Screenings in the Bay (Friday to Sunday): Song of Solomon, The Devil's Doorway, Santo vs. the Evil Brain

HAPPY FRIDAY THE 13TH!!

It's like the unofficial non-Halloween horror celebration where everyone dawns their Jason Voorhees shirts and smiles. It's also the day that Song of Solomon enjoys its L.A. premiere at the Downtown Independent! Get the necessary details on the event page on Facebook.

But if you're bound to the Northern bay area for the weekend, there are still several titles of note that you should check out. the Castro Theatre will be presenting a creepy kids double feature tonight, and following it up with a fantasy duo on Sunday. The New Parkway is showing one of the better Friday the 13th's, the Final Chapter, and the Roxie teamed up with CineMas to present Santo vs. the Evil Brain, with a special guest, this Saturday!

And if you're in a shut in kind of mood, there are a couple of titles on VOD that are not to be missed! 

Castro Theatre

Creepy Kids Double Feature

The Bad Seed (1956)

Friday 13th @ 7pm (2hrs 9min)

Crime/ Drama/ Horror (IMDB)

Young Patty McCormack received an Oscar nomination for her performance as a murderous child in this chilling dramatic horror classic. Shocking at the time of its release in 1956, The Bad Seed remains unsettling to this day as a single mother discovers that within her seemingly angelic daughter beats the heart of a cold-blooded serial murderer.

-with-

The Omen (1976)

Friday 13th @ 9:20pm (1hr 51min)

Horror (IMDB)

The young son of an American diplomat and his wife, living in London, turns out to be marked with the sign of Satan, the infamous "666". It soon becomes apparent that he could be the Anti-Christ incarnate and possesses the evil powers to stop anyone who stands in his way.

Double Feature

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)

Sunday 15th @ 1:30pm (2hrs 7min)

Adventure/ Drama/ Family (IMDB)

This 1954 Disney version of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea represented the studio's costliest and most elaborate American-filmed effort to date. Kirk Douglas plays a trouble-shooting 19th century seaman, trying to discover why so many whaling ships have been disappearing of late. Teaming with scientist Paul Lukas and diver Peter Lorre, Douglas sets sail to investigate--and is promptly captured by the megalomaniac Captain Nemo (James Mason), who skippers a lavish, scientifically advanced submarine. The film's special effects, including a giant squid, were impressive enough in 1954 to win an Academy Award.

-with-

Jason and the Argonauts (1963)

Sunday 15th @ 3:50pm (1hr 44min)

Adventure/ Family/ Fantasy (IMDB)

The legendary Greek hero leads a team of intrepid adventurers in a perilous quest for the legendary Golden Fleece. Jason has been prophesied to take the throne of Thessaly. When he saves Pelias from drowning, but does not recognize him as the man who had earlier killed his father, Pelias tells Jason to travel to Colchis to find the Golden Fleece. Jason follows his advice and assembles a sailing crew of the finest men in Greece, including Hercules. They are under the protection of Hera, queen of the gods. Their voyage is replete with battles against harpies, a giant bronze Talos, a hydra, and an animated skeleton army.

New Parkway Theatre

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

Friday 13th @ 10pm (1hr 31min)

Slasher/ Thriller (Google)

A carefree lakeside vacation is interrupted by the re-emergence of killer Jason Voorhees (Ted White). After he escapes from a morgue, leaving bodies in his wake, Jason travels to Camp Crystal Lake where a group of friends is staying. The teens meet some locals: Tommy (Corey Feldman) and Trish (Kimberly Beck), as well as secretive hiker Rob (Erich Anderson). As the group of teenagers engages in drunken debauchery, their numbers begin to dwindle, and pieces of the past resurface.

