If the last two days have proven anything, it’s that Milwaukee will freaking lose its mind over the mere idea of a lion. At least, local movie fans Stephen Milek and Christopher Kai House certainly hope that is the case, as the two film buffs – founders of Milwaukee Movie Talk, an online social media community dedicated to bringing fellow Cream City cinephiles together – attempt to bring the notoriously insane 1981 thriller/borderline snuff film "Roar" to town.

The film, about jungle cats run amok in a house and the family caught in the chaos, is infamous as one of the most bizarre and dangerous features ever made. As the rerelease poster ominously notes, no animals were harmed in the making of the film, but the same can’t be said for the poor fleshy humans on set, attempting to create a movie with dozens of untrained jungle cats and other exotic animals roaming around (a credit in the film notes that because the animals "chose to do as they wished, it’s only fair they share the writing and directing credits"). When the actors – including Tippi Hedren (also a producer) and her daughter Melanie Griffith – look terrified on screen, it’s because they are actually terrified, and when they’re mauled on screen, it’s because, yep, they’re actually getting mauled on screen.

"It’s real – all of the lion attacks – everything was real," said House, who saw "Roar" several years ago and "never really shook it." "If you know that going into the movie, it makes the movie all the more uncomfortable."

"Anytime a movie gets described as batsh*t crazy, it piques my interest," Milek added.

In the end, over 70 cast and crew members were injured during the filming of "Roar." The Wikipedia page for the movie has its own section dedicated to "injuries" (it’s the page’s largest section). Hedren fractured her leg and ankle after an elephant lost control on set (the elephant, named Tembo, had previously tossed its trainer into a tree, resulting in a broken shoulder). Hedren would also be bitten in the head by a lion during the production.

Meanwhile, Griffith, cinematographer Jan de Bont (who would later direct "Speed" and "Twister") assistant director Doron Kauper and many others were all mauled as well. Griffith required 50 stiches and facial reconstruction surgery, de Bont required about 120 stitches after being scalped during an attack and Kauper’s throat and jaw were bitten, nearly costing him his life according to some reports. Co-star Noel Marshall was attacked so often he was diagnosed with gangrene and took years to recover. And in case that wasn’t enough of mother nature’s wrath, "Roar" often had to cope with floods and wildfires.

And after all of that work and literal bloodshed, "Roar" flopped at the box office. However, several decades later, the movie was picked up and rereleased by Drafthouse Films, attracting a whole new generation of fascinated and horrified movie fans – including House and Milek, who immediately began working to bring it to their town.

"I thought it was the perfect movie to bring to Milwaukee," House said. "It’s a bizarre movie to watch. It’s one of those movies that you have to watch with a group of friends in the theater. It’s a fun time and an experience to watch it on the big screen."

"You’re going to walk out and be like, ‘ … whoa,’" Milek added.

The duo began by calling around and asking some local theater chains about getting the movie. After nothing came from those conversations, however, House and Milek moved to a different strategy: Tugg, which organizes essentially crowd-funded screenings of movies. The site rents a theater and a movie, and if a certain amount of people pre-order tickets, the screening happens. If not, the screening is cancelled and, much like with Kickstarter, those who did pre-order aren’t charged (the UWM Union Cinema has also teased getting the film on Facebook). The duo tried and failed using Tugg in the past for screenings of "The Princess Bride" or "Killer Klowns From Outer Space," but they hope "Roar" – a much rarer film and one whose cult classic status is just really drawing interest – will be a success. 

The screening is currently set for Thursday, Aug. 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the Marcus Majestic in Brookfield, but to do so, it needs to assemble 66 pre-sold tickets by August 13.

Milek and House hope to turn the evening into a real gathering as well. Though there is no confirmation, they aim to bring in a zoo expert to talk after the film, and their percentage of the proceeds will go toward the Milwaukee County Zoo.

"The movie might make people feel uncomfortable, so if people want to feel better about themselves – about watching this snuff film with lions or whatever – they’ll feel better knowing that some of that money went to a good cause," Milek laughed.

For Milek and House, their greater hope is that these film screenings can become a more common event for Milwaukee film fans.

"We would love to get more films to come to Milwaukee, just have some good conversations and hang out with people once a month or every six months, whatever we can do," Milek said.

"(The Milwaukee film scene) is bigger than a lot of people realize," House added. "That’s one of our big goals on Milwaukee Movie Talk: to really educate people and promote local film and filmmakers."

And luckily the Milwaukee lion just politely handed their current screening project some very convenient viral advertising.

"I wish we could take credit for that," Milek joked. 

To pre-order a ticket and help bring "Roar" to Milwaukee, visit the screening's Tugg site.