Horror for the Holidays withdrawal.

We're excited for our new monthly series to begin, but we're gonna miss Horror for the Holidays. With that in mind, we thought we'd share with you our vote for January's H4H would have been. There aren't many New Year's horror movies out there, but one that Horror for the Holidays didn't get to was Terror Train.

Jamie Lee Curtis stars in this low budget slasher that was specifically written to ride the success of John Carpenter's Halloween. (According to the filmmakers, the premise came to them when they asked themselves what would happen if Halloween took place on a train.) But for a rip-off movie, it doesn't borrow too heavily and there are some seriously amazing surprises like: a magic act by 24 year old David Copperfield, appearances from Hanz's future “white knight” and favorite B-movie Prince-protege Vanity, and John Alcott on cinematography!

“John Alcott,” you ask? Not only did he win an Oscar for Best Cinematography for Barry Lydon, he also shot most of Kubrick's iconic work. He shot Terror Train and The Shining in the same year. (Drink that in for a second. The man who shot one of the most atheistically important movies of the 80s shot Terror Train the same year. This is either a testament of how humble he was, or an incredible illustration of how little the film industry values cinematographers.) Make no mistake, his presence adds some interesting visual elements to this fairly straight forward slasher.

This forgotten classic is perfect for ringing in the new year: it's got a great cast, creepy masks, great visual effects, an appearances from a legendary magician before his prime, and a totally ripped off premise staring the same star as the movie it rips off, and takes place on New Year's Eve. (I mean really, that's the reason to watch it on New Years...)

Have you seen these kids?

If you aren't familiar with Y.N. Rich Kids, take a second to get aquatinted because they will be hosting the Defenders Series at the Trylon microcinema tonight! To quote the organizer "Their movie pick is amazing by the way. You'll be surprised." 

The Defenders Series is always hosted by a local celebrity who picks a movie to screen No one in the audience knows what's been chosen, and after the movie ends the Defender stands in front of the audience to defend their selection. It's amazing, and to the best of my knowledge it's never been hosted by a kid (let alone a group of them) before. Don't miss this amazing chance to see what these bright and talented kids have selected to Defend!

Tonight (Wed 12/17) @ 7pm, Trylon microcinema $8 (half of the proceeds will go to the Beats & Rhymes Program at the Harold Mezile YMCA.)

Michael Crichton

Usually recognized as the guy who wrote Jurassic Park and Lost World (and The Andromeda Strain, and Congo, and Sphere) Michael Crichton’s career wasn’t all writing books that were well suited to be made into movies. He was also a director and almost a doctor.

Crichton pursued a writing degree long before he went down the path to science. But when he felt one of his literary professors was unfairly grading him, he switched his undergrad to biological anthropology and ultimately enrolled in Harvard Medical School. While in med school he wrote the Andromeda Strain and a Case of Need (the latter winning him an Edgar Award). After becoming disenchanted by the medical field’s priority to doctors careers over patient's needs, he didn’t pursue his licence to practice medicine after obtaining his M.D.. Instead he shifted his focus to writing, and eventually directing films based on his own novels or screenplays. Eventually he tapped into his medical school experiences to create and executive produce the hugely successful T.V. series E.R.

Coincidentally, the 3rd film in the Theaters of MOA Movember series happens to be Runaway, Michael Crichton's 80’s killer robot flick starring Tom Selleck and Gene Simmons. Don’t miss an opportunity to see what kind of gems Crichton committed to screen!

Wednesday Nov 19th, Theaters of MoA @ 7:30, Free with suggested donation.

Dick Miller Triple Feature Tonight in the Twin Cities!?

If you've made it out to all of the JoeDante series screenings, you may have noticed a certain actor making brief but memorable appearances in each flick. In Small Soldiers he was the toy delivery driver, in Piranha he was the resort owner, in The Howling he was the bookstore owner, in The Burbs he was one of the garbage men,and tonight he'll be plow driver Murray Futterman in both Gremlins 1 & 2. (Bonus Horror for the Holidays appearance: in Night of the Creeps he's the guy who gives the flame thrower to Tom Atkins!) Yes, we are talking about everyone's favorite “that guy” Dick Miller!

