BILLY THE KID AND THE GREEN BAIZE VAMPIRE (1985) – Grindfest 2026

Dirt In the Gate Movies // Arrow Video Presents: GRINDFEST – BILLY THE KID AND THE GREEN BAIZE VAMPIRE (1985) – [35mm]

1985 | 95m | UK | (PG) | 1.85:1 | Dolby Stereo

“When I’ve finished with the Green Baize Vampire, he’s gonna need a blood transfusion, a brain transplant and a set of National Health railings”

A film so defiantly strange it feels like it slipped in from a parallel universe, Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire stands as one of the boldest, most unclassifiable entries in British cinema. Part rock opera, part horror‑tinged sports melodrama, part social satire, it transforms the world of professional snooker into a mythic battleground where youth, class, and superstition collide under neon lights.

The story follows Billy the Kid, a brash young hustler whose rise threatens the dominance of the Green Baize Vampire — an immortal, aristocratic cue‑sport legend whose theatrical presence borders on the supernatural. Their rivalry builds toward a high‑stakes showdown staged like a ritual sacrifice, complete with pounding musical numbers, surreal choreography, and a visual palette that swings between music‑hall camp and gothic excess. But beneath the spectacle lies a sharp commentary on 1980s Britain: the old guard clinging to power, the working‑class upstart fighting for a place at the table, and a media circus eager to turn everything into a spectacle.

Long misunderstood and often dismissed on release, Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire has since earned its place as a cult treasure: a musical horror western about snooker that shouldn’t work, yet somehow does so brilliantly. This 35mm screening invites audiences to rediscover — or finally discover — a film that remains as audacious, playful, and utterly singular as the day it premiered and we’re delighted to bring it to GRINDFEST.

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