Roxie Theatre

Santo vs the Evil Brain (1961)

Saturday 14th @ 7pm (1hr 10min)

Adventure/ Action/ Sci-Fi (IMDB)

This Cuban-Mexican co-production marked the feature-film debut of the beloved masked wrestler Santo (Rodolfo Guzman Huerta), who would continue to battle monsters, aliens, and evildoers of all stripes in dozens of films over more than two decades. Here, Santo and El Incognito (co-writer Fernando Oses) foil the plot of a mad scientist to create a zombie army by zapping his innocent victims with electric shocks. Joaquin Cordero and Norma Suarez got top billing in this film co-written by wrestler Enrique J. Zambrano, who also directed the fight sequences and plays a small role. Santo returned in the same year's Santo contra Hombres Infernales.

Filmmaker/archivist, and granddaughter of the film’s producer Jorge Garcia Besné, Viviana Garcia Besné IN PERSON for post-screening Q&A to discuss her journey to restore the film, moderated by Peter Conheim/Cinema Preservation Alliance.

VOD

The Devil's Doorway (2018)

Limited Theatres/VOD Friday 13th (1hr 16min)

Horror (IMDB)

In the fall of 1960, Father Thomas Riley and Father John Thornton were sent by the Vatican to investigate a miraculous event in an Irish home for 'fallen women', only to uncover something much more horrific.

The Night Eats the World (2018)

Limited Theatres/VOD Friday 13th (1hr 33min)

Art House/ International/ Drama/ Horror (Rotten Tomatoes)

After waking up in an apartment the night after a raging party, Sam comes face to face with his new reality: an army of zombies have invaded the streets of Paris and he is one of the lone survivors. Petrified with fear, he barricades himself inside the building to survive. He wonders how long can he last in silence and solitude, and the answer comes when he learns that he's not all alone after all.

-Huntress

The Overlook Theatre Reviews: The First Purge

6 of 6 viewers "Liked" "First Purge" (2018, USA)

Creature reviews have been minimally altered in an attempt to maintain their voice:

The Berkeley Blazer - "The Purge films have always come across to me like the marketing team for 7-11 decided to make a politically relevant horror movie i.e. too dumb to take seriously, too self-serious to enjoy, as well as expressing a neck-beard nihilistic take on human nature. Before buying a ticket, I was torn between the fun of reviewing a film with the Overlook crew and financially supporting cultural poison. The First Purge (FP) reverses everything I hated about this franchise, and in the process gives us an diverting (if lesser) tonal blend of They Live and The Wire.  FP eschews neckbesrdism and opts for a relatively optimistic view of the underclass. It unsubtly employs Trumpism and alt-right culture as the unambiguous antagonist, and in doing so subverts the series trademark Manichaeist populism into a conflict that is actually palatable to take sides in.  Y’lan Noel (from HBOs Insecure) and Lex Scott Davis give us compelling co-protagonists who’s survival we have a stake in.  Refreshingly, all the protagonists are people of color who have distinct personalities, while still adhering to fun sense of bravura (for instance, the wild card character is a slender-manic addict named Skeletor who stalks the streets with Loganesque syringes and facial scar tattoos). So why only a 3.5? It’s simply not as good or memorable as the above-mentioned titles.  Lorde B. and I were discussing how at one point the film loses its voice and feel like a different (albeit still fun) movie. Diverting yet forgettable, FP  will hopefully be a sign of what’s to come for this franchise." - 3.5 Stars

Lord Battle - "Who knew that The First Purge would be my clear favorite of the franchise? Or that the Staten Island projects would house a microcosm that I would later compare to David Simon's The Wire, both in approach and in use of characters? And I know no one expected that halfway through the film we'd hit a pop-culture/taboo climax that would break the film and send our Omar Little, re-dubbed Skeletor, armed like wolverine, flourishing like Freddy into the shadows and focus solely on Trump America being taken down one Rammstein singer at a time, by John Mclane using gunkata... The First Purge was fun until it wasn't and WTF is a Purge party anyway?" - 3.5 Stars

