“Sex offenses that would shock the Marquis de Sade!” sniffed critic Rex Reed in the Daily News, reviewing John Waters’ follow-up to the notorious Pink Flamingos. The perversities pile up in the tale of high-school delinquent and meatball sandwich-lover Dawn Davenport (played by Waters muse Divine), whose number one Christmas wish is for a pair of cha-cha heels. But her parents fail to heed her request, and her rage leads inexorably to stripping, prostitution, disfigurement, tabloid fame and mass murder.

Shot in Waters’ beloved native Baltimore on 16mm and featuring his regular Dreamlanders troupe–including Mink Stole, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Edith Massey, and Cookie Mueller–this endlessly quotable, gloriously lurid satire was Divine’s favorite of his own films.

“The sordid tale of Dawn Davenport, who rises from high school hoyden to mistress of crime… A true original.” – Variety

Screening as part of our new midnight series Sicks by John Waters

Previously screened as part of our midnight series, "Late-Night Favorites: Spring 2019."