Screenings in the Bay (Monday 31st to Sunday 6th): Escape Room, Panic Room, Mandy

Here we are in the last day of 2018, about to start a whole new calendar. And as always, there's a lot to look forward to this month and in the months to come. But this first week of 2019 is a bit bare, with no Terror Tuesday or Weird Wednesday screenings. We are getting a new movie at the end of the week, and it looks pretty interesting despite being PG-13. 

If you're looking for a dark theatre to spend New Year's Eve in, the Clay Theatre has temporarily moved The Rocky Horror Picture Show to tonight, as opposed to screening Saturday at midnight, so you can sing and quote your way into the next year. However you spend it, I hope you enjoy the night! And Happy New Year!!

Opening This Week

Escape Room (2019)

Early Screenings Thursday 3rd (1hr 40min)

Opens Friday 4th

Action/ Horror/ Suspense (Rotten Tomatoes)

Escape Room is a psychological thriller about six strangers who find themselves in circumstances beyond their control and must use their wits to find the clues or die.

Castro Theatre

Double Feature

Rear Window (1954)

Sunday 6th @ 2:35pm & 7pm (1hr 52min)

Mystery/ Thriller (IMDB)

Laid up with a broken leg, photojournalist L.B. Jeffries (James Stewart) is confined to his tiny, sweltering courtyard apartment. To pass the time between visits from his nurse (Thelma Ritter) and his fashion model girlfriend Lisa (Grace Kelly), the binocular-wielding Jeffries stares through the rear window of his apartment at the goings-on in the other apartments around his courtyard. As he watches his neighbors, he assigns them such roles and character names as "Miss Torso" (Georgine Darcy), a professional dancer with a healthy social life or "Miss Lonelyhearts" (Judith Evelyn), a middle-aged woman who entertains nonexistent gentlemen callers. Of particular interest is seemingly mild-mannered travelling salesman Lars Thorwald (Raymond Burr), who is saddled with a nagging, invalid wife. One afternoon, Thorwald pulls down his window shade, and his wife's incessant bray comes to a sudden halt. Out of boredom, Jeffries casually concocts a scenario in which Thorwald has murdered his wife and disposed of the body in gruesome fashion. Trouble is, Jeffries' musings just might happen to be the truth.

-with-

Panic Room (2002)

Sunday 6th @ 4:45pm & 9:05pm (1hr 52min)

Crime/ Drama/ Thriller (IMDB)

After purchasing a brownstone in New York, a thirty-something divorced woman and her daughter are forced to take advantage of the hidden room - the "panic room" - when intruders break into their home.

Landmark Clay Theatre

Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Monday 31st @ 11:55pm (1hr 41 min)

Comedy/ Scifi/ Horror/ Musical (Rotten Tomatoes)

This low-budget freak show/cult classic/cultural institution concerns the misadventures of Brad Majors (Barry Bostwick) and Janet Weiss (Susan Sarandon) inside a strange mansion that they come across on a rainy night. After the wholesome pair profess their love through an opening song, their car breaks down in the woods, and they seek refuge in a towering castle nearby. Greeting them at the door is a ghoulish butler named Riff Raff (Richard O'Brien), who introduces them to a bacchanalian collection of partygoers dressed in outfits from some sort of interplanetary thrift shop. The host of this gathering is a transvestite clad in lingerie, Dr. Frank N. Furter (Tim Curry), a mad scientist who claims to be from another planet.

Midnight Madness

Mandy (2018)

Friday 4th & Saturday 5th @ 11:55pm (2hrs)

Action/ Horror/ Thriller (IMDB)

Pacific Northwest. 1983 AD. Outsiders Red Miller and Mandy Bloom lead a loving and peaceful existence. When their pine-scented haven is savagely destroyed by a cult led by the sadistic Jeremiah Sand, Red is catapulted into a phantasmagoric journey filled with bloody vengeance and laced with fire.

Roxie Theatre

Border (2018)

Wednesday 2nd @ 9:15pm (1hr 50min)

Fantasy/ Romance/ Thriller (IMDB)

Customs officer Tina is known for her extraordinary sense of smell. It's almost as if she can sniff out the guilt on anyone hiding something. But when Vore, a suspicious-looking man, walks past her, her abilities are challenged for the first time ever. Tina can sense Vore is hiding something she can't identify. Even worse, she feels a strange attraction to him. As Tina develops a special bond with Vore and discovers his true identity, she also realizes the truth about herself. Tina, like Vore, does not belong to this world. Her entire existence has been one big lie and now she has to choose: keep living the lie or embrace Vore's terrifying revelations.

