ATLRetro

By Philip Nutman
Contributing Writer

Splatter Cinema Presents CANDYMAN (1992); Dir: Bernard Rose; Based on the short story by Clive Barker; Starring Tony Todd, Virginia Madsen, Xander Berkeley; Tues. Feb. 14 9:30 PM; Plaza Theatre; Trailer here.

Based on the Clive Barker short story, “The Forbidden,” which appeared in the fifth volume of his BOOKS OF BLOOD, CANDYMAN (1992) was a considerable hit with horror fans and made actor Tony Todd something of a horror icon. His credits also include the Tom Savini remake of George Romero’s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1990), THE CROW (1994), THE ROCK (1996) and FINAL DESTINATION (2000), among many others.

While not heavy on the gore quotient, CANDYMAN is one scary movie. The original story was set in England, but the filmic version was transposed to an American setting ­ specifically, Chicago ­ to make it more commercial. Ironically, the movie was made by a British director, Bernard Rose, who had previously made the incredibly creepy PAPERHOUSE (1988).

CANDYMAN stars Virginia Madsen (sister of Michael, of RESERVOIR DOGS ear-slicing infamy) and Xander Berkeley. Xander is perhaps best known for playing George Mason, Jack Bauer’s arsehole boss, in the first incarnation of the hit TV series 24; Jack had to blow his brains out. And since we here at ATLRetro know our pop culture trivia, Tony Todd played an African terrorist in a later season.

Virginia Madsen in CANDYMAN (TriStar Pictures, 1992)

We don’t believe in plot spoilers, so we’re not going to tell you the narrative of CANDYMAN. If you’ve never read the Barker story, you should hunt it down (Note: IN THE FLESH was the American title of the fifth volume of THE BOOKS OF BLOOD) or if you have never seen this movie, then you’re in for a scary treat thanks to the fine folks at Splatter Cinema and the wonderful Plaza Theatre. If you’ve seen the film, you know what we’re talking about. Horror movies are always better seen on the big screen. Either way, do yourself a favor and go see CANDYMAN.

Contributing Writer Philip Nutman has been FANGORIA magazine’s longest running reporter ­ 30 years this May ­ and knows a thing or two about horror flicks. He is also the author of the cult classic zombie novel, WET WORK, and just wrapped filming ABED, the sickest zombie movie ever, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Pirita (Mirjami Kuosmanen) takes a bite from the throat of an unsuspecting hunter in THE WHITE REINDEER (1952).

THE WHITE REINDEER (1952); Dir: Erik Blomberg; Starring Mirjami Kuosmanen; Introduced by Professor Morte (Silver Scream Spookshow) including ticket giveaway to Days of the Dead horror convention; a short audience discussion will follow the film by GSU Prof. John Decker; Sat. Jan. 14  7:30 p.m.; $8; Plaza Theatre;  Trailer here.

Art, foreign, horror and classic fantasy film buffs all will get a rare treat when lost award-winning 1952 Finnish movie THE WHITE REINDEER (“Valkoinen Peura”) gets an extremely rare return to the big screen at the Plaza Theatre on Sat. Jan. 14 at 7:30 pm., courtesy of the Scandinavian-American Foundation of Georgia (SAFG) and the Mythic Imagination Institute (MII). The first significant post-World War II Finnish film, THE WHITE REINDEER won a 1953 Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film and the Fairy Tale Award at the Cannes Film Festival from a jury led by Jean Cocteau (LA BELLE ET LA BETE). However, despite its critical acclaim and beautiful cinematography, the movie only had a limited U.S. theatrical release in the late 1950s and since then has been largely forgotten other than a recent appearance on French DVD (it’s not available from Netflix!), perhaps due to its unusual and enigmatic subject matter blending an art film sensibility, the shamanism/folklore of the indigenous, nomadic Lapland (Sami) people and the unlikely themes of shape-shifting and vampirism.

Those supernatural aspects have earned  THE WHITE REINDEER a cult reputation among classic horror movie fans, making it an extra special treat to have an intro by Professor Morte of the Silver Scream Spookshow, and if you need extra incentive, he’ll be handing out a few passes to Days of the Dead, the big horror con in Peachtree City March 9-11. However, as noted, don’t get scared off if you’re more intrigued by art and foreign films or the anthropology and folklore of Sami shamanism. The art and mythic elements will get their due in a short audience discussion after the film led by John Decker, assistant professor of art history at Georgia State University, whose academic interests range from religious and devotional imagery to the zombie apocalypse.  “Tales both of people transforming into deer and of vampirism span many cultures from Europe to Native Americans,” points out Honora Foah, president and creative director of the Mythic Imagination Institute. “Films are the folklore of our times, and we’re hoping this movie will launch an ongoing Mythic Movie series.”

