Stranger, smaller-room, and in-the-know Scope NYC picks for Friday, October 16, 2026.
Elizabeth Purchell introduces four short works from the Multi-Media Resource Center, an archive of sex-positive community video. Anthology screens the program on 16mm as part of its survey of the Center’s history.
Ken Russell’s uncut 1971 film returns in a 4K restoration: a political power struggle in 17th-century France turns a convent into a battleground of religion, sex and state violence. BAM’s 6:45 screening is an unruly repertory choice.
Open Mike Eagle brings his sharply written independent rap to the Sultan Room, pairing dense, conversational verses with a Brooklyn venue built for an up-close set.
Saxophonist Ole Mathisen, bassist Kim Cass and drummer Colin Stranahan form a newly assembled trio for original music at the Jazz Gallery, including Mathisen’s “Majorana Zero Modes.” The early set is followed by a second performance at 9 p.m.
Historian Tim Stewart-Winter discusses his book OUTED with author Hugh Ryan at the LGBT Center’s queer bookstore. The conversation traces the Cold War-era campaign against LGBTQ federal workers and the surveillance that shaped it.
Alamo Drafthouse brings Clive Barker’s Hellraiser world back for Hellbound: Hellraiser II, where Kirsty returns to the asylum after the first film’s supernatural nightmare. A 7 p.m. Friday cult-horror screening suits the venue’s repertory crowd.
The Red Pavilion’s house band plays Chinatown Jazz Noir, a live set framed around the venue’s blend of Shanghai-inspired decor, jazz and theatrical cabaret. It is an early-evening alternative to the standard club booking.
Chris Shields’s Morbid Weekend follows a pizza courier killed before completing three deliveries, then a young woman who grieves by inhabiting multiple personas. Spectacle pairs the 68-minute indie oddity with a director Q&A.
Hannah Gill and her band lead a live jazz séance while burlesque performers turn the Red Pavilion into a surreal cabaret. The 9:20 p.m. show comes with a 21+ entry rule and two-drink minimum.
The NYC Magic Ensemble brings a live bill of professional magic and mentalism to Caveat, with close-up tricks and stage illusions sharing the same late-night program.