Math Mage - "I wanted the evil guy to say (instead of "we have a situation") "we have a Mclane". I would expect professional evil minions to have a protocol for this likely currance in the fantasy world of the Purge. I say fantasy world because mute ninja sidekicks, gunkata and bombproof mattresses (Slowest. Explosion. Ever.) are not part of any sensible reality. Gun drones and video contacts maybe, but C4 specifically doesn't explode when shot. The urban fantasy of the Purge always got a pass from me since they only explain its origins in the broadest terms, now forced to get specific (by painting themselves into a corner) the film suffers from trying to impose a rational explanation of an inherently ridiculous premise. The ridiculousness also gets in the way of the movie trying to say something. Yes, the system encourages poor people to kill each other but even if it does do so because of a secret cabal of racists, those racists gain nothing by making it more explicit. The NFFA (... Huh, they didn't have an acronym before...) claims that they tried other options but plainly the Purge was their goal the whole time (if the viral human sacrifice theory in the 3 past movies is still canon). Also I thought the New Founding Fathers were a military cosplay based on the first 3 merging. Other issues, a movie about racism doesn't mention race even once (not even officially, a comment about the invaders being "demographically unrepresentative" would have worked). A franchise where the US military has been explicit enemy twice goes out of its way to say the invaders are foreign mercenaries [Why do you feel it's important to say that?]. Our heroic noble gangster has no arguments (not even bad ones) when his ex calls him out for being a gangster. No one points out the obvious flaws in the purge system (to be fair the filmmakers don't seem to be aware of them). Despite my complaints I enjoyed the film, especially the third act where it goes totally DIE HARD (he even wears a wife beater to remove all doubt), though the curiously optimistic ending remains at odds with the world of the sequels (I expected the primary cast to be killed and a supporting character credited with their murder)." - 3.5 Stars

The Impostor - "I've always had a love/ hate relationship with the Purge series. The Purge (2013) started it all, the premise alone intrigued me but I realized it was underwhelming considering there's so much that can happen but it took place in a home with one family. A year later the sequel subtitled Anarchy gave us a bit more of what I expected from the original and I enjoyed it probably the most of the series. 2016 gave us Election Year and I knew this series has run its course. The First Purge takes us back to how it all began and I actually enjoyed it. It's more of a real life horror than anything, with everything happening in society at the moment. There were a few stand out characters I was rooting for and hoping made it out of this event. I will say the film felt a bit uneven as it progressed, almost like it lost its vision. The first part of the film set up and rushed an action packed ending. One highlight for me was Skeletor. He creeped me out a bit and was insanely blood thirsty, which meant he's my kinda slasher for sure! Overall good prequel in a decent franchise. It kept me more entertained than I thought it would." - 3 Stars

Wandering Panda - "Finally!!! I've always said that the Purge film series has a great idea but poor execution, but The First Purge is leaps above its predecessor. The characters are more fleshed out and the choice of Staten Island, NY is perfect for the chaos. The racial tension is apparent but not in your face about it. My only negative is that I question Dmitri's abilities in combat, it got a little silly for me and broke my immersion. But all in all The first Purge is a step in the right direction. - 4 Stars

Huntress - "Although it was flawed and had several obnoxious scenes, this was easily my favorite of the Purge movies that I've seen (which is all but the second one). This was also the first time I realized how annoying the lack of division between church and state was, especially since they include a prayer in the message that initiates the Purge. I'd think that if you were trying to get people to partake in government-sanctioned chaos, religion would be the last thing you should incite. This movie made the strange decision to portray the low-income population of Staten Island as a close knit community, where the only violence is barely worse than college hazing. Then there's the drug kingpin/community basketball coach character we're supposed to believe is the same boy-next-door that he was in childhood and that he doesn't react a certain way when his ex-girlfriend physically punks him and his security guard out... I admit that most of my problems with The First Purge (as well as its predecessors) are in the writing and I cannot think of a scenario where I would be entirely happy with any of these movies. But I also will say that this was the most enjoyable, especially after Election Year, which I can't even say the name of without groaning. I particularly liked the glowing contact lenses that teased POV cinema and gave everyone participating in Purge Night an inhuman silhouette. This prequel wasn't as politically preachy as Election Year but is still inherently riddled with the kind of propaganda I don't want in my horror movies." - 3 Stars

