50 Nights of Horror 2014: Special Edition: Dismember the Alamo

To be completely honest and up front, there's no way I would have attended the Alamo Drafthouse's Dismember the Alamo movie event if it hadn't been for my friend Patrick (IcyJones) persistence.  It's always good to spend time with friends, and it had been too long since I had spent time one-on-one with Patrick.  On the other hand, the thought of spending upwards of 6 hours with a theater full of strangers was, to be completely honest, intimidating.

Initially, I declined the offer.  "Come on up to NYC, but let's find something - anything else to do."  I have more than enough movies to consumer, WAY more than the four offered by Alamo.  I was also concerned that I would probably have seen any of the movies that would be screened.  But IcyJones was relentless.  The event was REALLY affordable when you put it to paper (around $5 per movie), and I had been informed that most of these movies would probably be rare.  The chances of seeing any of them on the big screen of a theater was slim.  I caved.

This a record of the events that transpired that evening.

Some things you ought to know about the Alamo Drafthouse:
When you purchase a movie ticket, you have an assigned seat.  In that seat, you get food and drink service (the service and the goods served are all above-average..in fact, it's all great).  The theater caters each screening of each movie to the audience by showing a unique pre-show that consists of archival footage related to the movie you're about to watch.  For example, before we watched Dawn of the Planet of the Apes this past summer, we were treated to scenes from featurettes about circus monkeys, clips from actors in gorilla suits from old movies, and some sketch comedy scenes poking fun at motion capture special effects.

When we arrived at the theater, just in time to start the marathon, we got to see some vintage trailers, and then the hosts of the marathon made a couple funny comments about the movies we were about to see.  Nobody in the audience knew what the movie selection for this theater was going to be.  I was nervous.  And a little hungover from the night before.  And kind of tired.  "I should have napped before jumping into this," I kept thinking to myself.

The lights dimmed, and as soon as the title sequence started to creep along the screen, I knew which movie we were about to be treated to.  What a drag.  I had seen the first movie just a couple weeks ago.

Night of the Creeps (1986)
Genre:  EVERYTHING
Format:  Theater!!!

I slid into my seat, disgruntled, and quietly sure that this was going to be a long waste of a night.

But then a funny thing happened.  I remembered that this is one of my favorite horror movies!  And as much as I genuinely love the film, I was probably never going to be able to see this in a movie theater ever again!

So I eased up on the negativity and really got into the movie.  I looked for scenes and jokes that I might not have seen during previous viewings of the movie.  And I found them!  Watching the movie with an audience of like-minded fans took it to another level, too!  People laughed when I laughed.  They buzzed when there were boobs on-screen.  Ultimately, I was completely wrong about my initial thoughts about this movie.  It was a blast.

One movie down, I turned my phone back on (it's considerate to not have your phone on during a movie) and texted my wife.  "Both of us had seen the first movie, but we both loved it, so this isn't so bad."  I ordered a snack, I munched on some popcorn, and I talked with some people sitting next to me.  Pat and I had come into the theater after some other announcements had been made.  Apparently we missed that there was a special food and drink menu for the night.  The Drafthouse was serving Blood Bags - a sangria cocktail served inside a plastic pouch made to look like...blood bags.  I didn't have any, but man did they look cool.

The hosts returned to the front of the theater to about the next movie we were about to watch.  They gave away a couple clues:
- the director is from New York.  The movie is set in New York.  The director refused to attend a screening of the film.
- there is only one copy of this movie on 35mm film, so we were about to be treated.

Right away I got the impression that this was going to be one of those So Bad It's Good movies, so I was encouraged to start on movie #2.

The lights dimmed, the credits started.  Pat and I had an unspoken challenge to see who could guess the movie first.  Directed by Frank Henenlotter.  "FrankenHooker!"  No...  Then the movie title crawled across the screen and Pat and I cackled.

Basket Case (1980)
Genre:  Monster Movie
Format:  Theater!!!