We've been pumped for the Gremlins double feature all month long, and just yesterday it was brought to our attention that we could make this a triple feature night if we stopped by The Southern Theater. The Southern has been featuring some pretty fantastic plays, performance pieces, and live accompaniment movies this month, and after each day's performances they've topped the night off with some amazing movie screenings. Tonight they are screening the original Little Shop of Horrors, featuring the one and only Dick Miller!

So come see Gremlins 1 & 2 and make the drive over to the Southern Theater by 12:45AM and catch LittleShop of Horrors in an amazing old theater. (if you get there a little early you can see some of Tim's monster taxidermy adorning the walls to boot) We're totally making it a Miller triple feature night, join us won't you?

Gremlins 7:30 and Gremlins 2 (on 35mm) 9:30(ish) @ Theatres at Mall of America, 5 bucks each movie. Little Shop of Horrors 12:45 @ The Southern Theater, free!

Super Awesome Bonus Trivia:

Dick Miller has appeared in at least 174 films, and we've seen our fair share of them, but so far we've only seen him play the lead in one film. Dick stars in the Roger Corman classic Bucket of Blood as a beatnik sculptor Walter Paisley. That character name became somewhat of a inside joke to those who loved to cast him. In The Howling, Chopping Mall, Twilight Zone The Movie, and a handful of other films his character credit is some version of Walter Paisley. (We're beside ourselves excited for the documentary That Guy Dick Miller to be released, we've heard nothing but good things about it and we could listen to stories about Mr. Miller all day!)

Halloween III with Tom Atkins.

I am beyond excited for tomorrow. Not only do I get to see one of my favorite Halloween movies on the big screen but I get to do it in the presence of a true badass and MVP* of Horror for the Holidays this year, TOM ATKINS!! 

Ive never actually been able to see Halloween 3 in a theater before. Ive never even heard of anyone screening it around here, since most people seem to hate it. I on the other hand have always thought it got a bad wrap.

You throw together some H. P. Lovecraft/old world witchcraft and mix it with 80's telecommunications technology. Then add some commentary on consumerism and advertising. Put it together with fantastic cinematography by Dean Cundey, a great synth score by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth, and of course my favorite beer drinking leading man Tom Atkins. Im not sure whats not to like.

Get down to the Starbar in the Theaters starting at 6:30 to snag one of 50 limited edition posters I made for the event and if your there real early you will also get one of these sweet Halloween 3 button packs.

7:30 start time with a really great vintage trailer pack, Halloween 3 and then followed by a Q&A with Tom Atkins.

All for $5. At Theatres at Mall of America.

* We played My Bloody Valentine 3D, Night of the Creeps and Halloween 3 this year all starring Tom Atkins!

Halloween Spirit

We've finally got some time to get into the Halloween spirit! To start off the season right, we thought we'd make a list of some of our favorite movies to carve pumpkins to:

Halloween III: Season of the Witch:

We got around to watching this movie one year while carving pumpkins and we've probably watched it every year since! It features Tom Atkins is at his finest and the best song to sing during the Halloween season. (If you haven't given this one a chance, check it out on Oct 23rd on the big screen with a Q&A with Tom Atkins after the screening!!!) 

The Beyond:

One of our favorite Lucio Fulci movies in partial thanks to Germano Natali's amazing effects work (he also had a hand in such gems as Deep Red, Suspiria, and Starcrash). Heads melt, dogs attack people, eyes are gouged, spiders kill a guy, and the heroes keep forgetting that head shots kill the zombies every time they change locations... It's pretty much everything you could need in a horror film!

