The Slaughtered Lamb Cinema

Black Death

2011-07-06T23:40:00.000-07:00

After the extremely popular run of Game of Thrones, we thought we'd follow that with one more week of Sean Bean, in the recent film Black Death.

The Lamb will be dark on the 20th as I'm off to Comic Con, and in the mean time we'll begin plotting for our next series, which is scheduled to start on the 27th.

You Win or You Die - A Game of Thrones

2011-06-01T23:12:00.000-07:00

Now that we've wrapped up the first season of Justified (another SLC favorite), it's time to schedule our next Wednesday night series.

We've chosen to screen Game of Thrones, the new HBO series based on the novels of George R.R. Martin. We look forward to seeing if it's as good as the reviews seem to indicate.

Wednesdays at The Slaughtered Lamb Cinema starting June 8th.

Wednesday Nights are Justified

2011-04-06T23:30:00.000-07:00

We wrapped up our successful run of Sports Night last week, and tonight started Justified. Based on characters created by Elmore Leonard and starring the great Timothy Olyphant (Deadwood, The Crazies), it looks like were in for a fun next several weeks.

As for what's next... time will tell...

The first Wednesday Series of 2011 - Sports Night!

2011-01-13T09:39:00.000-08:00

The same selection committee that brought you Freaks & Geeks in 2010 has decided on our first pick for the New Year.

Sports Night is an Aaron Sorkin comedy ran for two seasons from 1998-2000, and starred Felicity Huffman (Despearate Housewives), Peter Krause (Six Feet Under), Josh Charles (The Good Wife), Sabrina Lloyd (Numb3rs) and the great Robert Guillaume (Benson).

If you're concerned that you couldn't possibly be interested because you're not a sports fan, fear not. This is a show about characters, and while yes, they live in and around the world of sports, knowledge or interest in such is not a requirement to enjoy this excellent series.

As the commercial-free episodes run a scant 20-odd minutes, we expect to be able to burn through a good chunk each night. We're anticipating a 6-8 week run for the series depending on the number watched nightly.

We hope to see you on Wednesdays!

Celebrating 20 Years of Twin Peaks

2010-10-10T16:50:00.000-07:00

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Twin Peaks, arguably the single greatest series in the history of broadcast television. So when I heard that a cast reunion was being scheduled in Burbank for this weekend, I decided it was worth making a special trip down to check things out.

The first major player to arrive was Sherilyn Fenn (Audrey Horne), who I had autograph my Boxing Helena one-sheet. She was extremely sweet, and still looks great. The film was directed by David Lynch's daughter Jennifer, who was also in attendance, so I naturally had her sign it as well.

Most of the cast members are looking surprisingly good, considering it's been 20 years, and obviously those who played the high school kids tend to have changed the most. Seeing Bobby Briggs and Harold Smith with gray hair was a bit of a shock.

Other attendees included Ray Wise (Leland Palmer), Peggy Lipton (Norma Jennings), Chris Mulkey (Hank Jennings), Walter Olkewicz (Jacques Renault), Dana Ashbrook (Bobby Briggs), Connie Woods (the 'new' girl at One-Eyed Jacks), Lenny von Dohlen (Harold Smith), Russ Tamblyn (Dr. Jacoby), Charlotte Stewart (Betty Briggs), Kimmy Robertson (Lucy Moran), James Marshall (James Hurley), and Catherine Coulson (the Log Lady), and yes, the Log (itself).

I talked to Ray Wise briefly—prior to the second season of the show you'd expect him to be the nicest guy, but after we found out more about his character it's hard to look at him and not see a devilish streak. Great actor, and fortunately a very nice guy in person.

I also spoke with Russ Tamblyn and picked up a signed photo from The Haunting, one of the two films he did for director Robert Wise (the other being West Side Story, in which he starred opposite fellow Twin Peaks alum Richard Beymer).

But the highlight of the trip, and the deciding factor in my actually making the flight, was the opportunity to meet Sheryl Lee, who portrayed Laura Palmer in the show. When you consider her initial role in the series was playing the corpse of Laura Palmer, you wouldn't think that she would have a chance to leave such an indelible mark. She shined as Laura's cousin Maddie in the television series, although it wasn't until the prequel film, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, that she really blew me away. Regulars at The Slaughtered Lamb Cinema know that's one of my all time favorite films, as evidenced by its inclusion in our 40 Years, 40 Movies series earlier this year.

It was a great honor to be first in line when Sheryl arrived, and to be able to tell her that I thought she gave an amazing, layered performance in the film. The range she exhibits is truly amazing, from playful to tortured (psychologically - not to mention physically) to terrified. She seemed genuinely touched by the sentiment, as I think she realized that I really meant it. I can't think of a better performance, particularly in such a demanding role.

I had Sheryl sign my Fire Walk With Me one-sheet as well as my hardcover copy of The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer. As that book was actually written by Jennifer Lynch, I had her sign it as well. In addition to signing it, she actually added me to the book... forever linking me to Laura Palmer.

It was a great trip, and my only regret was not staying through Sunday so as to get to spend a litle more time chatting up the cast members (as I expect the crowds had thinned considerably compared to Saturday).

All in all, 2010 will go down as a great year for meeting some truly inspirational people.

Reunited after 35 years

2010-09-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

I grew up on the very tail end of the monster kid generation. In fact, had my brother not been four years older than me, I might have missed it altogether.

He had several Aurora kits, hailing from the square box/glow-in-the-dark run of the early 70s. Frankenstein, the Phantom of the Opera, and King Kong are permanently etched into my brain, as they sat atop the shelf above the drapes in our shared bedroom.

I was younger, less patient, and therefore with a predisposition for snap-together kits. Fortunately, Aurora was there for me, too. The Monsters of the Movies series was right up my alley, a slightly smaller scale but quickly built up and with movable parts. While I recall spending my hard-earned allowance to get the only one at Kiddie World at the time, the least exciting Dr. Jekyll kit, my all-time favorite was the MOTM Creature From the Black Lagoon I acquired in 1975. Not only did it have a better likeness than the standard Aurora Creature, the pose was awesome - the Gillman mid-stroke while swimming. You could literally fly him around the room like you might a toy airplane in this pose.

While I managed to retain a significant percentage of the toys I had as a kid (including the majority of my Creature from the Black Lagoon collection), this particular piece was lost to the ages. (We pause here for a moment of silence.)

Through the years I've kept an eye out for a replacement kit - built-up would be fine - but the cost of even that was prohibitive. I watched as countless companies reissued numerous other Aurora monster kits, including the MOTM Dracula, Franeknstein, Rodan and Ghidrah, but the Creature was nowhere to be found among them.

Fast forward 35 years. A few months back, the announcement finally came through. Moebius Models would re-release the MOTM Creature this summer. Despite our busy summer schedule, this was easily a high point of anticipation for 2010.

Click here to order your own Creature re-issue kit through CultTVMan.com

Our special order arrived and I picked him up last week. Now that he's home, we'll give him some time to acclimate before we introduce him into the display case with his brethren.

It's been a long time coming, but it's good to have him back home where he belongs.

Night of the Living Dead Blu Ray

2010-06-18T23:31:00.000-07:00

My Blu Ray copy of George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead arrived today, and I couldn't help but pop it in for a quick look (sorry Netflix, The Road will have to wait until tomorrow). Just to clarify, this is the Forgotten Films release, which is available direct on eBay for under $20 or for twice that through Amazon. This is not the region locked Optimum nor region free Network UK release, but an actual domestic Blu Ray edition.

Considering I've seen this movie more than 100 times through the years, and on every format it's been released, in every imaginable condition, my expectations were pretty low. Would this be another dupey, public domain print forever preserved in high definition? Considering it wasn't coming from Elite Entertainment or Dimension Films, I assumed it could not live up to their definitive DVD version.

Based on a cursory review - the first 15 minutes followed by skipping through chapters up through and including the end credits - I was blown away. In many scenes I was seeing a level of detail I had never seen before, even from watching my own personal 16mm prints of the film. While I have not gone back to do an A/B comparison to the DVD yet, I am comfortable saying that this edition has far exceeded my expectations.

The presence of a 'The End' title present on the Elite Entertainment LaserDisc leads me to believe the folks at Forgotten Films had access to a print struck from that restoration. It's generally that clean (I spotted a line in one of the outdoor zombie scenes, and will have to go back and look for that on the Elite release).

It's important to note that the copyright listed is to Forgotten Films and not Image Ten, so it's clearly not an 'authorized' edition (which I would happily purchase and support in the event of its release). For now, I can't imagine there's a better way to watch the greatest horror film of all time. If you're a fan, you'll definitely want to pick this one up.

Catching up with George Romero

2010-05-13T23:45:00.000-07:00

Kyle, Tony and I had a great time tonight at the San Francisco preview of Survival of the Dead (which thankfully allowed me to maintain my unbroken streak of having seen the last four of Romero's zombie films on the big screen). I've now seen the film three times, and while I still have some issues with the acting and CGI effects, it continues to grow on me.

Following the screening, George Romero participated in a brief Q&A. Between the hard hitting journalistic questions (In the event of a zombie outbreak, would you take off in a hot air balloon or head for the tundra?), I was able to sneak in a quick query about his forthcoming novel, The Living Dead.

Unfortunately, despite a July 1, 2010 publication date listed on Amazon, Romero confirmed that he's only about 150 pages into it, and still struggling to find what he wants to say, particularly in today's world where zombies are everywhere - movies, comics, games and soon to be television. He also confirmed that this will not be the aborted web novel (The Death of Death) he started a number of years ago. That was an experiment that Stephen King talked him into - publishing without the need for a publisher. Unfortunately, nobody bought it. (For what it's worth - I did.) So the bad news is we won't have a Romero zombie novel to read this summer. On the bright side, it has not been abandoned, so hopefully we'll eventually see it.

On the movie front, George confirmed he has two more ideas that expand on characters introduced in Diary of the Dead (as Survival does). While Night of the Living Dead is in the public domain, Dawn, Day and Land of the Dead are each owned by different groups (who like the characters in his films, don't get along). Beginning with Diary, Romero owns the characters, and is therefore able to utilize them in future stories. As much as I'd like to see George do more personal films like Martin or Knightriders, I will always welcome additional zombie films from the master.

