John Carpenter at the Fright Night Film Fest 2011.
I never realized how much of an influence John Carpenter was on my worldview growing up. He was responsible for so many of my favorite childhood movies – Big Trouble In Little China, Escape From New York, Starman and so many more. It wasn’t until I became a dedicated horrorphile that I realized John Carpenter was responsible for those movies and oh so many more of my favorites in the horror genre. Halloween, The Fog, Christine, The Prince of Darkness, In The Mouth of Madness and so many other undeniable horror classics came from his directorial hand.
As a fan and certified horror geek – I knew that Carpenter’s movies shone with greatness but it wasn’t until we started Mutantville Productions in the winter of 2003 – that I began to look at horror films with a more critical eye. I suddenly realized that Carpenter’s works were not only the work of a true auteur – but the work of inspired genius.
(Continue reading the article and watch the interview after the leap!)
Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn on Scary Movie Saturday.
Last week, we featured Army of Darkness aka Evil Dead 3 on Scary Movie Saturday – so we thought what better movie to follow that up with than the movie that came before it - Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn! (watch the full movie after the leap!)
The Mutantville Players are off to the set of Robert W. Filion’s Athena again this weekend. We’re helping Image impact Group all month long and it’s been a great shoot so far. We’re one week away from the private cast and crew screening of G.H.O.S.T. and all we have left to do is slide all of the final sound and FX pieces into place. It’s going to be so much fun to share the final product with all of our friends for Halloween.
In the midst of all of this creative activity – we still find the time to bring you reviews, articles, interviews and special features that you won’t find anywhere else! Speaking of interviews – - I hear there’s a brand new interview with John Carpenter coming to Mutant TV very soon!
(Get the full lowdown at the hoedown after the leap!)
“Personally I like the slow burn; I don’t think there is anything wrong with it. When I think about the movies that were most effective on me as a viewer I think of the original Haunting and the Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby, the Sixth Sense, the Others. These movies are not over the top at all, they are movies that rely on good story telling, good acting, good premise, good exposition and I want to stay true to that in future projects. ”
~~Oren Peli
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Listen up you primitive screwheads, this is Scary Movie Saturday! This week, we’re featuring the Sam Raimi helmed, Bruce Campbell starring, legendary third installment of the Evil Dead series – Army of Darkness!
Welcome back to Collector’s Corner with MVP, my lovely Mutants! This week we have one of the strangest horror themed items to ever grace the land of eBay as well as a can’t miss lot of comics that will fill every deadite’s needs! In case you can’t figure it out from the pictures – we’ve found an auction for a collection of Army of Darkness comics, a sphere replica from Phantasm and the one, the only PSYCHO BIGFOOT MONSTER TRUCK!!!
In today’s tough economy, it’s hard to get the value out of one’s dollar. It’s equally difficult to find a local theater that offers programming of films from outside the Hollywood mainstream. The Carolina Theatre in Durham and it’s monthly Retrofantasma shows are the solution to both of those problems.
This is part of what makes Retrofantasma at the Carolina Theatre so special. The crew at the Carolina Theatre work hard day in and day out to bring Retro audiences a wide array of classic horror films all year long. Audiences from the Durham area are treated to monthly double features of some of the rarest 35mm horror prints around.
Jim Carl, the program director, states that “Retro was born in November 1998 with a single showing of Friday the 13th Part 2. More than a decade later, we’re now one of the longest-running monthly genre film series in the United States!” The spectacular programing is no accident as anyone that talks to Jim can tell you. He is as big a fan of the genre as one will find.
Retro crowds make every show a treat.
This week marked Retrofantasma’s twelfth anniversary of bringing classic horror and cult movies to the Durham area. The reason for its continued success is simple, Retrofantasma is programmed for the fans by a fan. A quick glance at the list of titles that have played in 35mm at Retro over the past few years reveal just how much Jim and company love genre films: Alien, An American Werewolf in London, Black Christmas, Creepshow, The Exorcist, Friday the 13th, Friday the 13th part 4, Lucio Fulci’s Gates of Hell, The Thing, Monster Squad, Hellraiser, Spider Baby, The Shining, The Howling, Army of Darkness, Night of the Creeps, A Nightmare On Elm Street III: Dream Warriors, My Bloody Valentine, Lifeforce, The Story of Ricky, Jaws, The Road Warrior, Race with the Devil, Prince of Darkness, Pieces, and Killer Klowns From Outer Space.
