<<< July 31 - August 21, 2008 >>>

Some programs in this series are at the Aero Theatre including the LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY and A Tribute to Stan Winston!

JOIN AT THE FRIEND LEVEL OR ABOVE AND RECEIVE A FANTASTIC COLLECTION OF MARIO BAVA DVD'S OR THE SUPERMAN COLLECTION! WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

Join us for more of what you love best – new and vintage classic and cult fantastic films, including a Sneak Preview of Larry Bishop’s phantasmagorical biker pic HELL RIDE (produced and edited by Quentin Tarantino), the Pang Brothers’ newest, RE-CYCLE, the U.S. Premiere of the new animated STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS and the World Premiere of Norman England’s documentary, BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE. Plus, more British horror classics from the Golden Age, including JACK THE RIPPER, A STUDY IN TERROR, THE TELL-TALE HEART, THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, brand new prints of Hammer Studios Christopher Lee adventure pix THE DEVIL-SHIP PIRATES, THE PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER and TERROR OF THE TONGS, a new print of Hammer’s hardboiled wartime atrocity opus THE CAMP ON BLOOD ISLAND, plus a Peter Cushing sci-fi triple feature of THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN OF THE HIMALAYAS, ISLAND OF TERROR and ISLAND OF THE BURNING DAMNED, classic American sci-fi/horror IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA and EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS (both with Ray Harryhausen’s SFX), KRONOS, CURSE OF THE FACELESS MAN, DEMENTIA 13, FRANKENSTEIN’S DAUGHTER, ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS, MUTINY IN OUTER SPACE, Italian horror THE VAMPIRE AND THE BALLERINA, a Pre-Code Hollywood horror double bill of ISLAND OF LOST SOULS and KONGO, an Egyptian Theatre 85^th Anniversary double feature of ALIEN and ALIENS (both of which premiered at the Egyptian), a whole evening of sci-fi shorts and more! Keep an eye out for our must-see sidebars at the Aero with a LORD OF THE RINGS marathon, a Tribute to Stan Winston (including ALIENS, PUMPKINHEAD and PREDATOR 1 and 2) and a cozy Post-Apocalyptic weekend featuring DAMNATION ALLEY, A BOY AND HIS DOG, THE LAST MAN ON EARTH, THE OMEGA MAN and more!

Plus, nightly drawings for sci fi, fantasy & horror related prizes, demonstrations and masks for sale from the E.I. School of Professional Make Up and more terror, chills and thrills of varying varieties!

E.I. School of Professional Make Up will be selling masks of their own design on August 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16 and 21 at the Egyptian and watch out for 'lurkers' like this Jack the Ripper Victim who was seen wandering the courtyard on August 1st!!

Digitally Restored! FORBIDDEN ZONE, 1982, 74 min. Dir. Richard Elfman. A mysterious door leads to the Sixth Dimension -- get ready for a wild ride - in the greatest cult classic of all time. Beautiful young "Frenchy" (Marie-Pascale Elfman) slides through cosmic intestines into a subterranean world ruled by horny midget King Fausto (Herve Villechaize) and his jealous Queen Doris (Susan Tyrrell). "Chicken-boy" (Matthew Bright, director of FREEWAY) comes to the rescue, only to have his head cut off by the soul-singing Devil himself -- played by Danny Elfman and the original Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. Frog butlers, topless princesses, and rioting school kids sing and dance in unforgettable musical numbers by Danny Elfman, Cab Calloway, Josephine Baker and others. An experience guaranteed you will never forget! Now in mind-boggling color! Newly remixed Dolby Digital 6 track stereo. Official website. Discussion following with director Richard Elfman and other guests (TBA).

Thursday, July 31 – 7:30 PM

Sneak Preview!

