By Matt Mueller Culture Editor Published Mar 21, 2019 at 2:06 PM

Spring is finally here, summer is in hot pursuit and the days are getting longer. And for any film fans, they're going to be even longer thanks to the Downer Theatre and the return of its Almost Midnight late night movie series, a collection of retro favorites, outrageous oddities and cult classics perfect for revisiting at wild hours of the night.

The Downer's latest picks might be their best batch yet, starting hot right off the bat with the bonkers Nicolas Cage demon biker horror-thriller "Mandy" – and frankly "bonkers Nicolas Cage demon biker horror-thriller" undersells how eye-buggingly mad this movie is. And that's just the beginning, as Almost Midnight also has the laser-sharp rock rom-com "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," the 40th anniversary of the iconic sci-fi chiller "Alien," the insanity of the Jananese horror flick "House" and the rock doc joy that is "Stop Making Sense." Plus, it's not a midnight movie fest if you don't screen the so-bad-it's-brilliant classic "The Room."

And there's so much more. Here's the full list of crazy movies headed to the Downer:

April 19-20 – "Mandy"

April 26-27 – "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World"

May 3-4 – "Alien"

May 10-11 – "House"

May 17-18 – "The Room"

May 24-25 – "Gremlins"

May 31-June 1 – "Stop Making Sense"

June 7-8 – "Howl's Moving Castle"

For tickets, visit the Downer's website. For coffee or a sugary snack to help make it to the end credits after hours (they don't call it the Almost Midnight movie series for nothing; each film screens Fridays and Saturdays just before the witching hour), visit the vending stand. And for a glimpse of the Nic Cage axe-fighting, LSD-soaked, demon biker madness awaiting you on the first two nights, visit the trailer right below this paragraph. 

Matt Mueller Culture Editor

As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.

When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.