The Dead Walk at the Midway Drive-in

May 19, 2024 by Jon Kitley in Movie Events and tagged Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Drive-in Theaters, George Romero, Midway Drive-In, Night of the Living Dead, The Crazies, The Midway Drive-In | 1 Comment

I know that that title is how I felt leaving the Midway Drive-in in the wee hours this morning. I’m going on about 3-4 hours of sleep as I write this, so I apologize for any typos or ramblings that don’t make much sense, but I wanted to get this posted. Yesterday, we were at the Midway Drive-in in Sterling, IL for their Dust to Dawn Romero Fest, where they screened George Romero’s zombie trilogy, Night of the Living Dead (1968), Dawn of the Dead (1978), Day of the Dead (1985), as well as The Crazies (1973) to round out the night. Honestly, I think The Crazies fits perfectly into that series since while they might not be zombies, the themes are pretty close and still very effective.

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NotLD on the Big Screen in 35mm!

April 30, 2024 by Jon Kitley in Movie Events and tagged Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Dusk to Dawn Horrorfest, George Romero, Long Live the Drive-In, Midway Drive-In, Night of the Living Dead, The Crazies | Leave a comment

When is the last time you got to see George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead in a theater? From a 35mm print? Now when it the last time you got to see it on a 90-ft. screen? And on a drive-in that was around and running when this horror classic first opened way back in 1968? Then mark the date of May 18th on your calendar, because if you head out to the Midway Drive-in in Sterling, IL, not only will you be able to see the zombie film that started it all, in 35mm, but you’ll also get to see the two sequels, Dawn of the Dead (1978) and Day of the Dead (1985), and finally The Crazies (1973), of three of which are being screened from DCP.

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Romero Dead-Fest at the Midway Drive-In

March 13, 2024 by Jon Kitley in Movie Events and tagged Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Dead45.com, George Romero, Horror, Living Dead, Midway Drive-In, Night of the Living Dead, The Crazies, Zombies | Leave a comment

On May 18th, at the Midway Drive-In, located in Sterling, IL, they are having a special tribute to George Romero’s by screening the first three films in his Dead trilogy, Night of the Living Dead (1968), Dawn of the Dead (1978), and Day of the Dead (1985). And as a bonus, after Day, they will be screening The Crazies (1978), which I have to say is a nice addition to these other nihilistic films.

If you’re not close to the Midway, skip down to the bottom!

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Scary Movie Mondays at the Starlite Drive-In!

September 8, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Movie Events and tagged Creepshow, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Doctor Sleep, Evil Dead, Friday the 13th, Galaxy of Terror, Godzilla vs Megalon, King Kong, Nightmare on Elm Street, Starlite Drive-In, The Beyond, The Shining | Leave a comment

It seems more and more of these drive-ins are holding events that keep tempting me to take more road trips! Once I hit the lotto, that is exactly what I’ll be doing, in between hitting on these old book stores!

Anyway, starting next Monday, the Starlite Drive-In, located in Wichita, KS, they will be having double and triple features each week through most of October, with some really choice titles. If there is anyway I could get down there to see Godzilla vs Megalon on the big screen, I would definitely be there. You can see all the features below on the ad, or you can head over to their Facebook Events page HERE. If you’re in the area and can make it, I will be very envious of you!

Savini – The Biography

September 11, 2019 by Jon Kitley in Book News and tagged AM Ink Publishing, Creepshow, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Friday the 13th, Maniac, Prowler, The Burning, Tom Savini | 2 Comments

Savini Biography You can’t be a horror fan and not know who Tom Savini is. It really is simple as that. Growing on horror in the late ’70s and early ’80s, Savini was simply a god to us fans. We knew that if he worked on a movie, it was going to be worth going to see, on that fact alone. And he never disappointed. Just look at this filmography from that time. Friday the 13th, The Burning, Maniac, Prowler, and the list goes on and on. Over the years, fans idolized Savini because he even though he was a master in the special makeup effects world, he was also just like us… a fan.

Now we will get to read a little more in depth about this master of makeup effects, actor, director, and so much more, with the release of his biography, simply titled Savini.

Released by AM Ink Publishing, it will come out on Nov. 3rd, which just happens to be Savini’s 73rd birthday! There is a Limited First Edition Signed by Savini that is priced at $99.99. There is also a regular Limited First Edition that is $74.99. Or you can get it from Amazon priced at $59.99. It is 212 pages, and filled with over 400 images from Savini’s work and career. Truly a must for all horror fans. Our movie memories just wouldn’t be the same without Tom.

Joe Pilato – Rest in Peace

March 26, 2019 by Jon Kitley in Rest in Peace and tagged Day of the Dead, Joe Pilato | 2 Comments

Joe Pilato - RIP Seriously. Enough already. Can we go a least a month without losing another one of our horror family? Actor Joe Pilato has passed away at the age of 70.

Pilato may have appeared in quite a few films over the years, and he will still probably be best known for his psychotic Capt. Rhodes in George Romero’s Day of the Dead (1985). When you can create a character that not only shines above the incredible special effects in the movie, but makes a character one of those that you love to hate, knowing the payoff of his demise will be epic (which is was), you know you’ve done something right. And it wasn’t just his roles that made him so memorable, but the way he interacted with fans at the conventions. I can’t tell you how many shows I was at where he was a guest, and at some point during the weekend, you would hear him scream “I’M RUNNING THIS MONKEY FARM!”

At least fans will be able to remember him for generations to come while watching this classic film over and over. We salute you, Capt. Rhodes. And our thoughts go out to Joe Pilato’s friends and family during this sad time.

Full Lineup for Midway’s Dusk-to-Dawn Horrorfest

August 30, 2017 by Jon Kitley in Movie Events and tagged Aliens, Day of the Dead, From Dusk Till Dawn, George Romero, Halloween II, Maniac, Midway Drive-In | Leave a comment

Over at the Midway’s website, they have the final lineup posted for this year’s Dusk-to-Dawn horrorfest and it is a beauty!

Originally announced at their show, one of the titles were going to be Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, but that is no longer showing on their lineup. But they still have some other great classics in there. They had already posted that they would be screening James Cameron’s Aliens (1986) and Romero’s Day of the Dead (1985), but now have announced what the other two features are going to be.

Halloween II (1981), the one that I would consider the best of all the Halloween sequels, and one that I still think holds up rather well these days, will be the second feature in the lineup, right after Aliens.

Halloween-II

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George Romero – Rest in Peace

July 16, 2017 by Jon Kitley in Rest in Peace and tagged Creepshow, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, George Romero, Living Dead, Martin, Night of the Living Dead, Zombies | Leave a comment

George Romero RIP

My very first horror convention was in April of 1988, out in California. Up until then, I had never met anybody famous, especially any idols I had from the horror genre. But at the show, one of the first ones I met was George Romero. I had come walking out of the dealer room on my way to the auditorium for the Q&A’s, and there he stood, surrounded by fans like a scene from one of his zombie flicks. Except, instead of trying to eat him, they just wanted to get an autograph or just say hello and thanks. I didn’t take me long to join the growing mass of fans either. I had him sign my copy of Tom Savini’s Grande Illusions, which was my very first autograph as well. I still have that book to this day and is one of my most memorable.

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