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WELCOME
TO RETROFANTASMA!
A monthly film series of double-features dedicated to bringing
classic horror movies back to the big screen in 35mm! Created
in 1998, RETROFANTASMA has developed a large dedicated audience
of horror movie enthusiasts whose desire to see their favorite
terror flicks is matched only by their willingness to cheer at
the screen.
From John Carpenter to Dario Argento to Lucio Fulci, this diverse
film series offers it's audience a joyful jolt of terror and nostalgia.
You'll likely find yourself screaming and applauding in the same
breath. Before long, you'll be joining the thousands of people
who have whispered in the dark to their friends, "Did you
ever see the one where....?" Much like the infamous midnight
screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The RETROFANTASMA
Film Series is pure devilish fun for anyone who loves the mysterious.
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DRACULA
(NR, 1931, 75 min.)
Friday, February 3rd
7:00 p.m.
Relive the horror, the mystery, and the intrigue of the original
1931 vampire masterpiece starring Bela Lugosi and directed by Tod
Browning. Enter Professor Van Helsing, Renfield, Mina, Lucy,
Jonathan Harker and all the characters who have now become classics.
If you’re a true horror aficionado, you owe it to yourself
to experience Dracula in 35mm on the big screen.
• Link
to movie trailer
• Link
to IMDb listing
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THE WOLF MAN
(NR, 1941, 70 min.)
Friday, February 3rd
Begins 15 minutes after the end of Dracula
The original horror classic that introduced one of the screen's
most infamous monsters! Lon Chaney, Jr. portrays Larry Talbot who,
on one fateful night, is bitten by a werewolf and suffers the classic
fate of the victims of lycanthropy. During the next full moon,
he turns into a werewolf; a transformation ingeniously devised by
makeup maestro Jack Pierce.
• Link
to movie trailer
• Link
to IMDb listing
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What
Jim says…
Many of horror’s well-known conventions like creaking staircases,
the swirling mist, and creepy cobwebs originated from these Universal
Pictures’ films. There are so many opportunities out there
to see the Friday the 13ths, Halloweens, and Evil Dead trilogies
of the world in theatres. Some people believe they’re improving
their film backgrounds by attending these trusty stand-bys, as if
seeing The Exorcist on the big screen during Halloween is a unique
film-going experience. They’re fun movies, to be sure; but
nothing rare. In March 2011, we screened 1942’s Cat People.
It was the oldest film we’d ever shown (as well as one of the
hardest 35mm prints to obtain) and, unfortunately, one of the lowest-attended
programs in the series’ history. Is there a paying audience
for these types of B&W films, I wonder? Why bang my head
against these fortress walls if so few people care to see “old
movies” on the big screen? No self-respecting horror
series can hold its head high until they’ve screened the Universal
Monsters series, that’s why.
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CHILD'S PLAY
(R, 1988, 87 min.)
Friday, February 24th
7:00 p.m.
Horror maestro Tom Holland (Fright Night) brings wit and devilish
energy to this scare-fest about a murderer (Brad Dourif) who wills
his soul into an innocuous doll named Chucky, and reveals himself
only to the toy's owner, a frightened little boy. When an ensuing
rampage of gruesome murders leads a detective (Chris Sarandon) back
to the same toy, he discovers that the real terror has just begun!
• Link
to movie trailer
• Link
to IMDb listing
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IT'S ALIVE!
(PG, 1974, 91 min.)
Friday, February 24th
Begins 15 minutes after the end of Child's Play
A young couple joyously awaiting the birth of their newborn is in
for a horrifying surprise in this thrilling low-budget '70s tale
of terror which went on to gain cult status and spawn two sequels.
Featuring genuinely creepy creature effects by make-up artist
Rick Baker (King Kong, Star Wars), and a marvelously effective score
by legendary composer Bernard Hermann (Psycho, The Birds).
• Link
to movie trailer
• Link
to IMDb listing
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What
Jim says…
It’s hard to believe, but back in 1988, Child’s Play was
sold as a legitimate horror movie and not the jokey, horror-comedy
it later became in sequels. (A fate that also befell Freddy
Krueger.) I recall parent’s groups enraged over the alleged
violence towards children in this film. In the late-80’s,
parent’s groups were always in an uproar about something.
I knew their gavel-thumping had crossed into the national zeitgeist
when Bloom County’s Bill the Cat and Steve Dallas argued with
Tipper Gore during a congressional hearing to protest the lyrics
of Deathtöngue’s ”Let’s Run Over Lionel Ritchie
with a Tank.” To those of us in our early-20’s in
the late-80s, however, Child’s Play wasn’t a politically-charged
statement but merely a rollicking, creepy time, and it did not disappoint.
