Scary stories to see in the dark | Metromix Los Angeles

Scary stories to see in the dark

Grab some popcorn...and the guy next to you

By George Ducker

Special to Metromix
October 13, 2008

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Scary stories to see in the dark
(Credit: Gary Friedman/LATimes)

Sometimes, we get this terrible fear that we're just a horde of mindless zombies, stripped of real emotions and bereft of empathy towards our fellow man. But then we get off the internet and the fear goes away! Pretty cool, huh?

The only thing nearly as scary as having to go into work everyday is this spate of screenings stretching all across October. Engage yourself with Jack Nicholson's axe or Vincent Price's eyebrows. Gasp in shock at George Romero's zombies or the frightful basso of Clive Barker's Candyman. Halloween only comes around once—best to stay scared for the whole month.

Season of the Witch

Season of the Witch

323-655-2510

Friday, Oct. 10: George Romero's peek into the world of a suburban housewife who resorts to witchcraft when her husbands and friends fail to provide the emotional (ahem) companionship she requires. Playing in double feature with another hard-to-find Romero oddball, "The Crazies."

Altered States - Steve Allen Theater

Altered States - Steve Allen Theater

323-666-4268

Friday, Oct. 10: A Nobel-prize candidate scientist (William Hurt) goes slightly (murderously?) overboard with his mind-expansion tests.

Art Spiegelman presents "Freaks"

Art Spiegelman presents "Freaks"

323-655-2510

Sunday, Oct. 12: In conjunction with the release of his new book, "Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*!," illustrator and artist par excellence Art Spiegleman introduces this film about betrayal and murder amongst a carnival's freakshow. Tod Browning, who directed "Freaks" back in 1932, packed a wallop by hiring real circus folk to play the characters. Yep, that's no make-up. Yep, that's no prosthesis. Canter down the road and join Spiegleman for a book-signing session at Family bookstore.

Night of the Demon

Night of the Demon

323-938-4038

Oct. 15 - Oct. 16: This 1957 Brit horror film, adapted from the classic M.R. James story, revolves around a three-day curse of death and an American professor investigating a Satanic cult in England.

"Vesus" w/ "We're Going To Eat You"

"Vesus" w/ "We're Going To Eat You"

323-655-2510

Thursday, Oct. 16: God bless the people who write Cinefamily's copy. We're just going to let them do the work for us: "Explaining the plot of the genre-bending Japanese instant classic "Versus" in a hundred words or less is virtually impossible, so we thought we'd let its IMDB keywords do the talking: samurai, splatter, forest, zombie with gun, immortality, yakuza, amnesia, exploding head, exploding body, escaped convict, man with no name, heart in hand, shot in the head, shot in the face, shot in the chest, shot in the back, shot in the arm...and yes, almost forgot: martial arts. Rounding out the evening is one of Tsui Hark's earliest films, the cannibal kung fu crime comedy "We're Going to Eat You," in which the fake blood flows like wine, the zombies flow like fake blood, all the characters scream and the soundtrack screams louder. Gory gory hallelujah!"

Monkey Shines

Monkey Shines

323-655-2510

Friday, Oct. 17: Quadriplegic + helper monkey + scientific experiments x Stephen King adaptation = bloodbath. Playing in double feature with another Stephen King novel-into-movie "The Dark Half."

The Devil Rides Out - Steve Allen Theater

The Devil Rides Out - Steve Allen Theater

323-666-4268

Friday, Oct. 17: Satanists target a duke's niece for sacrifice, not realizing the duke (played by Christopher Lee) might be more powerful than their supposed master.

Candyman

Candyman

323-938-4038

Oct. 19 - Oct. 20: It wouldn't be Halloween without a screening of "Candyman," perhaps our favorite scary movie that manages to mix a good, old-fashioned ghost story with a terrifyingly deep-voiced dead guy and a racially on-edge, Cabrini Green setting. With Virginia Madsen and a score from Phillip Glass(!). Playing with another Clive Barker-tagged film, "The Midnight Meat Train."

Saw: Parts I - V

Saw: Parts I - V

Oct. 20 - Oct. 24: The Arclight Hollywood presents five straight days of five "Saw" films in a row. Ah. Perfect date material, we think. As long as your girl's got a torture fetish. We'd show you a trailer below, but we just ate breakfast and frankly, we'd like it to stay put. 10 p.m.

