TICKETS AT SUPER-HORROR-RAMA! Tickets, Fri, Oct 13, 2023 at 5:00 PM | Eventbrite

For those of you who have never had the opportunity to experience the drive-in horror/grindhouse mood, or for those of you who have and just can’t get it back, House of Movie Monsters is teaming up with John McDevitt of FACETS in Chicago to revive the thrill of those unabashedly exploitative double and triple bills from that bygone era. No longer do you have to live vicariously through your social media feed waxing nostalgic over the constant stream of newspaper ads ballyhooing horror triple-features and all-nite shock shows left longing for those endless nights of taboo discovery. We are offering you the chance to experience three nights of obscure horror hits this October 13th through October 15th when we will be presenting our Super Horror-Rama!

The initial spark for the Super Horror-rama was my compulsion to share and witness on the big screen the uncanny aura of a virtually unseen and banned Spanish horror film, Raul Artigot’s Witches Mountain (1972). A singularly affecting film that influenced my contemplation of the existence of witches at a relatively young age, it’s air of authenticity triggered consideration of the paucity of films that offer serious or convincing depictions of witchcraft. Two films that immediately came to mind were coincidentally both black and white early 1960s British films set against the self-assured skepticism of academia. And it so happens that these two films, Burn Witch Burn (1962) (AKA Night of the Eagle) and City of the Dead (1960) (AKA Horror Hotel), are rarely if ever shown theatrically, fitting into a vision of hoping to offer horror-starved audiences an experience that is revelatory either in the discovery of the film or some transformative element within it. Either way, by the time the clock strikes midnight you might find your ingrained skepticism to be whittled away by the credible manifestations of witchery conjured up in these three unnerving films.

Sunday you will be strictly disciplined by Margaret Thatcher, Mary Whitehouse and the Superhorrorama team to make certain you do not go in the house, open the window and/or go into the woods as we present a forbidden triple feature of video nasty “Don’ts.” The opener Don’t Go in the Woods (1983) is at once a prime example of the absurdity of the video nasty’s moral crusade and its perfect target, a low-budget showcase for seventeen perverse and politically incorrect slasher era kills more likely to inspire mirthful madness than murder. Jorge Grau’s harrowing take on George A Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1969), released in The US as Don’t Open the Window (1974), was designated a video nasty as much for its convincing depictions of cannibalism as its unflinching portrayal of fascist government officials ignoring public safety threats in favor of demonizing “hippies” and truthtellers. The irony of this political statement was likely not lost on theocrats like Thatcher and her henchwoman Whitehouse. If Don’t Go in the House (1980) might not fulfill Whitehouse’s assertion that graphic horror films serve as a driver of “the corruption and gross exploitation which has invaded our culture,” it’s histrionic depiction of Dan Grimaldi as a Norman Bates wannabe avenging his blistering matriarchal abuse by torching women in his incineration chamber more likely served as aversion therapy to corruption and gross exploitation.

Friday night’s Screamplay (1985) is likely one of the sleepers of the festival, released by Troma but closer in feel to a German expressionist silent or Universal horror film than that studio’s predictably exploitable output. Auteur Rufus Butler Seder takes on directing and writing chores as well as portraying main character Edgar Allen, a Hollywood writer living on the squalid side of showbiz whose horror screenplays begin to manifest themselves in real life. Through the use of double-exposures, filters, rear projection suggesting forced perspective and even direct scratching on the film to simulate rain Seder duly recalls a time when analog craftsmanship overshadowed digital expediency in creating an immersive cinematic experience. We show this film in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA hoping they don’t end up on the darkside of Hollywood like Edgar Allen…if there is any other side these days. The second feature Terror Eyes (1989) culls together USC student films with framing footage of Daniel (grandpa Munster) Roebuck as the devil who motivates an aspiring screenwriter to create an anothology horror film during the ongoing WGA (Writer’s Guild of America) strike. Bolstered by clever writing reflecting a Rod Serling cultural sensibility and some over-the-top performances, Roebuck later regretted appearing in the partially shot-on-video project admitting “It was basically me being an idiot and wanting to wear monster makeup. Have you ever heard of anything so absurd?” After seeing Terror Eyes the answer is a resounding yes!

To complement the paranormal program on Saturday, prior to the screening of Witches Mountain there will be an interview with occult specialist Evelyn Spear. Barry Kaufman of House of Monsters will introduce each witch film as well so bring some extra coffee to keep you awake. Sunday’s video nasty triple-feature will be enhanced by preshow animated ad galleries created by Bill Van Ryn of Drive-in Asylum. Add to that 13 unique vendors each night on Saturday and Sunday and you will not want to miss the chance to attend the most gruesome and gratifying grassroots horror event of the Halloween season!