I had never seen this movie before.  Patrick, on the other hand, has.  Regardless, we were ready to get this show on the road.

This movie has been on my radar for a long time, and for whatever reason, it kept getting shifted lower and lower on my Netflix queue.  Then, during the past couple weeks, the storyline of the conjoined twins on this season of American Horror Story brought it back to the front of my mind.  Recognizing the other movies in my queue, I opted to purchase the movie outright from Amazon.com.  I was convinced that I should see this film.  The cost and the subpar distributor convinced me to wait on the purchase, but I couldn't get the thought of this movie out of my mind.  So it was a huge surprise to me that I would be able to see this in a movie theater.

There's a lot going on in this movie that appealed to me.  It's both gross and sentimental.  It's cheap, but effective.  And it was set in New York City.  During one scene, Patrick pointed out that among the storefront signs seen along Times Square, there was one that advertised selling Adult Movies, Porn Mags, Lingerie, Dildos, and "plastic goods."  There are a lot of products that are covered by the description "plastic goods" (ice cube trays, cell phone cases, hair brushes, water bottles...).  We got a good laugh out of that.  And the characters and scenery are VERY late 70s/early 80s New York.  I'm a sucker for it.

This was extremely satisfying.  You could tell that the movie didn't have a lot of movie behind it, but the team really made a great film with very few means.  The actors didn't do much of significance after this movie, but they all pitched in to make a funny, scary, gross, touching horror movie.  Many movies try to balance all of those themes in a given film, but most faceplant when they try.  This one succeeded, and if you haven't seen it, I recommend you try soon.

But you won't be able to see it in a movie theater.  And I did.  So suck it.

Before the movie started, we were promised that a member of the actual movie would be joining us for a Q&A.  We were treated by Beverly Bonner, the hooker with a heart of gold from the film.  It was neat.

So far, I'd seen one of the two movies.  Patrick had seen both.  So this wasn't a total bust for me.

Another intermission.  Some more food and drink ordered (I really like their draft root beer).  Then some more clues about the next movie.
"It's from Italy."
Patrick and I started making our guesses.  Suspiria, Demons, Don't Look Now, Phenomena...none were right.

Well, one was half-right...

Demons 2 (1986)
Genre:  Demons...
Format:  Theater!!!

I watched this movie within the past couple years, and I remember having a hard time of it.  The first Demons movie takes place in a movie theater, so it might have been a great one for the marathon.  I'm still curious on how the sequel was settled upon.  But, much like Night of the Creeps, maybe I'd take more out of it if I watched it in a theater instead of in my living room.

Nope.  It's still a weird, dysfunctional mess of a film.  Instead of being trapped inside of a movie theater, this film's cast of characters is trapped inside of a state-of-the-art apartment complex, not unlike Poltergiest 3.  The transformations from human to demon/zombie aren't as frightening as the original.  The logic of the movie is WAY more disjointed that the original (a television program, deliberately made for a television station for education purposes in the wake of the events of Demons 1, possesses ONE viewer of the show...not the entire viewing audience).  And the pacing is extremely off-balance.

Italian horror movies are notorious for having extreme scenes that aren't tied together by much logic or plot.  And that's how this movie feels.  Killer kid movies are popular, so let's feature a kid demon.  Scary little monsters are popular, too, so let's feature a little monster like the one from Gremlins and Ghoulies (shit, we forgot to edit out the strings...oh well).

There's a lot that's wrong with this movie, and I got the impression that the audience just didn't have it in them to forgive this movie for all of its faults.  The ending of Demons 2 certainly didn't help.  Everyone was getting restless.

Ultimately, I think that this was the weakest point of the evening. Also, the movie was just recently re-released on bluray, so it's already found most of its fans.  I thought I could expect better from the Drafthouse than to pick this.  It certainly could have found worse movies to fit what would prove to be the theme of the night, 80s cult horror movies.

At this point, I've seen 2/3 of the movies.  Pat had seen 3/3.

