Summer Creature Double Feature: The Shape of Water15

Directed by Guillermo del Toro | USA | 2017 | 2h 3m | Starring Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Michael Stuhlbarg

Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar-winning film explores themes of marginalisation and sexuality in the claustrophobic context of America in the Cold War panic of the early 1960s. An ‘Amphibian Man’ is brought into a government research facility and a relationship develops between him and Elisa, a mute janitor. The film then follows Elisa, her colleague, Zelda, and Giles, a gay artist struggling to make his way in the advertising industry, as they try to help the Amphibian Man and fend off threatening government agents. A magnificently realised film, combining fantasy, romance, and critical commentary.

The Shape of Water is showing alongside Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954) as part of a Summer Creature Double Feature, introduced by Dr Michael Goodrum (Canterbury Christ Church University). Book tickets to both screenings in a single transaction and receive a 25% discount on the total cost.

Reviews

‘Del Toro’s greatest work. Simply magnificent.’
★★★★★
Matthew Thrift, Little White Lies

‘It’s the biggest risk of del Toro’s career and it could not have paid off more.’
★★★★★
Olly Richards, Empire Magazine

Book tickets

Saturday 22 August

+ Introduction

8.15pmBook tickets

What else is on?

Tomorrow (Saturday 25th July)

15:00

The Furious 18
1h 53m | English + some Mandarin & Tagalog w/ English subtitles
When his daughter is kidnapped and police turn their backs, Wang Wei goes rogue, joined by Navin, a journalist whose wife has vanished too. Fuelled by rage, the two men wage explosive war on the kidnappers in this high-octane Hong Kong martial arts thriller.

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17:30

Paris, Texas 12A
2h 30m
Travis Henderson emerges from the desert after four years missing, with no memory of who he is, and must slowly reconnect with his family. Written by Sam Shepard, Wim Wenders's profoundly moving character study won the Palme d'Or at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.

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20:45

The Invite 15
1h 47m
Joe and Angela's shaky marriage faces its biggest test yet when dinner with their enigmatic upstairs neighbours takes a wild turn. Rashida Jones's razor-sharp script and Olivia Wilde's direction fuel this riotous relationship comedy, with Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton on scene-stealing form.

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Sunday 26th July

12:30

Freaky Friday PG
Kino Kids Cinema Club
1h 37m
When a mother and her teenage daughter mysteriously swap bodies, everyday life becomes chaos. Forced to experience each other’s worlds, they stumble through school disasters, family tensions, and embarrassing misunderstandings.

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15:00

The Invite 15
1h 47m
Joe and Angela's shaky marriage faces its biggest test yet when dinner with their enigmatic upstairs neighbours takes a wild turn. Rashida Jones's razor-sharp script and Olivia Wilde's direction fuel this riotous relationship comedy, with Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton on scene-stealing form.

Book here

17:30

A Private Life 15
1h 43m | French w/ English subtitles
A patient's sudden death sends a renowned psychiatrist chasing murder, secrets and lies, with her charming ex-husband along for the investigation. Jodie Foster dazzles in fluent French and comic form in this stylish mystery thriller from director Rebecca Zlotowski (Other People's Children).

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20:00

R.E.M x Sherlock Jr 12A
+ Introduction
1h 13m
From the team behind Silents Synced, Buster Keaton's dreamlike 1924 masterpiece gets an electrifying makeover, scored to R.E.M.'s Monster and New Adventures in Hi-Fi. Part of the Oxford Comedy Festival 2026.

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Plan your visit

Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road.We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We only show a few adverts – less than most cinemas – and we only play a couple of trailers, so please don’t be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!