It’s easy to see why Cocteau was drawn to THE WHITE REINDEER. The plot itself is a simple and archetypal tale of love lost and a spell gone tragically wrong.  A lonely and heartbroken Sami woman, Pirita (Mirjami Kuosmanen, who incidentally was the wife of director Erik Blomberg), turns to a shaman for help in reigniting the love of her husband, Aslak, who is more interested in herding reindeer than romancing his wife. But thanks to being born under the curse of the Midnight Sun, the sacrifice she must make to activate the love potion instead transforms her into a vengeful “White Reindeer,” a tantalizing prize for hunters who soon find themselves the prey as she reveals herself as a beautiful vampire.

A haunting reindeer graveyard in THE WHITE REINDEER (1952)

Vivid and vibrant may seem strange terms to describe a black-and-white movie, but Finnish director Erik Blomberg knows his cinematography (he has more credits for that on IMDB than directing). Vistas of the Sami people herding the reindeer in the snow, a sled race and a traditional wedding transport one effortlessly into the world of this Nordic culture which he has also covered as a documentarian. It’s also perhaps worth remembering that the Sami themselves dress colorfully, often in navy blue, trimmed with yellow, green and red.

But it’s Mirjami herself, as Pirita, who steals the screen with her haunting, emotive eyes. Perhaps the performances are a little over-emotional at points, like that of a silent film, and indeed, dialogue is sparse and simple consistent with the stoic Finns. Still, in the context of the fantastic theme and landscape, it’s easy to see those qualities as strength rather than weakness. If you do classify THE WHITE REINDEER as a vampire classic, that silent movie but with minimal sound visual quality is more reminiscent perhaps of Carl Theodor Dreyer‘s VAMPYR (1931), an early talkie which also has very little dialogue,  than of, say, the closer-to-contemporary Universal horror classics, Bela Lugosi’s eyes aside. Incidentally, Dreyer was Danish.

It's easy to forget Bela Lugosi's Eyes when you see Mirjami Kuosamanen in THE WHITE REINDEER (1952).

Finally, if there’s one more good reason to attend: proceeds benefit the two nonprofit sponsors, SAFG and MII, and the Plaza, Atlanta’s oldest continuously operating independent cinema, open since 1939, which is also a nonprofit organization. It runs just 67 minutes, too, so there’s still plenty of time to catch a band, such as the triple-header of The District Attorneys, featuring this week’s Kool Kat Drew Beskin, Tedo Stone and Modern Skirts at The Earl. In fact, you’ll see me at both The Plaza and The Earl, and most likely dining at the Majestic beforehand, too.

By Tiffany Jewell
Contributing Writer

Splatter Cinema Presents THE SHINING (1980); Dir: Stanley Kubrick; Based on the novel by Stephen King; Starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd; Tues. Dec. 13 9:30 PM and encore Sat. Dec. 17, 9:30 p.m.; Plaza Theatre; Trailer here.

THE SHINING (1980) may be one of the most loved, hated, debated, torn-to-pieces-and-built-right-back-up-again movies around. Love it or not, everyone seems to have something to say about it. Love Stephen King but think Stanley Kubrick murdered the novel? Do you think that King did a mediocre job and Kubrick brought it to life? Or are you one of those who thinks they’re both revolutionaries and are together responsible for making a true classic? No matter your position, everyone has one. That’s what makes this film so bloody brilliant.

I fell in love with this film because of how dynamic it is. It is one of the few films that has thorough character development; you are able to see them grow, shift, change and become devoured by something dark and over powering. The visual imagery is absolutely stunning. Every time I sit down to re-watch it and see them taking their first tour of the hotel, I think, “Oh, that’s the staircase Jack goes ballistic on, that’s the hallway where Danny finds room 237, those elevators are going to flood that room with blood, that freezer is good for a whole lot more than 36 chickens, those hedges aren’t as cute as they look…” and THAT is what qualifies a film to be iconic. That alone is what makes a memorable, note-worthy, beautifully filmed piece. THE SHINING also brings something to the table that everyone can fear. Whether it’s the supernatural, creepy children, people losing their minds and wanting to destroy those they once held dear, being severely afraid of isolation, claustrophobia, or your classic go-to slasher chase, it’s got it all, in one little two-and-half-hour long package.