To celebrate their twelfth anniversary, the Retro team hosted a double feature of slasher classics from the hey day of the genre. Fans may have plunked down their hard earned $8 for tickets to see Happy Birthday To Me and Alice Sweet Alice but what they were treated to was much more than a simple show – it was a party. Balloons, obscure lobby cards and rare one sheets lined the halls to the theater. The crowd was treated to bits of cake on skewers in honor of the infamous shish kebob kill featured on the one sheet for Happy Birthday To Me. On this night, no one was trying to ram the skewers down the crowd’s collective throat – although they were heavily encouraged to sign up for the door prizes which included DVDs, movie passes to the upcoming B-Movie Weekend Marathon and even a pair of tickets to the all but sold out John Waters Christmas show in December.
Congested traffic delayed a lot of the Retro Regulars from making it to the show on time – so Jim and Co. held the curtain for an extra half hour to give everyone time to make it to the show. That gave the crowd more time to fuel up on beer and cake prior to the start of the Retro Ring. For those that are unfamiliar, the Retro Ring is the video montage that opens every Retro show and is comprised of chase scenes, boo scares, and kill scenes from over one hundred movies. As soon as the Me First and the Gimme Gimme’s start their rendition of “Science Fiction Double Feature”, the fans know that they are in for a night filled with more thrills and chills than you can shake a boomstick at!
This weekend, Retro did not disappoint as they played Melissa Sue Anderson’s horror debut Happy Birthday To Me from the only surviving 35mm print and then closed it out with Brooke Shield’s horror and movie debut from 1976 with Alice Sweet Alice. As if these classic slasher films alone weren’t enough to satisfy the raucous crowd, they were also treated to trailers from the respective time periods and then during intermission a new In Memoriam played featuring clips of the celebrities that have passed away in the previous months.
Most moviegoers would be numb from the excitement of watching two classic horror films back to back but the Retro crowds are always energized at the end of the show. The crowd spills out into the night time plaza with a blissful white noise hum filling their heads from an evening that only Retrofantasma can provide. Most would feel fatigued at the prospect of now having to drive home after midnight – but the Retro crowds always leave with a pep in their step and a smile on their faces. They know that they just witnessed a rare event and look forward in great anticipation to next month’s show – or in even greater anticipation to one of the many fantastic weekend festivals coming soon from Carolina Theatre whether it be the Nevermore Film Fest, the Escapism Film Festival or The Groovy B-Movie Weekend Marathon.
Here's to twelve more great years at Retrofantasma!
For twelve years, Retrofantasma has been bringing North Carolina the best in genre entertainment. Through good economies or bad – Jim and the staff at the Carolina Theatre have worked hard to bring you your money’s worth and then some. You need only ask any of the Retro Regulars that make the show a part of their monthly routine and they’ll tel
l you that if you’re in the Durham area, nay if you’re in the Carolinas period, it is ALWAYS worth the drive to the historic Carolina Theatre in Durham for an evening at Retro! There’s only one way you’ll get to see the famous Retro Ring and that is by laying down $8 for a night at Retro that comes with a ticket for two movies but brings a priceless night to remember.
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This past weekend, yours truly made the trip out to the historic Carolina Theatre in Durham, NC for the annual Nevermore Fundraiser. Every year, the Carolina Theatre hosts the Nevermore Festival featuring fantasy and horror films both new and old. This past weekend marked their fundraiser event for this year’s Nevermore Festival. What better way to get the event started than by hosting a double feature of Jim Henson’s fantasy epic – The Dark Crystal and the final film of Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy – The Army of Darkness?
Ignoring warnings of encroaching winter storms – I traveled to Durham to partake of the weekend’s festivities. I arrived a good half hour before the events started – allowing me enough time to tour the facilities and take in all the sights and sounds of the theatre. I wandered through the halls like a stricken country mouse – mouth agape as I looked in wonder at the array of rare horror and cult film one sheets adorning the walls. I appeased my inner geek by taking a few photos of the amazing collectibles staring down at me. I stopped by to sign up for the zombie walk scheduled for the Saturday of the Nevermore event. I figured if I’m going to check out the festivities – I might as well go all the way and get in on the gutmunching action. If you want to go with me – shoot me an email at streebo [AT] mutantville.com. I grabbed one slice of pizza and a nice beverage and plopped down into some primo seats ready to begin the night’s activities!
