Fist City is a monthly series by The Saint Louis Video Society that pulls the most obscure, weird and rarely seen/ screened VHS Tapes from their archive and brings them to the Arkadin screen…for FREE!

In the mid-80s, the Philippines and Corazon Aquino’s administration are racked with political violence in the wake of the ousted Marcos regime. Small, decentralized squads of killers are assassinating police and military personnel in coordinated attacks. Multiple filmmakers attempted to dramatize and sensationalize these squads, called Sparrow Units. One such shining example of this high stakes, very real approach to filmmaking is Ben Yalung’s SPARROW UNIT: THE TERMINATION SQUAD or TARGET: SPARROW UNIT. It plays fast and loose with the political underpinnings to the hit-squads, and leans more heavily into the interpersonal dynamics of the young people exacting deadly violence upon the Philippine state.

Much like the most extreme variety of Hong Kong action, SPARROW UNIT explodes thousands of squibs in wild interpretation of “Heroic Bloodshed”-style filmmaking. The final shootout rivals any of Hollywood’s most iconic bursts of relentless violence, such as BONNIE & CLYDE, THE GODFATHER, and ROBOCOP. Don’t miss the opportunity to see this rare film, UNCUT and dubbed in English, ripped from an elusive, Greek import VHS tape!

A pre-show of curated insanity will start at 6 pm, so come out early!

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.

THEATER POLICIES

All seats are first-come, first-served.

The theater opens 30 minutes prior to showtime, except for “Happy Hour” events and pre-shows when the theater opens at the listed start time.

All ages are welcome at Arkadin except for Drinkolas Cage events, which are restricted to 21+. We follow the MPAA rating guidelines for all other films.

Tickets can be purchased using the BUY TICKETS link above. Upon ordering, you will receive a confirmation email from Square. Tickets may also be purchased on the day of the show at the concession counter.

If you’ve purchased advance tickets, when you arrive, please give your name at the concession counter to check in.

Tickets are returnable by sending a request through the contact form located on our About Us page prior to showtime.

When an event is sold out, we reserve the right to release open seats to customers on the waitlist. If you have a pre-purchased ticket and arrive late and there is no seat for you, your ticket will be refunded.

All screenings are held in our indoor theater unless indicated otherwise in the event description above.

Please respect your fellow movie-goers by remaining quiet and refraining from using your cell phone throughout the screening.