The Overlook Theatre Final Rating*

(Below is for after you've seen the film)

Last year I ended up complaining about A24's It Comes At Night. The trailer promised horror but I walked out of the theater thinking political. I saw a post-apocalyptic film lacking monsters (other than the human kind) and because of the atmosphere of Trump dread in the bay area, I ended up projecting a political meaning onto the film (although I was not alone).
Why does any of this matter? Because I had a lot of fun at The First Purge screening. The Purge franchise always delivers on excellent lobby conversation! It seems absurd, but no matter how good, bad, or disinterested the creatures are before/after the film, everyone still talks about how they would have changed the movie. I don't mean as far as casting or directing, but pure story/character conversations. The Purge has such a large idea at its core that it's either too narrow a view (like the first film), to fantastical (the second), to political (the third), or disjointed (the 4th) to not discuss what we would have changed. It couldn't be a more interesting look at how friends would mold/construct a story with a huge sandbox premise like the Purge.
Next time another Purge film comes out, or you're bored on a Saturday night. Grab a fellow movie monster and watch a Purge film. Then do what we do here at the Overlook every week and discuss what you did/didn't like and really dissect the film. We shouldn't do this with only films we like. Understanding what we don't like about cinema/storytelling in general is the only way we grow.

- Lord Battle

The Overlook Theatre materialized at Century Theatres for a screening on 7/5/2018

*Based on the star ratings turned in by character reviewers, others viewed and got to "Dislike" or "Like" but that does not affect the rating.

Bluray Tuesday Featuring: A Quiet Place, Future World & Before Someone Gets Hurt

July 10th 2018

Bluray Tuesday returns once again. Slow month with its releases so far but a few interesting titles come out this week. First up is the intense horror, A Quiet Place. I really enjoyed this in theaters, I was on the edge of my seat the majority of the film! Best Buy will carry an exclusive steelbook for this as well as the 4K and DVD combo which you can order through Amazon. Post apocalyptic action thriller Future World hits shelves today from Lionsgate. This film stars James Franco, Milla Jovovich and Lucy Liu. Before Someone Gets Hurt has a interesting premise, and is one I can see being on an Amazon Prime list. I look forward to checking this one out. Arrow Video is releasing 60's foreign action drama Detective Bureau 2-3: Go To Hell Bastards, for the first time on bluray wih new scan and features. Rounding out the week is HBO crime thriller miniseries Mosaic and SyFy series The Magicians Season 3 just in time to get caught up for the new season. What will you buy, rent or skip this week? Let us know in the comments. Until next week!

A Quiet Place: Amazon - $19.99

4K: Amazon - $24.99

A family lives an isolated existence in utter silence, for fear of an unknown threat that follows and attacks at any sound.

 

 

Steelbook: Amazon - $24.99

 

Future World: Amazon - $14.99

A young boy searches a future world wasteland for a rumored cure for his dying mother.

 

Before Someone Gets Hurt: Amazon - $14.99

Tim and his team are the rising stars of the ghost hunting game. One thing they all like better than a good haunt is a great prank. When the team arrives at a new investigation, they cannot figure if the occurrences are part of some elaborate master prank or if the house is actually haunted. Unfortunately, they don't find the answer until it is far too late.

 

Who Can Kill a Child (1976): Amazon - $17.99

On a vacation away from their family, Tom (Lewis Fiander) and his pregnant wife Evelyn (Prunella Ransome) sail to an island off the coast of Spain that seems deserted... until its children emerge from the shadows with the blood of their parents on their hands... and hatred in their hearts for every adult. Unflinchingly horrific and unapologetically downbeat, Narciso Ibáñez Serrador's WHO CAN KILL A CHILD? was heavily censored for its American release as ISLAND OF THE DAMNED.

