watching those films together with other film aficionados in search of the unusual, all in the shelter of an old-fashioned movie palace in Gelsenkirchen - one of the last of its kind from the roaring twenties, sporting no less than 700 seats! The Club fees are comparatively small, and are solely used to cover the costs and to enable the Club directors to organize events with special presentations. There have been seven star guests already, namely the popular Austrian actor Herbert MARK OF THE DEVIL Fux, the legendary and lovely exploitation queen Doris Wishman, the grandmaster of Spanish horror cinema Paul Naschy, the world famous Italian actor Franco Nero and his dear friend Enzo G. Castellari (aka Enzo Girolami), the brilliant action movie director, "Mr. Super Strong" Brad Harris, star of numerous 60s hits including the KOMMISSAR X series, and last but not least German jack of all trades Jörg Buttgereit, director of NEKROMANTIK 1 and 2. All these events were huge successes, and other coups are in the making ...
Even if you are not able (for geographical reasons) to attend to one of our presentations, you are welcome to rifle through our webpage, as there are many German and international posters, lobby cards and rare press material from those films that you won't find anywhere else, all of them in high resolution quality. There will be exhaustive and reliable filmographies for many stars from the exploitation arena, plus a lot of surprises along the way ...
So, welcome to the exploitation wonders of yesteryear! Open your hearts and minds for a journey into this strange make-believe world, in which everything is possible and nothing is sacred ...
Be our guest.