12 Hours of Terror 2016 Recap

The 12 Hours of Terror marathon at the Belcourt theater was this past Saturday night (October 22nd, 2016) and was a frightful good time for all in attendance! The lineup this year was a fun and eclectic mix of films, and there were plenty of shenanigans from the Belcourt staff to keep the mood lightened and crowd entertained, too.






The festivities kicked off with a short set from THE BOO DUDES, a horror rock band made up of a Vampire guitarist, mummy bassist, headless horseman drummer, vampire keyboard player and alien guitarist. They were great and entertaining and had the crowd chanting "Booooo" lovingly between songs to cheer them along.

The first film of the night was the Joe Dante classic, THE HOWLING. I'd never seen this one on the big screen, and the print was a blood-red tinged 35 mm print. Great start to the evening.

Next up the Boo Dudes played a super short set, followed by the second film of the night, the insane MYSTICS OF BALI.

During the movie, in the section where the woman's possessed head and organs separate from her body and fly in search of victims (yes you have to see it to believe it if you've never experienced Mystics in Bali) the Belcourt staff ran up and down the aisles dangling a head and organ prop over the crowd to their delight! William Castle would have been proud.


The next film was the 1980s film SOLE SURVIVOR. I'd never seen this one before, and it was probably my favorite film of the night. Final destination definitely lifted a thing or two from this one.

HENRY, PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER was next, in a beautiful 4k transfer.





I had the honor of introducing this one, and brought up three contestants from the crowd to do a quick sketch portrait of Henry before the movie, with prizes to the winner.

The Belcourt staff had once again transformed the lobby into a haunted house during the movie, and did a great job!

The next film was a first for the 12 Hour marathons - a 3D movie! THE 1960s film THE MASK was next, and the print was gorgeous!





I handed out a stack of paperback books to the audience before this one, a tradition started by the late Jim Ridley, and one I very much intend to keep alive.

THE PIT was next up, another film I'd not seen before. This 80s gem is really fun!





The evening was rounded out with FROM BEYOND, the splatertastic Lovecraftian Stuart Gordon classic.





As we all emerged into the daylight at 10 the following morning the survivors gathered for a group photo. The 12 Hours of Terror has become a Nashville tradition, and one that is not to be missed by horror movie aficionados. I want to thank everyone who came out to the event - the show was sold out - and I'd also like to thank The Belcourt for inviting me to participate as well. I'm already looking forward to next year's show! It's just a shame we have to wait 365 days for it to get here!!


BTW, I swiped these pics everywhere I could, so thank you to all who shot these photos. If you wish to be credited please let me know, and again, thank you for coming out to the event!

Belcourt Theater 12 Hours of Terror RETURNS

This Saturday October 22, 2016, at the historic (and newly renovated) Belcourt theater in Nashville, TN, the 6th annual Halloween event continues with another 12 hour marathon. The website describes it as a marathon of monsters, murderers, mad scientists, myths, mayhem, masked unknowns and mysteries that span the decades and most known exhibition formats.


The fun starts at 10pm - get there early to catch a performance by Nashville spooky rockers The Boo Dudes. This is a must-see event for horror fans in the Middle TN area. The Belcourt staff always does an amazing job, and I will be introducing one of the movies myself during the night, HENRY, PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER.


You can read a recap of last year's event here. It is always a total blast and endurance test of celluloid chills.


General Admission: $20/$15 for Belcourt members. Tickets are going fast, so grab yours early

Here's a shot of the crowd lined up around the corner last year waiting for the doors to open!




So what movies are they showing? Well, you'll have to show up to see! But here's what information the Belcourt has released so far:

THE HOWLING

Joe Dante's 1981 lyncanthropic masterpiece.

HENRY PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER

4K 30th-anniversary restoration of John McNaughton's unsettling horror-crime film.

THE PIT, 1981

"A perverted young boy whose teddy bear tells him to throw people in a pit full of monsters."