HELL RIDE, 2008, Dimension Films, 83 min. Director Larry Bishop (MAD DOG TIME), veteran of scores of AIP biker and delinquent flicks including the masterpieces THE SAVAGE SEVEN and WILD IN THE STREETS, returns to the saddle as Pistolero, the head of the Victors biker gang, roaring along with his pal The Gent (Michael Madsen) and cronies as they scour the wasteland for the 666s, the bikers responsible for killing Pistolero’s old lady in the mid-1970s and another comrade more recently. Pistolero also hopes to locate the long-lost teenage son of his old flame. With Dennis Hopper, Eric Balfour, Vinnie Jones and a cameo by David Carradine. Executive produced by Quentin Tarantino. "If you were one of those people who were in line for the release of GRINDHOUSE last year…then HELL RIDE is right up your alley...every bit a film Quentin Tarantino would have in his personal collection." – Neil Miller, FilmSchoolRejects.com Discussion following with director/star Larry Bishop and other cast and crew members (tba). NOT ON DVD Details on this film

Friday, August 1 – 7:30 PM

Ultra-Rare! JACK THE RIPPER, 1959, 84 min. Producers/directors Robert S. Baker and Monty Berman, those master showmen who brought you THE CRAWLING EYE and THE FLESH AND THE FIENDS, take a crack at the Jack the Ripper legend, with hackles-raising results. Inspector O’Neill (Eddie Byrne) and American detective Sam Lowry (Lee Patterson) do their best to track the maniac who is dispatching prostitutes in poverty-stricken Whitechapel. They narrow the hunt to a charity clinic, but are confounded by many suspects. Ewen Solon and John Le Mesurier play two doctors at the top of their list. Producer Joseph E. Levine (HERCULES) picked up this shocker for American distribution and spent a fortune on promoting its initial release. With a famous theme by jazz composer Pete Rugolo. "Gruesome account of the mysteries surrounding the most infamous serial killer of them all…manages to effectively re-create period London in an atmospheric and suspenseful dramatization." – Britmovie NOT ON DVD Details on this movie

Rare! A STUDY IN TERROR, 1965, Sony Repertory, 95 min. James Hill’s fast-moving direction steers John Neville (THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN) as Sherlock Holmes, on a collision course with Jack the Ripper in this unpretentious, well-paced thriller – more violent and pulpy than most earlier Holmes films, in keeping with the grisly Ripper crimes. The cast includes the incomparable Robert Morley as Holmes’ petulant brother, Mycroft, Donald Houston as Dr. Watson and Frank Finlay as Inspector Lestrade. (Coincidentally, Finlay would reprise the Lestrade role in the later MURDER BY DECREE, a Holmes film with similar subject matter.) NOT ON DVD Details on this movie

Friday, August 1 -- 12:00 MIDNIGHT

New Release! RE-CYCLE, 2008, Walking Shadows-Image Home Entertainment, 109 min. Dir. Danny & Oxide Pang (THE EYE). Suffering from writer’s block after three successful romance novels, author Ting-Yin (Lee Sinje) undertakes a new subject: ghosts. As she begins to write, the creepy things she’s writing about begin to manifest in her life – and continue to appear even after she’s deleted the drafts from her computer. As the veils between the worlds grow thinner and thinner, she is transported into a surreal wasteland where she is confronted with everything she has ever discarded. Like a post-apocalyptic Alice in Wonderland, RE-CYCLE is a horror-fantasy thriller that leaves you reeling long after the credits roll. NOT ON DVD Details on this movie

The Lydeckers: Special Effects Pioneers & Streamline Moderne Architecture Starting in the 1930s, the Lydecker Brothers (Theodore & Howard) produced revolutionary special effects for nearly 400 movies and serials, including the 1942 WWII action picture FLYING TIGERS which uses not a single real fighter plane! They were the undisputed masters of the minatures in Hollywood and worked together closely during the entire production history of Republic Pictures were they had a great deal of creative freedom. Howard Lydecker used his cinematic vision to design and build his own futuristic Streamline Moderne home in Studio City. Travel through worlds real and imagined with Lydecker House historian and TV News Producer Jason Burks who will introduce film clips and discuss how Lydecker’s work influenced his home, which is now an Historic Monument. Nephew to Howard Lydecker and son to Theodore Lydecker, George Lydecker will share his memories of the work of his father and uncle and collector, special effects historian Bob Burns will also speak. Special Ticket Price for American Cinematheque & Art Deco Society Members: $5.

