A wild wave of horror classics and contemporary masterworks awaits from The American Cinematheque.
This summer, the fine folks at The American Cinematheque have schedule an absolutely mind-blowing glut of incredible horror films, screening all summer at the Aero and Egyptian Theatres. Nestled in that program is SHOCK scribbler and iconic female filmmaking advocate Hedi Honeycutt’s Etheria Film Night a genre film festival devoted to work by women directors.
Check out this positively savage schedule…
EGYPTIAN THEATRE, Hollywood
Saturday, June 25 – 7:30 PM [Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre]
THE SHINING, 1980, Warner Bros., 142 min. Dir. Stanley Kubrick. Jack Nicholson takes a job as winter caretaker at an enormous mountain hotel, where he goes with wife Shelley Duvall and son Danny Lloyd in the hope that snow and solitude will bring him peace of mind. He finds just the opposite, however, as the hotel’s horrific past quickly overtakes him.
Thursday, June 30 – 7:30 PM – Egyptian Theatre [Spielberg]
Double Feature:
DAY OF THE ANIMALS, 1977, Film Ventures Int., 97 min. Dir. William Girdler. It’s man versus Mother Nature, and she’s packing razor-sharp claws and teeth. With the ozone depleted, a group of nature-happy hikers pay the ultimate price as radiation-crazed animals run amok. There’s mountain lions, grizzly bears and shirtless Leslie Nielsens … oh my!
WILD BEASTS, 1984, Severin Films, 92 min. Dir. Franco E. Prosperi. When the water supply of a zoo is accidentally laced with PCP, the animals bust out of their cages and take to the streets. Now a bunch of inept zoologists must try to stop the beasts on their drug-crazed frenzy.
Friday, July 1 – 7:30 PM – Egyptian Theatre [Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre]
JAWS, 1975, Universal, 124 min. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Roy Scheider is a sheriff confronting crowds of sunbathers, self-serving local politicians and – most importantly – a monstrous great white shark over the July 4th weekend. With Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss.
Saturday, July 2 -7:30 PM – Egyptian Theatre [Spielberg Theatre]
Co-presented by Severin Films
BURIAL GROUND, 1981, Severin Films, 85 min. Dir. Andrea Bianchi. A professor accidentally fulfills the prophecy of the black spider and unleashes the SLOWEST zombies to every shamble along in cinematic history. Armed with lawn tools and more brains then their human victims, the undead trudge along in one of the most bizarre entries in Italian zombie horror. Gore-soaked lunacy (read our salute here) anchored by Peter Bark’s star-making performance as Michael, a lovable boy with a major Oedipus complex. 35mm print courtesy of Grindhouse Releasing. Screening preceded by a live performance by Umberto (Not Not Fun Records/Death Waltz Recording company).
Tickets: $13. No vouchers.
AERO THEATRE, Santa Monica
Wednesday, June 1 – 7:30 PM – Aero Theatre
CARRIE, 1976, Park Circus/MGM, 98 min. Director Brian De Palma strikes exactly the right note between empathy and horror in this yarn of Carrie (Sissy Spacek), a teen misfit who comes so unglued after being repeatedly victimized by sadistic classmates and religious-zealot mom Piper Laurie that her latent telekinetic powers kick in, resulting in a blitz of gory, vengeful carnage. Enormously popular on its original release, CARRIE remains one of the best adaptations from a Stephen King novel. With John Travolta, Amy Irving, Nancy Allen and P.J. Soles.
Thursday, June 2 – 7:30 PM – Aero Theatre
Double Feature:
DRESSED TO KILL, 1980, Park Circus/MGM, 105 min. Dir. Brian De Palma. In this obsessive and beautifully made thriller, a killer stalks two very different women. Considered by many to be Brian De Palma’s finest film. With Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen and Dennis Franz.
OBSESSION, 1976, Sony Repertory, 98 min. Dir. Brian De Palma. Cliff Robertson is haunted by the death of his wife and daughter following a botched kidnapping, but he gets a shot at redemption when he meets a new woman (Genevieve Bujold) who bears an uncanny resemblance to his dead spouse. Screenwriter Paul Schrader and director Brian De Palma pay glorious homage to the work of Alfred Hitchcock with this romantic, hallucinatory thriller, which includes one of Bernard Herrmann’s best scores – one that builds upon and possibly even tops his classic work with the Master of Suspense himself.
Friday, June 3 – 7:30 PM- Aero Theatre
Double Feature:
BODY DOUBLE, 1984, Sony Repertory, 114 min. Director Brian De Palma has always openly expressed his admiration for Hitchcock and has used various tropes common to the master in a number of his pictures. This is one of his most jaw-dropping, melding influences from REAR WINDOW and VERTIGO as well as giving a vigorous nod to the delirium of 1970s Italian giallo shockers. When a claustrophobic and cuckolded actor (Craig Wasson) finds himself suddenly homeless, he house-sits for a theater workshop acquaintance (Gregg Henry). But he finds himself going from the frying pan into the fire after witnessing the murder of a beautiful neighbor. To make matters worse, he falls for sweet, dysfunctional porn star Holly Body (Melanie Griffith), who may have been tricked into doubling for the victim.