Lisa and Louise Burns play enigmatic ghost twins in THE SHINING (1980). Photo credit; Warner Bros Pictures.

The reason I hold this film to be a classic is because of how absolutely timeless it is. It’s still frightening. It is still able to get people to buy into the psychological terror both King & Kubrick were trying to achieve. As a writer, director, producer, actor or otherwise, your job is to create something your audience is able to find themselves lost in. If you succeed, that’s outstanding and you have a whole lot to be proud of. If you succeed, and people are able to feel the same way 21 years later, you’re a genius and you deserve your work to be forever considered a classic.

If you really want the end-all argument for why I cannot understand anyone disliking this film, it is what Jack Nicholson did for his character. From the second I see him on screen, my spine crawls. He is immensely creepy. No one could have done what Nicholson did for Jack Torrance. I personally believe that his was the performance of a lifetime—that he made this movie what it is, and that without his sarcastic remarks, shoddy glances, teeth-gritting grins, the constant tension he holds in his jaw, that brink of insanity look he holds ever constantly in his eyes—without his casting, this film would not be what it is.

Blood floods the Stanley Hotel in THE SHINING (1980). Photo credit: Warner Bros. Pictures.

THE SHINING is, without question, one of the most memorable films to grace the horror genre. This film is saturated with scenes that most people are able to describe in detail, as well as quotes that are used in novels, poetry, television, apparel slogans and advertisements. Even those who don’t particularly care for the film will tell you that you have to see it at least once. If you agree, I hope to see you Tues., Dec. 13 or Sat. Dec. 17 at The Plaza Theatre for Splatter Cinema presents THE SHINING, and if you disagree, I hope to see you there anyway. Perhaps we can have a lively debate. For the Tuesday screening, arrive at around 9 p.m. for a live reenactment and grab a seat early to indulge in a few retro trailers before the 9:30 showing of the rare 35 mm reel of THE SHINING. That’s amazing.

By Tom Drake
Contributing Blogger

Splatter Cinema Presents PUMPKINHEAD (1988); Dir: Stan Winston; Screenplay by Ed Justin, Mark Patrick Carducci et al; Starring: Lance Henriksen, Jeff East, John D’Aquino, Kimberly Ross; Tues. Nov. 8; 9:30 PM; Plaza Theatre; Trailer here.

Short: “There is a Heavy Price.”

Medium: PUMPKINHEAD is about a father (Lance Henriksen) wronged, and the price paid by everyone around him for his vengeance. A dirt biking crew of college kids goes up into the mountains for some good publicity shots and in the process kills an innocent child accidentally. The grieving father (Ed) goes to an old woman who summons a powerful vengeance demon to kill them all. As the demon begins to kill those involved, Ed can feel it and tries to change his mind. The old woman laughs and tells him that once the process has begun, it can’t be stopped. Pumpkinhead begins to slaughter the folks one by one, and none of the locals will help them because they’re “marked.” That is until a teenager takes pity on them and tries to hide the last ones alive in a church. This doesn’t work out too well, but it does buy them some time until Ed finds them and tries to help them kill the demon. They finally find a link between Ed and Pumpkinhead, so one manages to live. Barely.

Maximum Verbosity: I think fictional universes are dreary places…primarily because a lot of the fiction that we enjoy as fairly common place doesn’t seem to exist in them. The laws of sympathetic magic are fairly clear, and the link between Ed and the demon is rather fascinatingly well done. But it takes several fairly obvious instances for anyone involved to figure out the link. Though to be fair, in the horror genre, figuring anything out at all when faced with blindingly terrifying otherworldly horror is an amazing feat. Being quick about your wits like Ash (EVIL DEAD) or Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a feat unto itself. And usually that level of moxie cannot happen until it has been earned by several harrowing experiences.

Lance Henriksen plays a grieving father who conjures a vengeance demon in PUMPKINHEAD (1988) Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox.

