Sexy Empowerment, Terror Tuesday, Book Adaptations, and More Weekday Recos

The Company of Wolves

Monday 8, Alamo Slaughter Lane and Lakeline

What big ... eyes you have. Meta horror didn’t begin with Scream. The grandmother of it all was British writer Angela Carter’s groundbreaking 1979 horror anthology The Bloody Chamber: 10 short stories that gave cunning life to traditional fairy tales from “Bluebeard” to “Puss in Boots.” Carter rewrote “Little Red Riding Hood” three ways, but it’s “The Company of Wolves” – with its mixture of body horror and sexual awakening – that caught the attention of Neil Jordan, and gave us one of the greatest Gothic horror movies of all time.   – Richard Whittaker

The Book Club Was Better: Annihilation

Monday 8, BookPeople

You might say, “Wait, how can any movie that has Natalie Portman fighting herself as a mirror alien have a book version that’s better?” I might respond, “Sounds like you haven’t read Jeff VanderMeer’s mind-bending Southern Reach Trilogy!” BookPeople’s reading group focused on bringing attention to literary materials mined for film adaptations turns their sights to this eco-sci-fi thriller this month: Do the descriptions of Area X outclass cinematic depiction? Do the frightening transformations by the all-women investigative crew give better goosebumps on the page or onscreen? One thing’s for ding-dang sure: You’ll have to crack open the book to be sure.   – James Scott

Body Double

Monday 8, Alamo South Lamar

One comes to expect certain staples in a Brian De Palma joint. Bold colors, perverts as protagonists, and musical numbers – all of which feature in his 1984 Hitchcock pastiche Body Double. When staying over at a friend’s impossibly Eighties condo, Jake Scully – no relation to Jake Sully, the big blue Na’vi – witnesses what he believes to be the murder of a hot nude woman he’s been peeping on. Chaos ensues as Scully attempts to unravel the ensuing mystery – while also taking time to do a Frankie Goes to Hollywood music video. Wear your best pearls to the screening, as I’m sure you’ll be clutchin’ ’em tight.   – James Scott

Terror Tuesday: The Grapes of Death

Tuesday 9, Alamo South Lamar

Has any filmmaker combined sex and violence with quite the disturbing potency as French filmmaker Jean Rollin? Unafraid to switch his career trajectory between arthouse shockers and hardcore skin flicks, he melded those elements perfectly in 1978’s Les raisins de la mort, a heady blend of eco-horror and eroticism that could be easily double-billed with either David Cronenberg’s Rabid or George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, made all the more memorable for a magical, disturbing performance from his future muse: former porn star Brigitte Lahaie as the enigmatic Tall Blonde Woman.   – Richard Whittaker

Hot Topix: Sports!

Tuesday 9, Valhalla Tavern

Wahoo! Sports! All the balls and bats, the kneepads and shin guards, the fields and courts: Celebrate this gay-ass pastime of the fit & fabulous with Austin International Drag Foundation. Drag king Syd Prescott hosts with special guest judge Kelsey Hammer bringing the “hammer” down on which performers bring the best drag game to this competition. Winner scores $150, plus bragging rights that they’re the VIP. Tickets to witness this tournament run $10, but all proceeds go toward funding AIDF’s big drag convention. Again, I say: Wahoo!   – James Scott

The Bachelorette Viewing Party

Tuesday 9, Cheer Up Charlies

Ahoy, Bachelor Nation! For a new season is upon us: the 21st, in fact, belatedly featuring the series’ first Asian Bachelorette, Jenn Tran. This show is always bonkers, especially at the beginning with the endless parade of suitors battling it out for any morsel of screen time, so you don’t want to watch alone! Starting this Tuesday and continuing weekly, take in all the romance, the laughs, the cringe with hosts Kino Kino and Gender Destruction. This week’s very special guest is Queen of Tuesgays Diamond Dior Davenport, and DJ deadlao5 will offer beats as well as commentary on what’s sure to be an unreal premiere.   – Kat McNevins

Adaptations Book Club: Persepolis

Wednesday 10, We Luv Video

A graphic novel which sits beside Maus and American Born Chinese on the high shelf labeled “Important Drawn Biographical Tales,” Persepolis went from esteemed literature to film in 2007. Author Marjane Satrapi’s story of youthful rebellion, resilience in the face of oppression, and the teetering balance between loving and critiquing the culture you grew up in continues its relevance well into the 2020s. We Luv Video invites fans and new readers alike to join this discussion and watch party – with a special discount on the graphic novel if purchased through the Adaptations Book Club’s Bookshop.org page.   – James Scott

