THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE SICK: THE ’80s STEPHEN KING WEEKEND October 26, 2007

OCTOBER 26 DOUBLE FEATURE
F 7p: Creepshow
Directed by George A. Romero; Cast: E.G. Marshall, Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Fritz Weaver, Leslie Nielsen, Stephen King, Viveca Lindfors; 1982, 120 min
Inspired by the E.C. comics of the 1950s, Romero and King bring five original tales of terror to the screen. A fatal family reunion, a meteor with growth potential, an ingenious plan of vengeance, and a crate containing something strange may prepare you for the gross-out finale. The old-time atmosphere is perfectly realized, as nearly every garish, gruesome frame in the film were a comic book panel.

9:20p: Pet Sematary
Directed by Mary Lambert; Cast: Dale Midkiff, Fred Gwynne, Denise Crosby; 1989, 103 min
King himself adapted this bruiser of a flick, packed with unsettling images, creepy concepts, and his macabre sense of humor. The O. Henry-esque tale about a young father who “wishes” his dead child back to life is a dark, grim and perhaps a little tasteless horror genre salad bar, if you will. It also serves up the wonderful Gwynne in a fantastic scene-stealing role and a theme song by The Ramones!

OCTOBER 27 DOUBLE FEATURE
Sa 2:45p, 7p: The Dead Zone
Directed by David Cronenberg; Cast: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Martin Sheen, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom, Anthony Zerbe; 1983, 103 min
Loosely based on King’s bestseller, the story follows a schoolteacher (Walken) who emerges from a coma with the mental ability to ‘see’ events from the past, present and future. Cronenberg’s unrelentingly bleak film possesses his trademark ominous, unsettling atmosphere and is emotionally grounded by Walken’s haunted, melancholic performance.

(12:35p), 4:45p, 9:05p: Firestarter
Directed by Mark L. Lester; Cast: Drew Barrymore, David Keith, George C. Scott, Martin Sheen, Freddie Jones, Moses Gunn, Art Carney; 1984, 114 min ‘SCOPE
Drew is the spawn of parents subjected to psychological and psychedelic drug experiments performed by the government before her conception. She grows to be an Old Testament-type prophetess very unhappy with the agency that created her mutant pyrokinesis, and conjures fire to blast the enemy away into her blazing vortex. This is a rare opportunity to see George C. Scott sporting a ponytail.

OCTOBER 28 DOUBLE FEATURE
Su 3p, 7p: Christine
Directed by John Carpenter; Cast: Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Robert Prosky, Harry Dean Stanton, Roberts Blossom; 1983, 110 min ‘SCOPE
A possessed ’58 Plymouth Fury with a malevolent past transforms a nerd into a super cool hot shot: a love story between boy and car. Jealousies ensue, friendships are challenged, jerks are killed… In an improvement over King’s novel, Carpenter assembles successful elements from his past films—teenagers, a supernatural threat, small- town America, rock n roll—and delivers this sleek joyride of revenge.

(1:15p), 5:10p, 9:10p: Cujo
Directed by Lewis Teague; Cast: Dee Wallace, Danny Pintauro, Daniel Hugh-Kelly, Christopher Stone, Ed Lauter; 1983, 91 min
Cujo is 165 pounds of Alpo eating rabid terror in the form of a large St. Bernard, who traps a mother and her son inside the fragile refuge of a broken-down Pinto. Roger Corman alumnus Teague (ALLIGATOR) uses every cinematic trick at his disposal to transform this B movie into an effective orchestration of suspense.

Official Website: http://www.thecastrotheatre.com/p-list.html