The 2022 Milwaukee Film Festival is set to take over the Oriental Theatre, Avalon Theater, and Times Cinema April 22 – May 5. The 14th annual fest will feature 134 features and 150 short films. Of those 134 features, 14 are part of the Milwaukee Record-sponsored Cinema Hooligante program. (Seven films are strictly Hooligante; the other 7 fall into other programs as well.)

Cinema Hooligante flicks are, according to Milwaukee Film, “for the grownups who never grew up, the weirdos who never needed normal, and the unicorns who just want to have fun.” In other words, our people. Hello, Milwaukee Record readership!

NOW, we absolutely encourage you to check out as many MFF2022 films as possible, in as many programs as possible. There’s the one-night-only screening of Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Memoria. There’s the Black Lens program, the Cream City Cinema program, the Sound Vision program, and much more. (Some films are available virtually, too!) BUT, if you wanted to see all 14 Cinema Hooligante films, how would you do it? You would do it with this handy guide (with synopses courtesy of Milwaukee Film).

MFF2022 tickets are on sale NOW. And yes, this guide includes our “Bloody Sunday” events at Nice Times. LET’S DO THIS.

THURSDAY, APRIL 21

Opening Night! No Hooligante films! Get ready!

FRIDAY, APRIL 22

Hypochondriac
Oriental Theatre: Lubar Cinema, 7:45 p.m.

Everything in Will’s life is right on track. He has a dream job at an exclusive pottery studio, a supportive boyfriend, and a cute apartment. But when he starts experiencing mysterious symptoms and dreaming about a sinister man in a wolf costume, Will accepts that he needs to reckon with his traumatic past. Filled with mommy issues that rival PSYCHO, HYPOCHONDRIAC will give you chills and thrills that won’t soon be shaken off.

Neptune Frost
Oriental Theatre: Herzfeld Cinema, 9 p.m.

Receiving praise from critics and audiences at TIFF and NYFF, Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman’s NEPTUNE FROST is a visually striking Afro-futurist, sci-fi musical that places technology at stake in the pursuit of a global revolution. Set in past, present, and future Rwanda following the nation’s civil war, the film centers on a cosmic romance between an intersex hacker and a coltan miner, as they seek to protect the country’s precious natural resources.

Medusa
Avalon Theater, 9:45 p.m.

If you ever wondered what it would be like if SAVED! was directed by Dario Argento, look no further than MEDUSA. 21-year-old Mariana belongs to a church that demands she must do her utmost to keep up the appearance of a perfect woman. In order to resist temptation, she and her girlfriends try their best to control everything–and everyone–around them. At night, the girl squad dons masks to hunt and attack women who have sinned.

You Are Not My Mother
Oriental Theatre: Lubar Cinema, 11 p.m.

In this spine-tingling Irish folk horror film, it’s the week before Halloween and teenaged Char’s mother Angela has inexplicably disappeared, leaving only her abandoned car. When Angela returns home without explanation the following evening, it becomes clear to Char and her grandmother that something is amiss. She might look and sound the same, but Angela’s behavior has become increasingly frightening, as if she has been replaced by a malevolent force.

SATURDAY, APRIL 23

Saloum
Avalon Theater, 9:15 p.m.

Shot down after fleeing a coup and extracting a drug lord from Guinea-Bissau, the legendary mercenaries known as the Bangui Hyenas must stash their stolen gold bounty and lay low. They take refuge at a holiday camp in the Senegalese coastal region of Sine-Saloum, but there is something sinister lurking under the friendly façade. A bombastic blend of genre styles that would make Tarantino’s head spin, SALOUM will keep you on your toes from start to finish.

Piggy
Times Cinema, 9:30 p.m.

Shy teen Sara thinks she’s going to have a typical summer, hiding in her parents’ butcher shop to avoid being bullied for her weight and occasionally sneaking away for a swim during siesta. But everything changes when she witnesses her bullies being kidnapped by a serial killer who is terrorizing her town. Director Carlota Pereda has directed an instant horror classic made even better through actress Laura Galán’s astonishing commitment to her role as Sara.

Beyond The Infinite 2 Minutes
Oriental Theatre: Abele Cinema, 10 p.m.

Café owner Kato discovers that his PC monitor shows what will happen two minutes in the future. Another screen downstairs in his café shows two minutes in the past. His friends decide to place the mysterious devices opposite each other, creating a loop to see into the future. Naturally, chaos ensues. With a timeline as complex as PRIMER and a cast as charming as Bill and Ted, BEYOND THE INFINITE 2 MINUTES is a time travel film for the ages. Preceded by TRANSMISSION, Dir. Noah Meister.

I Dream Of A Psychopomp
Oriental Theatre: Lubar Cinema, 10:30 p.m.