For a low budget horror movie of the late ‘80s, PUMPKINHEAD has very good production values. It also has a very complicated script. No one (well, almost no one, except Joel [John D’Aquino] who is just generically a dick) is really black or white. I personally found Ed’s axis to be the most fascinating. The movie could have worked JUST fine without Ed changing at all or having him die at the resurrection of Pumpkinhead. But it didn’t work like that. Ed felt and saw the pain that he had caused and, as a result, began to try to save those whose doom he had sealed. In the end, only this choice allows the innocents in the group, most of whom were actually trying to help his son, live.

PUMPKINHEAD is an excellent metaphor for the futility of vengeance and the axiom that no good deed goes unpunished. Aside from Joel (who is just generally a dick), no one wishes ill will or malice. And the rough hill justice is far from perfect. After all, what is done to the locals who all sit quietly by and ignore the demon hunting the innocent victims around it? And yet, it is a fascinating reflection of their locality. Without the presence of the local law, Pumpkinhead is a fiercely independent figure of vengeance which no one, knowing the price, would invoke lightly. Interfering with his administration of hellish vengeance carried an even heavier price, and Bunt (Brian Bremer), the teenage local, knew the laws of his land and chose to disobey them anyway. His mercy was not rewarded.

Be sure to keep an eye out for the use of a flamethrower. Also of particular note is Pumpkinhead himself, who has no lines, but obviously has quite a personality. I’d say he steals the show, but since the name of the movie is PUMPKINHEAD, he really just sort of keeps it. He not only kills, but he kills with skilled taunting cruelty that very few other horror villains really match. It is irony with cruel casual gore but it doesn’t drown us in it and doesn’t celebrate it. It just is, which is what Pumpkinhead should be. A force of nature.

You thought the Halloween season was over? Think again, because the Buried Alive! Film Fest (BA!FF) is about to invade ATLRetro’s favorite movie palace, the Plaza Theatre, over the weekend of November 11-12 and unleash a slew of weird, wonderful horror films on lucky attendees.

Founded by horror fanatic Luke Godfrey (Atlanta’s Godfather of Gore, who started the Zombie Walk Atlanta, as well as one of the sick minds behind Halloween attraction Chambers of Horror and the award-winning monthly Splatter Cinema screenings at The Plaza), Buried Alive! has been generating international attention as the coolest, strangest movie festival in Atlanta. Since we’ve interviewed Luke (here)and Festival Director/filmmaker Blake Myers, (here), we decided to go after Programming Director (and our own contributing blogger) Philip Nutman. Despite his insane schedule, ATLRetro managed to get a few minutes of his time…

ATLRetro: Describe this year’s festival.

NUTMAN: “Psychotronic” – a whacked selection of crazy short films and some cool features. Comedy, gore, zombies, disappearing cats, resurrected goldfish, amputees, killer sperm; this year’s selection of films defy classification. The range is from the bizarre to the very serious, from the downright demented to very funny. Every program block is different. We have a terrific selection of local shorts. But the feature I’m most excited about showing is CHILLERAMA. It is the sickest, most freakin’ insane anthology film I’ve ever seen. It’s a total reinvention of an early 70s grindhouse movie…*very* retro. And I mean *in-f***ing-sane*

Let’s come back to CHILLERAMA. But first, how about the short films? And how do you program them?

My title as “program director” is an honorific; the BA!FF board all watch the movies and we selected them together. Last year was the festival’s most successful to date. This year we received a ton of submissions and we had to make some tough choices. Please don’t ask me to name favorite films; they are all different and we’re excited to show them. ‘ Nuff said…but, check out the program listing at the official website.

Understand this: we do this for love of Independent filmmaking, not money. None of us involved – Luke, Blake, Alyssa Myers, Mark Malek – make a dime off the festival. This is about supporting people who make movies and deserve to have them screened; bringing the best shorts and features we can find to Atlanta; entertaining the audience…and supporting The Plaza, which is a nonprofit and an Atlanta treasure.

Writer/director Ryan Lieske is your guest filmmaker and Patrick Rea is your “featured filmmaker” this year. Why?

Because they are two of the most talented, diverse filmmakers out there. Ryan is coming into town on his own dime – we have no funding to be able to afford to fly people into Atlanta. We screened the fake trailer for CLEAN BREAK  and the actual short last year. Ryan and the Collective Studios gang came into town at their own expense and had a great time. But if DOWN TO SLEEP, his most recent short, which we’re screening, was crap, we would have rejected it. He’s coming back to Atlanta because he loves the festival.