As a double bill, I wanted to screen 1972’s The Other or 1980’s
The Godsend. (No prints, same news.) It’s Alive
nicely complemented the theme of this program. I’m uncertain
if parent’s groups protested this 1974 film but, if they did,
it would not be surprising.
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BLUE VELVET
(R, 1986, 120 min.)
Friday, March 23rd
7:00 p.m.
David Lynch peeks behind the picket fences of small-town America
to reveal a corrupt shadow world of malevolence, sadism, and madness.
Kyle MacLachlan returns home and stumbles across a severed human
ear in a vacant lot. Drawn into the brutal world of voyeurism and
sex, he loses his innocence and his moral bearings when confronted
with pure, unexplainable evil.
• Link
to movie trailer
• Link
to IMDb listing
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BLOW OUT
(R, 1981, 107 min.)
Friday, March 23rd
Begins 15 minutes after the end of Blue Velvet
Blow Out is Brian De Palma’s heart-stopping adventure hailed
by Rolling Stone as "an American moviemaking triumph!"
John Travolta is a soundman who accidentally tapes an automobile
crash that kills a presidential candidate and injures his mistress
(Nancy Allen). Now, he must fight to stay alive as they uncover
an explosive political conspiracy that sends shockwaves to the highest
levels of government.
• Link
to movie trailer
• Link
to IMDb listing
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What
Jim says…
I’ve read that Producer Dino De Laurentiis had to set-up his
own distribution studio, D.E.G., in order to get Blue Velvet into
theatres, because no other studio would touch it. On first
viewing in 1986, I didn’t think of Blue Velvet as a horror
movie. I wasn’t sure what to think of it. Driving
home, however, my mind was so engrossed and distracted by the images
I’d seen that I almost rear-ended another car at a stoplight.
It’s the first---and only---time in my life that a film almost
caused me to suffer a car accident. Blue Velvet is a brutal, psychosexual
thriller and not meant for the meek. Its inclusion in Retrofantasma
signifies an intentional programming shift on my behalf to broaden
this series beyond traditional science fiction and supernatural
flicks. I selected Brian De Palma’s Blow Out, a dark conspiracy
thriller, as the second feature because it’s so unlike all
of his earlier works, and it’s not a true horror movie. I’m
hoping our audience will consider this very different Retro program.
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THIS ISLAND EARTH
(NR, 1955, 87 min.)
Friday, April 6th
7:00 p.m.
One of the most ambitious science fiction films of the 1950s!
Atomic scientist Dr. Meacham is chosen to take part in a top-secret
research experiment, but soon discovers he is really involved in
a scheme to take over Earth by a monster with a giant brain for
a head and massive claws for hands! Featuring incredible special
effects that were 2 1/2 years in the making, this is one adventure
that you have to see to believe!
• Link
to movie trailer
• Link
to IMDb listing
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WAR OF THE WORLDS
(G, 1953, 85 min.)
Friday, April 6th
Begins 15 minutes after the end of This Island Earth
Visionary producer George Pal brought the classic H.G. Wells story
of a Martian invasion to the big screen, and it instantly became
a science fiction classic. It's a work of frightening imagination
as formations of alien ships wreak destruction around the globe
and the military is helpless to stop this enemy while scientists
race to find an effective weapon.
• Link
to movie trailer
• Link
to IMDb listing
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What
Jim says…
I’m not sure what more I can say about the appearance of this
program except it’s a collection of two of the greatest science
films of the 1950s ever produced. Programming such as this
is the epitome of why we created this series in the first place.
All the major themes are in their proper place: apprehension
towards the upcoming space age, mad scientists, the discovery of
nuclear energy, and creepy monsters. In their own way, these
films were the Star Wars and Close Encounters of their time; popular
and fantastic, big-budget Hollywood entertainment. It’s interesting
to note that one of the highest-attended Retrofantasma Classics
programs happened in January 2011 during The Thing from Another
World and Forbidden Planet. The opportunity to present another combination
of high-quality science fiction films was irresistible. How much
longer before these 35mm prints are no longer available to movie
theatres? As an added bonus, the print of This Island Earth comes
from the Universal Pictures’ rare archives and promises to
be in mint condition.
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CURTAINS
(R, 1983, 89 min.)
Friday, April 20th
7:00 p.m.
Six beautiful actresses gather in a remote New England mansion to
vie for the most important role of their careers. Infamous
director, Jonathon Stryker, is casting the lead role for his newest
horror film, Audra. As the weekend unfolds, with Stryker's
dominance fuelling an explosive atmosphere, the trapped and terrified
women are mysteriously murdered. Only one will survive to
be cast before the final curtain falls.
• Link
to movie trailer
• Link
to IMDb listing
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THE BEAST WITHIN
(R, 1982, 98 min.)