Grieving widower Kerry is tormented by the ghost of his recently deceased wife. As he sleeps, he has a vision of a psychopomp, a spirit whose responsibility is to escort newly dead souls from Earth to the afterlife. The specter teaches him about the spirit world and soul, guiding him through stories of death and the supernatural. I DREAM OF A PSYCHOPOMP is a horror anthology told with visual panache that will haunt you long after the credits roll.

SUNDAY, APRIL 24

Beyond The Infinite 2 Minutes
Virtual availability begins

“Bloody Sunday”
Nice Times, 11 a.m.

These free events will feature Bloody Marys and other food and drinks sold by Nice Times, free cold pizza supplied by Milwaukee Record, and goofy horror movies projected on the wall. Oh, and Nice Times’ regular Sunday markets will be happening at the same time! Fun! What will we show? Who knows! The only thing we do know is that, unlike the time we did this way back in 2013, we will absolutely NOT screen The Human Centipede.

Bitch Ass
Times Cinema, 6:30 p.m.

Bill Posley’s nod to urban horror classics (which includes an appearance by the star of the original CANDYMAN, Tony Todd) presents familiar childhood games with a bloody twist. As part of their initiation, four neighborhood gang recruits seek to break into a house that contains a fortune in untold riches. Little do they know it’s actually a house of horrors where they will be forced to play high-stakes board games that can cost them their lives.

Monday, April 25

No Hooligante films! Check out the first “Milwaukee Show” at the Oriental though!

TUESDAY, APRIL 26

Belle
Times Cinema, 6:30 p.m.

Suzu, a shy, ordinary high school student living in a rural village, begins exploring “U,” a massive virtual world where she escapes into an online persona she’s created called Belle, a globally-beloved singer. When her concert is interrupted by a monstrous creature who captivates Suzu’s curiosity, she embarks to uncover the identity of the “beast,” and discovers her true self in a world where you can be anyone. Dive into this visually captivating and emotionally raw take on a tale as old as time, created by Academy Award-nominated Mamoru Hosoda. Ages 13+.

Hatching
Times Cinema, 9:30 p.m.

12-year-old Tinja has the perfect family. Her mom is a successful housewife influencer, her dad supports their lavish lifestyle, and Tinja herself is a star gymnast. But everything is not as rosy as it might seem. One night, Tinja finds a strange egg. What hatches is beyond belief. “An alternately beautiful and disgusting metaphor for the grossness of girlhood, HATCHING is somehow a mash-up of EIGHTH GRADE, GREMLINS, and E.T.” (Thrillist)

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27

I Dream Of A Psychopomp
Times Cinema, 8:45 p.m.

Bitch Ass
Oriental Theatre: Herzfeld Cinema, 9 p.m.

THURSDAY, APRIL 28

Cinebuds LIVE: The Thing
Oriental Theatre: Abele Cinema, 8 p.m.

Milwaukee Film and RadioMilwaukee are thrilled to team up for an unforgettable 40th anniversary screening of THE THING on 35mm, presented by Cinebuds hosts Justin Barney and Kristopher Pollard! The spicy boys themselves will view the film alongside our audience and then stick around afterwards for a live podcast recording on stage where you can get in on the banter during the Q&A. The hot takes will give new meaning to “Man is the warmest place to hide.”

Beyond The Infinite 2 Minutes
Oriental Theatre: Lubar Cinema, 9 p.m.

FRIDAY, APRIL 29

Medusa
Oriental Theatre: Lubar Cinema, 9 p.m.

Saloum
Times Cinema, 9:30 p.m.

Hatching
Oriental Theatre: Abele Cinema, 11:59 p.m.

SATURDAY, APRIL 30

Hypochondriac
Avalon Theater, 9:30 p.m.

Watcher
Oriental Theatre: Abele Cinema, 10 p.m.

Maika Monroe (IT FOLLOWS) plays Julia, a young actress who just moved to Romania with her boyfriend. She doesn’t know anyone in town and can’t speak the language, causing her to feel more and more isolated, spending her days alone in their cavernous apartment. When news spreads of a serial killer stalking the city, Julia becomes convinced that her Peeping Tom neighbor is the murderer.

You Are Not My Mother
Oriental Theatre: Herzfeld Cinema, 11 p.m.

Piggy
Oriental Theatre: Lubar Cinema, 11:59 p.m.

SUNDAY, MAY 1

“Bloody Sunday”
Nice Times, 11 a.m.

Good Madam
Avalon Theater, 10 p.m.

Tsidi, a single mother, is forced to move in with her estranged mother Mavis, a live-in domestic worker caring obsessively for her catatonic white “Madam.” As Tsidi tries to heal her family, a sinister specter begins to stir. GOOD MADAM is “a masterclass in how horror can speak to race and inequality, set in a world of servitude presented as a terrifying, powerful and unrelentingly enduring mode of postcolonial possession” (Alliance of Women Film Journalists).