Saturday, August 2 – 7:30 PM

New 35mm Print! Uncut and Uncensored Version! THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, 1970, MGM Repertory, 91 min. Roy Ward Baker (QUATERMASS AND THE PIT, A NIGHT TO REMEMBER) directed the first in Hammer’s infamous lesbian vampire trilogy based on J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s classic Carmilla. Ingrid Pitt is the sexy bloodsucker planted to roost in the homes of upper-class citizens with nubile teenage daughters. Shortly after General von Spielsdorf (Peter Cushing) loses his offspring, he is consulted by friend Roger Morton (George Cole) when his wide-eyed daughter (Pippa Steele) becomes severely anemic. Steele’s suitor, debonair Carl (Jon Finch), is also concerned. But infatuated governess Kate O’Mara is in thrall to vampiric house guest Pitt. Rip-roaringly fast-paced horror action in Hammer’s usual well-done period setting. Details on this movie

Ultra-Rare! New 35mm Print! THE VAMPIRE AND THE BALLERINA (L’AMANTE DEL VAMPIRO), 1960, MGM Repertory, 85 min. Dir. Renato Polselli. A troupe of ballerinas (dressed more like showgirls) are stranded in an abandoned castle. Nobleman Walter Brandi and countess Maria Luisa Rolando, who look like they’ve been caught in a time warp, live in a neighboring palace’s ruins. Soon dancer Louisa (Helene Remy) falls prey to smitten Brandi when he periodically transforms into a crusty-faced vampire. Beautifully photographed and creepy, this is a fun, low budget classic of Italian Gothic horror. NOT ON DVD

Rare! THE TELL-TALE HEART, 1960, 78 min. Dir. Ernest Morris, A strikingly moody period rendition of the Poe tale. Handsome but shy Laurence Payne (THE CRAWLING EYE, VAMPIRE CIRCUS) becomes enamored of his bewitching neighbor (Adrienne Corri) across the street. However, she falls for Payne’s best friend (Dermot Walsh), causing Payne to murder his comrade and bury him under the floorboards. Then comes "the beating of that hideous heart." The expertly paced screenplay was co-written by Brian Clemens ("The Avengers," DR. JEKYLL & SISTER HYDE).

Sunday, August 3 – 7:30 PM

World Premiere! BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE, 2008, Classic Media, 68 min. Dir. Norman England. Featuring Akira Takarada, Haruo Nakajima, Hiroshi Koizumi, others. For more than 50 years, Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah and other monsters have been created with traditional, handmade F/X techniques. Through interviews with actors, filmmakers, special-effects artists, and monster stuntmen from the golden age of Japanese sci-fi, this documentary goes behind the scenes of this unique and outlandish genre. Narrated by Alex Cox (director of REPO MAN, SID & NANCY). In English and Japanese with English subtitles. WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS, RODAN, and BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE will be released as a DVD boxed set by Classic Media on September 9, 2008.

WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS, 1966, Toho Studios, 92 min. Dir. Ishiro Honda (the original GODZILLA). A hairy green giant terrorizes Japan, sinking ships, eating fishermen and attacking an airport. Using a space-age ray cannon, the military nearly kills the monster before it is rescued by its even bigger, brown-haired brother. But the evil green gargantua and the good-hearted brown gargantua don't see eye-to-eye, and their monster-sized sibling rivalry leads to a death match in the streets of Tokyo, with civilization hanging in the balance. Russ Tamblyn (WEST SIDE STORY) is the American scientist and Kumi Mizuno (INVASION OF ASTRO-MONSTER) is his beautiful assistant, plus American starlet Kipp Hamilton as an ill-fated nightclub singer performing the kitschy classic "The Words Get Stuck in My Throat." English dubbed version. NOT ON DVD

MOTHRA, 1961, Sony Repertory, 100 min. Giant caterpillar-turned-avenging insect Mothra wreaks havoc on Japan when its best friends -- two tiny, telepathic, singing sisters (played by real-life siblings Yumi and Emi Ito) -- are kidnapped by an unscrupulous promoter and forced to perform in a Tokyo nightclub! Classic oversized bug action from the master of Japanese monster movies, director Ishiro Honda. English dubbed version. NOT ON DVD Discussion in between first two films with BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE producers Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski.