Friday, April 20th
Begins 15 minutes after the end of Curtains
The Beast Within is a great, bloody piece of big-budget, early 80s
Hollywood terror. Ronny Cox (Robocop) is a father out to find
learn the horrible truth about his son. Junior is the spawn of a
mutant-rapist that attacked his mother 17 years earlier. Now, several
grisly murders may be connected to this awful past event. Tom
Holland (Fright Night) wrote the script while Tom Burman (Cat People)
delivers the gory transformation FX!
• Link
to movie trailer
• Link
to IMDb listing
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What
Jim says…
I could book bigger titles, but it’s the mostly-forgotten movies
from early 80s that come to mind when I think of the word, “Groovy.”
Films like Humanoids from the Deep, Sweet Sixteen, Fear No Evil,
Spasms, Venom, Scalps, and so many more. Several years ago,
we created The Groovy B-Movie Weekend, and programmed some of these
lesser-known gems. It was time to bring this concept to Retrofantasma.
Originally, I’d considered an altogether different program
with titles such as Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, The Wraith, Flowers
in the Attic or Killer Fish. Ultimately, I chose a little-known
Canadian film, Curtains, because it had some great reviews and my
memory of having seen it on HBO almost 30 years ago was a good one.
And remember the short film, The Horribly Slow Murderer with the
Extremely Inefficient Weapon? The star of that film, Paul
Clemens, was 24-years old when he was cast as the lead in The Beast
Within. And come on, it’s a movie about a killer cicada.
It doesn’t get any groovier than that, right?
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ROLLERBALL
(R, 1975, 125 min.)
Friday, May 4th
7:00 p.m.
The year is 2018. There are no wars. There is no crime. There
is only the Game.Tuned to their televisions, the people watch Rollerball:
a brutal mutation of football, motocross and hockey where violent
death is part of the entertainment. James Caan is a long-standing
hero of the sport, becoming dangerously popular. He is ordered to
retire. He refuses. Tilt.
• Link
to movie trailer
• Link
to IMDb listing
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FAHRENHEIT 451
(NR, 1966, 114 min.)
Friday, May 4th
Begins 15 minutes after the end of Rollerball
The classic science fiction novel by Ray Bradbury was a curious
choice for one of the leading directors of the French New Wave,
François Truffaut. The society depicted in Fahrenheit 451
is a culture without books. Firemen still race around in red trucks
and wear helmets, but their job is now to destroy illicit literature
with flame throwers. Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature at which
books are reduced to ashes.
• Link
to movie trailer
• Link
to IMDb listing
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What
Jim says…
For years, MGM claimed that no 35mm prints of Rollerball existed
in their vaults. Imagine my surprise when one was suddenly discovered.
But what to pair as the second feature? Death Race 2000 came
to mind, but its campy tone seemed too far removed from the realism
established by Norman Jewison’s film. I also considered Michael
Crichton’s Westworld but, once again, no prints existed. The
theme of society rebelling against an Orwellian future began to
take shape. 1984, obviously, would have been the perfect solution.
Alas, no prints. I’ve never read Bradbury’s novel or seen
Truffaut’s film but, after some extensive research as well
as contacting the Universal Pictures’ archives, Fahrenheit
451 became a strong contender. Much like last year’s double
bill of Cape Fear and The List of Adrian Messenger, I’m particularly
proud of this program. It’s headier, I suspect, than our traditional
offerings of William Castle or Hammer double features, and that’s
intentional.
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STARMAN
(PG, 1984, 115 min.)
Friday, May 18th
7:00 p.m.
Starman is John Carpenter's warmest film, and the only one that
ever earned an Oscar nomination. That honor went to Best Actor nominee
Jeff Bridges for his performance as an alien visitor who assumes
the physical form of the dead husband of a Wisconsin widow (Karen
Allen). Together, they take an interstate road trip to rendezvous
with a mother ship from his home planet.
• Link
to movie trailer
• Link
to IMDb listing
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RUNAWAY
(PG-13, 1984, 101 min.)
Friday, May 18th
Begins 15 minutes after the end of Starman
Written and directed by Michael Crichton, Runaway is set in the
near future, when robots do most daily chores, but often break down
and damage people and property. Sergeant Jack Ramsay (Tom Selleck)
is in charge of shutting down "runaways." With his
new partner, he stumbles upon a scheme by an evil scientist (Gene
Simmons) who's unleashed a torrent of killer robots upon an unsuspecting
city!
• Link
to movie trailer
• Link
to IMDb listing
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What
Jim says…
Christmas 1984 was overstuffed with high-profile movies. Beverly
Hills Cop, 2010, and City Heat opened on the same day. One
week later, we received Starman, Runaway, Dune, and The Cotton Club.
