Movie screenings, midnight shows, movie marathons, and other interesting events that we think you should know about.
Our good friend Ian Simmons, who runs the Kicking the Seat podcast, as well as hosts the Academia Giallo show that I am a frequent guest on, along with Aaron Christensen from Horror 101 with Dr. AC, and Bryan Martinez from The Giallo Room, has recently posted the interview that he and Mr. Martinez were able to do with the Giallo Maestro himself, Sergio Martino. I’ve been meaning to post this, but time has not been so nice to me as of late. But, better late than never, right?
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Facets and House of Monsters are bringing in a 2-day event, with 5 features all to Save the Earth with this new fang-tastic lineup on April 12th and 13th.
On Friday the 12th, they will be screening Godzilla vs Hedorah (1971) and Frogs (1972), all to teach us why we need to save the environment!
On Saturday the 13th, we will learn what will happen to us if we DON’T save the Earth, by screening 3 of the “drippiest and trippiest triple feature”, which is The Devil’s Rain (1975), The Incredible Melting Man (1977), and Street Trash (1987)! That’s a lot of ooze for one night!
All of this takes place at Facets in Chicago, where you can see a constant stream of great screenings there. For all the information, head over to their website HERE.
The fine folks at the Riverside Drive-In and DVD Drive-In have announced their lineup for this year’s spring show, and as usual, they have one hell of a lineup. Friday the 26th, you have a mixture of different types of zombie films, then on Saturday the 27th, you have a nice bunch of sci-fi/horror films that were almost made to be seen at the drive-in! For all the information, head over to the Riverside’s site HERE, or the Facebook page HERE.
This year’s January Giallo at the Music Box Theatre started off when a bang! I mean, having the chance to see any Paul Naschy film on the big screen is a rarity as it is, but then to have a screening of Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll (1974) made it even better. What a way to not only start the year off by seeing this Naschy flick on January 1st, but a great way to start off the January Giallo festival as well! I was a little worried being that it was screening on New Year’s Day that the crowd might not come out for it, but I was pleasantly surprised to see a very crowded theater that evening. A very cool evening, indeed.
I was out there for the second screening, the 1978 made-for-TV movie called Closed Circuit, that I’m still on the fence about! Really enjoyed the film but that ending . . . But once again, there was a really good turnout for it. I had planned to hit the next screening, the French film The Strangler (1970), but it was just way too cold to be heading anywhere outside, let alone an hour drive into Chicago.
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I know we had previously announced that Italian director Sergio Martino was going to be at the Music Box Theatre on the 22nd for a screening of his 1973 epic Torso as the last film in this year’s January Giallo series. But the Giallo Gods have smiled upon us once again and have the Music Box has added another Martino classic, The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (1971), starring George Hilton, Edwige Fenech, Ivan Rassimov, and Alberto de Mendoza, which I would consider a very essential title in the giallo sub-genre. This screening will be taking place on Tuesday the 23rd, at 7pm.
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For those in the Chicago area, next month you’ll have the opportunity to experience the Super-Horror-Rama at Facets with a Demons Double Feature! They will be screening both films, Demons (1985) at 7pm, and then Demons 2 (1986) at 9pm. This special presentation is sponsored by House of Monsters and programmed by John McDevitt, Facets Community Engagement Manager.
For fans of Italian horror, director Lamberto Bava’s two features has enough blood & gore, music, and plenty of demons running amok to keep everyone in the theater entertained! If you haven’t had the chance to experience them in a theater, now is your chance!
For all the information, just click HERE. And make sure you check back with Facets for other interesting screenings!
Chicago’s own Music Box Theatre has announced the titles for this year’s celebration of the giallo, and there is a lot to be excited about!!! Not only are they starting off this year’s series with a Paul Naschy film, but they are also ending it with one of the ultimate in the giallo sub-genre, with the director in attendance for a post film Q&A! Just look below to see what films are playing and when:
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I got to see a sneak preview of Eli Roth’s long awaited feature version of Thanksgiving, one of the fake trailers made for the release of Robert Rodriquez and Quinten Taratino’s Grindhouse double feature back in 2007. While I’ve never been a huge fan of Roth’s work, I figured I would at least give this one a fair shot, although, to be perfectly honest, I was not expecting anything good. And I’m here to eat those words.
While it was a smaller theater where it was screened, all the seats were full, which I think is the best way to see this type of film. Roth really captured the feel of the ’80s slashers, while still making it in modern day. Like side dishes on the namesake holiday dinner, the red herrings and the gore are plentiful. The film is well crafted, with some really good jump scares, but also some really creepy moments as well. But it is the kind of film that is just a lot of fun and really is meant to be seen with a big crowd because there are plenty of scenes that are going to get a loud reaction.
If you get the chance to see this in the theater, I would highly recommend it. It is such a great throwback to those slasher films, but still made with love and care and not some cheap knock off that we usually see these days.
Just because Halloween is over doesn’t mean we still can’t have some awesome movie events, right? And thanks to the fine folks at Facets and House of Monsters, you’ll be able to break in the Christmas season with a nice little spirited double feature of one of the original slasher films, Bob Clark’s Black Christmas (1974) and the highly underrated slasher film Curtains (1983). Both films star Lynne Griffin who will be appearing at this double feature to meet fans, take photos, and do a Q&A after each screening.
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If you are in the Chicago area, and are free on November 14th at 7pm? Then just click the link below and sign up for a free pass! Please keep in mind, these are first-come/first-served, so you want to make sure you get there early to get in!
This is the feature length title that Roth had given us a “fake trailer” for a film called Thanksgiving back with the release of Robert Rodriguez & Quentin Tarantino’s Grindhouse (2007), and we finally now get to see what we were teased with way back then.
The free screening is at AMC River East 21, at 322 East Illinois Street, Streeterville. Once again, no guarantee so get there early!