 

211: Amazon - $14.99

Officer Mike Chandler and a young civilian passenger find themselves unprepared and outgunned when fate puts them squarely in-the-crosshairs of a daring bank heist that is being carried out by a fearless team of highly trained and heavily armed men.

 

Detective Bureau 2-3: Go To Hell Bastards: Amazon - $29.99

Japanese director Seijun Suzuki solidified his growing cult following with this offbeat adaptation of Haruhiko Ooyabu's crime novel. Jo Shishido stars as Det. Tajima, a smug investigator who nabs a pair of criminal gangs with flamboyant aplomb while the police remain baffled. Suzuki treats the rather hoary plotline as an excuse for dark-humored camp, and young audiences were delighted with his irreverent approach, which made him one of the few distinctive names in the '60s assembly-line of Nikkatsu Studios.

 

Godmonster of Indian Flats: Amazon - $19.99

A large mutated sheep embryo is discovered by a rancher. The mutant is whisked away to the secret lab of Dr. Clemens and his faithful assistant, Mariposa. Dr. Clemens discovers that the old mine gives off some strange phosphorus vapors that may be the cause of the mutation, as well as being the origin for the old legend of a monster that once haunted the area. Clemens puts the creature in an incubation chamber, and it's not long before the mutant sheep has morphed into an 8-foot monstrosity, which escapes and terrifies the town.

 

Chappaquiddick: Amazon - $19.99

Ted Kennedy's life and political career become derailed in the aftermath of a fatal car accident in 1969 that claims the life of a young campaign strategist, Mary Jo Kopechne.

 

Sweet Country: Amazon - $18.99

Australian western set on the Northern Territory frontier in the 1920's, where justice itself is put on trial when an aged Aboriginal farmhand shoots a white man in self defense and goes on the run as posse gathers to hunt him down.

 

Mosaic: Amazon - $31.99

Mosaic is a mystery thriller that takes place in Park City, Utah. Originally released as an interactive app, Mosaic allows the viewer to experience different portions of the story from the perspective of different characters in a non-linear fashion, providing a complex and unique narrative form. The story itself involves a murder mystery, cover-ups, conspiracies, high-end art, real estate, and the entangled interests of the wealthy Park City elite.

 

The Magicians (Season 3): Amazon - $29.99

After being recruited to a secretive academy, a group of students discover that the magic they read about as children is very real-and more dangerous than they ever imagined.

 

  

-The Impostor

Screenings in the Bay (Monday to Friday): Nekromantik, The Bad Seed, Friday the 13th IV: The Final Chapter

We are starting this week of very strong with a film I never thought I'd see in a theatre... You can share the joy this Tuesday as Nekromantic screens for Terror Tuesday! The Castro Theatre features several themed double features, including a double shot of Kubrick as well as creepy kids to ring in Friday the 13th, while the New Parkway takes a more literal approach and presents Friday the 13th IV: The Final Chapter this Friday.

This Friday is also the L.A. premiere of Song of Solomon at the Downtown Independent! This will be the second Unearthed Films event happening this year, and if the party for A Serbian Film was any indicator, this is going to be a guest loaded and not to be missed event. The afterparty, will be a death metal show down the street at the Five Star Bar.

And finally, in a bizarre turn of events, we're actually getting some amazing looking films (sadly) coming to VOD at the end of this week!


Alamo Drafthouse

Terror Tuesday

Nekromantic (1987)

Tuesday 10th @ 9:45pm (1hr 15min)

Horror (IMDB)

With Nekromantik, first-time feature director Jorg Buttgereit mixes cheap gore, transgressive imagery, and cosmic dread into a cult-classic examination of sex, death, and boredom among the youth of pre-reunification Germany. Passive, blank-faced Rob (Daktari Lorenz) spends his days collecting human roadkill from the side of the Autobahn and his nights enacting a quietly macabre domesticity with girlfriend Betty (Beatrice Manowski, credited here as Beatrice M.) in their autopsy/industrial/Nazi-themed apartment.