And here's what local paper THE NASHVILLE SCENE said about the rest of the night:

We can't reveal any of the four remaining titles, but The Belcourt has these little hints for us:

1. "A very rare international supernatural thriller that you'll totally lose your head over"

2. "An under-appreciated gem of '80s paranoia"

3. "A film in anaglyph 3-D"

4. "An eye-popping finale"

Seasonal Scene faves Boo Dudes will rise from the grave to play a set, and there will be a special guest appearance from local legend Dr.  Gangrene. There's more — costume contest, giveaways, gimmicks — but by this point, I'm thinking you're already sold. Admission is $20, and $15 for Belcourt members. Get your hands on tickets at The Belcourt's site.

AGAIN, this is one you don't want to miss. Sat, Oct 22nd 10pm! See you there!

Farewell Jim Ridley

It is with great sadness that I bid farewell to Nashville Scene Editor and friend Jim Ridley. I first met Jim in college at MTSU, and we stayed in touch over the years. He was always super-supportive of my horror host gig, and always more than happy to provide coverage for Dr. Gangrene events, and even allowing Dr. Gangrene to grace the cover of the Scene Halloween 2011. Over the past couple of years it seemed I kept running into him around town, at The Belcourt theater, some random event, or McKay Books, and Jim always had a huge smile on his face and wanted to know what I'd been up to lately. One of the friendliest, kindest and funny fellas you could ever hope to meet. Farewell Jim, you will be missed my friend.

This picture was taken by my son Luke at last year's 12 Hours of Terror film fest at the Belcourt theater. Pictured here is Jim (pointing at me), myself and Belcourt film guru Jason Shawhan. This was taken the morning after the fest, all of us celebrating having survived the overnight terrors. Jim was ALWAYS excited about the 12 hour festival, and always hand-picked a zany film to screen at the festival. If you looked at the lineup and there was one entry that was uber-bizarre and wacky, chances are it was a Ridley contribution to the lineup. I will always remember him enthusiastically pelting the crowd with candy midway through the event. I HATE that he won't be able to see the Belcourt theater in all its restored glory this summer. I know he would have loved and sung its praises in THE SCENE. This year's 12 Hours of Terror will not be the same without you. Farewell buddy.




BTW, there is a Jim Ridley memorial fund to help pay medical and funeral expenses and support his family in their time of need. Our thoughts go out to his wife and kids.

Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance

Attention Nashvillians, this weekend at the mighty Belcourt Theater, the midnight movie both Friday and Saturday night is:

SAMURAI COP 2: DEADLY VENGEANCE

A followup to the amazingly inept and equally awesome 1991 film Samurai Cop, starring Mathew Karedas and Mark Frazer as a pair of buddy cops who go toe to toe with Robert Z'Dar and the Yakuza in 1990s Hollywood, the long-awaited sequel this time pairs the two men against none other than Tommy Wiseau (The Room) and promises to be just as mind-bendingly insane as its predecessor.

 

A must-see for bad-cinema fans - come raise a katana in tribute to Robert Z'Dar, who passed away earlier this year.

Belcourt Theater, Friday - Saturday December 4-5, 2015.

12 hours of Terror Recap

The 5th Annual 12 Hours of Terror festival at the Belcourt Theater in Nashville was a smashing success! Over 200 people crammed into the historic 1966 Hall for twelve straight hours of fright and fun. The movies were an interesting mix this year, ranging from sci-fi to horror and schlock. My son Luke and I arrived early and a line quickly formed outside the theater that wound down the building and around the corner.

The festivities kicked off with something new this year, a short set from Nashville's own THE BOO DUDES, a costumed band comprised of a werewolf lead singer/guitarist, Dracula on keys, the Headless Horseman on drums, an alien guitarist, and a mad scientist on the mixing board. What's not to love?

 They were fun and funny, entertaining the audience before the first film of the night, John Carpenter's THE THING.

 The Boo Dudes then kept the fun rolling as they returned for a second set. Next up on the film-front was a totally insane foreign film called THE BOXER'S OMEN, introduced by the Nashville Scene's Jim Ridley.

Full of blood, vomit, martial arts and magic, this was the type of gonzo feature I've come to appreciate at these shows.

The third feature I had the pleasure to introduce - from 1979, TOURIST TRAP.