I remember the TV ads for Runaway and Starman. That Christmas, every
commercial break was touting Carpenter’s alien love story or
Tom Selleck’s futuristic thriller, and not just as any ordinary
films, but as the most important movies for 16 year-old boys of
all time! All of us thought these ads were pointless, because everyone
knew that Dune was gonna be the biggest movie of the season, maybe
the biggest movie of all-time; Star Wars-big. (What did we
know?) Movies taught my generation that the future was going to
be shiny, metallic, and pointy. Runway and Starman were no
exception, except now the future would also have pointy, metallic,
killer robots and aliens who looked like that guy who starred with
Farrah Fawcett in 1978’s Somebody Killed Her Husband. What
more could you ask for, the ads cooed?
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PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES
(NR, 1965, 88 min.)
Friday, June 1st
7:00 p.m.
Italian horror master Mario Bava directed this classic science fiction
story that follows the horrific experiences of the crew members
of two giant spaceships that have crash landed on a forbidding,
unexplored planet. The disembodied inhabitants of the world possess
the bodies of the crew who died during the crash, and use the animated
corpses to stalk and kill the remaining survivors.
• Link
to movie trailer
• Link
to IMDb listing
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BARBARELLA: QUEEN OF THE GALAXY
(NR, 1968, 85 min.)
Friday, June 1st
Begins 15 minutes after the end of Planet of the Vampires
Here is Roger Vadim's sexy sci-fi opus to the 1960s starring his
then-wife Jane Fonda. Set in the 41st Century, Barbarella
goes in search of the evil renegade scientist Duran Duran and instead
manages to shag half the planet! See Barbarella demolish the amazing
Orgasmatron and get herself locked into a funky chamber of dreams!
See Barbarella save the day with a bubble of goodness.
• Link
to movie trailer
• Link
to IMDb listing
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What
Jim says…
I love selecting the classic trailers that screen before every film
because they give me ideas for future programs. Take Planet
of the Vampires, for instance. It was a random trailer that
played before King Kong vs. Godzilla last October. Sure, I’d
heard of the film but could have never anticipated the audience
reaction once its trailer started playing. People cheered
and applauded; a reaction more common for things like The Shining
and Evil Dead 2. But Planet of the Vampires? It’s
moments like this when my job becomes easy. If you’re
wondering, there’s been just one trailer that received a greater
pop than Planet. It was for 1968’s The Green Slime, although
I suspect it has more to do with that film’s catchy theme song
than anything depicted on the screen. (No prints, says Warner Brothers.)
Because it’s the start of summer, I figured a fun program was
in order. Thus, Jane Fonda debuts at Retrofantasma. (Yes,
Ms. Fonda’s debut would have been more appropriate in 1971’s
Klute, but there’s no prints of that film, so Barbarella it
is.)
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JAWS
(PG, 1975, 125 min.)
Friday, June 22nd
7:00 p.m.
One of the greatest horror movies of all time returns…just
in time for beach season. Amity Island is terrorized by surprise
attacks from a great white shark. Three unlikely partners
team up to hunt down the rogue and destroy it: the new chief of
police from New York (Roy Scheider), a young university-educated
oceanographer (Richard Dreyfuss), and a crusty old-time fisherman
(Robert Shaw).
• Link
to movie trailer
• Link
to IMDb listing
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KING KONG
(PG, 1976, 134 min.)
Friday, June 22nd
Begins 15 minutes after the end of Jaws
Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange star in this ambitious remake which
adds a great deal of fun to the story. It’s silly to compare
this version of King Kong with the original. Each is representative
of the times in which they were made. And yet, there is a splendor
in watching the gargantuan ape battle attacking aircraft above the
streets of New York City…from atop the twin towers of the World
Trade Center.
• Link
to movie trailer
• Link
to IMDb listing
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What
Jim says…
Hard to believe, but it has been three years since we last ran Jaws
at Retrofantasma. Jaws is credited with the creation of wide platform
releases and summer blockbusters, but give me a break. I could play
a lot of cards to explain its inclusion, but none are necessary.
It’s a classic about a man-eating shark, and that’s all
that matters. When it was released at Christmas 1976, King Kong
was the movie that was supposed to topple Jaws as the all-time box
office champ. It didn’t. And yet, the film was still the
3rd highest-grossing movie of the year. (Rocky was #1.) I’ve
spent more than a decade looking for a 35mm print. Finally, Paramount
agreed to loan us the last surviving copy which, until late 2011,
I’m convinced they were not even aware existed. Special shout-out
goes to Matt House for being such a fan of this movie that his enthusiasm
caused me to hassle Paramount into combing their warehouse for a
print. Incredibly, both movies inspired children’s toys. We’ll
have a rare King Kong Board Game on display at the show.
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