Around Town: Halloween horrors await
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With All Hallow’s Eve upon us Monday evening, a number of local theaters have plenty of ghouls, ghosts and gruesome gremlins ready for Halloween fans
Julie Adams is best known as the object of Gill Man’s affections in 1954’s 3-D horror classic “Creature From the Black Lagoon.” And Thursday evening, Adams will be appearing at the American Cinematheque’s Egyptian Theatre for a screening of “Creature,” as well as her 1952 Anthony Mann-directed Western, “Bend of the River,” with Jimmy Stewart. Adams will discuss her long career with film historian Alan K. Rode and sign copies of her autobiography, “The Lucky Southern Star: Reflections from the Black Lagoon,” before the screenings.
Jason Patric, the Coreys-Haim and Feldman-and Kiefer Sutherland headline Joel Schumacher’s Brat Pack vampire flick, 1987’s “The Lost Boys,” Friday evening at the Egyptian. Saturday evening, the Cinematheque’s Aero kicks off its sixth annual “Dusk-To-Dawn Horrorthon,” which begins purr-fectly with 1989’s “Pet Sematary.’ Also in the offing are 1979’s “Tourist Trap,” 1981’s “The Pit” and 1983’s “Videodrome.” Americancinematheque.com
Cinefamiy at the Silent Movie Theatre makes you want to go boo beginning Thursday evening with a double bill of 1979’s “Phantasm” and 1988’s “Phantasm III.” Writer-director Don Coscarelli and star Angus Scrimm will appear in person. On Friday evening, Cinefamily offers a new high-definition print of the 1981 horror flick, “The House by the Cemetery,” as well as “100 Most Outrageous Kills,” which features clips of some of the most gruesome deaths ever put on film. On Halloween, Cinefamily presents William Castle’s 1959 shocker, “The Tingler,” in its original “Percepto”-where the seats are wired so the audience can get shocks at certain key moments in the movie. Cinefamily.org Legendary Oscar-winning makeup artist Dick Smith, who is a recipient this year of the Academy’s Governors Award, will be on hand for a screening of the 1981 film, “Ghost Story,” Thursday evening at the New Beverly. Friday and Saturday’s spooky offerings at the Bev are 1981’s “The Burning” and 1980’s classic “Friday the 13th.” The Saturday midnight show selected by Quentin Tarantino is 1972’s “Frogs.” And Joe Dante has selected the Sunday and Monday Halloween offerings, 1932’s pre-Code shocker “Island of Lost Souls” and the giant ants invading Los Angeles thriller, 1954’s “Them!” Newbevcinema.com
The spirit is also willing at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which serves up “Price-A-Thon 100!,” an all-day free celebration Sunday of actor Vincent Prince on his centenary. The “Price”-less festival begins at 1 p.m. with “The Pit and the Pendulum” and concludes a 9:15 p.m. with “Witchfinder General.” Lacma.org
Though most of the spooky films screening around town are for teenagers and adults, UCLA Film & Television Archive is offering a free family matinee Sunday morning of the 1966 horror comedy “Munster, Go Home!,” starring the cast of the CBS sitcom “The Munsters.” Fred Gwynne, Yvonne De Carlo, Al Lewis and Butch Patrick. Cinema.ucla.edu
The Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Walt Disney Hall presents its annual Halloween silent film, the 1920 German Expressionist masterpiece, “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari,” Sunday evening. Clark Wilson will improvise a sound track on the pipe organ. Laphil.com
The Hollywood Black Film Festival commences Thursday and continues through Sunday. The opening night program, “A Million Colours,” will screen at the Los Angeles Film School. All subsequent films will be at the Laemmle Sunset 5 with seminars, panels and parties at the Andaz West Hollywood Hotel. hbff.org.
The German Currents 2011 festival continues Thursday evening at the Aero Theatre with the award-winning 2010 drama, “The Poll Diaries,” along with the U.S. premiere of the 2011 drama, “Jasmin.” Friday’s offerings are 2010’s “The Day I Was Not Born”-and 2011’s “Westwind.”
Early Sunday evening at the Aero, the festival features the U.S. premiere of “The Look,” a portrait of famed actress Charlotte Rampling. Later that evening, the Aero is screening 2011’s “Sleeping Sickness” and “Lollipop Monster. “German Currents festival moves to the Egyptian on Saturday with the 2011 political drama, “If Not Us, Who?” and the 2011 drama, “Stopped on Track.”
On Sunday, the Egyptian celebrates Andrew Crane, the Cinemathque’s membership manager and special project programmer, for his 20 years of service at the Cinematheque with a screening of David Lynch’s enigmatic 2001 critics’ darling, “Mulholland Drive,” with Laura Harring, Noami Watts and Ann Miller.
On Wednesday at the Egyptian, actress-director Christina Beck and cast and crew will discuss Beck’s debut feature, “Perfection.” Americancinematheque.com Film Independent at LACMA presents Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini’s influential 1961 drama, “Accattone,” Thursday evening at the Bing Theatre. Tuesday’s matinee is the 1942 Fred Astaire/Rita Hayworth musical comedy, “You Were Never Lovelier,” directed by William A. Seiter. Lacma.org
The UCLA Film & Television Archive’s “L.A. Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema” screens Ben Caldwell’s 1973 short, “Medea,” and 1979 short, “I & I: An African Allegory,” as well as Haile Gerima’s 1972 short, “Children of Resistance,’ Thursday evening at the Billy Wilder Theatre. Caldwell will be attending the evening. Filmmaker Jamaa Fanaka will appear Friday for the screening of his film, 1975’s “Welcome Home Brother Charles” and the 1980 short, “Gidget Meets Hondo,” directed by Bernard Nicolas. The archive’s “Days of Glory: Masterworks of Italian Neo-Realism” continues Saturday at the Wilder with Giuseppe De Santis’ 1949, “Bitter Rice,” with Vittorio Gassman and Silvana Mangano, and 1947’s “Without Pity,” directed by Alberto Lattuada with a script co-written by Federico Fellini. Sunday evening’s offering is a nitrate print of Roberto Rosselini’s 1945 “Paisan.” Cinema.ucla.edu.
Los Angeles Filmforum features “Distributing the Avant-Garde: The Creative Film Society Collection,” Sunday evening at the intimate Spielberg Theatre at the Egyptian. The experimental films produced in Los Angeles from 1945-1980 include Sara Petty’s 1977 “Furies,” Donald Bevis, Jim May and Herb Bertel’s 1955 “Carnival” and Peggy Wolff’s 1972, “One Hundred and Eight Movements.” Lafilmforum.org
Skirball’s free Tuesday matinee features Alfred Hitchcock’s 1943 thriller, “Shadow of a Doubt,” starring Joseph Cotton as the charismatic uncle of Teresa Wright. She discovers while he is visiting the family that her uncle is actually the “Merry Widow” murderer. Skirball.org
“Suzan Pitt and James Trainor: A Conversation of Light and Darkness,” Tuesday evening at Redcat, will feature a collection of their animated films including “Visitation,” “The Presentation Theme” and “The Magic Kingdom.” The two will appear in person. Redcat.org
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences contemporary documentary showcase continues Wednesday at the Linwood Dunn with Oscar-nominated 2010 documentary “Restrepo” and the acclaimed 2010 doc “The Tillman Story.” oscars.org
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-- Susan King