-Huntress

Bluray Tuesday Featuring White Boy RIck, A Cam Life & Strawberry Estates

December 25th 2018

Merry Christmas everyone! With this Bluray Tuesday landing on Christmas not much is released this week. There's one main film released today but officially available to grab at most retailers Wednesday 12/26 due to businesses being closed Christmas day. The main release today is based on a true story titled White Boy Rick. This coming of age drama looks interesting and something I'd definitely check out in the near future. SRS Cinema this week is releasing found footage horror film, Strawberry Estates in a extremely limited run of only 100 copies. This one has an interesting premise and I do love found footage horror so I'm looking to checking this one out. Rounding out  the week is documentary A Cam Life detailing the life of the performers, website and studios in the cam business. So what will you buy, rent or just skip this week? Let us know in the comments. This is probably the shortest Bluray Tuesday list I've ever seen but I really hope you all have a Merry Christmas! I really appreciate all who check out our site. Until next week!

White Boy Rick: Amazon - $19.99

The story of teenager Richard Wershe Jr., who became an undercover informant for the FBI during the 1980s and was ultimately arrested for drug-trafficking and sentenced to life in prison.

A Cam Life: Amazon - $12.99

An undaunted look into the cam business from the perspectives of performers, clients and website and studio owners.

 

Strawberry Estates: Amazon - $19.99

This tape is intended for F.B.I. officials only. Possession by non-authorized personnel is prohibited. Red File 66-095: Strawberry Estates For Authorized Eyes Only In Nov. of 1999, a parapsychology professor, his students and a disturbed psychic lock themselves in the haunted Smith Garrett Building – known as the “Strawberry Estates” – in the hopes of documenting supernatural occurrences. While there, the quartet discuss philosophy and the nature of existence before finally getting the proof that they were searching for. They were never seen again and this footage – appropriated by the F.B.I. for their “Red Files” archive – is all that remains of the expedition. 

 

  -The Impostor

Bluray Tuesday Featuring: The Predator, Venom & Monster Party

December 18th 2018

There's one week left before Christmas and it's full of potential gift ideas for your loved ones. First up this week is The Predator, the next sequel in the Predator franchise. While it wasn't my favorite in the series it definitely had some great kills and moments. Target will carry an exclusive art book exclusive this week and Best Buy an exclusive steelbook packaging. Marvel and Sony have been in talks to make an anti hero Venom film for years and it has finally been released this week on Bluray. This film had mixed reviews during its theatrical run but made a smash at the box office, even beating A Song is Born which was released the same day. Venom will have a few retailer exclusives as well, Target a digibook packaging and Best Buy an exclusive pop art steelbook. RLJE Films releases Monster Party, and I recommend checking this film out. I really enjoyed it and look forward to added to my collection sometime soon. Scream Factory releases Dracula: Prince of Darkness and Starman collector's editions both with new scans and bonus material. Rounding out the week is thriller A Simple Favor, The House with a Clock in its Walls and 4K releases of Schindler's List and 2001: A Space Odyssey. So what will you buy, rent or skip this week? Let us know in the comments. Until next week!

The Predator: Amazon - $19.99

4K: Amazon - $24.99

From the outer reaches of space to the small-town streets of suburbia, the hunt comes home. The universe's most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before, having genetically upgraded themselves with DNA from other species. When a boy accidentally triggers their return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and an evolutionary biologist can prevent the end of the human race.

 

 

Art Book Exclusive: Target - $24.99

 

Steelbook: Best Buy - $29.99

 

Venom: Amazon - $22.99

4K: Amazon - $27.99

Journalist Eddie Brock is trying to take down Carlton Drake, the notorious and brilliant founder of the Life Foundation. While investigating one of Drake's experiments, Eddie's body merges with the alien Venom -- leaving him with superhuman strength and power. Twisted, dark and fueled by rage, Venom tries to control the new and dangerous abilities that Eddie finds so intoxicating.

