Vinegar Syndrome is a video label that has made a mission out of preserving, restoring and releasing rare exploitation and horror movies from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema started showing these restored films last December in what it’s calling the Vinegar Syndrome series; the March selection is The Telephone Book.
It is a “sexploitation” satire that was restored from an archival 35-millimeter print. It stars Sarah Kennedy, Norman Rose and Ultra Violet, a.k.a. Isabelle Collin Dufresne, a protégé of both Andy Warhol and Salvador Dalí. Much like Ultra Violet herself, the film is a product of New York’s underground film and arts scene of the early ’70s.
The movie tells the story of Alice, a sex-obsessed hippie who falls in love with an obscene phone caller. When she tries to go out and actually find the caller, she encounters a cast of characters, including a filmmaker, a psychiatrist and a lesbian.
Don’t expect this to be a tasteful film. It revels in pushing boundaries with over-the-top sexual camp. The Telephone Book is mostly in black and white, but there’s a color sequence included — a trippy moment, to be sure. Robert Saucedo of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema says, “If you like something raunchy and dangerous, you’re sure to have a good time. It’s a really interesting amusement-art-sex film.”
Patrons also will be able to take advantage of Alamo’s late-night menu. Saucedo says, “The movie is only $5, and there’s nothing on the late-night menu over ten dollars. We really wanted to appeal to people who want to have a great time but don’t want to spend a lot of money.”
The next film in the Vinegar Syndrome series will be a slasher flick from 1982 called Madman. 10 p.m. 114 Vintage Park. 18 and up. For information, call 832-559-5959 or visit drafthouse.com/houston/vintage_park. $5.
Tue., March 24, 10 p.m., 2015
This article appears in Mar 19-25, 2015.