After three years of what Rocky Horror Picture Show shadow casts refer to as “antici…(Say it! Say it! SAY IT!)…pation,” the River Oaks Theatre is finally screening movies again as of October 3. And running its RHPS live shows on select midnights. And inviting stand-up comedians and musicians to perform on stage. And serving food that you can now eat in your seat while you enjoy your movie, from a new menu that includes a strawberry mascarpone cheesecake and a Luv Ya Blue Burger with fried onions and gorgonzola.

Cinephiles of Houston, you may exhale now: The most legendary art house in the city hasn’t returned hobbling on hamstrung knees, wheezing as it pulls from an oxygen tank. New owner Culinary Khancepts, of Star Cinema Grill renown, may have made a few upgrades with the plush seating and new screens (sized to fit both current Hollywood blockbusters as well as the wider scopes of older or foreign-language films), but its spirit as a gathering place for both new and seasoned movie buffs remains the same as it ever was. So, too, does its iconic art deco interior from 1939.

“It’s been a long journey, and there’s been a lot of unknowns that we found along the way that made this such a long process… It’s awesome to be at the end and see that it stayed the way it stayed. It just feels new and fresh,” says Jason Ostrow, Culinary Khancepts’ vice president who oversaw the theater’s restoration. “This has been more unique and different than anything else we’ve done, but it’s also gotten the most attention and probably [been] the most rewarding.”

An appropriately cinematic conclusion requires an appropriately cinematic lineup of showings and events to honor the reopening. The River Oaks returning to the local film scene marks a significant step forward for Houston’s billion-dollar arts industry, filling a gap that had been left when it initially closed in March 2021.

“Other theaters have really stepped up their game since the River Oaks closed a few years ago to bring art house films to Houston, but they’re not always consistent in that programming,” says Robert Saucedo, artistic director at the River Oaks. “[The theater] has been a hole that the Houston community has been missing, and we’re just trying to bring that programming back and give people the full-time, dedicated art-house theater that they’ve been missing.”

He points out that he’s only one person with his own personal tastes. To provide a diverse range of programming, he consults with local film fans on what to schedule, even inviting them to develop their own series for showings on one of the three screens (two of which have 50 seats and the other 237).

Friends of the River Oaks Theatre—the nonprofit dedicated to ensuring the space didn’t crumble beneath the ever-looming threat of a wrecking ball (or transform into a doomed oyster bar like the poor Tower Theatre)—was one of the obvious choices for a partnership following their rebranding to Arthouse Houston. It was originally founded in 2021, but now that the organization has achieved its initial goal, the leaders decided to refocus their resources on promoting indie, art house, and cult cinema throughout the city.

“The art of film uses all these layers. Performing arts, screenwriting, creative writing, visual arts,” says Maureen McNamara, cofounder and board member of Arthouse Houston, who also managed the theater’s previous tenant, Landmark Cinemas. “It’s all of the arts collaborating together to make something that can move our spirits, move our hearts, and has the potential to…mak[e] the world a smaller place and [have audience members] see themselves as part of the bigger world.”

One project in the works between the nonprofit and the theater includes the intriguingly titled Art in the Art House series, though programming for that has yet to be finalized. McNamara also mentions upcoming collaborations with filmmakers (and Houston natives) Wes Anderson and Richard Linklater, two of the River Oaks’ most outspoken allies.

Curating showings and events with such care, and paying attention to what the local community responds to best, establishes the theater as a congregation point for local moviegoers looking for a new title to love, or an older one to love in a new way.

“I’ve learned over the last 13 years that people in Houston are very passionate about film, but what maybe separates us from a city like Austin is that we’re more spread out,” Saucedo says. “There are film fans in Katy and Pearland and Tomball and in the inner loop. There’s not a lot of great places for them to convene.”

While the River Oaks currently stands as the sole extant art house movie theater in the city, with all the tempting possibilities that entails, McNamara doesn’t view the pre-pandemic shuttering of spots like the Angelika or Sundance as a uniquely Houston situation. Independent, art house, experimental, cult, and foreign language movies require preservation—especially as streaming services continue to dump shows and movies without physical releases. But McNamara speaks of the theater closings as less of a disconcerting trend and more of a surmountable managerial challenge.

To make an art house theater work, she says a city needs to support and fund its overall arts communities—not just film, but the performing, visual, and cultural arts scenes as well. Theater owners must also treat the space as an indelible part of this overarching creative milieu rather than a general commercial theater only playing first-run Hollywood movies and perhaps a couple of the more profitable indies from time to time. Such a foundation is crucial to ensuring that the cinematic arts thrive.

The River Oaks’ upcoming programming incorporates the interdisciplinary artistic eye McNamara believes to be crucial for an art house theater’s survival. Its first selection of showings includes the sold-out Joker: Folie à Deux tonight, in addition to plenty of David Lynch, seasonal Halloween horror fare, kid-friendly classics, a 4K restoration of The Fall, and a movie night series where the audience has no idea what they’ll be watching—the only hint is that it’ll be a rarity found on VHS.

Beyond the celluloid (or, depending on the movie, digital cinema package file), Saucedo has already booked stand-up comedians Jared Goldstein and Erica Rhodes. Invincible Czars will play its Nosferatu soundtrack live alongside the 1922 movie itself. A drag brunch debuts on November 20. He hopes to turn the monthly pamphlets outlining upcoming screenings and events into a zine featuring Houston writers rhapsodizing about their favorite films and memories from the River Oaks’ history.

A history which, given its 85 years of life, is art in and of itself. Culinary Khancepts may have given the theater a polish, but has stayed true to its character. The massive statues of land and sea goddesses on either side of the screen remain, now with an appropriately shiny patina, and even the new recliner seating was designed explicitly to look period-appropriate. While waiting for your movie to start, the surrounding environs drum up their own sense of anticipation, imagination, and exploration.

Disclosure: Prior to joining Houstonia’s staff, the author of this article edited one of Robert Saucedo’s comic books and performed voice-over for the trailer.