The Cramps: A Period Piece

Screening Friday, October 17 at 10:30 pm

by Bob Green

The Cramps: A Period Piece, from writer/director Brook H. Cellars (she/they), is exactly what it says on the tin. Those of you that own a uterus are in for a fantastic time.  So is everybody else.

Agnes Applewhite (Lauren Kitchen) is a young woman flowering into adulthood and doing her best to escape her claustrophobic home life, her holier-than-thou mother, and her sycophantic sister.  She finds community at her local salon, populated with a cast of kooky characters, but she and her pants hold a dark and hilarious secret.

Now, I’m not generally a big consumer of low-fidelity horror because ADHD can be a pain, but Cellars has found a colorful, fun, and out-there way to address the issues that people with uteri have to suffer.  I am not one of those people, so I rely on the viewpoint of filmmakers like Cellars and others to walk me through the process, as it were.

Conversations about bodily processes like menstruation and reproduction can make people uncomfortable, but The Cramps brings the subject to the table with an irreverence that transcends audience discomfort.

Cellars brings to mind Russ Meyer and Herschell Gordon Lewis, with a touch of Go Go culture and a soupçon of John Waters, much like Anna Biller’s The Love Witch (2016). 

It’s just a hair melodramatic with our soft-spoken lead meandering through the perils of romance, family, and… other things. But the sass from everyone else, like her new boss, Martini Bear (Laverne Lancaster), brings it right back home.  The special effects are on that edge of cheesy that aficionados of B-Grade cinema adore.  The supporting cast of drag queens, queer folks, enbies and allies just make it an absolute hoot.

We all know that it’s difficult to make a “so-bad-it’s-good” movie on purpose, but Cellars has nailed it.  This is a cult movie wonder and I dig it, baby.