Patrick Rea's EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS.

If all goes to plan, we also will have the world premiere of the trailer of British filmmaker Ashley Thorpe’s new short, BORLEY RECTORY. He’s so hard at work, he doesn’t have the time to come to the festival this year. (Editor’s note: Thorpe won the BA!FF Visionary Award for three animated shorts, including the haunting highwayman story SCAYRECROW, last year.)

Patrick Rea is a prolific filmmaker. He submitted three films last year and we rejected two of them. This year we accepted three out of five. His films keep winning awards and getting better. He’s a director to watch out for. So, since we’re screening three of his films, all of which are different, he deserved to be “featured filmmaker.”

But everything in the festival is solid gold. I’m especially delighted we’re screening Eddie Ray’s SATANIC PANIC: BAND OUT OF HELL, which is totally nuts. And Chris Ethridge and Jayson Palmer managed to pull off what I thought was an unfilmable Stephen King story with SURVIVOR TYPE. These are in the local shorts section. The quality of talent in Atlanta keeps growing, and we want to support that.

So back to CHILLERAMA…

It’s going to blow the audience away. It’s sick, totally twisted and hilarious. It’s a contemporary retro grindhouse anthology film that takes place in an old, about-to-close Drive-In. The four films are written and directed by Adam Green (who made the HATCHET flicks), Joe Lynch (WRONG TURN 2, which was better than the original), Tim Sullivan (2001 MANIACS) and Adam Rifkin (DETROIT ROCK CITY). It’s a love letter to ’50s/’60s/’70s exploitation movies. Sullivan’s I WAS A TEENAGE WEREBEAR is like a ’50s AIP teen monster movie crossed with a Frankie & Annette BEACH BLANKET BINGO film. It’s a musical with gay leather boy werewolves and is hysterically funny. Adam Rifkin’s WADZILLA is the biggest “come shot” on film; giant killer sperm – what’s not to love? Adam Green’s THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANKENSTEIN is like what if Ed Wood made a Jewish anti Nazi propoganda movie starring the Golem. It’s nuts. Joe Lynch is responsible for the wraparound story at the Drive-In which turns into a totally demented narrative with sex-crazed zombies. Words don’t do the flick justice. It’s totally retro with post-modern humor. (I can’t believe I just said that; damn, that sounds pretentious!). Watch the trailer online and “come” see the movie – we have a stunning print. I nearly puked up my dinner with laughter after I first watched it.

And final words?

NUTMAN: If you love independent filmmaking, horror, weird shit – you need to come to the festival and support The Plaza.

Check out the full frightening film schedule here.

By Philip Nutman
Contributing Blogger

Silver Scream Spookshow Presents THE HAUNTED PALACE (1963); Dir: Roger Corman; Screenplay by Charles Beaumont; Starring Vincent Price, Lon Chaney Jr., Debra Paget; Sat. Oct. 15;  kids matinee at 1 PM (kids under 12 free & adults $7) and adult show at 10 PM(all tickets $12); Plaza Theatre; Trailer here.

Vincent Price is back to haunt The Plaza in THE HAUNTED PALACE (1963) another H.P. Lovecraft adaptation, and Halloween’s on its way! Cthulhu bless The Silver Scream Spookshow! Yes, yet another chance to see classic AIP/Roger Corman cinematic madness on the big screen in 35mm this Sat. Oct. 15! More Professor Morte and his madcap gang of monsters and monster babes! Oh, and some old Spookshow family members may return, too. Yowza!

THE HAUNTED PALACE was promoted as another Corman-Price-Edgar Allan Poe film, but while the title comes from a line in a Poe poem, it’s actually a very loose adaptation of Lovecraft’s THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD, one of his more famous novellas. If you’ve never read it, you should. But more importantly, you should make a date for seeing the film at The Plaza this weekend because it’s the fifth anniversary of the Spookshow, it’s a terrific print of the movie, and Professor Morte is promising a magical event (literally).