Friday, August 8 – 7:30 PM

New 35mm Print! THE PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER, 1962, Sony Repertory, 87 min. Dir. John Gilling (THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES, THE REPTILE). Hammer Studios exhibited their panache for Gothic period ambience in these breakneck-paced pirate adventure thrillers. A Huguenot community living on a Caribbean isle is menaced by pirates because the renegades’ eyepatch-wearing captain Christopher Lee believes the village has a secret treasure of gold. The community leader’s son (Kerwin Mathews, of THE 7^TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD), who has been sentenced to hard labor for adultery (after losing his paramour to a river full of piranha!), may be their only hope for salvation. With Glenn Corbett ("Route 66"), Marla Landi, Oliver Reed, Andrew Keir (QUATERMASS AND THE PIT). Details on this movie

New 35mm Print! THE DEVIL-SHIP PIRATES, 1964, Sony Repertory, 86 min. Dir. Don Sharp (KISS OF THE VAMPIRE). A pirate ship allied to the Spanish Armada docks at a village on the British coast for repairs and convinces the inhabitants that Spain has won the war. Lording it over the villagers as their new ruler, evil Christopher Lee causes plenty of suffering, and rebellious young John Cairney foments revolt with rumors that their Spanish masters are bluffing. More swashbuckling action with Hammer’s customary excellent period atmosphere. Co-starring Andrew Keir, Suzan Farmer (DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS). Special 1960s price for this night only! All admissions: $3.00.

Saturday, August 9 – 7:30 PM

1950s Sci-Fi Classics Triple Feature:

IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA, 1955, Sony Repertory, 79 min. Robert Gordon directs classic giant monster action. Submarine commander Kenneth Tobey (THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD) finds himself hunting down a giant octopus that has been coaxed from the depths by atomic testing and is now raiding Pacific shipping lanes and the western seacoast. He teams up to find the marauding behemoth with marine biologists Donald Curtis and Faith Domergue (THIS ISLAND EARTH) and is soon romancing the latter. More great stop-motion animation from Ray Harryhausen. More on this film.

KRONOS, 1957, 78 min. "Planet Robber Tramples Earth…Stealing Energy for Other Worlds!" Kurt Neumann, director of the original THE FLY, helmed this superb indie sci-fi thriller. Scientists Jeff Morrow, Barbara Lawrence and George O’Hanlon go up against a giant robot from outer space that is systematically sucking the planet dry of all energy. Unbeknownst to the trio, the mind of their colleague, head scientist John Emery, is under direct control of the voracious monolith as it cuts a swath toward Los Angeles. "…well-made…boasts quality special effects that would do credit to a much higher-budgeted film." – Variety More on this film.

EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS, 1956, Sony Repertory, 83 min. Dir. Fred F. Sears (THE WEREWOLF, TEENAGE CRIME WAVE). Classic 1950s drive-in stuff: Earth’s scientists can’t figure out why all the rockets they shoot into space are disappearing … until a fleet of flying saucers appears over the White House! Husband-and-wife scientist team Hugh Marlowe and Joan Taylor form a vanguard of defense against the invaders. FX man Ray Harryhausen collaborated on the original story for the film with famed sci-fi writer Curt Siodmak (THE WOLF MAN).