They Won't Stay Dead - Night of the Living Dead soundtrack CD

2010-05-05T23:43:00.000-07:00

We'll have one more reason to celebrate on May 25th this year - in addition to it being Vonna's birthday and the 33rd anniversary of the release of Star Wars, it is also marks the CD release of the most comprehensive collection of original library tracks used in the making of Night of the Living Dead.

Coming from our friends at Zero Day Releasing, the team behind the excellent Autopsy of the Dead documentary, it's available for pre-order now.

Here's the track listing (using the original library track names - which I think add a nice bit of historical perspective to this collection):

1. Eerie Heavy Echo (L-1204)

2. Night Suspense (JB-33)

3. Heavy Agitato (TC 416)

4. Light Suspense (JB-37)

5. Fateful Fire (TC 151)

6. Dreary Danger (TC 157)

7. Weird Eerie (ZR-87C)

8. Small Disaster (TC 130)

9. Reserved Disaster (TC 127)

10. Space Drama

11. Black Night (TC 155)

12. Shock Suspense

13. Dream

14. The Music Box

15. Mystery Hour

16. Curious Danger (TC 158)

17. Dramatic Eerie (PG 190)

18. Mysterioso (8-ZR-8)

19. Danger In The Night (Take 9)

20. Mysterioso (ZR-68)

21. Emotional Bridge

22. Somber Emotional (L-33)

23. Punch Disaster (TC 132)

24. Attack at the Window (Medley)

25. Shock/Stormy

26. Acoustic Space Station (Take 8)

27. Weird Suspense

28. Mysterioso (ZR-65)

29. Mysterioso (ZR-9)

30. Serene Heart (TC-306)

31. Tension (TC 402)

32. Sting 44 (TC 344)/Sting 27 (TC 329)

33. Fire (JB-28)

34. Chase (ZR-62)

35. Heavy Dramatic (CB 16B)

36. Heavy Dramatic (CB 54)

37. Heavy Dramatic (CB 15A)

38. Heavy Dramatic (CB 15B)

39. Eerie Heavy Echo (L-1216)

40. Eerie Heavy Echo (L-1214)

What price Survival?

2010-04-15T21:12:00.000-07:00

I've been a fan of George Romero since I first saw Night of the Living Dead on Creature Features at a very young age. When I first saw Dawn of the Dead, on its initial home video release, I was amazed. He had done it again, in a completely different way. Day of the Dead was the first Romero zombie film I saw in the theater, and I loved it; in some ways most of all. It was another fresh take on the genre he had established, with what I'd argue are Tom Savini's greatest effects achievements. A fitting climax to what I assumed would be his zombie trilogy.

Fast forward quite a few years, and there's word of a new Romero zombie offering in development. Imagine my disappointment when I found out it was being shot in Canada, pretty much eliminating my chance of fulfilling that lifelong dream of being a Romero zombie extra. Dead Reckoning evolved into Land of the Dead, and I'll admit, somewhat to my surprise, Romero came through again. Given a real budget to work with, he proved his ability to make an equally powerful film. He combined some amazing practical effects with a restrained use of CGI that I thought worked just fine. We had the pleasure of seeing the film at its Las Vegas premiere. Unfortunately, Universal had the brains (of one of the zombies) to release the film in the middle of summer blockbusters, rather than waiting for a targeted Halloween release, and the film didn't have the breathing room to make a lasting impression. As a result, we won't see a direct follow up to the one film that I think would be best suited for it.

But things don't end there. Following the big studio experience, he decided to get back to his guerrilla style roots. Sure, I was a bit concerned when I heard the marketing pitch of Blair Witch meets Night of the Living Dead - but I knew Romero was a leader, not a follower, and was not going to turn out a derivative product. I saw Diary of the Dead at a midnight premiere screening, and while the film had it's share of weaknesses, some with casting, some with a dependency on less successful CGI effects, I thought it offered an interesting statement for it's time, as all the previous films had.

Which gets us to Survival of the Dead. The first Romero zombie film in 25 years that I first saw on home video (albeit on a 104" wide screen). I can honestly say it's the first time that one of Romero's zombie films didn't exceed my expectations. Is it horrible? No. I particularly liked the western feel, and would have liked to have seen that played up even more. Unfortunately, my issues were once again with the acting (Alan Van Sprang, reprising his small role from Diary is okay, but lacks the charisma I've come to expect from Romero's leading men) and CGI effects (which, literally from the first shot, are groan inducing). I suspect that over time I'll consider it on par with Diary, but never in the same class as the original trilogy or Land.

So have I lost faith in George? Absolutely not. I cannot wait to read his zombie novel, The Living Dead: The Beginning. And if he makes another zombie film, I'll be right there on opening day. Because the worst Romero zombie film is sure to be better than the average imitator.

Survival of the Dead US Release info

2010-03-15T09:12:00.000-07:00

For those of you outside the reach of the Region 2 DVD release, I've got good news - Magnet releasing will be premiering George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead on VOD, Amazon and Xbox Live April 30th, with a theatrical release scheduled for May 28th!

Check out the red band teaser trailer:
Survival of the Dead Teaser Trailer

George A. Romero’s Survival of the Dead | MySpace Video

Survival of the Dead approaches!

2010-03-14T09:07:00.000-07:00

While a domestic release remains TBD, we're looking forward to the imminent arrival of the UK release of George A. Romero's latest zombie effort, Survival of the Dead. For the first time, Romero carries over (albeit supporting) characters from another film (in this case, Diary of the Dead). Interestingly enough, the same actor played a similar role in Land of the Dead - where his fate confirms this film cannot be a sequel to that. :) The reviews have been primarily positive - particularly from fans disappointed with Diary. For my money, the worst Romero zombie film will still be far better than the majority of by-the-numbers zombie efforts that have come out in his wake.

It's available from Amazon in the UK, and we'll know shortly if the BluRay release is all region or not.

They Won't Stay Dead! A new Night of the Living Dead soundtrack CD

2010-02-22T21:06:00.000-08:00

For those of you who used to own the Varese Sarabande soundtrack album will be excited to hear about the forthcoming title from Zero Day Releasing: THEY WON'T STAY DEAD! Music from the soundtrack of Night of the Living Dead. It's due out on April 13th, and can be pre-ordered on Amazon.com through the link provided.

If Zero Day Releasing sounds familiar, that's because they're the folks behind last year's Autopsy of the Dead, which is up for a Rondo award!

40 Years/40 Movies Attendance Breaks 200!

2010-01-30T23:44:00.000-08:00

We did it! 40 Movies in 30 days. And I didn't have to do it alone. Our total attendance of 201 means that on average there were five of us watching each screening.

Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate over the last month. I can honestly say it would not have been the same without you.

We're looking forward to settling back in to our normal schedule of Wednesday night screenings and monthly Movie Parties.

40 Years/40 Movies Attendance Breaks 100 in Week 2!

2010-01-12T19:05:00.000-08:00

Things have been relatively quiet on this side of the fence as we've been focused on our 40 Years, 40 Movies series at The Slaughtered Lamb. If you haven't been following along, you can do so at the 40/40 Blog.

We're having a blast, and we still have three weeks to go, with many more great films to be screened. Last night our attendance surpassed 100, and while it's optimistic to think we might double that before we're through, each week has brought with it new surprise visitors, so you never know!

Ed Harris presents Knightriders live at the Egyptian Theater

2010-01-05T22:53:00.000-08:00

Friends of The Slaughtered Lamb who live near Los Angeles won't want to miss the opportunity to see George Romero's Knightriders at the Egyptian Theater this Saturday, with Ed Harris in attendance.

Harris and Tom Savini give amazing performances in this unique tale. If we weren't hip deep in our 40 Years, 40 Movies series, I'd be tempted to fly down for this very special event.

If you do check it out, we'd love to hear about it!

George Romero's Original Zombie Novel!

2009-12-24T00:08:00.000-08:00

Years ago, George Romero offered the first chapter of a zombie novel, The Death of Death, as an online exclusive PDF. It was expected that periodically new chapters would be released, but alas that never came to fruition. That beginning was just as rich as Romero's zombie films, and I'm pleased to announce that after far too long a wait, Romero has finally written a zombie novel, The Living Dead, which is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com.

From the publisher's website:

In San Diego, an autopsy seems routine until the corpse sits up and begins to walk--after all of his organs have been removed. Suddenly, the rules of this world have been rewritten and the dead now walk the earth. In Atlanta, a reporter covers the epidemic, showing viewers glimpses of increasing chaos from across the globe. Nowhere, it seems, is safe. The captain of an aircraft carrier hopes to save his crew from the disease by remaining at sea, but seemingly within moments zombies are wreaking havoc on the ship. THE LIVING DEAD follows different groups of people as they react to the crisis, working together or, for some, using their limited knowledge of zombies to try to survive. But is survival even possible? Or desirable?

I've already pre-ordered copies of both the domestic and UK editions!

I do hope they'll be sending George around on a tour to promote the book when it's released next June, and that it will be his first of many novels. I've always been a fan of his only published piece of prose fiction, the short story Clay, and have long hoped he would write more. One more thing to look forward to in the New Year!

Return of the Psychotronix Film Festival

2009-12-08T20:26:00.000-08:00

It's back!

The Psychotronix Film Festival returns this Saturday night to its original venue at the Foothill Campus.

When: Saturday Night December 12 2009, 7:00 to 11:00 PM
Where: Room 5015 on the Foothill Campus
Price: $5 admission + $2 in quarters for parking

We've been to the last three events, and there's been something unique to enjoy at each one...

Any takers?

Bookshelf of the Living Dead

2009-11-27T18:15:00.000-08:00

If you thought 2009 was an exciting year for Night of the Living Dead fans - the Autopsy of the Dead DVD, the limited edition book Advertising Night of the Living Dead, and another Living Dead Festival, there's no sign of things slowing down in 2010.

A few releases may have flown under your radar, and there are some exciting new projects coming out next year that I want to be sure all Night fans are aware of. I plan to run reviews on each of these, and possibly even run interviews with the folks behind these projects.

The BFI Classics series of books each focus on an single film that is important in the history of cinema, and it's nice to see Night of the Living Dead recently added to that list (along with Star Wars!).

Many of you are surely familiar with John Russo's novelization of Night of the Living Dead that was initially published by Warner Books in 1974, and later reissued in 1982 by Pocket Books. And while we are all aware of the film's unfortunate public domain status, one would hope that Christopher Andrews' self-published 'novelization' will prove to be in direct violation of Russo's publishing copyright, and an example can be set for those who assume that anything relating to the film is theirs for the taking.

