Weird coincidence. The lovely Portage Theater–which sadly has been bought by a local huckster who apparently plans to tear out all the seats and turn it into a music venue, may his plans die a painful death–will be home to many Halloween things this year. Three ones I would like to attend, however, are this weekend, when I’ll be in Texas. And since the theater likely won’t be there next year…oh, well.
However, since several people admitted to be Xtro fans recently when it was the featured Monster of the Day:
XTRO HAS RETURNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!
The Chicago Cinema Society has been searching the entire planet for a 35mm print of a film that has long thought to be lost on such a format. We never ever gave up and finally found, literally on the other side of the planet earth, the only known 35mm print of XTRO! This is an amazingly imaginative and innovative masterpiece of horror, sci-fi and existentialist cinema. How does one even sum up the plot of XTRO? With one simple word . . . . . . . . GENIUS! The film focuses on a young boy who witnesses his father being abducted by a light from the sky. Three years later, that light returns and plants a seed in the ground. That seed grows into a horrible creature. That creature then impregnates a woman. That woman then gives birth to a fully-formed version
of the father, just as we last saw him. And that’s just the set-up! This will be your only opportunity to see the masterpiece in 35mm which is making a very brief trip to this continent.
XTRO trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56pvjrZg5p8&feature=you tu.be
The Chicago Cinema Society has been searching the entire planet for a 35mm print of a film that has long thought to be lost on such a format. We never ever gave up and finally found, literally on the other side of the planet earth, the only known 35mm print of XTRO! This is an amazingly imaginative and innovative masterpiece of horror, sci-fi and existentialist cinema. How does one even sum up the plot of XTRO? With one simple word . . . . . . . . GENIUS! The film focuses on a young boy who witnesses his father being abducted by a light from the sky. Three years later, that light returns and plants a seed in the ground. That seed grows into a horrible creature. That creature then impregnates a woman. That woman then gives birth to a fully-formed version
XTRO trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/
We will also be screening a very rare 35mm print of one of the best Heavy Metal horror films ever made: TRICK OR TREAT! Made in 1986 in the era of the PMRC’s “crusade” against heavy metal, TRICK OR TREAT is the beautiful story of Eddie Weinbauer (played by Skippy of the show Family Ties) a teenager enthralled with heavy metal sorcery. After Eddie’s rock star idol Sammi Curr dies in a hotel fire, he plays one of Sammi’s albums backwards and discovers a bizzare message. Even more surprising is that playing the album backwards invokes the rock star’s spirit to enact revenge. This film also has wonderful supporting roles by GENE SIMMONS and OZZY OSBOURNE which are not to be missed. This might be your only opportunity, especially in the age of digital, to ever see TRICK OR TREAT on 35mm as long as you live! “Trick or Treat” print provided courtesy of the American Genre Film Archive (www.americangenrefilm.com).
TRICK OR TREAT Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/
Website:
Chicago Cinema Society- http://
