Forums of Filth

I've been whining here for years that my locale gets the shaft when it comes to special screenings of cheesy movies late at night. That is no longer a problem for me.

I had an idea a while back to host horror movies at midnight at this old theater locally and the old owner said that he was into it, but wasn't going to be in control of the theater for much longer. But it turns out that the new owner bought the theater with the intention of bringing back midnight showings, Rocky Horror, genre movie festivals and so on.

http://www.iokaentertainment.com/event_ ... l.asp?id=2

Now all you have to do is INFORM this new owner about what kinds of films you want to see at midnight. Offer distributer info if you have it. You'd be surprised how clueless some of these managers are.

I don't know, that looks like a pretty good lineup to me. Unfortunately, most of the stuff that I wouldn't mind making the 2 hour drive there for is stuff I've already seen on the big screen in the last couple of years. The Brain That Wouldn't Die/Crawling Hand double bill would be the most tempting. Yojimbo/Sanjuro seem more than a little out of place though, don't you think?

Now what you need to do is to get this guy to stage some good old spook shows! No one does that anymore. Though while searching online for spook show posters, I did come across a site for some guy in Burlington, Vermont by the name of Davey Horror who as recently as last year was doing them once a year. Anyone ever heard of the guy? I emailed him about it, but never got a response.

Congratulations man, that's pretty sweet. I could only dream of shit like that over here. We're stuck with mainstream crap. They got rid of all the midnight movies. Even the beloved theatre the 83rd Street(?) Playhouse is no more. That was the quintesential place to see ROCKY HORROR. It's been featured in many movies as well as the Laserdisc release. Can't say I know what's on the DVD...

Originally posted by ROBERT
Now all you have to do is INFORM this new owner about what kinds of films you want to see at midnight. Offer distributer info if you have it. You'd be surprised how clueless some of these managers are.

Well, I did email the guy about how excited I was and dropped my old idea of midnight horror on him and he told me that it sounded like a great idea and mentioned some horror fest for around halloween but wasn't specific as to what he planned to show.

I outlined an idea for Halloween. A four weekend series featuring one of the four big American horror directors each weekend. Do it like a drive-in format with a name movie on the A picture and something less known on the B picture.

Week 1: Wes Craven (A: Nightmare On Elm St. B: The Hills Have Eyes)
Week 2: Tobe Hooper (A: Poltergeist B: Texas Chainsaw)
Week 3: George Romero (A: Dawn of the Dead B: Martin)
Week 4: John Carpenter (A: Halloween B: The Thing)

What's available to screen is really up to his distributor, but he seemed to like the idea and asked me to volunteer in the promotion and production of the shows. The only problem is that I have one name for distribution, some guy from LA named Johnny Legend. He's some kind of old rockabilly musician who buys up prints of shitty movies when they become available. However his list read like a softcore porno store. Movies like Lesbian Vampire Sorority Slumberparty Massacre Part 4. So I couldn't find anything worth showing from him. I mailed Grindhouse about getting a list of their available prints and they were extremely slow to get back to me, probably due to their extremely busy Hollywood schedule. The mail I got back from the was basically "Thanks for your interest, we'll get back to you soon." And I never heard from them again.

I'd love to set up theme nights as often as possible, too. A revenge double feature (Death Wish & The Exterminator), America Rocks! (Rambo & Red Dawn), Universal Monsters and so on. It's a great old theater and would be a lot of fun to do this sort of thing.

Originally posted by DylanDog
Yojimbo/Sanjuro seem more than a little out of place though, don't you think?

Especially since they're listed under the kung fu title. That raised an eyebrow. I'm pretty familiar with kung fu old and new, so I think a chopsocky double feature would be a great thing to do every now and then, too.

Originally posted by DylanDog
get this guy to stage some good old spook shows! No one does that anymore. Though while searching online for spook show posters, I did come across a site for some guy in Burlington, Vermont by the name of Davey Horror who as recently as last year was doing them once a year. Anyone ever heard of the guy? I emailed him about it, but never got a response.

I just looked up his site! Awesome! At first I thought you might have meant the gimmicky kind of horror shows with shockers in the seats and giant monsters roaming the asiles and everyone gets a barfbag when they come in but this sounds ever better! I've never even heard of this phenomenon before. I'm going to have to bring it up with the Ioka and do some research, or even mail this Davey Horror guy about putting on a show around here.

Never heard of spook shows?!??! Didn't I tell you all to buy this dvd a couple years back??

http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemID=IMA008052

And don't let that listing fool you, this dvd is jam-packed with extras.

Of course, I've never been to an actual spook show myself, but I've always loved the poster art (and have been lucky enough to score 4 of them in the last week! ) and would love to get the chance to see something like that done again.

Seriously, Dave. You've turned me on to something entirely new to me. I read some reviews of that movie and everyone seems to agree that it sucks but it occurred to me that maybe they're not aware of the context. I'll have to check it out.

I've tried looking around for more information, maybe some history and other spookshow troupes, but all I can find on google are links to lyrics for Rob Zombie's Spookshow Baby song.

When I talk to the guy at the theater next, I'm definitely going to bring up the spookshow idea.

