Introduction by Jennifer Richards (Manchester Fashion Institute, Manchester Met)

When aspiring model Jesse moves to Los Angeles, her youth and vitality are devoured by a group of beauty-obsessed women who will use any means necessary to get what she has.

Set in the modern Gothic world of fashion, Nicholas Winding Refn’s The Neon Demon is a tale of beauty, narcissism, betrayal and death. The film itself uses many of the traditional modes akin to horror and gothic films but reframes these themes within a contemporary setting for a 21st Century audience.

Jennifer Richards is Lecturer in Arts and Humanities at Manchester Metropolitan University. Her research area explores the Gothic within Visual Communication and Fashion. Over the past year she has presented papers on Gothic subcultures at Kingston University, Manchester Gothic Festival and exhibited work at the University of Sheffield’s Reimagining the Gothic Showcase.

She has just published an article for the Fashion Studies Journal, which discusses the influence of witchcraft and mysticism in fashion and visual culture. She is currently working on the subject of transgressive women, and is currently co-convenor for Gothic Manchester Festival 2017.

The screening will be followed by a wine reception to celebrate the launch of this year’s MGAG exhibition ‘Black is Such a Happy Colour’.

If you combine joy and division, you may get a hint of what Manchester Gothic Arts Group- aka M:GAG- is all about. A ceremony celebrating love that won’t tear us apart but rather hold out a hand to keep outsiders inside. Step out of isolation and embrace the 10th Anniversary of its first ever exhibition, 'Unmasked' (2007 - Sacred Trinity Church, Salford). M:GAG continues its ongoing collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan University to bring you new art for the Gothic Manchester Festival, with hints of 'Unmasked' early work lurking in the dark... A celebration of the diversity of Gothic style, from belfries to banshees and Victorians to vampires through a variety of artistic media.

Join us as we descend the rickety stairwell into the crypt, our candle flame flickering in the wind. We will shine light into the darkness to see who wants to come out and play, because as The Crow flies and cries: ''It can't rain all the time''- not even in Manchester.