If you're not familiar with Jerad Walters Centipede Press, you're missing out on some beautifully produced books relating to horror fiction, art and film. His books are not inexpensive, but fine works of art in and of themselves, justifying the price. For this reason alone, I was thrilled to see that his Studies in the Horror Film series would have a volume on Night of the Living Dead.

Also scheduled for release next year is a book on the making of Night by the Phantom of the Movies himself, Joe Kane: Night Of The Living Dead: The Inside Story of the Most Terrifying Zombie Movie Ever.

I've included links to order the above titles (the unauthorized novelization notwithstanding) on the Night of the Living Dead page in The Slaughtered Lamb Cinema Store linked to the right.

P.S. In case anyone out there is still looking for a copy of our long out of print The Scream Factory Presents: Night of the Living Dead 25th Anniversary Tribute, there's one up for grabs on eBay right now. It's hard for me to believe that it's been more than 16 years since we did that...

Thanksgiving

2009-11-24T19:37:00.000-08:00

I believe in America...

I grew up in the days before VCRs were a common household appliance. I was part of the generation who scoured the weekly TV guide in search of monster movies, to ensure I wouldn't miss something regardless of when it might be on. I stayed up late to watch Creature Features; in fact I still I vividly recall the night I saw Night of the Living Dead for the first time - and knowing that at 1am when it was over, I could switch from channel 2 over to channel 36 where Planet of the Apes was starting (frankly because I didn't want to make the trip from the TV back to my bed in the dark after turning it off).

When we got our first VCR, pre-recorded movies and video stores were just starting to pop-up. I remember when the local grocery store got the first bin of public domain VHS titles, at the amazing sell-through price of $14.99! That day, Dad shelled out $30 extra with the grocery bill as I picked out a copy of Spitfire (for him) and you guessed it, Night of the Living Dead for me.

The idea of actually owning a movie to watch whenever I wanted was such a thrill to me, I was able to forgive the poor print quality, splices and jump cuts throughout. It was mine, and you could take it from my cold, dead hands...

While in college, I was working in a bookstore pushing horror titles to anyone who would listen to me. One of the folks who did became a great friend, and Tony in turn got me hooked on LaserDiscs. While discs ranged from $35 for a standard film to $100 or more for a special edition (don't even ask me about the Japanese imports), I was also able to pick out a lot of titles as cut-outs at a fraction of the cost. We always had several LaserDisc stores in the Bay Area, and it was always an exciting treasure hunt when they got a new shipment of markdown cut-out titles.

I can't remember if I brought an LD player with me when I lived in the dorm at Santa Clara University, but I do know that while in school, I amassed a collection of over 100 discs. I recall distinctly that I decided I needed to create a FileMaker database to start tracking them (on my Mac LCII), before the collection got out of hand. It didn't and by 1997, when DVD had reared it's head and it was nary as ugly as we LD fanboys were thinking, I had around 700.

But those little shiny discs won me over in a heartbeat. They were light, they were smaller (more fit on even less shelf space), and by God, they were cheap! $25 a movie! And special editions didn't cost three times as much. Like I often do when faced with a new and exciting technology, I decided that I wouldn't need to upgrade all titles on DVD as they came out. The LDs were perfectly fine! And really, what were the odds that classic remasters like those done on LaserDisc for Night of the Living Dead and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre would get similar treatment on DVD?

Well, despite being an early adopter (and one who quickly dismissed the notion of NOT upgrading darn near every LaserDisc I owned as the DVDs came out), I could not have dreamed what the future would hold with DVDs. Nor could I have imagined that one day I might own 1,000 titles, let alone our current count of 5,732 (which does not include the majority of things we've got recorded on DVD-R (a category I let slip, and now am woefully behind in cataloging). I used to say (in the early days) that I had more DVDs than your average Blockbuster. While they soon overtook me on quantity, I still feel I always gave them a run for their money on quality (Wild Wild West notwithstanding - Vonna's a Will Smith fan).

HD-DVD came and went (we still support it - and will as long as we have titles unavailable in any other format, thank you very much France for releasing Mulholland Drive!), and we waited until the price of PS3s made jumping on the Blu Ray bandwagon palatable. We're at 267 Blu Rays and counting (as of 8:10pm on 11/24/09 - haven't opened today's mail yet), and there appears to be no end in sight.

So where is this all going? I was thinking about how thankful I am to live in a time where there are unlimited worlds of cinema at my fingertips... where for $2 (shame on you if you're not following Amazon's Black Friday Week sales) one can own a copy of a movie like I Am Legend... Black Book... or Young Frankenstein.

Whether you have one movie in your own library or 100, I hope you appreciate that ability to relive your favorite movie experiences whenever you choose, knowing that it was not always a foregone conclusion.

At The Slaughtered Lamb Cinema, it is our mission to share our passion for cinema with our friends. And we're thankful that more than 60 times every year, many of you come out to share the experience with us.

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving.

Watch Night of the Living Dead Reanimated Online!

2009-11-14T17:41:00.000-08:00

If you've held off signing up for Facebook, now's the time to give in and do it. This weekend, Facebook users have the opportunity to screen the animated recreation of Night of the Living Dead - aka Night of the Living Dead Reanimated, for the first time.

Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated a video based art show. Artists from around the world were invited to select scenes from the original film and make them their own. With no restrictions on style, media or process the resulting works ranged from oil paintings to comic illustrations and sock puppets to digital animation. These works were then curated into a visual track of artwork and set to the audio of George A. Romero's masterpiece, 'Night of the Living Dead'.

NOTLD:R is not meant to replace the original film but rather to supplement your viewing experience by allowing you to see the film through the eyes and hands of these talented individuals.

Sign into your Facebook account and click here for this rare opportunity!

Act quickly - as this will only be available through Sunday, 11/15!

Thanks to Kyra Schon for helping spread the word.

2009 Living Dead Festival T-Shirts

2009-11-12T16:34:00.000-08:00

Did you miss the 2nd Annual Living Dead Fest held in Evans City, PA over Halloween weekend? If so, it's not too late to order one of the cool Festival T-shirts. It features the Festival logo (right) on a black shirt. Styles include long and short sleeves in S/M/L/XL/2XL.

Here's an inexpensive way to show your support for the festival, even if you were unable to attend in person. Quantities are limited, so act fast if you're interested.

I'm wearing mine proudly!

Advertising Night of the Living Dead

2009-11-05T22:22:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, the 2nd Annual Living Dead Fest was held in Evans City, Pennsylvania. An unprecedented 17 Night of the Living Dead cast and crew members were in attendance. You can view a local news report on the event online.

On display at the event was a gallery of original Night of the Living Dead advertising and promotional materials from fan and collector Andrew Jones. In addition to the gallery, Andrew also produced 200 copies of a companion guide, including original Image Ten promos, Continental posters and press materials, FLESH EATERS and ANUBIS photos and more.

I've got a copy on the way, and based on the material that was on display at the show, it looks like another must have for Night of the Living Dead fans. Considering there are only 200 copies of the festival edition, expect the demand to exceed the supply.

I'll be back with a full review once my copy arrives. In the mean time, watch for the remaining copies to be sold through Andrew's eBay store, where you can check out more interior photos as well some shots of the beautifully arranged display at the event.

The Universal Cult Horror Collection

2009-11-02T19:49:00.001-08:00

Following in the footsteps of the Warner Archive Collection, Universal is making several titles through the TCM Vault Collection, including a set of five classic horror titles that have not been previously released on DVD.

The Universal Cult Horror Collection includes the following five films: Murders in the Zoo, House of Horrors, The Mad Ghoul, The Strange Case of Dr. RX and The Mad Doctor of Market Street. While each title is available individually for $19.99, a box set of all five is on sale for $49.99. Each disc includes bonus materials such as behind-the-scenes stills, posters and lobbycards, TCM Database info, and more.

I've always been a big fan of The Mad Ghoul, and also enjoy House of Horrors and Murders in the Zoo. For the sale price of $10 a disc, you can't go wrong with this set. And it's important to remember that supporting these lines early is the only way you can ensure to see more overlooked films finally released on DVD.

Night of the Living Dead Photo Book Review

2009-10-30T22:38:00.000-07:00

I received my copy of the Night of the Living Dead Collector's Edition Photo Book in the mail today. I give Lulu credit for doing a nice job in the packaging of the book for shipping, but that's about all they did worth praising.

While neither horribly nor brilliantly designed, ultimately the failing of this book is in the poor production values. The glossy external cover is perfectly acceptable for a trade paperback, but the interior pages are reproduced on par with a black and white photocopy. The copy of the book I received appeared to be miscut, as most interior pages are laid out on a black background, and every page has 1/8" of white on the bottom.

For a book that's all text, using photocopy quality reproduction might be passable, but for a book of photographs, in this case key frames from the film, it just doesn't do the images justice.

While no author is credited, there is a synopsis at the beginning of the book and some notes on the film at the back. Upon a quick review, I noticed a few typos and some factual errors relating the history of the script (confusing Romero's comments in The Zombies That Ate Pittsburgh about having written a story in three parts from which Night evolved as the first; claiming that the sequels he later directed were born out of his original Night script), and a rather amusing statement most likely derived from the focus of Roger Ebert's Reader's Digest article, that makes it sound as if children were actually being scared to death, outraging many parents. I would think so!

Sorry to report that this one is for Night of the Living Dead completists only.

Deluxe Twin Peaks Book coming in 2010

2009-10-27T22:10:00.000-07:00

Just in time for the 20th anniversary of the amazing David Lynch/Mark Frost television show, Twin Peaks, the Twin Peaks Archive will be publishing Northwest Passages, a coffee table book of photography by Paula K. Shimatsu-U, the unit publicist, stills photographer and assistant to Mark Frost

The book will be released in a numbered, limited hardcover edition in early 2010. For more information, including the opportunity to register your interest and lock in the chance to pre-order, check out the Twin Peaks Archive.

I'm not aware of any other forthcoming releases related to the 2oth anniversary (a Blu Ray complete series set would be nice, hint-hint, as well as a Blu Ray of Fire Walk With Me with the long awaited deleted scenes included). In the absence of either of those wish-list items, Northwest Passages will likely be the must-have item for Twin Peaks fans next year.

Night of the Living Dead Photo Book Sale

2009-10-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

The price of the Night of the Living Dead Photo Book I mentioned previously has been dropped from $31.70 down to only $19.95 - and if you use the discount code TRICK this weekend, you'll get an additional 15% off. You can order it here.