Shit, at times like this, I wish I was back in the ATL:

http://www.hauntedatlanta.com/mb/index.htm

Oh, and don't worry about the quality of the actual "Monsters Crash The Pajama Party" movie itself, (though it is really fun), you want the dvd for all the kickass extras, which are too numerous to list right now, since it's late, I'm tired and just got back from the carnival where I ate bad fried dough, went on one too many rides and puked on the sidewalk.

I went to the first show on friday and it was a good time. I hadn't seen any of these movies. My only exposure to Roger Corman came at the hands of Mystery Science Theater so this was entirely new to me. Despite the nearly complete lack of budget, they actually weren't that bad.

I introduced myself to the owner and tried to talk to him. After all, he did invite me to help out. But the guy seemed really busy getting everything set up and even when he had some down time, he was apprehensive to talk to me. I must have this effect on people or something that scares them away.

The turnout was pretty grim. Besides myself and a friend, plus a writer from one of the local papers, there were probably 6 people there total. It was the first show, though, and the bartender assured me that word of mouth would spread and get more people in here. Until then, I'm still pimping the show.

I assumed that this guy was getting prints through distribution and paying for licenses, but it actually turns out that they're all sourced from DVDs through a DVD projector. He pays nothing for the showing because he's charging nothing. Some of these discs he showed were obviously from bargain bin discs because the sound and picture in some of them are incredibly bad. Little Shop Of Horrors was sometimes completely incomprehensible because the sound was distorted terribly through the house system.

It was a good time, though. We had a couple of beers and a lot of laughs. What's also cool is that the owner does an MC bit before each movie and drops a lot of science about the directors and the movies. He certainly knows his stuff as he preceeded every flick with a ten minute speech and even took questions!

I'm going to keep on this guy, though. I really want to get in on it. Since he's just doing the DVD thing, he can show pretty much whatever is on disc and not have to jump through hoops with distribution. The theater is great, too. It's been a long time since I've been there and it looks like since the new ownership took over, they've gone through a lot to fix it up. The last owner really let it go.

This friday is women in prison flicks and even though I don't really like those sorts of movies much, I'm going to drop in because it's something to do and the beer is cheap. I also want another crack at conversing with the owner.

I'm not sure how far it is from you, but have you been to a place called "Chunky's" in Pelham? They only show new movies I guess, but at least it's a novel idea. I've never been, but heard it can be fun. I might head up there with a buddy of mine to check out "The Village" or something when it comes out.

From the website:

"What is Chunky's all about anyway?

Well what we do here at Chunky's is pretty amazing. First, we seat you at a table in one of our spacious cinemas. Depending on the cinema your movie is playing in, our tables are designed to accommodate 2 to 8 people.Your chair is the driver or passenger seat from a new Lincoln Town Car and will have one armrest, recline, and is on wheels. Next, why not check out our diverse menu. Your waiter or waitress will be around to take your order so you don't have to miss any of the good parts! Quench that thirst and grab a bite to eat. Our menu selections currently include beer & wine, (21 and over only) soft drinks, and a variety of pub-style food selections. Get there early and enjoy your meal before the movie starts. Most theaters will open about at least an hour before the movie starts. You may also order throughout the movie."

http://www.chunkys.com/index.html

I've been to Chunky's and it's a pretty cool paradigm for New England. When I lived in Florida, there were a few of those restaurant/theater type places around. None of them ever showed first run movies but it only cost a buck to get in and the food and beer were cheap, so I couldn't complain. You don't ever see that sort of thing up here ever. It's pretty cool, though.

Who knows? Maybe since the guy at the Ioka blew me off completely, I could talk the Chunky's guys into something similar. I doubt it, but it's worth a shot.

Sounds like you are onto a great idea. If you're ever in Washington in late October, early November, the Olympia Film Festival has the best late night program ever. It is called "All Freakin Night", and it is a program that screens 5 horror/trash flicks at starting at Midnight, going until 10 or so in the am. There are prizes, live organ, great hosts, streakers, and all kinds of wackiness. Bill Lustig, and Sage Stallone dropped by to be guests a few years back, and the screenings are usually great, less obvious choices. Check out the Oly Film Fest site for an idea of past shows. Good luck!!

DylanDog wrote:Never heard of spook shows?!??! Didn't I tell you all to buy this dvd a couple years back??

http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemID=IMA008052

And don't let that listing fool you, this dvd is jam-packed with extras.

Of course, I've never been to an actual spook show myself, but I've always loved the poster art (and have been lucky enough to score 4 of them in the last week! ) and would love to get the chance to see something like that done again.

That dvd fuckin rules! I watch it religously!

Finally! Someone who appreciates that dvd! It should be in everyone's collection.

I actually just watched the Waxwork SE the other day. There's some nice wax museum footage on there too that will eventually have to make it to a compilation whenever I find time to actually do it. Very similar to the "Haunted House" ride on the Spook Show disc.

Does that guy in Vermont still do the spookshow? I went looking for info on it last halloween, was thinking about making a road trip out to see it but I couldn't find anything.

He did do it last year. I guess we'll have to wait and see for this year.

Here's the website. If you click the 2005 poster, there is a link to buy a DVD-R of last years show! I'll have to check that out and see if it's worth the trip.

http://www.daveyhorror.com/spookaramashow.html