Friday the 13th:

I prefer the first in this series, but Tim always goes for five when we have pumpkins in hand. The first Friday the 13th is probably my all time favorite horror movie, it's fun while maintaing a sense of realism, it portrays creepy in-the-middle-of-nowhere very accuratly, and it has some of my favorite simple kills of all time. The fifth Friday is basically a slaughter from start to finish, people are introduced solely to be killed and we're A-OK with that! Plus it features Miguel A. Nunez Jr. one of our favorite b-movie actors to spot in a flick!

Evil Dead:

We're suckers for the original with all it's crazy make-up, well executed low budget effects, loads of cheese and gore, and of course the indomitable Bruce Campbell.

Dawn of the Dead:
Our favorite of the Dead series; a mall filled with zombies in bad make-up, drips with social commentary, features non-zombie bad guys, and a spectacular soundtrack.

Trick 'r Treat: 
A seriously underrated modern horror anthology we've grown to love. Creepy kids, re-imagined werewolves, crotchety old men, and some pretty great twists on some old ideas. And then there's the fantastic cast: Dylan Baker (Happiness), Anna Paquin (True Blood), Brian Cox (everything), Tahmoh Penikett (Supernatural), Brett Kelly and Britt McKillip (both from Dead Like Me).

But really, this list could go on, (Night of the Creeps, Halloween) and on, (The Fog, Cabin in the Woods, Deep Red) and on, (Omega Man, BloodFeast) and on....

I wrote a thing for the Trylon blog!

You missed the screening, but you can read all about my thoughts on Scream if you like! Trylon microcinema has some fun meta-horror all October, I'm particularly excited for Tucker and Dale vs. Evil and Hausu, but there's really not a bad one in the bunch. 













But seriously, if you haven't seen Hausu please do so, there's not a snowballs chance in hell you'll regret it.

And while you're there, check out the poster Tim designed for the series!

And while you're there, check out the poster Tim designed for the series!

Night of the Creeps Tonight!

Tonight! 2 fantastic movies for $5. Night of the Creeps and a super secret mystery movie!

As usual get there early and grab a free button pack from us in the star bar (while they last).

We finally watched the directors cut of Toby Hooper's epic space vampire movie Lfeforce.

 Lifeforce.

This was a movie we'd had in our pile of possibilities for months and last night, our regular movie screening buddies decided, was the night to watch it. Here's what we thought:

It's certianly epic. In some of the final scenes there are literally piles of extras in considerable amounts of makeup lying dead in the streets of London. The sets and locations are fantastically grandiose.  The “weightlessness” of space and some of the acting are Over the Top, only adding to the fun. The pice de resistance? Patrick Stewart... with a full head of hair... kissing a dude.  

The first ten mins of the movie take place in space (where the "weightlessness" seams heavier than normal) where a crew of space dudes finds an abandon space ship with three completely naked humanoid survivors. After some of the other astronauts mysteriously die, our main protagonist astronaut returns to earth with the crystalized, sill naked, humanoid survivors who instantly run amok. Things only get weirder from there...  

Thank you for deciding for the group Hannah, it truly was high time we watched Lifeforce.

80's Horror Mixtape!

I quickly made another mixtape to listen to while driving to the Mall of America tomorrow night  for Night of the Creeps (and super secret mystery movie). But as a bonus its a perfect little mix to get yourself into the Halloween mood! Its all 80's Horror gems.  Enjoy.

Fred Dekker and Tom Atkins fans rejoice!

Night of the Creeps will be playing this Thursday September 25th at Theatres at Mall of America. It could almost be counted as another overlooked zombie film, if you relaxed your definition of zombie films to include reanimation for the purpose of incubating space slugs... This movie was a hit with critics and horror fans alike, and you'd think that would mean it was a rousing success, except the studios dropped the ball when it came to promotion and it ultimately bombed. Though a gem in the acting crown of Tom Atkins, the same fate fell upon Fred Dekker's follow up movie Monster Squad, sadly grinding his career to a halt before it even took off.

