Nights like these really make me appreciate living near such a diverse and eventful city!
The Roxie Theatre has been one of the Overlook's favorites for a long time, but lately they have been going all out for their horror events. This past Saturday, they had a one night only screening of Night Feeder, a late 80's horror movie that was filmed in San Francisco, had very promising art, and a monster. But somehow, it got lost in the home video era. Even now, it only has 6 votes on IMDB.
The night started with an introduction by the creative manager at the new San Francisco branch of the Alamo Drafthouse, Mike Keegan. He talked about the video rental age, where filmmakers would "sell the sizzle, not the steak." That meant they would put all their effort into mind blowing posters that made a bunch of promises about the movie they were advertising; that you were in for nudity, blood, monsters, and explosions. But the movie would inevitably fall short and it wouldn't even matter because the rental place already had your money. And there was no way, other than word of mouth maybe, to let people know which movies were not worth their time. But this was not the case with Night Feeder!
Without saying too much, Night Feeder was a very 80's feeling movie about a serial killer targeting people in the same neighborhood. It worked a couple of over the top characters, illicit drug use, and mysterious murders into an early "pretty girl mystery" without the ghosts. I'm very glad that the first thing I did when I walked into the theatre was buy a copy of it immediately. Especially since they sold out.
Mondo teamed up with Bleeding Skull! to bring this movie to into our collections, and you can still get your own copy at Bleedingskull.com. It comes with a booklet containing an interview with the filmmakers, about the movie and the time it was made in. It's very worth the $15!
After the screening, James and Jody Gillerman, producer and coproducer, answered questions from the audience and Mike, but it turned into a pretty big reunion for the film. Writers, actors, offspring of people involved, and even the man responsible for the seriously impressive special effects were there and were more than happy to stick around and talk to anyone who engaged them.
Thanks to the Roxie for hosting such an awesome night, and for the San Francisco Drafthouse for Tweeting the hell out of the event!
The night started with an introduction by the creative manager at the new San Francisco branch of the Alamo Drafthouse, Mike Keegan. He talked about the video rental age, where filmmakers would "sell the sizzle, not the steak." That meant they would put all their effort into mind blowing posters that made a bunch of promises about the movie they were advertising; that you were in for nudity, blood, monsters, and explosions. But the movie would inevitably fall short and it wouldn't even matter because the rental place already had your money. And there was no way, other than word of mouth maybe, to let people know which movies were not worth their time. But this was not the case with Night Feeder!
Without saying too much, Night Feeder was a very 80's feeling movie about a serial killer targeting people in the same neighborhood. It worked a couple of over the top characters, illicit drug use, and mysterious murders into an early "pretty girl mystery" without the ghosts. I'm very glad that the first thing I did when I walked into the theatre was buy a copy of it immediately. Especially since they sold out.
After the screening, James and Jody Gillerman, producer and coproducer, answered questions from the audience and Mike, but it turned into a pretty big reunion for the film. Writers, actors, offspring of people involved, and even the man responsible for the seriously impressive special effects were there and were more than happy to stick around and talk to anyone who engaged them.
Thanks to the Roxie for hosting such an awesome night, and for the San Francisco Drafthouse for Tweeting the hell out of the event!
-Huntress
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