Castro Theatre

Kubrick Double Feature

The Shining (1980)

Tuesday 10th @ 7pm (2hrs 26min)

Drama/ Horror (IMDB)

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" -- or, rather, a homicidal boy in Stanley Kubrick's eerie 1980 adaptation of Stephen King's horror novel. With wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and psychic son Danny (Danny Lloyd) in tow, frustrated writer Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) takes a job as the winter caretaker at the opulently ominous, mountain-locked Overlook Hotel so that he can write in peace. Before the Overlook is vacated for the Torrances, the manager (Barry Nelson) informs Jack that a previous caretaker went crazy and slaughtered his family; Jack thinks it's no problem, but Danny's "shining" hints otherwise. Settling into their routine, Danny cruises through the empty corridors on his Big Wheel and plays in the topiary maze with Wendy, while Jack sets up shop in a cavernous lounge with strict orders not to be disturbed. Danny's alter ego, "Tony," however, starts warning of "redrum" as Danny is plagued by more blood-soaked visions of the past, and a blocked Jack starts visiting the hotel bar for a few visions of his own. Frightened by her husband's behavior and Danny's visit to the forbidding Room 237, Wendy soon discovers what Jack has really been doing in his study all day, and what the hotel has done to Jack. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

-with-

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Tuesday 10th @ 9:35pm (1hr 58min)

Drama/ War (IMDB)

Stanley Kubrick's return to filmmaking after a seven-year hiatus, this film crystallizes the experience of the Vietnam War by concentrating on a group of raw Marine volunteers. Based on Gustav Hasford's novel The Short Timers, the film's first half details the volunteers' harrowing boot-camp training under the profane, power-saw guidance of drill instructor Sgt. Hartman (R. Lee Ermey, a real-life drill instructor whose performance is one of the most terrifyingly realistic on record). Part two takes place in Nam, as seen through the eyes of the now thoroughly indoctrinated marines. Ironically, Full Metal Jacket was filmed almost entirely in England. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Creepy Kids Double Feature

The Bad Seed (1956)

Friday 13th @ 7pm (2hrs 9min)

Crime/ Drama/ Horror (IMDB)

Young Patty McCormack received an Oscar nomination for her performance as a murderous child in this chilling dramatic horror classic. Shocking at the time of its release in 1956, The Bad Seed remains unsettling to this day as a single mother discovers that within her seemingly angelic daughter beats the heart of a cold-blooded serial murderer.

-with-

The Omen (1976)

Friday 13th @ 9:20pm (1hr 51min)

Horror (IMDB)

The young son of an American diplomat and his wife, living in London, turns out to be marked with the sign of Satan, the infamous "666". It soon becomes apparent that he could be the Anti-Christ incarnate and possesses the evil powers to stop anyone who stands in his way.

New Parkway Theatre

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

Friday 13th @ 10pm (1hr 31min)

Slasher/ Thriller (Google)

A carefree lakeside vacation is interrupted by the re-emergence of killer Jason Voorhees (Ted White). After he escapes from a morgue, leaving bodies in his wake, Jason travels to Camp Crystal Lake where a group of friends is staying. The teens meet some locals: Tommy (Corey Feldman) and Trish (Kimberly Beck), as well as secretive hiker Rob (Erich Anderson). As the group of teenagers engages in drunken debauchery, their numbers begin to dwindle, and pieces of the past resurface.