 

 

Steelbook: Best Buy - $34.99

 

 Digibook: Target - $27.99

 

Monster Party: Amazon - $13.99

Three teenage thieves infiltrate a mansion dinner party secretly hosted by a serial killer cult for the social elite.

 

A Simple Favor: Amazon - $19.99

 4K: Amazon - $23.99

A SIMPLE FAVOR, directed by Paul Feig, centers around Stephanie (Anna Kendrick), a mommy vlogger who seeks to uncover the truth behind her best friend Emily's (Blake Lively) sudden disappearance from their small town.

 

 

2001: A Space Odyssey: Best Buy - $24.99

A mysterious black monolith appears on Earth in prehistoric times, changing the course of human evolution. When it reappears on the Moon in 2001, astronauts embark on an ill-fated interplanetary voyage to discover.

 

Steelbook: Best Buy - $29.99

 

The House with a Clock in its Walls: Amazon - $19.99

4K: Amazon - $24.99

Ten-year-old Lewis goes to live with his oddball uncle in a creaky old house that contains a mysterious `tick tock' noise. He soon learns that Uncle Jonathan and his feisty neighbour, Mrs Zimmerman, are powerful practitioners of the magic arts. When Lewis accidentally awakens the dead, the town's sleepy facade suddenly springs to life, revealing a secret and dangerous world of witches, warlocks and deadly curses.

 

 

Bloody Birthday: Amazon - $22.99

Lacking consciences because they were born during a solar eclipse, a trio of 10-year-olds embark on an indiscriminate killing spree.

 

Assassination Nation: Amazon - $17.99

High school senior Lily and her three best friends live in a haze of texts, posts, selfies and chats -- just like the rest of the world. Their small town gets turned upside down when an anonymous hacker starts to reveal personal messages and secrets of thousands of people. As anger erupts into full-blown violence, the four girls soon find themselves in a fight for their lives against an armed mob.

 

The Super: Amazon - $14.99

A man becomes the superintendent of a large New York City apartment building where people mysteriously go missing.
 

 

Dracula: Prince of Darkness: Amazon - $27.99

Four English travellers arrive at a tiny hamlet in the Carpathian Mountains and ignore warnings from the locals not to travel to Carlsbad, the domain of Count Dracula. A dark, driverless carriage arrives to take them to the sinister castle, but they discover too late that they have been lured there to provide the blood which will allow Dracula to rise from the grave once more.

 

Horror of Dracula: Amazon - $17.99

Jonathan Harker takes employment with Count Dracula, ostensibly to catalog his vast library. In fact, he is on a mission to kill the Count, a vampire. Before he can do so however, the Count gains the upper hand and Harker soon finds himself as one of the walking dead. Dracula has taken an interest in Harker's fiancée, Lucy Holmwood and it is left to Harker's colleague, Dr. Van Helsing to protect her. He has difficulty convincing Lucy's brother, Arthur Holmwood, of the dangers or even the existence of vampires. Soon, however, Arthur's wife Mina is targeted by Count Dracula and he and Van Helsing race to find his lair before she is lost to them forever.

 

Starman: Amazon - $29.99

An alien's ship crashes on Earth, and, to avoid detection, he transforms himself into a physical replica of the deceased husband of a young woman, whose house is the first he comes upon in the woods. He then must assuage her fears, learn how to adjust to his human form, and use her help to get to the Arizona crater where the mother ship awaits him. Things get complicated when the two fall in love and the alien is pursued by U.S. government agents attempting to capture him.

   

Schindler's List 4K: Amazon - $19.99 

 The true story of Austrian industrialist Oskar Schindler, who harbored Polish Jews during WWII by using them as workers in his factory. Schindler saved 1,100 Jews from certain death.

 

- The Impostor

Screenings in the Bay (Monday 17th to Sunday 23rd): Christmas Evil, The Night of the Hunter, Die Hard

As Christmas approaches and many of us turn our attention to gifts and family gatherings, genre films continue to grace the screens across San Francisco, even if their frequency is temporarily lessened. One this is for sure... the Alamo Drafthouse's Christmas Terror Tuesday this week is one you don't want to miss! We screened Christmas Evil to a room full of Overlook genre fiends last year and it was an amazing experience. Although the Drafthouse's audience is a bit more theatrical in their enjoyment, I think a group setting will actually add to this movie rather than rob it of anything. 