Speaking of Tom Atkins, Theaters ofMOA are screening Halloween III on October 23rd (that's eight moredays 'till Halloween if anyone's counting...) For us these two screenings eliminate two of our favorite movies to carve pumpkins to, but we're alright with bucking that tradition for watching them with a room full of people just as excited to watch these movies!  

As always the movies are $5 and start at 7:30. Night of the Creeps also has a free super secret mystery movie that follows, so its 2 movies for $5!

Tonight! Trailer Trash 4: A New Hope.

Its time for Trailer Trash. The night that only comes twice a year and boy are we excited.

To celebrate this great evening, here is a brand new Trailer Trash mixtape. The music in here is pulled straight from our vinyl collection and only from soundtracks for films featured in Trailer Trash 1-4.

ENJOY!

Trailer Trash IV: A New Hope (This Thursday!)

This Thursday the fourth Trailer Trash will screen at Theaters of MOA and we keep wondering how that's even possible. Actually, little makes us happier than the fact that other people enjoy going out to a theater solely to watch trailers as much as we do! In anticipation of Thursday we offer you some of our favorite trailers from past Trailer Trash screenings:

Nijinsky:

This trailer was headed for the cutting room floor of the inaugural Trailer Trash. But, thanks to Colette's insentient campaigning for this trailer to be included, Chris was struck with an idea that led to the first two Trailer Trash's "Audience Choice Packs". Back in those days there were two screenings, each with an audience vote at the intermission that decided which block of trailers would play after the break.  Much to the delight of Colette (and ultimately all in attendance) the pack with Nijinsky was chosen, and no one was disappointed.

Vice Squad:

All the madness of Trailer Trash might be summed up by this one trailer. It's relentlessly surprising; you truly cannot predict what will come next. Being able to watch this with a room full of people was incredibly rewarding.

Body Rock:

The song will be stuck in your head for weeks, the dance moves will melt your mind, the costumes will leave you speech less just after you ask yourself “is that Lorenzo Lamas..." We do not own this movie in our Tape Freaks collection, but some day we will... and that day will be glorious...

Eliminators:

There's not much you could say about this one that it doesn't say for itself...

Come check out a night of fun packed with gems like these! The first 100 people to stop by the theaters Star Bar to snag a Trailer Trash poster and enjoy some pre-game entertainment in the theater, and stay after for a Super Secret Movie. It's a whole night of fun, and it's nothing to be missed!

TrailerTrash 4: A New Hope, MOA Theaters @ 7:30pm, Sept 18^th, $7

Super Secret Movie screens immediately after, free of charge! 

Jackie Chan!

Trylon microcinema is screening Jackie Chan movies every Monday and Tuesday for the month of July! You've already missed Supercop, but don't let Project A slip out of your grasp, it screens at 7 and 9 tonight! Don't miss this epic program! (And we'll see you at Operation Condor!)

Horror for the Holidays: The Return of the Living Dead Button packs!

If you are attending the Horror for the Holidays screening tomorrow night (Thursday July 3rd) at the Theatres at Mall of America. Arrive early and get one of these sweet button packs! Limited to the first 25 people.
Screening at 7:30, $5.

Dan O'Bannon

For someone with only eleven screen writing and two directing credits, Dan O'Bannon has an impressive cannon. He wrote the screenplays for Alien, Total Recall, Invaders from Mars, Lifeforce and directed the cult classic Return of the Living Dead.

O'Bannon career started by attended USC with John Carpenter, and working on Carpenter's Dark Star doing production design, supervising the special effects, editing, and even appearing as one of four actors on screen. His next gig was was overseeing the special effects on the unfortunately doomed Alejandro Jodorowsky's Dune. Luckily, the failure of that project left O'Bannon broke, homeless, and sleeping on the couch of Ronald Shusett, with whom he wrote the screenplay to Alien. While trying to get that screenplay into production, O'Bannon worked his last effects gig on Star Wars, before going on to write and direct other influential (though lesser known) films. He worked on Heavy Metal, wrote Toby Hooper's Lifeforce, directed the punk zombie classic Return of the Living Dead, and worked again with Ronald Shusett on adapting We Can Remember It For You Wholesale into Total Recall.