Roxie Theatre

Attack on Titan: The Roar of the Awakening (2018)

Tuesday 10th @ 9pm (2hrs)

Wednesday 11th @ 6:45pm

Eren Yeager and others of the 104th Training Corps have just begun to become full members of the Survey Corps. As they ready themselves to face the Titans once again, their preparations are interrupted by the invasion of Wall Rose-but all is not as it seems as more mysteries are unraveled. As the Survey Corps races to save the wall, they uncover more about the invading Titans and the dark secrets of their own members.

Followed by the world premiere of Season 3 Episode 1 of Attack on Titan!

VOD

The Devil's Doorway (2018)

Limited Theatres/VOD Friday 13th (1hr 16min)

Horror (IMDB)

In the fall of 1960, Father Thomas Riley and Father John Thornton were sent by the Vatican to investigate a miraculous event in an Irish home for 'fallen women', only to uncover something much more horrific.

The Night Eats the World (2018)

Limited Theatres/VOD Friday 13th (1hr 33min)

Art House/ International/ Drama/ Horror (Rotten Tomatoes)

After waking up in an apartment the night after a raging party, Sam comes face to face with his new reality: an army of zombies have invaded the streets of Paris and he is one of the lone survivors. Petrified with fear, he barricades himself inside the building to survive. He wonders how long can he last in silence and solitude, and the answer comes when he learns that he's not all alone after all.

-Huntress

Screenings in the Bay (Friday to Sunday): The First Purge, Scary Cow Film Festival, Song of Solomon

It's that day again, the day leading into the weekend that means we've finished another week. It's Friday! As usual, I'm very ready for this. This was a weird week, many of us had the middle of the week off, and there were two new releases on two different days of the week. I'll only be talking about one of them, The First Purge. I've been completely transparent in my dislike for this franchise, which may not be fair since I have yet to see the second one, but it would be a long uphill battle to win me back with one movie when I was lukewarm/ice cold on the other two. But after seeing The Purge Night yesterday, I find myself a bit more forgiving to the franchise as a whole. It made some strange but this was easily my favorite out of all the purge movies so far. I still wouldn't stand up for it in an argument, but I can see myself recommending it to a couple people I know. 

Opening This Week

The First Purge (2018)

Screening All Weekend (1hr 37min)

Horror (Rotten Tomatoes)

Behind every tradition lies a revolution. Next Independence Day, witness the rise of our country's 12 hours of annual lawlessness. Welcome to the movement that began as a simple experiment: The First Purge. To push the crime rate below one percent for the rest of the year, the New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA) test a sociological theory that vents aggression for one night in one isolated community. But when the violence of oppressors meets the rage of the marginalized, the contagion will explode from the trial-city borders and spread across the nation.

Castro Theatre

Scary Cow Film Festival

Saturday 7th @ 2pm

Please join us on July 7th to see a program of short films made by our members. You’ll be invited to vote for the best films and the top voted films will receive budgets for future projects! Your participation will help us decide which filmmakers should receive funding!

Following the screening, there will be an After Party where we’ll be toasting the filmmakers, mingling, talking about our next projects, and announcing the winners! We’d love to see you there! Be sure to purchase a Festival Pass if you’d like to attend the party. Annual members of Scary Cow receive one free Festival Pass to every screening that they are a member.

Landmark Clay Theatre

Midnight Madness

Hausu (1977)

Friday 6th @ 11:55pm (1hr 28min)

Comedy/ Fantasy/ Horror (IMDB)

In an effort to avoid spending time with her father and his creepy new lover, young Gorgeous (Kimiko Ikegami) resolves to visit her aunt's remote mansion. With six of her closest friends in tow, including the musically inclined Melody (Eriko Tanaka) and the geeky Prof (Ai Matsubara), Gorgeous arrives at the estate, where supernatural events occur almost immediately. A severed head takes flight, household appliances come to life and a portrait of a cat seems to contain an evil spirit.

Also Screening Saturday 7th

And if you're in LA next week, go to this in my stead!

