“Not only does Vincent give a great, measured performance, but Anabel Shaw gives a brilliant and exhausting performance as poor, persecuted Janet, and Lynn Bari is so good that you want to murder her due to how scheming and conniving she is. This film does not stop for breath!” – Pale Writer

Help us celebrate Vincent Price’s birthday (a bit early) with one of his most underseen treasures, 1946’s SHOCK. This shadowy horror-noir boasts one of Price’s earliest villain roles as well as one of his first lead turns. It also just so happens to fit beautifully into Arkadin’s theme this month, INSTITUTIONALIZED: MENTAL INSTITUTIONS ON FILM! Price plays Dr. Richard Cross, who savagely beats his wife to death with a candlestick just minutes into the film. This villainous deed is witnessed by the unsuspecting Janet (Anabel Shaw), which sends her into…you guessed it: SHOCK! Dr. Cross conspires with his lover Elaine (Lynn Bari)—who also happens to be the head nurse of the psych hospital where he practices—to keep this poor young woman in a state of petrified silence, eventually having her committed to his hospital. As Cross and Elaine grow increasingly desperate to ensure her lips stay sealed, the film builds to a…ahem…shocking climax. SHOCK helped cement Price’s status as a master of elegant menace, with one reviewer describing his performance as “terrific, smooth, menacing, and as dangerous as a tiger’s paw.”

This screening’s on us — totally free! Tickets can be reserved using the button above.

We’ll have a Vincent Price pre-show at 5 pm as well as Vincent Price trivia (with prizes!) before the film.

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, Arkadin presents INSTITUTIONALIZED: MENTAL INSTITUTIONS ON FILM, a series of movies that depict asylums, sanitariums, and psychiatric hospitals — some with unvarnished realism, others with surrealism, whimsy or horror. At several screenings, academics and mental health experts will introduce the film with a talk that unpacks the film’s treatment of mental healthcare and provides context on the history of psychiatric institutions.

Arkadin does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. However, we encourage researching titles to determine if a screening may contain content that could be upsetting to you. Please feel free to contact us for guidance on specific films. Information about content can also be found on Common Sense Media, IMDB and DoesTheDogDie.com, as well as through general internet searches.