Jerry Beck's Animated Spooktacular

Jerry Beck's Animated Spooktacular

323-655-2510

Tuesday, Oct. 21: Animation historian Jerry Beck brings his grab-bag of "horrific characters, monstrous motifs and the creepiest concepts in classic animated cartoons from the 1930s to the 1960s." Think Frankenstein’s Cat, Casper the Friendly Ghost and Milton the Monster.

Suspiria - Steve Allen Theater

Suspiria - Steve Allen Theater

323-666-4268

Friday, Oct. 24: With "Suspiria," director Dario Argento raised the bar for Italian schlock-horror pretty high. The film follows a young woman and a series of murderously bizarre events that take place upon her arrival at a prestigious ballet academy. Dig the fancy, oft-sampled score from Claudio Simonetti and his rock band Goblin.

The Wraith

The Wraith

323-938-4038

Saturday, Oct. 25: Oh boy. Some films are scary because they have exploding heads or haunted houses. Some films are scary for a whole (ahem) different reason. Charlie Sheen stars as a wraith-like new guy in a Southern California town, who may or may not be into killing teenagers with his car. This movie's very existence is staggering.

Dead Alive - Angel City Drive-In

Dead Alive - Angel City Drive-In

240 W. 4th St., Los Angeles

Saturday, Oct. 25: Catch the midnight screening of Peter Jackson's pre-LOTR horror-schlock masterpiece "Dead Alive" and learn first hand what the terrible consequences of being bitten by a Sumatran rat-monkey can be.

"The People Under The Stairs" w/ "The Serpent and the Rainbow"

"The People Under The Stairs" w/ "The Serpent and the Rainbow"

323-655-2510

Monday, Oct. 27: Wes Craven's sorely overlooked 1991 film "The People Under the Stairs" manages to mix horror with racial tension in a way reminiscent, but completely independent, of 1992's "Candyman." Showing in double feature with Craven's voodoo-concerned "The Serpent and the Rainbow," a film whose trailer terrorized us as little kids, what with that dude getting shut up in a pinebox and all.

Kwaidan

Kwaidan

310-559-6300

Tuesday, Oct. 28: Filmed in 1965, "Kwaidan" was the most expensive Japanese film ever made. Pretty interesting that they would spend all that money on a horror anthology. Regardless, it paid off. Masaki Kobayashi's gorgeous pre-cursor to films like "Creepshow" and "Twilight Zone: The Movie" eschews the gore and schlock of those titles, relying instead on suspense that boils slowly over the course of four short episodes. 7 p.m.

TV Tuesday - Halloween Edition

TV Tuesday - Halloween Edition

323-655-2510

Wednesday, Oct. 28: Creepy commercials, scary "special" episodes and terrifying TV movies, all centered around the schlock-y, ever-orange-hued terror that fuels Halloween. If you can remember these from your childhood, then you're clearly too old.

Cinefamily Halloween party w/ "The Tingler"

Cinefamily Halloween party w/ "The Tingler"

323-655-2510

Friday, Oct. 31: Spend your Halloween indoors, getting lulled into a false sense of security by the mellifluous tones of the spookiest man to ever grace the big (and small) screen. Vincent Price stars in this film about a monstrous, lobster-shaped creature. The original run even featured installed shockers (they called it "Percepto") to scare the audience, quite literally, out of their seats. No shockers (or tinglers, no jokes please) to be found this evening, although there will be a Halloween party to follow in the back courtyard.

Blood Sucking Freaks - Steve Allen Theater

Blood Sucking Freaks - Steve Allen Theater

323-666-4268

Friday, Oct. 31: Forget trick-or-treating! Get your Hallows Eve off to the right start with a screening of "Blood Sucking Freaks." For the last film in the Steve Allen Theater's Drive-In series, this low-budget, camp-fest focuses on a sadistic director who likes to torture women on stage. Stick around for a midnight showing of "Alien" if you don't have any parties to go to.

Dusk-To-Dawn Horrorthon!

Dusk-To-Dawn Horrorthon!

323-466-3456

Oct. 31: Who needs the outdoors? The Egyptian Theater takes care of any Halloween plans you might have had by hosting an all-night Horrorthon. Perfect for you filmish shut-ins who would probably be spending all Halloween night on the couch. Expect things to stay on the cheesy, grisly Grindhouse tip with showings of "Pieces," "Scream...and Die!," "Night of the Bloody Apes," "The Burial Ground" and more.

Bookmark this page and check back for any ghoulish updates. We'll see you at the movies. Or in hell.

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