If you were on the fence about picking up a copy (as I was), here's your chance to do so at a rate lower than copies have been selling on eBay. The image above is the back cover.

Vic Mizzy (1916-2009)

2009-10-20T20:11:00.001-07:00

Vic Mizzy lived for 93 years, and left behind a legacy of music that shall never be forgotten.

To me, his greatest achievement will always be the masterful score to the classic Don Knotts horror-comedy, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. I don't have many items in the collection from that film, but right up there with a lobby card inscribed by Don Knotts, "Atta boy John!" is my CD soundtrack autographed by Mr. Mizzy.

His greatness obviously extended much further, and into much more widely recognized themes - The Addams Family and Green Acres being perhaps the most famous. But there were loads of other Don Knotts scores for Universal, and of course The Night Walker.

If you've never seen it yourself, or know someone who hasn't, why not schedule a Halloween screening of The Ghost and Mr. Chicken in Vic's honor this year.

Round 2 of Autopsy of the Dead bonus clips online

2009-10-18T08:20:00.000-07:00

This next round of bonus clips from the great Night of the Living Dead documentary Autopsy of the Dead are up courtesy the folks at http://www.notld68.com.

These include extended interviews with Charles Craig, ghoul extras Ella Mae Smith and Herbert Summer, Posse extra Dick Heckard and the film's lighting director, Joe Unitas.

There's lots of great history here, and if you haven't yet ordered a copy of Autopsy of the Dead, remember that these clips include outtakes that didn't make the final documentary. If you enjoy these supplemental materials, you'll definitely appreciate the meat that remained on the bone, so to speak.

New Night of the Living Dead Photo Book

2009-10-18T08:12:00.000-07:00

It's October, Halloween is right around the corner, so I don't feel too bad that so many posts of later are focused on zombies, and Night of the Living Dead in particular.

I just stumbled across a new item NOTLD collectors will surely be interested in. Forgotten Films have produced a 110-page 6" x 9" paperback Collector's Edition Photo Book (you can see it and some sample interiors here).

The images in the book are a variety of key frames from the film, and it's currently available for $19.95 through lulu.com at the link provided above.

If you have a copy, please feel free to post your comments!

Autopsy of the Dead Extended Interview Clips Online

2009-10-08T19:49:00.000-07:00

As promised, the makers of Autopsy of the Dead have uploaded some additional interview clips, available on homepageofthedead. This batch (what I hope will be the first of several) includes Bill Hinzman talking about his work with The Latent Image before Night of the Living Dead, as well as being a second unit cameraman on Jack's Wife and Director of Photography on The Crazies. Also featured are clips of Kyra Schon talking about watching her friends watch the premiere of Night of the Living Dead, working with Duane Jones, and more.

The clips are definitely worth checking out, as is the documentary in its entirety. If you haven't ordered your copy yet, it's not too late to get it in time for Halloween viewing. I'm not sure if there are any copies left with the signed 5x7 photographs, but it's still cheaper to order direct than it is to order through Amazon.

It's worth noting that the DVD back cover (shown) features a couple of the original on set color photographs uncovered by the filmmakers.

Rigor Mortis Magazine

2009-10-06T19:04:00.000-07:00

Rigor Mortis is a cool little 60-page digest devoted to all things zombie. I bought the first issue as soon as I read about it, and just placed my order for the second issue.

It features zombie movie reviews, zombie book reviews, zombie graphic novel reviews and more. This is the kind of zine I'd be doing if I could bring myself to go back to a print periodical; thankfully do to the diligence of the editors of Rigor Mortis, I don't have to.

You can order the first and second issue here. For $3 an issue (shipped) it's a steal. I know from personal experience they can't be making money at rates like that, so it's important that we all order the issues as they come out to keep it alive! John Bob says check it out.

Autopsy of the Dead DVD Review

2009-09-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

Back in April, I posted a link to the first trailer for this long-awaited documentary. As a lifelong fan of Night of the Living Dead, I've devoured every article, book and documentary that's been released related to the film. While some folks may ask if there's anything left to be said about a classic film such as this, filmmakers Jeff Carney and Jim Cirronella have answered with a resounding YES!

First, let's clarify about what Autopsy of the Dead isn't. It's not a full-on documentary focused on interviews with the principles you've seen interviewed time and time again. The recent release of Night of the Living Dead on DVD included just such a documentary, One For the Fire. While I admittedly found that documentary lacking in some ways, it did include numerous interviews with the key surviving cast and crew members.

Autopsy of the Dead is the perfect companion piece to that film, of interest to those of you who like me, can't get enough information on the making of this seminal horror film. Running over two hours, it tells the story of the making of the film through the voices of the lesser known talents behind Night of the Living Dead, from actor Charles Craig (who played the TV reporter), to Gary Streiner (original investor, sound engineer and brother of producer Russ Streiner), to the owners of the original farmhouse! Kudos to Carney and Cirronella for leaving no stone unturned when it came to digging up so many of the normal folks who found themselves a part of this film phenomenon shot more than 40 years ago.

Charles Craig leads things off, and he not only has a wealth of information to share, his recollections are sharp and you can tell that while his was a relatively small part, it's no mystery why he helped lend the film the credibility it needed to be successful.

Also of great interest were local television personality Dave James (the last ghoul shot in the film), Lighting director Joe Unitas, and Ella Mae Smith, who portrayed a ghoul with her husband, and who saved his mortician's wax appliance for 40-odd years!

While contributions from Kyra Schon (Karen Cooper) and Bill Hinzman (Ghoul #1) keep this from being solely comprised of relative unknowns, almost every contributor has something interesting to add (save perhaps one, whose self proclaimed contribution was holding up a tape as cricket recordings were looped!).

The quality of the interviews themselves can vary based on the location where they were shot, and while it would have been great to have these interviews captured for posterity in high definition, having them at all is a real treasure.

The filmmakers also return to several of the original filming locations, including the road from the opening shot of the film as well as the location of the original (long since demolished) farmhouse. As someone who has been out to the Evan's City Cemetery, seeing some of the other locations inspires a return trip...

While the feature itself is more than worth the price of admission, it's as we get to the extras that the package really shines. As one might expect, locating the original players also meant finding some buried treasures including some fantastic behind the scenes color photographs, which to this viewer are worth their weight in gold.

Other extras include fantastic behind the scenes newsreel footage, an amazing archive of prop photos and video (I had no idea that Ben's rifle was in a private prop collection!), theatrical trailers and much rarer TV spots, some fun radio spots (particularly those from a late 70s re-issue post Exorcist and Texas Chainsaw Massacre), and a profile on Rick Catizone of The Animators (who worked on the closing credit sequence of Night and the animated opening of Creepshow!).

Fans will want to digest everything on the disc; I was rewarded by starting first with the DVD Credits which revealed a brief bonus feature.

While there's tons of information of interest to the any fan of Night of the Living Dead, Autopsy of the Dead was really created with devout deadhead in mind. It's a very nicely produced documentary, obviously a labor of love for the team behind it, and deserving of our support for going to such great lengths to capture these original stories.

You can order a copy through Amazon, however I highly recommend ordering directly from their website, where you'll get your copy shipped within the U.S. for only $24.99 - and while supplies last, you can get a limited edition hand-signed 5x7 from one of the film's interview subjects. With only 200 signed copies available, you'll want to act fast to take advantage of that special offer.

Order Autopsy of the Dead and get a signed 5x7 Photo

2009-09-26T16:22:00.001-07:00

If you pre-order Autopsy of the Dead from the official website, while supplies last your copy will come with an autographed 5x7 photo.

I was thrilled to get an autograph of Chuck Craig, the television reporter and intestines-wrangling zombie.

I'll be back with a full report on Autopsy of the Dead, but based on what I've seen thus far, it's a must for NOTLD fans!

Return of the Ewok

2009-09-13T13:47:00.000-07:00

So maybe you've heard about the short film Warwick Davis was involved with during the making of Return of the Jedi. Titled Return of the Ewok, it was shot by Jedi First A.D. David Tomblin (and producer of The Prisoner!). It features all the major players of the film, and is worth checking out.

Unreleased on any official video format, here it is in its entirety:

Survival of the Dead Roundup

2009-09-09T22:13:00.000-07:00

George A. Romero is back, and the advance word on his latest zombie effort is good!

Here's an early trailer:

And some interesting behind the scenes footage:

Night of the Living Dead Fest 2009

2009-09-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

Gary Streiner's second annual Night of the Living Dead Fest has an very cool line-up of guests this year!

Held in Evans City, PA, home of the cemetery made famous (or infamous) in the original Night of the Living Dead, I'm seriously considering making a trip out there this year.

I was disappointed to find out about last year's inaugural event (in the 40th anniversary year) too late to make arrangements to attend, however as many of you know, we celebrated in our own way with our All Day of the Dead festival.

Anybody else up for a trip to the Land of the Dead this fall?

Autopsy of the Dead documentary is coming!

2009-08-31T20:20:00.000-07:00

Autopsy of the Dead, a new documentary on the making of George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead, is now available to order on Amazon.com. You can pre-order your copy through the Slaughtered Lamb Cinema Store link on the right.

With a running time of over two hours, and featuring all new never before seen cast and crew interviews, behind the scenes color photos, and a myriad of other cool extras, it looks to be a dream come true for Night fans. I personally can't wait to see what Jeff Carney and Jim Cirronella have assembled.

Check out the latest teaser trailer:

Unwigged & Unplugged on DVD!

2009-08-21T23:31:00.000-07:00

If you missed the Unwigged & Unplugged Tour, our favorite concert of 2009, we've got great news! You'll be able to experience it on DVD September 1st!

At 2 hours, it looks like it will contain a full show - including an excellent version of Spinal Tap's Big Bottom, and the unforgettable reading of the Standards & Practices memo regarding the first attempt to air Spinal Tap on television. Also worthy of note are the inclusion of classic songs from A Mighty Wind and Waiting for Guffman.

I'm hoping the initial data is wrong and it's not formatted 4:3, but I'll take it any way I can get it. It's like Christmas (with the Devil) in September!

You can pre-order your copy today through the Slaughtered Lamb Cinema store link on the right.

Making The Empire Strikes Back

2009-08-12T06:30:00.001-07:00

Jonathan Rinzler follows up his indispensable volumes The Making of Star Wars and The Making of Indiana Jones with next year's The Making of The Empire Strikes Back.