You can follow up the Santa slasher with a night of noir at the Castro Theatre the next day, as the Film Noir Foundations presents The Night of the Hunter at 7:30pm. Not only will this be the teaser for the Noir City Film Festival, but host Eddie Muller will also reveal the lineup for the upcoming festival at the screening! 

Alamo Drafthouse

Terror Tuesday

Christmas Evil (1980)

Tuesday 18th @ 9:45pm (1hr 40min)

Horror/ Thriller (IMDB)

A toy factory worker, mentally scarred as a child upon learning Santa Claus is not real, suffers a nervous breakdown after being belittled at work, and embarks on a Yuletide killing spree.

Balboa Theatre

AniMonday

Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

Monday 17th @ 7:30pm (1hr 43min)

Adventure/ Fantasy (Rotten Tomatoes)

Veteran animator Hayao Miyazaki directs this buoyant children's adventure yarn about a young witch striking out on her own. At her mother's behest, 13-year-old Kiki sets out on a year-long apprenticeship with her black cat in tow. With a shaky command of her broom, she ends up in a charming little coastal town that looks like a cross between the French provincial and San Francisco. Unfortunately, the local hotels have a strict "no witches" policy and the police have taken a dim view of her recent aerial mischief-making. She's saved from the street by a kindly baker's wife, who offers her room and board in exchange for her delivering by broom the baker's wares.

Castro Theatre

Noir City X-Mas Presents

The Night of the Hunter (1955)

Wednesday 19th @ 7:30pm (1hr 32min)

Crime/ Drama/ Noir (IMDB)

Adapted by James Agee from a novel by Davis Grubb, The Night of the Hunter represented legendary actor Charles Laughton's only film directing effort. Combining stark realism with Germanic expressionism, the movie is a brilliant good-and-evil parable, with "good" represented by a couple of farm kids and a pious old lady, and "evil" literally in the hands of a posturing psychopath. Imprisoned with thief Ben Harper (Peter Graves), phony preacher Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum) learns that Ben has hidden a huge sum of money somewhere near his home. Upon his release, the murderously misogynistic Powell insinuates himself into Ben's home, eventually marrying his widow Willa (Shelley Winters). Eventually all that stands between Powell and the money are Ben's son (Billy Chapin) and daughter (Sally Jane Bruce), who take refuge in a home for abandoned children presided over by the indomitable, scripture-quoting Rachel Cooper (Lillian Gish).

Landmark Clay Theatre

Midnight Madness

Die Hard (1988)

Friday 21st & Saturday 22nd @ 11:55pm (2hrs 12min)

Action/ Thriller (IMDB)

It's Christmas time in L.A., and there's an employee party in progress on the 30th floor of the Nakatomi Corporation building. The revelry comes to a violent end when the partygoers are taken hostage by a group of terrorists headed by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), who plan to steal the 600 million dollars locked in Nakatomi's high-tech safe. In truth, Gruber and his henchmen are only pretending to be politically motivated to throw the authorities off track; also in truth, Gruber has no intention of allowing anyone to get out of the building alive.

Roxie Theatre

Encore Screening

Brazil (1985)

Friday 21st @ 9pm (2hr 22min)

Drama/ Sci-fi (IMDB)

A bureaucrat in a retro-future world tries to correct an administrative error and himself becomes an enemy of the state.

-Huntress

Bluray Tuesday Featuring: Maniac, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation & The Equalizer 2

December 11th 2018

Our favorite day of the week returns! There are a lot of cool potential Christmas gifts released this week for the horror and film fan. First up is a new 4K scan of Maniac from Blue Underground with the soundtrack included. Next, from Scream Factory, is a personal favorite of mine, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, which isn't a popular opinion but I enjoy this film. This edition includes a new scan and bonus material. Also from Scream Factory is a perfect watch this holiday season, Silent Night, Deadly Night 2, with new scan and bonus material. Denzel Washington's first sequel to one of his films in his 40+ year career, The Equalizer 2 hits shelves today. This sequel is a great follow up to the original and I'd love to see it turned into a trilogy. Best Buy will carry an exclusive steelbook packaging for this. Rounding out the week is action thriller Peppermint, 4K edition of Evil Dead 2 and Brutal from Unearthed Films. So what will you buy, rent or skip this week? Let us know in the comments. Until next week!