This 3rd of July, the dudes at Horror for the Holidays are screening Return of the Living Dead at the Theaters of MOA, the film itself takes place on July 3rd, and we can't think of a better day to see it again, or for the first time, on the big screen! (We've never been aware of any theater in town screening it, but if they have, we've never seen it in the theater.) Come down and appreciate the strange career of Dan O'Bannon with us, and get ready to quote this flick all weekend long!


Return of the Living Dead, Theatres at MOA, $5

The Zombie fad started for a reason...

These days zombies are co-opted more than bacon. But, there are zombie films out there that still hold their own, even in an exceptionally over-saturated market. Here are some of our favorite zombie movies in no particular order:

Dawn of the Dead – This is the movie that makes you wish you could live in a mall, while you slowly realize how hollow our materialistic lives truly are. Oh, and also there are tons of blue zombies!

The Beyond – For us, this is a pretty seminal Italian zombie movie. It takes place in 1970s New Orleans, it's 100% over dubbed, it never makes a lick of sense, the soundtrack is amazing, the story is strung together with more ambiance than substance, and it's chock full of amazing kills.

Fido – This moive takes place in the aftermath of a zombie apoclypse, an apocolyps that has apparently bathed survivors in the squeaky-clean glow of 1950s Americana. A heart warming boy-and-his-dog style entry to the zombie genre that hits its mark like you wouldn't expect.

Shaun of the Dead – This movie is the best example of genre-mixing: part buddy movie, part coming of age movie, part rom-com, and all zombie horror. (If you have never seen it in the theater, keep an eye on TrylonMicrocenama's upcoming flicks!)

Return of the Living Dead – Ever shuffled along moaning out for “braaaaains”? Well, you can thank this movie for that idea! Full of gems that have been nodded to in everything from The Simpsons to Mars Needs Moms. (Random fact: this movie takes place on July 3rd. The folks over at Horror for the Holidays are honoring that fact this year by screening it this July 3rd!)






Oh, and Undead and Dead Alive. And if you count Night of the Creeps and 28 Days later as zombie movies, then those as well! We could go on and on, but really, as annoying as some of the zombification-of-everything has gotten, it's important to remember that it all comes from a good place! Catch Return of the Living Dead on the big screen and get back to your roots!

Zombie Soundtrack Mix!

Once again we present a "mixtape", made from our ever expanding soundtrack collection! This time Tim has put together a Zombie movie mix in anticipation for next weeks Horror for the Holiday screening of Return of the Living Dead!
Enjoy!

The Shining button giveaway!

Come down to the Star Bar at 6:30 tonight and get yourself a button pack on us! At 7:00 sharp there will be a live presentation of the "true" conspiracy facts behind Kubrick's roll in the "moon landing". And 7:30, The Shining on the big screen. How much will all this fun cost you, you ask? Five bucks! How can you pass that up?

The Shining everything!

Awhile back Mondo put out their Room 237 clothing line and fairly quickly sold every single item. Lucky for us, Mondo was never the only name in the clothing-designed-from-famous-carpets business! The internet offers us everything from ties, to tee shirts, to shorts, to sport coats, to chef coats, to pants, to skirts, to more shorts, to belt buckles, to socks, and so on forever!

Now you might be wondering where we found so many amazing Overlook carpet themed items. Most of them came from the best tumblr you'll ever find on the subject of The Shining: The Overlook Hotel. It's wonderfully curated with posts about the movie's actors, wardrobe, set design, behind the scenes, current fashion, locations, homages, you name it! Check them out (or go on a impulse shopping spree) and get yourself pumped for The Shining on the big screen!

TheShining @ MOA Theaters, June 15^th, 7:30pm, $5