We had a chance to see some pages from this book at Ralph McQuarrie's 80th birthday party, and it will definitely be another must have volume for your library. You can pre-order your copy through The Slaughtered Lamb Cinema Store link on the right.

Return of the Universal Monsters?

2009-08-11T06:42:00.000-07:00

Man do I wish we had the following film to pair with House of Dracula on Wednesday night: House of the Wolf Man.

"Dr. Bela Reinhardt (Ron Chaney) has invited five people to his castle to see which of them will inherit his estate. He has arranged for a competition of sorts, the victor shall be determined through process of... elimination," McGarr tells Bloody-Disgusting. "The film was shot in black and white, 1:33 aspect ratio and is a good old fashioned monster movie that you could bring your kids to."

New Planet of the Apes illustrated novel coming in 2010

2009-08-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

One of the problems with the immense scale of Comic Con is that you're bound to miss some really cool announcements from smaller publishers.

Case in point - Blam Ventures had original art on display promoting their forthcoming, fully authorized illustrated Planet of the Apes novel, Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes.

The premise for this first volume is telling the story of Colonel Taylor's fellow astronaut Landon - who we didn't see after the ape round-up until it is discovered later that he is in fact still alive, albeit lobotomized. An interesting unexplored area of the franchise - I do hope it leads to further explorations of our future world of talking simians.

You can read all about it on their website.

Tonight of the Living Dead

2009-08-08T10:28:00.000-07:00

400 Lonely Things have done something pretty interesting. Using the soundtrack from Night of the Living Dead, they have created a "collage of treated audio."

It's definitely worth a listen.

You can download it on iTunes, or order a physical copy with liner notes on their website.

Remembering John Hughes - UPDATED!

2009-08-06T18:45:00.001-07:00

Everyone has a favorite John Hughes movie - or several, as the case may be. I'd have to pick Weird Science as the one that reached out and touched me most directly, although Ferris Beuller's Day Off is a close second.

But forgetting about his golden years as a director, John Hughes was a gifted writer. He wrote each of the screenplays for the films he directed, in addition to screenplays for several classic films, including Some Kind of Wonderful and National Lampoon's Vacation.

We lost John today at the all too young age of 59. It's oddly appropriate that we had scheduled our 'Vacation Smack-Down' for our August movie party, pitting the original Vacation against Christmas Vacation in a battle royale to pick the best of the two excellent comedies. We'll get to some of his directorial efforts in the future, but for now, you'll get your chance to appreciate some of his body of work on August 22.

I only found out today that John's screenplay for Vacation was adapted from his short story, "Vacation '58" that appeared in National Lampoon. I'm pleased to be able to offer a link to that story for your enjoyment. Also, here is a link to the Foreword Hughes wrote to a 2008 reprinting of said story.

As survivors of the eighties, we'll forever be in his debt.

Pimp Your Poison

2009-08-05T23:31:00.000-07:00

Next week we put Frankenstein and pals to bed, closing out the Slaughtered Lamb Cinema's History of Horror (1931-1945). Rather than jump right into another series, we're going to follow up our viewer favorite Pick Your Poison series with a slight twist offering everyone a chance to suggest what becomes our next regular Wednesday night programming.

Same general rules apply - you can select anything you want to show within 150 minutes, but this time you're selling the group on why we should select your series to run with on Wednesday nights. You might show a few episodes of a TV series, or a film in a series you're interested in. You might suggest a theme (Academy Award winners) and show one and describe what you have in mind for the series. We'll vote and schedule our next Wednesday night selections based on what's the most popular.

We'll draw lots for scheduling the Pimp Your Poison schedule next week, so be sure to show up (or let us know you're up for participating) and we'll save you a slot.

Comic Con 2009 - A Post mortem

2009-07-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

I hadn't really thought about blogging on our trip to Comic Con this year, as I spent most of the weekend in our booth evangelizing the art of Ralph McQuarrie. That said, we did have a few interesting encounters, and a couple of folks have expressed an interest, so here's a brief recap.

We spent the week below a huge hi-def video screen promoting the latest offerings from Lucasfilm, including the fan favorite trailer for The Old Republic MMO game, as well as Star Wars in Concert that's coming to San Jose on October 11.

We met up with some of the art department from The Clone Wars, and supervising director Dave Filoni stopped by the booth to chat with us for a bit about his fondness for Ralph McQuarrie. The trailer for the next season of the show looks pretty amazing.

Joe Hill was there promoting his current comic series Locke & Key. If you've never read any of his work, I highly recommend his novel Heart Shaped Box. His highly acclaimed short story, "Pop Art", from his collection 20th Century Ghosts is also very much worth tracking down.

There were several celebrity near misses by our booth, from Wesley Snipes to Nick (son of Gene) Simmons. If you caught any footage of the G4 show in the Lucasfilm Pavilion, it's likely we were no more than 10-15 feet away. Also signing not too far from us were three of the stars of the Battlestar Galactica remix - Edward James Olmos, as well as the actors who portrayed Col. Tigh and Baltar. Mark Hamill was also signing, but I didn't see him on this trip.

We were able to meet up with artist Tim Bradstreet, who we're looking forward to working with in the very near future, and he introduced me to Thomas Jane, star of The Punisher, The Mist, and most recently the HBO series Hung.

I also met the creators of Hoops and Yo Yo. If you've been in a Hallmark store in the last few years, you'd recognize them instantly.

There was a lot of talk around the con about James Cameron's Avatar, Tron: Legacy, and Time Burton's Alice in Wonderland - I unfortunately didn't get a chance to take in any panels. I previously posted a link to the Tron footage - I'm amazed at how much buzz this is generating.

I did manage to come away with several nice art books, and a small plastic tub of zombies.

After trips to SDCC in 2004 and 2006, I swore I'd never return due to the size of the crowds and the related insanity they bring. but it was an interesting opportunity to have a booth in the Lucasfilm Pavilion. Will we be back? That remains to be seen - but there are aspects of the show I do continue to enjoy, and would be willing to brave the crowds to experience yet again, so who knows...

Fortunately, we had a nice place to stay on a hillside about 15 minutes north of downtown, and Vonna prepared amazing meals for us each night of the show.

Next up for us will be Star Wars Fan III Days in Texas in October - and then next year's Star Wars Celebration V... date and location TBD.

Tron: Legacy

2009-07-27T19:32:00.000-07:00

Are you Ready for the return of Tron?

We obviously are...

Get ready for a Vacation Smackdown!

2009-07-18T22:49:00.001-07:00

Next month, with your help we'll settle a long standing debate in The Slaughtered Lamb Cinema. I have always believed that the original Vacation is by far the best film in the series. Vonna is equally vocal that the second sequel, Christmas Vacation, is the best.

Come enjoy the pair (both are great comedies), and cast your vote for the greatest vacation of them all.

The vacation starts on Saturday, August 22 from 6pm-10pm. And stay tuned for the September announcement, which we're currently referring to as the Class of 1979 party!

The Prisoner revisited

2009-07-13T23:26:00.000-07:00

If anything, I should probably be surprised it's taken more than 40 years for a remake of The Prisoner to get off the ground. While I think McKellan will make a good #2, I'm already somewhat disappointed that #2 would appear to have such a prominent role in the entire series.

Only time will tell... For now, you can check out this teaser trailer for the series, coming this November...

Cemetery Junction

2009-07-11T19:11:00.000-07:00

Ricky Gervais and Stepehen Merchant team up for a feature film! If it lives up to The Office and Extras, we may have a winner.

Check out the amusing teaser trailer here.

Flickchart

2009-07-07T21:29:00.000-07:00

A time waster to be sure, but as time wasters go, I've been enjoying this. Watch the trailer, sign up, and start rating movies. Look for me, resrvordog, so we can compare notes.

Return of the SLC History of Horror

2009-07-05T21:46:00.000-07:00

This Wednesday we resume the Slaughtered Lamb History of Horror with the Universal Frankenstein sequels (as well as The Wolf Man, for reasons that become apparent in time), and we'll close things out with Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein in HD.

7/8 The Bride of Frankenstein with The Mad Ghoul
7/15 Son of Frankenstein (solo feature)
7/22 Off week - No Programming scheduled
7/29 Ghost of Frankenstein with The Wolf Man
8/5 Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man with House of Frankenstein
8/12 House of Dracula with Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

While we have not yet selected our next Wednesday night series - we are considering a 50th anniversary screening of the first season of The Twilight Zone. We can watch 4-5 episodes a night, completing the series in 7-9 weeks. Keep checking the blog for the final announcement!

First annual(?) Pick Your Poison Wrap-up

2009-07-05T21:35:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post an official follow up to our first run of the Pick Your Poison program that wrapped up last week.

Here's the official program:

5/13 Kyle
Wild Man of Borneo (Little Rascals short)
Dreamgirls

5/20 Vonna -
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (Academy Award winning short film/Twilight Zone episode)
The Beguiled

5/27 John
George A. Romero's Knightriders

6/3 Martin
The Last of Sheila

6/10 Paul
Caprica

6/17 Mikk
Kentucky Fried Movie

6/24 Stan
Quills

7/1 Michael
Northwest Hounded Police (Droopy cartoon)
The Mystery of the Leaping Fish (short subject)
Forbidden Planet

The group managed to select an eclectic mix of films that all in all were greatly enjoyed by everyone, and for the most part had gone unseen by the majority of the group. It was such a success, we will definitely be doing it again. If you want in on it - all you have to do is join us on Wednesdays!

Spinal Tapalooza Trailer

2009-06-20T16:30:00.000-07:00

You can check out the trailer for the July Tapalooza event here.

What should you expect? The most comprehensive Night of Tap you can imagine:

• The band's first appearance on US television
• The original short film that spawned the feature documentary
• The feature film THIS IS SPINAL TAP in high definition
• Over 1 hour of documentary footage from the cutting room floor
• THIS IS SPINAL TAP commentary from David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel and Derek Smalls
• The best of the band's music videos, including: HELL HOLE, BITCH SCHOOL
• Video commentary on their greatest hits

In one night, we promise to bring you the Tap, the full Tap, and nothing but the Tap.

Your eardrums might just bleed.

What's wrong with DVDs

2009-06-15T20:47:00.000-07:00

Every now and then, you stumble across something and think, that's exactly what I was thinking...

You know what's bullshit? DVDs
Uploaded by kronosposeidon. - Explore more science and tech videos.

