Black Gloves and Red Lights is a tour through Giallo—the stylish, gruesome, and psychosexual thriller genre that flourished in midcentury Italian cinema. Blending pulp fiction twists with surreal visuals, erotic tension, and baroque violence, these films revel in mystery, excess, and fractured identities.

Now in its third year, the series dives into both cult classics and deeper cuts, tracing the genre’s evolution from its blood-soaked roots to modern reinterpretations. With masked killers, unreliable narrators, and iconic imagery, Black Gloves and Red Lights invites audiences to explore a cinematic world where nothing is what it seems — and beauty always comes at a cost.

About the Programmer: Mike Kendrick is an Edmonton-based artist, designer, and kitsch culture enthusiast. Since 2022, he’s been a Metro Cinema volunteer, designing posters and crafting cocktails for special events. A lifelong lover of the weird and macabre, Mike draws on horror and camp as creative outlets, and loves making the genre accessible to newcomers — eager rookies and scaredy cats alike.