Frankenstein 1910

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

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!

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

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

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

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!

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?

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

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