Before the movies – we were treated to a greatest hits assortment of classic movie scenes ranging from Rocky to Wargames to Scooby Doo and so on and so forth. There was a brief announcement about the upcoming Nevermore festival including the scheduled films and special guests which will include director Kevin Tenney hosting his cult horror flicks Witchboard and Night of the Demons! Once the announcements were out of the way – the entire theatre turned into a way-back machine and transported us all to 1982 and opening night of Jim Henson’s dark fantasy epic The Dark Crystal!
First up – we were treated to a bevy of period trailers from 1982 including the ultra rare early promo for the third film in George Lucas’ true Star Wars trilogy – Revenge of the Jedi! That’s right – this was the original trailer that aired the year before its release. The title was subsequently changed to Return of the Jedi leading to months of confusion amongst the card carrying members of the Star Wars fan club as we were suddenly expecting two Star Wars movies in the coming year! Alas that was not meant to be. Back to the present and the amazing presentation of The Dark Crystal in glorious 35mm. This was audacious filmmaking at it’s finest. Long before James Cameron came along with the waterhose of money to spray 3D blue tint on the celluloid of Avatar, The Dark Crystal left audiences awestruck by it’s breathtaking visuals. Every frame of The Dark Crystal featured new and amazing sights – imaginative creatures, new cultures, and lifeforms that seemed to crawl from the depths of our collective subconsciousness and wiggle their way across the screen. If you have never watched The Dark Crystal – do yourself a favor and pick up the special edition DVD on the cheap at Wally world and experience it for yourself. You will thank me later.
Our next stop was 1993 and the premiere of The Army of Darkness! This film was preceded by trailers of it’s own era – featuring the Stephen King adaptation Needful Things and the mainstream hit – Grumpy Old Men. To say the trailers of 1993 reminded me of a less than stellar time of cinema would be an understatement. But enough of that – we were here for one thing and one thing only – to get down with that deadite bashing badass Ashley Williams! Ashley was never a very heroic name – that’s why we know him better as Ash – the man with a chainsaw for a hand and a boomstick at his back. As long time Evil Dead fans will know – the movie begins with a five minute prologue explaining the convoluted history of Ash and the Evil Dead and introduces a third actress in the role of ill fated girlfriend Linda! I can only imagine how confused first time viewers must have felt at this moment – but this movie wasn’t for them – it was for us – the fans that know better. Luckily once all of that backstory is out of the way – Army of Darkness never let’s exposition get in it’s path again and sets off like a rocket through this medieval landscape. It’s not long before Ash gets pushed into the pit and puts his deadite bashing fu to good use. And that was when the sound went out!
This crowd wasn’t about to be deterred by a little thing like the sudden loss of sound. We had risked life and limb to make this trip, sat through two hours of movies and trailers to get to this moment. So what should one do in the event of the loss of sound during a showing of an Evil Dead movie? A) complain to the manager? B) get up and walk out? Or C) make up your own damn dialogue? If you guessed C) then you are correct. Suddenly this turned into a make-shift Rocky Horror Show as the crowd started making sound effects and shouting out key lines from the movie. Yours truly had to get in on the action by shouting out a “groovy” or two of my own. of course the technical issues were solved and the movie played on as planned.
All in all – it made for an amazing night at the theatre. I am glad that I was able to attend. I met some fun new people, saw some great memorabilia, and enjoyed some classic movies. To me this is what it means to be a Mutantville Player – to show an eagerness to enjoy oneself by sharing the love and appreciation of the arts with our fellow fans. I’m sorry that you couldn’t join me – but perhaps in reading my recap – you will have lived it vicariously with me. At least you didn’t have to worry about the drive home. Suddenly the movies were over, it was 12:30 AM and the streets were piled with snow. I had to drive home across what looked like the frozen wasteland of Hoth – but it was a small price to pay for another night at the theatre.
Be sure to join us as we attend the Nevermore Festival next month. Check the Carolina Theatre website for further information.
Since we’re taking an MVP field trip this weekend to the Carolina Theatre to see The Dark Crystal and Army of Darkness – I thought we should prepare ourselves for some Evil Dead fun! What better way to get ready for the marathon than by revisiting this 90′s classic with your favorite horror hostess and mine – Miko Macabre! So put your primitive screwhead friends back in the closet, polish your chainsaw and hold on to your boomstick, it’s Army of Darkness night on Cryptique!
**Streebo
Welcome to Mutantville Productions MVP Blog. Join Streebo, Brento, Geo & the rest of the Mutantville Players as they set sail on the high seas of guerrilla filmmaking in their ongoing quest to bring you the finest in genre entertainment.