Celebrity Day at the Lamb

2009-06-14T15:00:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Ralph McQuarrie's 80th birthday yesterday, with an amazing group of Ralph's friends and fans in attendance.

With the projector back up and running we're on track for the remainder of the Pick Your Poison series starting this Wednesday. Mikk's up next, to be followed by Stan and Michael in the week's ahead.

Also, don't forget that the Mad Movie Party returns this Saturday with a salute to Ed Wood on the 50th anniversary of the release of his classic Plan 9 From Outer Space. Hope to see you there!

Open for Business!

2009-06-12T06:50:00.000-07:00

After a brief closure for a projector repair, The Slaughtered Lamb is back open for business!

40 Years, 40 Movies Index

2009-06-05T06:20:00.000-07:00

Here's a handy index to the films we'll be showing, by date.

2001 A Space Odyssey January 20, 2010
American Graffiti January 18, 2010
Army of Darkness January 16, 2010
Assault on Precinct 13 January 15, 2010
Attack of the Clones January 1, 2010
Big Trouble in Little China January 23, 2010
Breaking Away January 18, 2010
Carlito's Way January 22, 2010
Carnival of Souls January 12, 2010
The Crow January 28, 2010
The Dark Half January 26, 2010
Dawn of the Dead (146 minute cut) January 6, 2010
The Empire Strikes Back January 1, 2010
Escape From New York January 23, 2010
Escape From the Planet of the Apes January 14, 2010
Eyes Wide Shut January 30, 2010
Godzilla's Revenge January 21, 2010
Golden Voyage of Sinbad January 7, 2010
The Great Escape January 13, 2010

Heat January 29, 2010
Hellraiser January 19, 2010
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull January 2, 2010
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade January 2, 2010
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom January 2, 2010
Magnum Force January 8, 2010
Midnight Run January 25, 2010
A Mighty Wind January 11, 2010
Mulholland Drive January 30, 2010
Night at the Opera January 4, 2010
The Phantom Menace January 1, 2010
Psycho January 5, 2010
Pulp Fiction January 9, 2010
Raiders of the Lost Ark January 2, 2010
Reservoir Dogs January 9, 2010
Return of the Jedi January 1, 2010
Revenge of the Sith January 1, 2010
Ronin January 27, 2010
Shaun of the Dead January 16, 2010
Star Wars January 1, 2010
The Thing January 23, 2010

40 Years, 40 Movies

2009-06-05T00:19:00.000-07:00

The 40 Years, 40 Movies schedule for next January has been posted.

Beginning on Friday, January 1st and running through Saturday, January 30th, The Slaughtered Lamb Cinema brings you an eclectic line-up of films in our largest screening program to date.

Opening ceremonies will take place on:
1/1 Star Wars Marathon
1/2 Indiana Jones Marathon

The remainder of the month is scheduled as follows:
Sundays - NO screenings
Monday Night Laughs
Tuesday Night Horrors
Wednesday Night Epics
Thursday Night Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Friday Night Crime
Saturday Double Bills (and the monthly Mad Movie Party)

The closing event is a special double feature on 1/30 of Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut and David Lynch's Mulholland Drive.

You can view the entire line-up by clicking on the Calendar link, viewing by month, and advancing to January 2010. Plan your schedule now for the screenings you'd like to attend. It was more difficult than you might imagine narrowing the list to just 40 films. In an effort to offer the greatest variety for this unique series, we frequently opted not to show films that we have recently screened in The Slaughtered Lamb, as important as those films might be. Rest assured we give every film in this series our highest recommendation, so it's a great opportunity to introduce yourself to some gems you may not have seen before on the big screen.

David Carradine 1936-2009

2009-06-04T09:00:00.001-07:00

I apologize for our current inability to fast track a Kill Bill double feature in his memory at this time. We'll work on getting that scheduled as soon as Theater 'A' has re-opened.

A packed house for The Last of Sheila

2009-06-03T22:06:00.000-07:00

Theater 'B' was at capacity for Martin's Pick Your Poison screening of The Last of Sheila.

We started off with a pair of trailers from two other features from 1973: Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon and The Exorcist.

The Last of Sheila is a fun little murder mystery with an all-star cast including James Coburn, Raquel Welch, Richard Benjamin, and an unrecognizable Ian McShane.

The plot had everyone guessing right to the very end.

To complement the film's Mediterranean setting, Vonna prepared a full-on Mediterranean feast that was enjoyed by all.

Next on tap - Michael will Pick Our Poison.

Theater 'A' Closed for Repairs

2009-06-02T20:17:00.000-07:00

We hope to have Theater A back up and running by next Wednesday, but the show must go on, so we're running Martin's Pick Your Poison in the Slaughtered Lamb Theater 'B' tomorrow. Mikk's presentation has been rescheduled to show on the big screen in Martin's slot in two weeks.

We appreciate your patience and understanding as we get the projector repaired.

George A. Romero's Knightriders

2009-05-27T23:29:00.000-07:00

Live by the code. Know who you are. Survive outside the establishment. Realize that your dreams and ideals will live on long after you are gone.

Knightriders may very well be Romero's most accomplished, if most under-appreciated film.

It was my 'Pick Your Poison' selection for this week in The Slaughtered Lamb Cinema.

Keeping up with The Slaughtered Lamb Cinema

2009-05-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

Tired of missing out on the goings on at The Slaughtered Lamb? There are a couple of key ways to stay on top of things. Obviously, this blog is the centerpiece of our information network, but if you don't have the time to check this frequently, you might prefer some of the other options available.

Twitter: I don't use this to report on my minute-by-minute goings on, but all blog posts are sent to the Twitter account within an hour of posting.

Facebook: There is a Slaughtered Lamb Cinema group on Facebook that you can become a 'fan' of, and we post and send out invites to our monthly events.

The Calendar: While you won't see some events until after they happen, all regularly scheduled events are posted in advance.

The Anti-Terminator

2009-05-22T17:55:00.001-07:00

This looks like fun.

SURROGATES trailer in HD

Let it Snow, Let is Snow, Let it Snow

2009-05-21T22:25:00.000-07:00

In 2004, before the Slaughtered Lamb Cinema even existed, we had a run of several consecutive movie parties that were successful premieres of international films. The Nest, Dog Soldiers and Shaun of the Dead. It's a real treat to screen something that no one has seen before, other than having seen the available trailers or clips, and have it exceed everyone's expectations.

We did that tonight with Norway's Dead Snow. I'll go so far as to say Dead Snow may be the most entertaining Nazi zombie film of all time. Sure, Shock Waves had Peter Cushing, and Oasis of the Zombies is notable for offering the 'alternate clothed sequences' on DVD, but Dead Snow pays a debt to classic low budget horror of the 80s (most notably the Evil Dead films and pre-Academy Award efforts of Peter Jackson) while giving back to the genre several fun and original twists.

Dead Snow is coming later this year to a therater near you. In the mean time, check out a bunch of clips here.

The Poison goes down smooth

2009-05-20T22:10:00.001-07:00

Last week, Kyle surprised us with a double feature of The Wildman of Borneo (a non-PC Little Rascals 2-reeler) and the musical Dreamgirls, which everyone enjoyed.

This week, Vonna scored high marks with a pair of unusual Civil War stories - An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge from the story by Ambrose Bierce (the only episode of The Twilight Zone not originally produced for the show), and the Don Siegel/Clint Eastwood collaboration The Beguiled. The bar has been set pretty high, so I've got my work cut out for next week.

But before we get to that, we have a special screening of the highly anticipated Dead Snow scheduled for tomorrow night.

And don't think we've forgotten this Saturday is our next monthly event. We hope you'll join us for The Terminator trilogy.

Why all the Star Wars fans love the new Trek

2009-05-18T20:25:00.000-07:00

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

Watch My Favorite Movie (Star Trek vs. Star Wars) and more funny videos on CollegeHumor

Thanks to Kyle for passing this on.

Keep on Trekkin!

2009-05-11T06:22:00.000-07:00

So we caught J.J. Abram's reboot of Star Trek yesterday. Much of what you've been hearing is true - although I'd go so far as to say this may be the best Star Trek film yet - no slight to Wrath of Khan (however I've found that the other fan favorite, The Voyage Home, doesn't hold up quite as well).

Without delving into spoilers, I do give the writers credit for developing a story that will allow this ensemble to have their own adventures without ignoring all of the baggage and backstory that has come before.

The cast does a very good job: Spock is just as you would expect (with one minor element that is sure to irk the die hard fans), Kirk grows on you, Sulu and Uhura are each given a chance to shine - however I'd have to say the real standouts are Simon Pegg (while perhaps underused in this film), Chekov, and McCoy - who may do the best job channeling his original series counterpart without coming off like an impersonation.

While not without it's flaws, in particular the random insertion of obligartory aliens (characters in masks in the background - or occasionally foreground) to remind you this is all happening in the future where man and alien, at least the bipedal kind that can still shop for clothes in our outlet stores, comingle. There is a green skinned throwback to the original series that is funny if not somewhat poorly executed, and there is a comedic sidekick that makes a brief appearance for whom they couldn't seem to afford a mask better than you might find at your local Spirit store (my guess is, you'll see him this Halloween).

But those are issues that don't bear on the plot itself, which serves the purpose of allowing new fans to engage with these characters and stories, whether or not they've been followers of the Trek mythos for the past 40 years. And to that end, I think he has succeeded grandly. We're looking forward to revisiting this on the big screen in a few months when it makes its Blu Ray debut (hey - appreciate that we made a trip OUT to the theater on opening weekend to see it!).

It's definitely worth checking out.

Guess Who's Picking the Poison

2009-05-06T19:47:00.000-07:00

The lineup has been selected. Over the next seven weeks, the Wednesday night programming will be selected by:

5/13 Kyle
5/20 Vonna
5/27 John
6/3 Mikk
6/10 Mike
6/17 Martin
6/24 Stan

Screenings will be updated on the Calendar AFTER they happen. You'll have to be there on the night to see what we're watching.

It's time to Pick Your Poison!

2009-05-01T20:18:00.000-07:00

Next Wednesday we close out the the first leg of the Slaughtered Lamb Cinema's Wednesday Night History of Horror.

This week saw Claude Rains in the classic H.G. Wells tale, The Invisible Man paired with the late, great Fay Wray in the first of three consecutive appearances in The Mystery of the Wax Museum. A fun pre-code flick that was the inspiration for the 1950s 3-D classic House of Wax with Vincent Price.