STARS WARS: THE CLONE WARS, 2008, Warner Bros., 100 min. Dir. Dave Filoni. Executive produced by George Lucas and produced by Catherine Winder for LucasAnimation. As civil war rages through the galaxy, Anakin Skywalker and his new apprentice Ahsoka Tano find themselves on a mission with far-reaching consequences. But Count Dooku and his sinister agents will stop at nothing to ensure that they fail at their quest. Meanwhile, on the front lines, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Master Yoda lead the massive clone army in a valiant effort to resist the forces of the dark side... STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS director Dave Filoni, producer Catherine Winder and others involved with the creation of the groundbreaking animated adventure will attend the benefit premiere. Costumed characters, photo backdrops, ice cream, hot dogs and Star Wars back packs for everyone highlight the event!
view trailer | official website

Sunday, August 10 – 7:30 PM

New 35mm Print! TERROR OF THE TONGS, 1961, Sony Repertory, 80 min. "Deadliest, Diabolical Brotherhood of Terror!" Dir. Anthony Bushell. Christopher Lee warms up for his later Fu Manchu films as the Red Dragon Tong leader in 1910 Hong Kong. When merchant ship captain Geoffrey Toone’s home is ransacked and his daughter ruthlessly murdered, he goes on the warpath, searching high and low for the ceremonial crime cult responsible. Featuring one of Lee’s most famous lines: "Have you ever had your bones scraped?" With Burt Kwouk (the PINK PANTHER series), Marne Maitland (THE STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY) and Yvonne Monlaur (BRIDES OF DRACULA) as an Eurasian femme fatale.

Ultra-Rare! New 35mm Print! THE CAMP ON BLOOD ISLAND, 1958, Sony Repertory, 81 min. Director Val Guest (THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT) helmed this relentlessly fast-paced chronicle of Japanese POW camp atrocities that had a notorious reputation on its initial release for its – for the time – graphic violence. British POW Andre Morell (THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES) has to make sure that their sadistic Japanese camp commandment doesn’t find out Japan has surrendered or the whole POW population will be massacred. With a who’s who of great Hammer Studios supporting players, including Barbara Shelley (THE GORGON), Richard Wordsworth (THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT), Michael Gwynn (REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN), Marne Maitland and Carl Mohner. NOT ON DVD More details.

FANTASY. HORROR AND SCI-FI SHORTS, 90 min. Robert Cosnahan's "Psycho Hillbilly Cabin Massacre" (19 min, USA). A spoof on all initiations in order to be part of any "in" group. Mike Williamson's "In the Wall" (22 min, USA). On the eve of the hottest New Year on record, a young pregnant wife happily prepares for the birth of her child, but her secretive husband may have darker plans for the family. Paul Bickel's "Hollow" (9 min, USA). A young boy has more to be afraid of than in your standard scary movies. Floris Kaayk's "Metalosis Maligna" (8 min, Netherlands). In this "documentary" you will learn about a disease from the future that is spectacular and chronically debilitating. Ray Griggs’ "Lucifer" (8 min, USA). Gorgeously shot high-budget fantasy short starring Jason Lewis (SEX AND THE CITY) that begs to be seen on the Egyptian’s big screen. Nick Brandestini & Steve Ellington's "H.R. Giger's Sanctuary" (19 min, Switzerland) Fascinating look into the fears, nightmares and visions of the inventor of the "biomechanics" and the creator of the creature for ALIEN. Andrew Huang's "The Gloaming" (4 min, USA). While working in his office, a man has an unsettling vision both outside the office and inside his computer. Aideen McCarthy's "The Formorian" (6 min, Ireland). A tale about a long-forgotten demon race that, according to Irish myth, threatened to wipe out all human life. This is not the order the films will play in. Discussion following with Robert Cosnahan ("Psycho Hillbilly..."), Mike Williamson ("In the Wall"), Paul Bickel ("Hollow").

Thursday, August 14 – 7:30 PM

Rare! New 35mm Print! DEEP END, 1971, Paramount, 88 min. One of the great lost films of the early 1970s from Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski captures the sense of impending dread and spiritual breakdown at the end of the ‘60s like no other movie. John Moulder-Brown stars as an innocent teenage psychopath working in a public bathhouse who becomes obsessed with doe-eyed Jane Asher, with shocking results. Terrific score by krautrock great Can and British songwriter Cat Stevens. "Jerzy Skolimowski's directorial career…began with this offbeat tale of obsessive, destructive love…haunting…An increasingly tense, dreamlike drama from an…uncompromising filmmaker." – Steven Puchalski, Shock Cinema NOT ON DVD More details about this film: review

