Cinema Usher is a Scout column dedicated to detailing some of the best films playing in theatres with the when, where and why you should really give a damn and go watch. Presented by Ken Tsui.

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Hounds of Love

June 6th | The Rio Theatre, 1660 E. Broadway | DETAILS

Making ripples in the 2017 festival circuit (and no allusions to the Kate Bush song by the same name), Australian director Ben Young’s ‘Hounds of Love’ is being touted as one of the scariest films of the year. Framed neatly as a grisly serial killer flick, the movie is about a sadistic couple on the prowl for young victims on the streets of Perth. It’s there that they come across Vicki. Eventually kidnapped and shackled to a bed, Vicki must play a psychological game to drive a wedge between the psychotic couple in order to survive. Though not for the faint of heart, ‘Hounds of Love’ is a stylistically glossy and darkly intense psychological thriller that’s divisive in its relentless cruelty but perfect for anyone looking for a midnight madness shocker. Make sure to catch its brief appearance at the Rio!

Manifesto

June 16th – 19th, 22nd & 27th | Vancity Theatre, 1181 Seymour St. | DETAILS

Originally presented as a staggering, multi-screen art installation in Manhattan’s Park Avenue Armoury, visual artist Julian Rosefeldt’s ‘Manifesto’ compiles 13 vignettes into one ambitious film. Focused on 13 different political and artistic statements of beliefs, principles and aims, the chameleonic Cate Blanchett is a conduit for thinkers including Karl Marx, Jim Jarmusch and Claes Oldenburg. Each manifesto is paired with a surprising/bewildering new role for Blanchett (everything from a homeless person to a clean-cut fifth grade teacher). Rosefeldt’s film is an irreverent, fun and heady crash course in performance and some of the most inflammatory proclamations of the 20th century.

The Green Ray

June 24th – 25th & 30th | The Cinematheque | DETAILS

French director Eric Rohmer is a master of situating his films in and around the breezy beaches and vacation homes of summer. With the weather clearing here at home, there’s no better time to get in the mood with one of Rohmer’s works. Playing as part of ‘Comedies and Parodies’ series screening at the Cinematheque in June, ‘The Green Ray’ is the one to catch. The movie stars Marie Rivière as Delphine, a lonely summer vacationer in search of love who inadvertently discovers a fascination for something far more poetic. Based on Arthur Rimbaud’s pithy proverb,”Ah, for the days/That set our hearts ablaze”, this breezy film is a quiet masterpiece that is a perfect pairing for the season.