Muriel’s Wedding & Dogs in Space

Wednesday 10, Paramount Theatre

For its 50th year, the Paramount Summer Classic Film Series partnered with AFS Cinema for a pair of double features, as Austin Film Society screened films at Paramount before opening their own theatre – which this year is a Best of Austin Readers Poll winner. For this pairing we have two Australian gems, both edited by one of the world's finest, Jill Bilcock, who got an Oscar nod for Moulin Rouge! For rom-com Muriel’s Wedding (1994), Bilcock's handiwork turned Toni Collette's Muriel from awful to awful but likable, and for 1986 cult classic Dogs in Space it captured a grimy post-punk aesthetic matched by the music of INXS's Michael Hutchence, also starring in the film.   – Kat McNevins

Katie Folger: Getting in Bed With the Pizza Man

Wednesday 10 - Saturday 13, Ground Floor Theatre

“A lusty, self-written, one-woman oration on female sexual discovery, exploration, and empowerment.” That’s what we called Katie Folger’s one-woman show about dating in the pandemic when she debuted it in May 2023 at Crashbox. A year later, with a sellout L.A. run, a Best of Austin win for best actress, and a rave review from Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls podcast, now she’s bringing her raunchy memoir back for her hometown audiences. Make sure you’re in your seat early Friday and Saturday for a special comedy opening set from the hilarious Stef Dag.   – Richard Whittaker

Chess Club

Wednesday 10, First Light Books

Everyone may have hopped on the chess trend when The Queen’s Gambit came out during the pandemic, but some have stayed there. For those who want to take their game off Chess.com and into real life, it may be hard to find a community of players – but fear not, one of the most pleasant spaces in town offers just that. First Light Books on Speedway transforms into a chill wine bar vibe at night, staying up till 9pm – and on Wednesdays, they bring out the boards for anyone to use. Sample their summer snack menu including crudité, charcuterie boards, and assorted sandwiches to nosh on while you ponder your next move.   – Lina Fisher

Dirty Martin’s 98th Birthday

Thursday 11, Dirty Martin’s Place

Plans change, as they say. When the city proposed a route for its new light rail, it seemed like Austin’s oldest burger joint was going to be demolished just short of its centennial. With a shifted route, this 98th birthday celebration is no longer a sad farewell but a warm up for the big show in two years’ time. The dirt floors on which John Martin set his flat-top grill and eight-stool bar in 1926 may have been covered up over the years, but the tradition of Dirty’s – home to Quentin Tarantino’s favorite burger in Austin – lives on. Stop by to relive your UT glory days, with a cake-cutting and complimentary shakes at 7pm.   – Richard Whittaker

Keep It Zesty: Edy Massih With Nadia Chaudhury

Thursday 11, First Light Books

Gear up for an event with food royalty, as the incomparable Edy Massih brings his zesty book tour to our neck of the woods. Known for his inventive catering and immensely colorful Brooklyn storefront – Edy’s Grocer, specializing in Middle Eastern imports – Massih’s first cookbook is a feast for the stomach and the eyes. With pages as bright as his sparkling personality, Keep It Zesty entertains while sharing delectable Lebanese cuisine. He joins Eater editor and recent Best of Austin winner Nadia Chaudhury (yeah, we’ve got good taste) in conversation at First Light. Each ticket comes with a copy of the book, which is guaranteed to spice up your kitchen and your living space.   – Cat McCarrey

The Roxy Horror Picture Show: Day of the Beast

Thursday 11, Eastside Cinema

If you lived through the Eighties and Nineties, you’ll remember that the only Spanish movies you saw in America were either sex comedies by Pedro Almodóvar or movies trying to be an Almodóvar-esque sex comedy. Thank Heaven – or Hell – for Álex de la Iglesia, who blew that perception apart and introduced the world to the sleazy and sacrilegious joys of Spanish horror with The Day of the Beast (El día de la bestia). Join everyone’s favorite late-night horror host, Roxy Midnite, as she introduces his 1995 breakout, in which three of the worst demon hunters in the world try to avert the Apocalypse.   – Richard Whittaker

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Want to see all of our listings broken down by day? Go to austinchronicle.com/calendar and see what's happening now or in the coming week.