“THE HAUNTED PALACE has become a favorite movie here at Morte Manor,” the Professor cackled to ATLRetro from his crypt in his secret batcave. “I watch this movie once a week, and I listen to the soundtrack [composed by Ronald Stein], which is amazing, all the time.” Before laying back down in his coffin, Atlanta’s favorite master of the macabre whispered in ATLRetro’s ear that there will be some stunning legerdemain this weekend (that means magic tricks, as in sleight-of-hand, as in smoke and mirrors, gang), including a certain supernatural experience which, if we understood Morte’s whisper correctly, has never happened live on stage before…

Now, back to the movie. THE HAUNTED PALACE is one of the best Lovecraft adaptations to make it onto celluloid. Not only does it star Saint Vincent Price, it also features everyone’s favorite Wolfman, Lon Chaney, Jr., and hot babe, Debra Paget, from THE TEN COMMANDMENTS and who smooched with Elvis in LOVE ME TENDER (both 1956). The excellent script was written by the late, great Charles Beaumont, one of the finest short story writers of his generation, who penned over two dozen classic episodes of Rod Serling’s THE TWILIGHT ZONE TV show (He also wrote the screenplay for the Zsa Zsa Gabor turkey, QUEEN OF OUTER SPACE [1958], but, hey, no one’s perfect).

So, there’s only one place to be this Saturday: The Plaza Theatre! And as Professor Morte says, “be prepared to be scared!”

ATLRetro terrifying trivia:

• THE HAUNTED PALACE was Debra Paget’s last movie before she retired after marrying a Chinese millionaire and later became a devout Christian.
• Charles Beaumont is the subject of a terrific documentary by Jason V. Brock, CHARLES BEAUMONT: THE SHORT LIFE OF TWILIGHT ZONE’S MAGIC MAN (2010).
• Beaumont’s birth name was Charles Leroy Nutt.

Plaza Manager/Projectionist Ben Ruder loves film so much it even tastes good.

By Philip Nutman
Contributing Writer

Ben Ruder is one of the unsung heroes of Atlanta.

As chief projectionist and manager of The Plaza Theatre, he’s a cinephile who keeps the art and pleasure of movie-going alive in an era of digital downloads, streaming and DVD boredom. You can train a monkey to run the 16 digital projectors at a chain-run multiplex; but knowing how to repair an actual film print, especially an old one, and project it properly is a skill that’s sadly coming to the end of the reel. Ruder is one of that dying breed – a real projectionist who cares about the experience patrons have when they see a movie at The Plaza. Now, along with other like-minded lovers of celluloid, he’s starting to program CONTRABAND CINEMA, an ongoing, eclectic selection of rare films in a variety of formats (Super-8, 16mm; everything from avant garde to rare, archival, educational films, and personal Underground artistic expressions). The first show is this Thursday, October 6 at 8 p.m. at The Plaza – and that’s why he’s our Kool Kat of the Week.

Ben took time out from his busy schedule to share the details on what promises to be a fascinating kick-off for a series of eye-treats for Atlantans who are tired of the same old Studio produced rubbish cluttering up area multiplexes. He also shared a little bit about his company RUDERMEDIA, his personal love affair with film on film and why helping owners Jonathan and Gayle Rej to preserve the Plaza is such a passion.

ATLRetro: How did CONTRABAND CINEMA evolve?

BEN: Contraband Cinema is an Atlanta-based micro-cinema safehouse based on, inspired by and executed under the guidance of Craig Baldwin‘s Other Cinema in San Francisco – an ongoing series of experimental film, video and performance. Contraband Cinema strives to select the best work locally and around the world, transplant it to the south, and nurture it through close collaboration with regional filmmakers, curators and established film institutions.

Contraband Cinema is operated by Marcus Rosentrater and Gideon Kennedy. Marcus and I have talked about doing something together for a while, as he is a regular volunteer for us at the Plaza. We are both big fans of the medium of film and wanted to share hard-to-obtain materials with other cinephiles. Through my company RUDERMEDIA, I am assisting Marcus with locations, equipment, and providing “Film Education” programming which takes a look at educational shorts shown in the classroom, as well as teaching the attendees lessons on how 16mm projection works as well as what goes into film preservation and restoration. I secured The Plaza for this first event, but we’ll be in several nontraditional screening spaces for future shows.

This month we’ll also have a “photobooth” set up in the lobby before and after the screening where you get 5 seconds of time in front of a Super 8mm camera which will be screened at a future event, as well as posted online after processing.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Philip Nutman
Contributing Blogger

Splatter Cinema Presents WITCHFINDER GENERAL (aka THE CONQUEROR WORM) (1968); Dir: Michael Reeves; Starring: Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy; Tues. Sept. 13; 9:30 PM; Plaza Theatre; Trailer here.