We close out with the Fay Wray double-feature of The Most Dangerous Game and King Kong. It will be quite a night, during which we'll also announce the first program in the Pick Your Poison Wednesday series that starts up on 5/13. Check the blog and calendar for those weekly announcements if you're not here in person. It's sure to be an interesting if ecclectic lineup for the next several weeks. You too can participate in the programming - you just need to show up!

Frankenstein 1910

2009-04-29T07:28:00.000-07:00

I'm very interested in scheduling a History of Silent Horror at some point, perhaps next year in celebration of the 100th anniversary of this bizarre short from Thomas Edison. Charles Ogle makes for a very eerie Frankenstein.

In the mean time, you can check the film out here:

Frankenstein (1910) - Thomas Edison
Uploaded by dreadcentral

Autopsy of the Dead

2009-04-26T07:36:00.001-07:00

A couple of die-hard Night of the Living Dead fans are putting the finishing touches on a documentary comprised of cast and crew interviews.

You can check out the trailer here.

25th Anniversary Tap-apalooza!

2009-04-25T14:34:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, there wasn't a band called Spinal Tap. 25 years ago, the world (and elsewhere) was graced with a documentary on the history of said band, This Is Spinal Tap. It was, and remains, one of the greatest comedies of all time.

In short order, the music transcended the movie, and the band that never was, didn't go away. The songs took on new life as they gained new fans. Big Bottom. Sex Farm. Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight. Stonehenge.

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the film, and the release of their latest album (Back From the Dead), we set aside our July movie party to honor the members of one of England's loudest bands: David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel and Derek Smalls.

We're pulling out all the stops - in addition to the feature film, we'll showcase:
• the band's debut performance of Rock and Roll Nightmare from The TV Show
• the original promotional film created in advance of the movie (Spinal Tap - The Final Tour)
• over an hour of hilarious footage that didn't make the final cut
• uncensored music videos, promos, and live performances of the band
• excerpts from their appearance at the Royal Albert Hall in support of their album Break Like the Wind, including updates on where the band members had been since the original film's release

Finally, we'll be including another musical comedy classic from the geniuses behind Tap: A Mighty Wind, also supported by additional performances by Spinal Tap's frequent opening act, The Folksmen.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, July 18th, and prepare to crank it to 11.

Slap on a bronze badge and join the Main Force Patrol

2009-04-19T20:51:00.000-07:00

Next Saturday we revisit the 80s classic that thrust Mel Gibson into international stardom: Mad Max and The Road Warrior (as well as Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, if anyone is brave enough).

Trailers roll promptly at 6:00pm - but food and drink will be available shortly after 5pm, so you're welcome to join us at any time. We hope to see you then.

And in May - he'll be back.

Psychotronix Saturday

2009-04-15T23:08:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that this Saturday is the return of the Psychotronix Film Festival from 7pm-11pm at DeAnza college. I recommend that you bring a seat cushion - those lecture hall seats will kill you after the first hour or so...

This will be our third consecutive Psychotronix - and amazingly enough I don't have to drag Vonna - she goes willingly. To get a sense of what the fest has to offer, check out my blog entry following our first experience.

We hope to see you all there!

John & Vonna

The Shark is Still Working

2009-04-12T11:24:00.000-07:00

Here's a cool looking documentary on JAWS that's coming out soon. It premiers at a film festival in LA on May 1st.

Pick Your Poison Wednesdays are coming!

2009-04-08T23:47:00.001-07:00

We're on track to complete the first leg of the Slaughtered Lamb History of Horror in April, and will then be taking a break from classic horror for a few months as we open things up for our Pick Your Poison Wednesdays. Here's the plan - each week everyone will come prepared with a viewing selection for the night (either something you bring or one of the 6,500 titles in the Slaughtered Lamb Library).

We'll start the month of May with everyone's name in a hat, and each week Vonna will draw a name of who's responsible for hosting that night. It can be a feature, episodes of a TV show, whatever the impromptu host wants, provided that it fits in a 150-minute window (sorry Bollywood fans!). Everyone will get one shot at determining the night's programming. We think it will be a cool way for everyone to share some of their favorites on the big screen.

We expect this will take us through May and possibly into June, at which time we'll resume the History of Horror. Depending on how it goes, we may make Pick Your Poison Wednesdays a regularly scheduled event each year, or between longer stretches of Wednesday night entertainment.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, here's the schedule for the next several weeks.

4/15/09
* Mask of Fu Manchu 68m
* The Ghoul (1933) 77m

4/22/09
* The Invisible Man (1933) 71m
* Mystery in the Wax Museum 77m

4/29/09
* King Kong 104m
* The Most Dangerous Game 63m

Back to the Future, or THROUGH, the Enterprise?

2009-04-02T20:10:00.000-07:00

Dangerous Bob sends along this clip of what happened between Back to the Future Part 1 and Part 2. Sensitive Trekkers may not want to watch.

Return to the History of Horror

2009-04-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

Black Book was a big hit (as was the Monday/Tuesday double feature of Casino Royale/Quantum of Solace). I wanted to remind everyone that next week we resume the SLC History of Horror program with a Bela Lugosi double feature including White Zombie and Island of Lost Souls (featuring Charles Laughton, who we saw last week in The Old Dark House).

Here is the Wednesday schedule for the next several weeks:

4/8/09
* White Zombie 69m
* Island of Lost Souls 70m

4/15/09
* Mask of Fu Manchu 68m
* The Ghoul (1933) 77m

4/22/09
* The Invisible Man (1933) 71m
* Mystery in the Wax Museum 77m

4/29/09
* King Kong 104m
* Most Dangerous Game 63m

Let the Wrightson one in

2009-03-31T23:57:00.000-07:00

During our visit to LA, Peter and I had a chance to visit with legendary artist Bernie Wrightson, who's amazing illustrated version of Frankenstein was recently reissued in honor of its 25th anniversary.

I wanted to post a note here in case anyone is interested, as it is the most beautiful the book has ever looked, and while the first printing is now sold out (the initial run was only 7500 copies), you can still get first edition copies on Amazon for less than $20 while they last!

I've seen less attractive volumes regularly offered at $50 or more - so this really is a steal. Act quick if you want to grab a first edition before they're gone.

Who Let the Wrong One In?

2009-03-25T19:23:00.000-07:00

The horror community is in an uproar over a change in the subtitles used in the hot new vampire flick Let the Right One In.

Turns out they cheaped out and didn't include the version that played theatrically - and while it's not like it's completely wrong, the guys over at Icons of Fright have gone out of their way to pinpoint some of the bad changes made.

The good news, as a result the studio will be reissuing the film with THEATRICAL subtitles noted. If you haven't seen it yet - you might consider holding out for that.

Warner Brothers Archive Collection

2009-03-23T06:21:00.000-07:00

In an interesting move, Warner Brothers has made available an on demand archive collection of previously unreleased titles on DVD.

This is a very cool concept that I would be excited to see more studios adopt, but in the mean time, I can't wait to order up a widescreen Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze to check it out.

Check out the ful list of available titles here.

Return of Psychotronix!

2009-03-22T22:15:00.001-07:00

FYI - the Psychotronix Film Festival returns to DeAnza college on Saturday, April 18th.

This time, we'll all remember to bring a blanket or comfortable pillow to sit on! Even if you can withstand the films being screened, those classroom chairs can be murder!

Phantastic!

2009-03-21T23:45:00.000-07:00

If you were to measure the success of a movie party by the number of folks who stay longer than they originally planned, our Phantasmathon was another winner.

Of course, that in no small part is due to the fact that the first three films all end with a similar cliffhanger, which begs to be followed up with the subsequent film. And besides, they're just plain fun. Let's hope we haven't seen the last of the mysterious Tall Man and the never-catch-a-break former ice-cream man Reggie. It was a fun night celebrating 30 years of Don Coscarelli's classic franchise.

Next up, Mel Gibson in his greatest recurring role: Mad Max and The Road Warrior!

2009 Schedule Update

2009-03-19T21:06:00.000-07:00

Due to some Blu Ray release announcements (and the lack of announcements for some others), I've shuffled our schedule for the second half of 2009. I still hope that we'll see releases of Ben Hur and North by Northwest this year, but to be safe I want to hold off on scheduling those until I know we'll have them in HD.

Since the Wizard of Oz has been confirmed (without a street date as of yet), I'm leaving that as our post-Thanksgiving event for now. Similarly, rumors are flying about a Lord of the Rings Blu Ray release in early December, so I've tentatively slotted that for our end of the year party.

The next several months are still on track and locked in - we'll finalize each of those as they get within a few months.

March 21
PHANTASM I-IV

April 25
MAD MAX/THE ROAD WARRIOR

May 23
TERMINATOR I-III

June 20
PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE
July 18
TBD

August 22
TBD

September 19
TBD

October 24
THE THREE MOTHERS TRILOGY

November 28
WIZARD OF OZ

December 26
LORD OF THE RINGS

SLC History of Horror III

2009-03-18T23:01:00.000-07:00

I skipped detailed reporting of last week's screening of the Spanish version of Dracula. While appreciated for its technical achievements, it was the longest film we've watched thus far and it was deemed prudent to put off Murders in the Rue Morgue until this week. That in turn bumped The Most Dangerous Game to the much more appropriate pairing with King Kong.

So this week we watched the excellent adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde starring Fredric March from 1932, along with the man-in-monkey suit adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's Murders in the Rue Morgue. Jekyll and Hyde was certainly risque for its time, and makes for an entertaining group viewing.

Next up, a Boris Karloff double feature with The Mummy and The Old Dark House. See you next Wednesday!

Let the Right One In

2009-03-17T19:17:00.000-07:00

I started hearing raves about this film as it made its way through the festival circuit, and yet we didn't make the effort to go see it during its brief local theatrical run. We finally sat down to watch it this past weekend and it's worthy of all the praise it has garnered.

It's a refreshing take on the vampire tale, dare I say one of the most heat warming vampire films to arise from the ashes of the post Anne-Rice-alyptic era.

I enjoyed the film so much that I just bought the book (translated from the original Swedish) and can't wait to dive into it as well.

If you're not sold, check out the trailer, but better yet, take this recommendation on faith and rent, borrow or buy this movie before you see or hear much more about it. It's richly rewarding.

