starlite cinema series - halloween spook show

the return of october means the return of the starlite cinema series halloween spook show!

this is always the hardest bill for me to put together. i think about it all year. how do you decide which of your kids is your favorite? i mulled over themes, odd combinations and scoured the dark, musty corners of the internet looking for just the right tricks and treats until i had bats in my belfry. in the end, the bats won out. we are devoting our entire evening's programming to the cursed undead. our feature presentation is going to be park chan-wook's south korean import, thirst (2009).

it is the tale of a priest who is devoted in his service to his fellow man. his dedication compels him to participate in a deadly medical experiment which has two unfortunate side effects: one - it kills him. two - it infects him with the virus of vampirism. newly resurrected, he attempts to continue his ministrations only to find himself afflicted by strange and powerful new desires. a need for blood turns out to be the least troublesome one. posing more of a problem is his coveting of his neighbor's wife. they enter into an illicit affair and he reveals his true nature to her, which acts as the catalyst that frees her from the life of misery she has been silently suffering through, married to a simpleton, living like the family dog in her mother-in-law's house. what follows is a twisted take on the likes of the postman always rings twice (1946), replete with bloodsuckers. it has all the requisite noir elements - a fundamentally good man in the wrong place at the wrong time, done in by desire for a woman who, once unleashed, pays no heed to whom she destroys as long as it gets her what she desires. as much a meditation on the destructive nature of need as it is a standard horror film, it combines this walk down the dark end of the street with park's usual servings of sex, violence and left-field black comedy. it is beautifully shot as well. along with let the right one in (2008), it artfully demonstrates that there is still new territory to be staked out (hey-o!) in a film genre that is now over a century old.

showtime will be at 7:30 p.m. on saturday, 10.29.11. this is a little bit earlier than they have been lately, so plan accordingly. there will be a few preliminary entertainments as well, so come early and wear your best cape. here is the facebook event page if you would like to rsvp there. if you can't access that, let me know and i will get you the information. as always, these screenings are completely free and very casual. hope to see you there.