ATLRetro’s excited – one of our favorite horror movies of all time is coming to the Plaza Theatre for an ultra-rare 35 mm screening this week as the cool ghouls at Splatter Cinema present WITCHFINDER GENERAL, the notorious 1968 British wench burning fest starring the fabulous Vincent Price at his most evil.

Recut and retitled THE CONQUEROR WORM by American International Pictures for the US market (the title is a steal from an Edgar Allan Poe poem to make people think it was another Price-Poe flick), this movie is for my money Saint Vincent’s best, most brutal and sadistic performance, a study in ice-cold evil. The print of this much-censored movie the Splatter gang are screening is a British X-rated one, which, sadly, doesn’t include the restored footage from a UK DVD released a few years ago. But since most of the shocking, sadistic, violent footage has been lost over the years, this isn’t a big deal – except for purists such as myself – as this film packs a punch to the guts regardless. (Only seconds were trimmed from several scenes, tightening some of the torture and longer takes of witches being burned alive – material that’s long been a source of conjecture amongst obsessive fans. The screenplay was pre-censored by the British Board of Film Censors before a foot of film was shot back in the ‘60s.

Based on the turgid 1966 historical novel by Ronald Bassett, the film has its roots in truth but is a seriously fictionalized account of the infamous exploits of 17th century self-styled “witchfinder” Matthew Hopkins, who committed hundreds of atrocities during the English civil war as Royalists fought Parliamentary forces for control of the countryside, staining the verdant pastures red. The real Hopkins was a sadistic misogynist who lined his pockets by extracting confessions from innocent women who were accused of witchcraft by paranoid villagers. As played by Price, the character is a power-hungry, puritanical, sexually repressed manipulator of the first order who meets his match in Richard Marshall, a young soldier played by Ian Ogilvy (best known for playing sleuth Simon Templar in the ‘70s Brit TV series THE RETURN OF THE SAINT). When Hopkins and his vile assistant, Stearne, victimize a vicar and his daughter, the soldier’s true love, vengeance becomes the order of the day, and Marshall abandons his political convictions, going crazy as he hunts down and confronts the men who have destroyed his life.

Richard Marshall (Ian Ogilvy) and Vincent Price in WITCHFINDER GENERAL, aka THE CONQUEROR WORM. Photo credit: AIP

Written and directed by Michael Reeves, a very young, ambitious director, whom critics hailed as the Great White Hope of British horror cinema, this movie turned out to be his swan song as he died at age 25 of an accidental drug overdose shortly after completing the film. His next scheduled project was THE OBLONG BOX (1969), another Price-Poe vehicle, and one wonders how that would have turned out considering Price couldn’t stand the young director, whom he thought arrogant and disliked the way he was being commanded as an actor – which makes Price’s understated performance even more tribute-worthy.

By Philip Nutman
Contributing Blogger

Silver Scream Spookshow Presents DIE, MONSTER, DIE! (1965); Dir: Daniel Haller; Starring Boris Karloff; Sat. Aug. 27;  kids matinee at 1 PM (kids under 12 free & adults $7) and adult show at 10 PM(all tickets $12; Plaza Theatre; Trailer here.

Originally released by American International Pictures in 1965 on a double bill with Mario Bava’s  PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES, DIE, MONSTER, DIE (aka MONSTER OF TERROR) is another ’60s fright-fest loosely based on an H. P. Lovecraft story, in this case “The Color Out of Space.” The movie marks the directorial debut by former art director, Daniel Haller, who worked extensively with Roger Corman in the 50s and 60s, his distinctive design work adding to the atmospherics of  Corman’s THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1960),  THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM (1961), THE PREMATURE BURIAL and TALES OF TERROR (both 1962), and a whole slew of other great old Corman/Vincent Price/AIP flicks we love here at ATLRetro.

Like the Corman/Poe films, DIE, MONSTER, DIE! follows the familiar narrative format of a stranger arriving in a strange town – in this case, Lovecraft’s infamous Arkham, transposed to a rural English setting – only to encounter hostility from the locals who shun the inhabitants of the Whitley estate. The stranger in question is Stephen Reinhart (THE GREEN SLIME’s Nick Adams), an American coming to visit his fiancé. Unable to rent even a bicycle to get to the mysterious house, Reinhart notices there’s something wrong with the vegetation the closer he gets to the Whitley place – and discovers a strange crater.