We got no clues for the next movie, but I figured it out early on.  And I thought the theater would explode...

Society (1992)
Genre:  Monster Movie/Paranoia/Body Melt
Format:  Theater!!!

I watched this one with my buddy Mike this past summer.  It had popped onto my radar when I saw a few gifs of the film on the Tumblr feed.  I quickly found a copy of the movie on VHS and anticipated sharing it with Mike during his May visit.  I didn't know what to expect that time, and it proved to be an exciting, funny, gross movie.  The second time around, however, I knew what was coming, and it proved to be less-than-excellent.

This movie is creepy, and it's effective in making the viewing sympathize with the protagonist's paranoia.  Everyone in his family has blonde hair and blue eyes (except him).  Everyone seems preoccupied with "joining Society."  Everyone except him.  I am not familiar with that term, but I would liken it to joining an exclusive country club.  Everyone is tall and athletic and socially incestuous and insulated.  Except him.

Through a series of odd, plodding events, Bill stumbles into a conspiracy that may or may not concern his family and friends.  It actually makes a slow go of a movie (especially if you don't start it until 11 p.m.).  I really thought the audience would buy into this one, and I still think they might have if it was the first or second movie of the night.  Starting behind Demons 2 did it no favors, and the audience didn't really seem to buy into the extreme third act that had me cackling and laughing when I watched it the first time.

I'm still pretty amazed that a copy of this film was found, because I had a difficult time procuring a copy on VHS.  If you can get your hands on a copy, I do think you ought to see it.  Brian Yuzna contributed to a lot of my favorite horror movies, and this is his first time in the writer/director seat, so you have to be a little forgiving in that regard.  Maybe I'm a little too forgiving, but I really think this movie has a lot going for it.  Maybe just don't watch it as the final movie of a 4-movie marathon, that's all I'm saying.

Patrick had never seen this movie, so both of us walked out of the marathon, fuzzy-eyed, tired, and over-stimulated having seen ONE new movie and THREE movies we'd previously seen.  We were both a little dank and musky.  For whatever reason, the temperature of the theater had been turned up.  Everyone exiting smelled like sweat and fear.  That's my one criticism of the Drafthouse that evening.  It could have been a little bit cooler.

WRAP-UP:

In hindsight, I'm very happy that Patrick convinced me to attend Dismember the Alamo.  With the exception of Demons 2, I think the theater really picked some winners.  I understand that each Drafthouse featured different lineups.  By comparison, I think that the Yonkers theater, the one we attended, had the best selection.  I'll be curious to see if this gets picked up again next year.  If it does, I'll be there.

One last note - before we exited the theater, I hung back to thank our server.  He had been dealing with some hot, stuffy horror nerds for most of his waking hours that Saturday night, but his service to us had not faltered.  He asked me if I had enjoyed myself that night.  Of course I had, and I let him know.  Then he mentioned to me that one of his tables had remarked that the entire evening had been a waste of time.  Apparently, they hadn't enjoyed a single one of the movies.

Patrick and I talked about that on the drive back to my apartment.  I suppose if you're a fan of Saw and Hostel and Paranormal Activity (modern Hollywood horror), then this probably didn't satisfy that horror need.  And if you saw that the poster and read "FOR HORROR CLASSICKS" you could have interpreted that as movies along the lines of The Haunting, The Phantom of the Opera.  Or you could have read into the "CLASSICKS" term and thought of Cannibal Holocaust, Wizard of Gore, or Last House on the Left.  What I'm trying to say is this - an evening like this certainly isn't for everyone.  Hell, it's probably not for MOST people.  But even among the horror community, there are many particular "tastes."  What I sat through was right in line with the kind of horror movie that I enjoy watching (not too gross, not too dark, not too serious).  Making a commitment to sit through FOUR movies in a row is a risk.  I gambled and walked away very content.  But I can absolutely see how some could have been upset.  Regardless, the atmosphere was cool, the service was top notch, and though you invest a lot of time, it didn't really cost THAT much money.