Maniac (1980): Amazon - $24.99

A deeply disturbed man, prowls the seedy streets of New York City to stalk and slaughter innocent young women.

 

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation: Amazon - $34.99

A group of teenagers get into a car crash in the Texas woods on prom night and wander into an old farmhouse that is home to Leatherface and his insane family of cannibalistic psychopaths.

 

The Equalizer 2: Amazon - $19.99

4K: Amazon - $24.99

If you have a problem and there is nowhere else to turn, the mysterious and elusive Robert McCall will deliver the vigilante justice you seek. This time, however, McCall's past cuts especially close to home when thugs kill Susan Plummer -- his best friend and former colleague. Now out for revenge, McCall must take on a crew of highly trained assassins who'll stop at nothing to destroy him.

 

 

Steelbook: Best Buy - $32.99

 

Silent Night, Deadly Night 2: Amazon - $29.99

Ricky, the younger brother of the killer in the first film, talks to a psychiatrist about how he became a brutal killer after his brother died, leading back to Mother Superior.
 

 

Evil Dead 2 (4K): Amazon - $17.99

Ash, the sole survivor of The Evil Dead, returns to the same cabin in the woods and again unleashes the forces of the dead. With his girlfriend possessed by demons and his body parts runnning amok, Ash is forced to single-handedly battle the legions of the damned as the most lethal — and groovy — hero in horror movie history! 

 

Peppermint: Amazon - $19.99

Peppermint is a revenge story centering on a young mother who finds herself with nothing to lose, and is now going to take from her rivals the very life they stole from her.

 

The Mangler: Amazon - $27.99

Detective John Hunton is investigating an iron folding machine that has found a taste for eating people. While he tries to solve the mystery, Bill Gartley, the owner, wants to find new victims for his machine.

Toy Soldiers: Amazon - $24.99

When terrorists seize control of a boarding school, a group of troublemaking boys decide to resist them.

Fiend: Amazon - $19.99

An evil spirit enters a graveyard and reanimates the corpse of music teacher Eric Longfellow. However, in order to stay alive, he has to wrap his hands around his victims' throats to absorb their life essences. When he moves to the suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland, his neighbor begins to suspect something just is not right with Mr. Longfellow.

Lizzie: Amazon - $14.99

Oppressed, independent-minded Lizzie Borden experiences a sexual awakening when a pretty new maid is hired and the two develop an intimate relationship. But Lizzie explodes in rage and violence when her domineering parents try to control her desires. Based on the infamous 1892 murders of the Borden family.

I Still See You: Amazon - $14.99

Set nine years after an apocalyptic event that killed millions and left the world inhabited by ghosts.

 

Colette: Amazon - $26.99

The story of a marriage, Colette shows the lengths one woman must go to escape her husband's control and claim her voice as an artist.

 

Smallfoot: Amazon - $22.99

Migo is a friendly Yeti whose world gets turned upside down when he discovers something that he didn't know existed -- a human. He soon faces banishment from his snowy home when the rest of the villagers refuse to believe his fantastic tale. Hoping to prove them wrong, Migo embarks on an epic journey to find the mysterious creature that can put him back in good graces with his simple community.

 

Await Further Instructions: Amazon - $22.99

It's Christmas Day and the Milgram family wake to find a mysterious black substance surrounding their house. Something monumental is clearly happening right outside their door, but what exactly - an industrial accident, a terrorist attack, nuclear war? Descending into terrified arguments, they turn on the television, desperate for any information. On screen a message glows ominously: 'Stay Indoors and Await Further Instructions'. As the television exerts an ever more sinister grip, their paranoia escalates into bloody carnage.
 

 

Death Ship: Amazon - $21.99

An ocean liner collides with a freighter. Survivors of the collision are rescued by a mysterious ship which has sailed the seas for years, and turns out to be possessed by the evil that once commanded it.

 

Brutal: Amazon - $17.99
  
A savage murderer is on the prowl in Japan. One by one, his victims fall but what is he searching for? The same thing a murderess is looking for. We are all looking for that special love of our lives and sometimes, we’re willing to kill everyone to find that special someone. This is the tale of two people finding each other in the most vicious way possible.
 

 

- The Impostor