Song of Solomon (2018)

Friday 13th @ 8pm (1hr 26min)

Horror (IMDB)

The Catholic Church is trying to save an innocent soul from the ravages of satanic possession. Wave after wave of holy men are sent to confront the possessed.

-Huntress

Bluray Tuesday Featuring: Another Wolfcop, The Cured & The Last House on The Left

July 3rd 2018

It's a new week and month which means new Blurays are released to add to our growing collections. This week Another Wolfcop finally hits Bluray! I loved this sequel and can't wait to revisit this sometime this week. I'm hoping for a Wolfcop 3 in the near future, these are great drinking with friends kind of movies. Scream Factory releases two titles, The Cured and Midnighters. Both look decent and interesting but I'm especially interested in The Cured. Arrow Video releases a special edition of The Last House On The Left with new packaging, scan and bonus material. Don't Grow Up is also on the top of my list this week. I know the zombie sub genre has been played out so much lately but the premise of this one sounds like it can be really good if done right. Rounding out the week is The Lullaby, Monster Shark and comedy starring WWE superstar John Cena, Blockers. So what will you guys buy, rent or skip this week? Let us know in the comments. Until next week!

Another Wolfcop: Amazon - 12.99

Alcoholic werewolf cop Lou Garou springs into action when an eccentric businessman with evil intentions seduces Woodhaven's residents with a new brewery and hockey team in this outrageous horror-comedy sequel.

 

The Cured: Amazon - $14.99

The film unfolds in the aftermath of a devastating virus which transformed the infected into zombie-like monsters. Mankind is struggling to rebuild societies deeply divided between the uninfected and those who did succumb to the virus and are still haunted by their violent actions. In the backdrop, the rise of a terrorist movement threatens to plunge the world into chaos again.

 

The Last House On The Left (1972): Amazon - $31.99

On their way to a rock concert, two teenagers are kidnapped by a gang of escaped convicts. Although they put up the fight of their lives, the girls are drugged, tossed in a car trunk and driven into the woods by the savage, murderous gang... only to wake up to a horror they could not have imagined.

 

Monster Shark: Amazon - 24.99

A marine biologist, a dolphin trainer, a research scientist, and a local sheriff try to hunt down a large sea monster, a shark/octopus hybrid, that is devouring swimmers and fishermen off a south Florida coast.

 

Beirut: Amazon - $19.99

A U.S. diplomat (Jon Hamm) flees Lebanon in 1972 after a tragic incident at his home. Ten years later, he is called back to war-torn Beirut by CIA operatives (Rosamund Pike) to negotiate for the life of a friend he left behind.

 

Midnighters: Amazon - $17.99

Midnight, New Year's Eve: when all the hopes of new beginnings come to life - except for Lindsey and Jeff Pittman, whose strained marriage faces the ultimate test after they cover up a terrible crime and find themselves entangled in a Hitchcockian web of deceit and madness.

 

Where Is Kyra?: Amazon - $17.99

In Brooklyn, New York, Kyra loses her job and struggles to survive on her ailing mother's income. As the weeks and months go on, her problems worsen. This leads her on a risky and enigmatic path that threatens her life.

 

Don't Grow Up: Amazon - $24.99

A group of youths can't face the thought of growing up because anyone who does becomes a rampaging zombie.

 

The Lullaby: Amazon - $17.99

A 19-year-old woman falls into a deep depression after the birth of her first son. In her paranoia, she begins to hear voices and comes to believe that a strange entity is haunting her child.

 

The Jurassic Games: Amazon - $17.99

In the near future, 10 death row convicts are forced to compete in a virtual reality game that pits them against dinosaurs and each other.

 

Blockers: Amazon - $19.99

 Julie, Kayla and Sam are three high school seniors who make a pact to lose their virginity on prom night. Lisa, Mitchell and Hunter are three overprotective parents who flip out when they find out about their daughters' plans. They soon join forces for a wild and chaotic quest to stop the girls from sealing the deal -- no matter what the cost.

 

- The Impostor