Tape Freaks has been unleashing secret cult cinema gems for a decade-plus
MINNEAPOLIS — For more than a decade, the cult movie enthusiasts of Tape Freaks has been curating cinema oddities, and recently their hard work has been paying off.
The organization hosts a monthly showing of a mystery movie that is guaranteed to surprise its audience. Sometimes their unsuspecting audiences get a treat, and other times a trick.
It's not just the mystery that's drawing in crowds. Since January, Tape Freaks has sold out every show, and it's not slowing down. But what exactly is drawing in these audiences? Something they can't get anywhere else.
"Those fringe movies, oddities are the ones I absolutely love. And by doing that they are creating something you have never seen before," Tape Freaks' Tim Alan Holly said.
Tape freaks specializes in great "bad" movies. But what makes a bad movie something you can't miss?
"I'm always looking for a movie to surprise me, and a lot of the time they do surprise me because they make choices no others would," Holly said. "I try not to use the term 'bad movie' nowadays. I know the popular opinion is 'it's so bad it's good.'"
Ten years ago, Tape Freaks was started with one goal in mind: sharing an experience like no other.
"Tape Freaks is especially fun because they don't know what they are in for and you hear those audible reactions early on," Holly said.
The sudden, booming popularity of the show is just as big of a mystery of the movies they show, generally at the intimate single-screen Trylon Cinema in south Minneapolis.
"It's hard to pinpoint exactly what is working, but it doesn't stop me from trying a billion different things and just keep having fun with it," Holly said. "Come in with an open mind, and if you do you'll enjoy the ride."
If you want to check out Tape Freaks for yourself, you may have to book your tickets in advance.