Managing to get into the grounds of the permanently fog-shrouded estate, Reinhart is rebuffed by Whitley patriarch, Nathum (Boris Karloff), but as soon as his daughter (and Reinhart’s love), Susan (Suzan Farmer, who went on to appear in Hammer’s DRACULA, PRINCE OF DARKNESS and RASPUTIN, THE MAD MONK, the following year) learns Stephen has suddenly shown up, the old man agrees to let him stay. Reinhart, it turns out, was summoned to the house by Susan’s mother, Lettia, who is dying a a strange disease which is making her waste away. The mother, played by Freda Jackson, another Hammer veteran (1960’s THE BRIDES OF DRACULA), confides that Helga, the housemaid, has disappeared, that there’s something strange growing/lurking in the greenhouse, and, fearing, for her daughter’s safety, begs Stephen to take her away. Of course, he agrees…by deciding to stay for a few days. Big mistake! And what about that mysterious meteorite Nathum has hidden in the basement?

DIE, MONSTER, DIE! is a fun film and a competent debut by Haller. It’s not the best Lovecraft adaptation (Haller’s  1970 THE DUNWICH HORROR is a much better H.P.- inspired film), and it’s not a great Karloff flick, either. But it’s always fantastic to see Uncle Boris on the big screen, especially at The Plaza, and particularly in the presence of Professor Morte and the Silver Scream Spookshow gang!

By Philip Nutman
Contributing Blogger

Splatter Cinema Presents AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981); Dir: John Landis; Starring: David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne; Special Makeup Effects: Rick Baker; Tues. July 12; 9:30 PM; Plaza Theatre; Trailer here.

Yugoslavia, 1969. Teenage PA/gopher, John Landis, was working on the Clint Eastwood World War II comedy caper, KELLY’S HEROES. While traveling to one of the movie’s many locations, the film crew came to a standstill at a crossroads as a large group of locals performed an ancient burial rite. The corpse that was the subject of all the attention was being buried due to local custom because the dead was believed to be a lycanthrope – a werewolf.

The image of this ritual and the experience stayed with Landis, the future director of THE KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE (1977) and the huge box office successes NATIONAL LAMPOON’S ANIMAL HOUSE (1978) and THE BLUES BROTHERS (1980), finally finding its place in cinema history as the basis for the classic 1981 horror flick, AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON.

As the movie’s been so popular since it came out in the summer of 1981, you probably know the story: two clean-cut American college students decide to back-pack around England and make the mistake of going off the beaten path and end up being attacked by a werewolf. One dies; the other (David Naughton) is mauled and becomes a werewolf and the results aren’t pretty. As the body count goes up, the victims come back to haunt the lycanthrope. Tthe scene in a London soft-porn movie theatre is both creepy, amusing and disturbing as the mutilated victims urge the titular werewolf to kill himself and end the accursed chain of predator and victim.

David Naughton begins his transformation in AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON. Copyright 1981 Universal Pictures.

While Landis is a huge fan of the original Universal Pictures’ THE WOLF-MAN (1941), the director also is a natural comedian and decided to see if he could balance horror with comedy – which he largely succeeded in doing.

AN AMERCIAN WEREWOLF is first and foremost a fun movie. It’s also loaded with weirdness and more than a few shock moments. And Oscar-winning make-up effects artist Rick Baker’s pioneering use of prosthetic bladder technology made the werewolf transformations physically painfully to watch (no crap CGI here, folks!). A few months later, Joe Dante’s adaptation of a trashy horror novel, THE HOWLING, came out, and FX artist Rob Bottin (best known for John Carpenter’s version of THE THING) used the same principles. These two very different werewolf movies together heralded a new breed of cinematic wolfman. Gone were the old-fashioned in-camera effects, the lap dissolves as groundbreaking monster make-up trailblazers such as Jack P. Pierce (who created Karloff’s Frankenstein monster) had to work with back in the day. Baker and Bottin’s characters stretched, howled in pain – and physically expanded in front of your eyes for the first time.

Since ATLRetro doesn’t believe in plot spoilers, no more details here for the uninitiated. For the faithful, who probably grew up watching the flick on VHS or DVD, now’s the chance, thanks to the Splatter Cinema gang, to get your werewolf fix on the big screen at The Plaza.

Just be wary of naked men stealing your balloons…