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To the University on a chilled Monday evening for a screening of Man Bites Dog at the lovely Lakeside Theatre. Moving Image, the independent community cinema in Wivenhoe, is running a schedule of films on campus each Monday. Whereas the Saturday night schedule at the Phillip Road Centre just off the High Street is more mainstream, the Lakeside allows the schedule to be slightly left of centre.

And boy - you can’t get more left of centre than Man Bites Dog.

Blimey.

This is a film that passed me by back in the day. It is still spoken of with a reverence that is usually reserved for genuine cult classics. I lost count of the cold-blooded killings within the first five minutes. With scenes of gang rape and child murder thrown in for good measure, I’m just glad that this wasn’t on the bill back at Phillip Road.

But anyway - it’s all good stuff (as far as such violent scenes can ever be good stuff.) Moving Image rightfully makes no excuses for putting forward such a challenging schedule. If you want to see Harry Potter, then the Odeon in Sunny Colchester is for you.

The Lakeside remains a magnificent venue for these screenings. This is a genuine Town and Gown experience, taking something out of Wivenhoe, and then relocating on campus. There wasn’t a great scholarly presence at the Lakeside on Monday evening, but then it wasn’t the most welcoming of wintery evenings.

Moving Image takes a short seasonal break over the coming weeks. This has been a brilliant opening period for the community cinema in Wivenhoe. Keep an eye on the website for details of the programme in the new year.

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