FEMME FATALE, 2002, Warner Bros., 114 min. Dir. Brian De Palma. Jewel thief Laure (Rebecca Romijn) gets more than she bargained for when she tries to double-cross her partners and start a new life in this fast, funny, deliriously sexy thriller. From its classic De Palma opening set piece (an erotically charged heist set against the backdrop of the Cannes Film Festival) to its provocative playfulness with the concept of “reality” and its elegantly constructed network of visual motifs, this is one of the director’s best and most underrated films. Antonio Banderas is terrific as the photographer who alternates between nemesis and love interest over the course of Laure’s adventure.
Saturday, June 11 – 4:00 PM – Aero Theatre
ETHERIA FILM NIGHT
Etheria Film Night showcases the best new science fiction, horror, fantasy, action and thriller films made by emerging women directors.
Sneak Preview! 35mm! THE LOVE WITCH, 2016, Anna Biller Productions, 120 min. In this special presentation of director Anna Biller’s latest independent feature, beautiful young witch Elaine (Samantha Robinson) is determined to find a man to love her. In her gothic Victorian apartment, she makes spells and potions to seduce men – but they work too well, and she ends up with a string of hapless victims. When she finally meets the man of her dreams, her desperation to be loved will drive her to the brink of insanity and murder. With a visual style that pays tribute to Technicolor thrillers of the 1960s, THE LOVE WITCH (read our review here) explores female fantasy and the repercussions of pathological narcissism.
Discussion following with director Anna Biller. Refreshments and alcohol will be served!
Saturday, June 11 – 7:30 PM – Aero Theatre
Etheria Film Night showcases the best new science fiction, horror, fantasy, action and thriller films made by emerging women directors.Filmmakers in Person!
ETHERIA FILM NIGHT SHORTS PROGRAM, 115 min. Films include:
“Genghis Khan Conquers the Moon” (USA, 17 min. Dir. Kerry Yang) In Genghis Khan’s last days, an encounter with a wizard sends him to the moon. Just as the medieval anti-hero thinks he’s made his greatest conquest, he finds himself on a spiritual quest, realizing the absurd clash between one man’s need and the silence of the universe. “Bionic Girl” (France, 15 min. Dir. Stephanie Cabdevila) In this absurdist musical, a scientist afraid to face the outside world creates her own android clone replacement. “Hoss” (USA, 13 min. Dir. Christine Boylan) When a devastating tsunami destroys the West Coast, a cowgirl roams the now-lawless Malibu hills looking for justice. “Restart” (Spain, 15 min. Dir. Olga Osorio) Andrea is trapped in a temporal loop. Will she be able to break it? “Boxer” (USA, 5 min. Dir. Toy Lei) A middle-aged contract killer must balance the interests of her ruthless clients and her young, unquestioning son who wants to be just like her. “The Stylist” (USA, 15 min. Dir. Jill Gevargizian) Claire is a lonely hairstylist with an unnerving desire to escape her disappointing reality. When her final client of the evening arrives with the request to look perfect, Claire has plans of her own. “Hard Broads” (USA, 10 min. Dir. Mindy Bledsoe) Three women have to transport a celebrity’s body without anyone knowing she’s dead. “The Puppet Man” (USA, 9 min. Dir. Jacqueline Castel) A supernatural killer stalks a young woman and her friends in a seedy, neon-lit dive bar in this short film featuring horror legend John Carpenter. “Nasty” (U.K., 15 min. Dir. Prano Bailey-Bond) It’s 1982. Twelve-year-old Doug is drawn into the lurid world of VHS horror as he explores the mysterious disappearance of his father. Evening concludes with a discussion with participating directors and an awards presentation.
Friday, June 24 – 7:30 PM – Aero Theatre | TED KOTCHEFF IN PERSON
Double Feature!
WAKE IN FRIGHT, 1971, Drafthouse Films, 108 min. Dir. Ted Kotcheff. Among the films that kickstarted a new wave of Australian cinema in the 1970s, WAKE IN FRIGHT was M.I.A. for decades until this stunning HD restoration. Schoolteacher Gary Bond finds himself stranded in the Outback mining town of Bundanyabba, where Donald Pleasence and the other local drunkards soon reduce him to their primitive level. “WAKE IN FRIGHT is a deeply – and I mean deeply – unsettling and disturbing movie. I saw it when it premiered at Cannes in 1971, and it left me speechless. Visually, dramatically, atmospherically and psychologically, it’s beautifully calibrated and it gets under your skin one encounter at a time.” – Martin Scorsese.
On the second half of this double bill is THE APPRENTICESHIP OF DUDDY KRAVITZ, 1974, 120 min. Director Ted Kotcheff. The connection between the two films is director Ted Kotcheff, but this is not a horror film.
Saturday, July 2 – 7:30 PM – Aero Theatre
JAWS, 1975, Universal, 124 min. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Roy Scheider is a sheriff confronting crowds of sunbathers, self-serving local politicians and – most importantly – a monstrous great white shark over the July 4th weekend. With Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss.
For more information on the series and other schedules go to the official The American Cinematheque website.