Phantasmathon

2009-03-16T19:57:00.000-07:00

How do I love Phantasm? Let me count the ways. The silver sphere... Morningside mortuary... the Tall Man... the Hemi Cuda... the dwarves... the eerie score... the black box... the missing fingers... the hearses... the tuning fork... the ice cream man...

Made on a shoestring budget 30 years ago by up and coming independent filmmaker Don Coscarelli, Phantasm has got a bit of everything in it - as if every incongruent nightmare image were poured into a cauldron and stirred about until it came to a boil.

It was successful enough that Universal backed a bigger budget sequel. It similarly adds to the overall mythos, but also left the audience wanting more. The third and fourth sequels (Lord of the Dead and Oblivion) saw the return of the original cast members, which was a welcome surprise. And while one can easily pick apart each film in the series, it makes for a fun roller coaster ride from start to finish, and I contend that the twists and turns on the journey are in fact the reward.

We hope you'll join us for this mini-marathon of all four films (don't worry - none of the films are that long). It starts this Saturday at 4pm. But even when it's over - it's never over. See you there.

Planet of the Apes on Vintage Vinyl

2009-03-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

Gotta love the things you can find on the internet. Back in the 70s, Peter Pan/Power Records put out a series of comic book and record sets. These included everything from Marvel and DC comic characters to Star Trek. My favorites were the Planet of the Apes adaptations.

Imagine my surprise not only finding someone had created MP3 files of the audio, and scanned all of the comics - but someone has gone to the trouble of creating Flash multimedia files where you can watch and listen at the same time.

Nostalgia worth sharing, in my opinion. Check them out, along with the rest of Hunter's Planet of the Apes site.

History of Horror Part I

2009-03-08T21:59:00.000-07:00

We kicked off the Slaughtered Lamb Cinema History of Horror last Wednesday with the double feature of Dracula and Frankenstein. Two great films that launched the careers of Lugosi and Karloff (who we'll be seeing a lot more of in the weeks ahead). In addition, both films featured excellent supporting roles from Edward Van Sloan and Dwight Frye.

As we work through the best of the 30s and 40s, we'll be tweaking the schedule to accommodate folks availability and the interest in the films on the horizon. The plan for this week is to watch the Spanish version of Dracula (which was filmed alongside the Lugosi classic), along with the return of Bela Lugosi in the adaptation of Poe's Murders in the Rue Morgue. I think we'll start planning for 7:30pm starts for this series - we're coordinating pairs of films that will run under 3 hours each night.

Here's the current plan for the next six weeks:

3/11/09
* Dracula (Spanish Version) (1931) 104m

3/18/09
* Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde 96m
* Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) 61m

3/25/09
* The Mummy (1932) 73m
* The Old Dark House (1932) 72m

4/1/09
* White Zombie 69m
* Island of Lost Souls 70m

4/8/09
* Mask of Fu Manchu 68m
* The Ghoul (1933) 77m

4/15/09
* The Invisible Man (1933) 71m
* Mystery in the Wax Museum 77m

4/22/09
* King Kong 104m
* Most Dangerous Game 63m

Ballad of Serenity

2009-02-25T22:21:00.000-08:00

We wrapped what might be the most unanimously appreciated show in Slaughtered Lamb Cinema history this week.

Here's a little something to remember it by...

Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me
Take me out to the black
Tell them I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me
There's no place I can be
Since I found Serenity
But you can't take the sky from me...

It's Alive! It's Alive!

2009-02-21T23:58:00.000-08:00

Our classic horror kick-off was a grand success. It's always fun to introduce folks to films such as Freaks or The Unholy Three. There was some disappointment with Mark of the Vampire's non-supernatural resolution, which was one reasonswe ran that with the Tod Browning films as opposed to in the upcoming horror series.

As a reminder, next Wednesday, February 25th will be the feature film Serenity, and on March 4 we'll begin our weekly classic horror series. And don't forget to mark your calendars for one month from tonight's event - because the balls are coming back!

A History of Horror

2009-02-14T19:59:00.000-08:00

We've got one more week of Firefly, and then we'll close that out the following week with the feature film Serenity. On March 4, we'll embark on a history of horror in the Slaughtered Lamb Cinema.

We're bypassing the classic horror silents at this point (quite likely to revisit them in the future). Before we begin our weekly series, we'll be tying things in with our February movie party, focusing on some of the early talkies of Tod Browning. Browning, while most famous for his version of Dracula with Bela Lugosi, had quite a career working with Lon Chaney, who very likely would have gone on to star in Dracula had he not passed away due to cancer after making one successful talkie - The Unholy Three - a sound remake of a silent Chaney/Browning collaboration.

We'll be starting off with that film on Saturday the 21st, and following it with two more of Browning's non-Dracula follow ups, the 1932 cult classic Freaks and the film that reunited him with Bela Lugosi, Mark of the Vampire - itself another remake of the lost Browning/Chaney film - London After Midnight. We'll close out the night with the documentary Universal Horrors, which not only covers that studios horror output from the 1930s-40s, but also the films of the other studios who were quick to jump on Universal's horror bandwagon. This will be a great introduction to the films we'll be featuring on Wednesdays on the weeks and months ahead.

In addition to classics you'll be familiar with (Dracula, Frankenstein, King Kong), we'll introduce or reintroduce you to the great films of the period which you may have never seen before. We hope you'll join us for some classic horror films next Saturday, and if you're able, for our weekly tour through the halls of horror starting in March. Click on the link to the Slaughtered Lamb Calendar in the sidebar to the right to see the weekly schedule.

Viva la France!

2009-01-24T22:14:00.001-08:00

Tonight's Georges Franju double feature was a lot of fun - and I'm pleased to report that everyone survived a full evening of subtitles!

Eyes Without a Face is a classic horror film celebrating it's 40th anniversary this year (more commonly known in the states under its alternate, if more exploitative title: The Horror Chamber of Doctor Faustus).

Judex is at it's heart a superhero movie based on a silent French serial of the same name. I thought it was excellent. And the bit at the party with folks wearing bird masks is priceless. You can check it out here:

We hope you'll be able to join us for our next party on February 21st. We'll be deciding on the theme for that in the next few weeks.

2009 Kick off!

2009-01-22T19:58:00.000-08:00

This Saturday, 1/24 we kick off the Mad Movie Party 2009 season with a festival of films from French director Georges Franju.

From his Wikipedia entry:
Franju was one of the co-founders of the Cinémathèque Française. His first film was a 1949 documentary short, Le Sang des bêtes (Blood of the Beasts) which was shot in a Parisian slaughterhouse. It demonstrated his ability to combine the poetic and the graphic and revealed his ability to perceive the cruel and the uncanny within a realistic setting. Best known for his 1960 horror film, Les Yeux sans visage (Eyes Without a Face), which was described by Pauline Kael as "[p]erhaps the most elegant horror movie ever made."

We are pleased to feature two of Franju's most famous films - Eyes Without a Face and Judex. We have withdrawn Blood of the Beasts from the schedule.

Doors open at 5:30 for food and refreshments, and we plan to begin the first feature around 6pm. We look forward to seeing you at our first monthly event of the New Year!

The Prisoner, Khan and Tron

2009-01-14T19:07:00.000-08:00

What a day. Stan and I finally moved the Tron and Discs of Tron to the new house. And after preparing dinner for the Movie Party crowd, we got the double-whammy that we've lost The Prisoner himself, Patrick McGoohan, and Ricardo Montalban (Kahn).

So, Be Seeing You.

And KAAAAAAAHHHHHNNNN!

P.S. In all seriousness, in Slaughtered Lamb Cinema History, Montalban shall be remembered as the man who single handedly brought about the Planet of the Apes.

Bob Wilkins 1932-2009

2009-01-07T22:57:00.000-08:00

I sat down to post a quick note about tonight's kick off of Joss Whedon's Firefly, and what a great time everyone had, only to encounter the news of Bob Wilkins' passing.

During the preparation for our All Day of the Dead celebration of Night of the Living Dead's 40th anniversary last October, I took the opportunity to use the event as a fundraiser to help with his care as he battled alzheimer's. You can read what I had originally posted about Bob here.

Suffice it to say, Bob was a major influence on me growing up, and he will be missed.

The 2009 Schedule

2008-12-27T22:17:00.000-08:00

Our eyes may not be the same after tonight's 3-D marathon. We made it through the cheesiness of The Mask, and I'm actually proud to say folks stuck through Comin At Ya! in it's entirety. I think everybody's eyeballs deserved a break after that feat, so we called it a night without exploring the 3-D reinvention of Night of the Living Dead.

We also announced the official 2009 schedule, which tentatively calls for:

January 24
EYES WITHOUT A FACE/JUDEX

February 21
TOD BROWNING'S FREAKS

March 21
PHANTASM I-IV

April 25
MAD MAX/THE ROAD WARRIOR

May 23
TERMINATOR I-III

June 20
PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE

July 18
TBD

August 22
LORD OF THE RINGS

September 19
NORTH BY NORTHWEST

October 24
THE THREE MOTHERS TRILOGY

November 28
WIZARD OF OZ

December 26
BEN HUR

In addition, we've finalized our first Wednesday night selection for 2009 - Joss Whedon's Firefly & Serenity. That will run for 8 weeks. Before we're done, we'll pick our next selection and announce that here.

Wishing you all a fantastic remainder of 2008 - we can't wait to see you in the new year!

John & Vonna

We're Comin At Ya in 3D!

2008-12-21T11:03:00.000-08:00

Next Saturday is our 3-D Movie night. We'll be starting right around 6pm, so feel free to get here a little early to pick out a pair of anaglyphh glasses for the night.

We'll be showing an early 3-D shocker, an example of the 80s 3-D revival, and a contemporary feature.

First up is The Mask, a Canadian chiller from 1961 that I think it's acceptable for all ages. That said, the tagline was "The management is not responsible for nervous breakdowns!" and we'll stick to that.

Next up is the wild Euro-western Comin At Ya from the 1981. This one was rated R. It's tagline was "The Management Is Not responsible For Where The Screen Ends And You Begin!" If that's the best they could come up with, perhaps they'll understand if we stop this one before it's over.

Finally, we've got the 2006 entry Night of the Living Dead 3D. Here's your one and only chance to see Sid Haig in 3D, in this laughable reinvention of the classic film.

To kick things off, I'm planning to have brief tributes to Forrest J. Ackerman and Bettie Page, who we lost since the last event. That and a few new interesting trailers, and we'll have copies of the 2009 schedule to hand out as well.

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, and we hope to see you one last time before the New Year!