Starring Chuck Connors and Tanya Roberts, this is a pretty surreal movie that, while not as full-out insane as the previous film, is still equally-enjoyable for its own merits. Connors is great as a creepy owner of an abandoned tourist trap called Slauson's Lost Oasis and Western Town. Fun film.

 As we exited the theater after Tourist Trap we found the lobby completely transformed. The Belcourt ghouls had been busy, as the lobby was decorated with bats, blood, black lights and body parts.

The frights continued with a period piece called EYES OF FIRE.  Introduced by the Belcourt's Jason Shawhan, this one featured 1700s witchcraft on the American frontier.

Next up was another new feature - the Belcourt's Zack Hall brought his monthly feature WEEKNIGHT REWIND to the Hellcourt for a special segment they called SHRIEKNIGHT REWIND.

 Zack brought three films - on glorious VHS - and read the back of the box and showed a showed a short clip from each. Then it was up to the audience, as they voted on which film to see.

I was particularly happy, as one of my all-time favorite films won the day, TRICK OR TREAT, the rock n' roll masterpiece featuring music from Fastway. Great eye opener late in the evening/early morning.

This was followed by some 80s low-budget fun, DEADLY SPAWN. Once again introduced by Jim Ridley, I had always wanted to see this creature feature but never had the pleasure. Talk about getting a lot of bang for your buck, that's exactly the case with this film. Low budget, big effects. Big fun.

Last but certainly not least was the remake of THE BLOB from 1988. Definitely one of the more worthy remakes, I had forgotten just how fun this one is.

As the final moments of the splatacular feature played on the screen the Belcourt staff encouraged all those still there to gather in front of the theater for a group photo. As you can see, quite the collection of intrepid film-goers braved the night.

All of the films were on 35mm with the exception of The Blob and The Thing, which were DCP, and Trick or Treat, which was presented on VHS (VHS is Alive!!). A huge thanks to everyone who attended, and especially to the Belcourt staff who worked so hard to put this event together.

My son took this picture of me posing with Jim Ridley and Jason Shawhan after the final film. It was a great event, and I look forward to next year's event!

*Special thanks to Jason Shawhan for the loan of the photos!

12 Hours of Terror

The Belcourt Theater's 12 Hours of Terror movie marathon crawls from the crypt again next Saturday, October 24th, for the 5th annual event. 

This year's event promises more frightening features, although the Belcourt is playing coy about this year's lineup, offering only hints. Here's what they've teased so far:

Join us for 12 solid hours of quivering matter, cheap-o splatter, walking heads, the plastic dead, grisly ghosts and horrible hosts—not to mention the phantasmagorical rediscovery that's been blowing minds across the U.S.! All that, plus crazy antics, awesome vintage grindhouse trailers, live encounters with sinister forces, and the moment of truth where you the viewer must CHOOSE THE HORROR ABOUT TO UNFOLD—capped by one of the coolest scare-cinema finds you've never seen!


Interesting...! Out of curiosity, I decided to go back and make a list of all the films they showed at the fest over the years. The following list is pretty impressive!!

2011:
Night of the Creeps
Abby
Anguish
Zombie
Squirm
Lady Terminator
Return of the Living Dead

2012
THE BURNING - Noon
MESSIAH OF EVIL - 1:45 pm
AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON -  3:25 pm
BAY OF BLOOD/TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE (Reazione a Catena) -  5:15 pm
SOCIETY - 6:50 pm
DEMONS - 8:45 pm
DETENTION - 10:30 pm

2013
 The Belcourt truly brought it this year. They changed up the format - showed double-features every weekend.

Oct 4th-5th Rosemary's Baby/Let's Scare Jessica to Death
Oct 11th Deep Red/Gates of Hell
Oct 12th Creepers (Phenomena)/Shakma
Oct 18th - 19th - Wickerman Final Cut
Oct. 25th Chopping Mall/Basket Case
Oct 26th Evilspeak/The Craft

PLUS they showed Vincent Price movies at various times throughout the month:
THE TINGLER, THEATRE OF BLOOD, MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH, and HOUSE OF WAX (2d).

2014
SHAUN OF THE DEAD
The Babadook
Ninja III: The Domination
Inside
Neon Maniacs
Just Before Dawn
UNSANE