Rare! New 35mm Print! THE WITCHES (LE STREGHE), 1967, MGM Repertory, 105 min. The anthology film was a popular format of 1960s Italian filmmaking, running the gamut from BOCCACCIO ’70 to SPIRITS OF THE DEAD. This is one of the least known and most underrated. Silvana Mangano stars in five metaphorical tales delving into women’s sexy sweetness, cold-bloodedness, being put on a pedestal, destructive manipulation and rebellion against domesticity that undoubtedly would have gotten them burned at the stake in medieval times. Standout segments include Luchino Visconti directing Mangano as a movie superstar held prisoner by her fame; Pier Paolo Pasolini’s live-action cartoon sequel to his THE HAWKS AND THE SPARROWS with Toto and son Ninetto Davoli in search of a new matriarch and meeting green-haired, mute Mangano; and Vittorio De Sica’s look at bespectacled housewife Mangano’s sexual fantasies as she banters with complacent, overworked husband Clint Eastwood (in a three-piece suit!). NOT ON DVD More on this film.

Friday, August 15 – 7:30 PM

Peter Cushing Sci-Fi Triple Feature:

THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN OF THE HIMALAYAS, 1957, 85 min. Researcher Peter Cushing butts heads with ruthlessly unprincipled carnival impresario Forrest Tucker, when the pair join forces to capture the elusive Yeti of the Himalayas. Director Val Guest and screenwriter Nigel Kneale (the QUATERMASS films) balance tight, Hawksian action against an eerie, insistent sense of the supernatural. With evocative B&W photography by veteran Hammer cameraman Arthur Grant (PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES). More on this film.

Rare! ISLAND OF TERROR, 1966, Universal, 89 min. Director Terence Fisher took a vacation from Hammer Studios to do two indie sci-fi films with Peter Cushing. Scientists Cushing and Edward Judd (THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE) trek to a remote British isle to find out why villagers are turning up dead – and boneless. They discover a private cancer-research facility has unwittingly mutated microscopic organisms into deadly, crawling, man-sized amoebas. With Carole Gray, Eddie Byrne. Richard Gordon (FIEND WITHOUT A FACE) was one of the executive producers. Great, scary drive-in fare. (Screened from a digital video source.) NOT ON DVD More on this film.

Ultra-Rare! ISLAND OF THE BURNING DAMNED, 1967, 94 min. The second mid-‘60s sci-fi melodrama Terence Fisher did with Peter Cushing focuses on a brutal mid-winter heat wave that suddenly transforms a British isle into a community of frayed tempers, heat strokes and histrionic love triangles. Mysterious investigator Christopher Lee and local doctor Cushing learn that protoplasmic aliens are causing the problem and soon will incinerate the area. Best-selling author Patrick Allen and wife Sarah Lawson own the pub where everyone congregates, and the temperature is raised higher when sexy secretary Jane Merrow arrives to take dictation. (Screened from a digital video source.) NOT ON DVD

Saturday, August 16 – 5:00 PM

PROMETHEUS TRIUMPHANT - A FUGUE IN THE KEY OF FLESH, 2007, 79 min. When the lovely Esmeralda falls victim to the plague, her banished lover Janick (Josh Ebel) finds a revolutionary cure. The film weaves a timelessly tragic tale with true 1920s German Expressionist style. Silent, in black and white with title cards. With Melissa Troughtzmantz. Directed by Jim Towns and Mike McKown with a score by Lucien Desar.

Triple Shock Feature:

DEMENTIA 13, 1963, MGM Repertory, 75 min. Director Francis Ford Coppola’s low-budget feature debut was one of the few pictures to effectively meld a contemporary PSYCHO-type scenario with Gothic horror motifs. When Louise’s (Luana Anders) husband, John, dies of a heart attack, she knows she won’t get any part of his mother’s inheritance if the family finds out he’s dead. She travels to the family castle in Ireland to finagle her way into a fortune, but must deal with John’s siblings, artist William Campbell, his new wife (Mary Mitchel), younger brother Billy (Bart Patton) and a still-alive matriarch. Then someone starts chopping people up with an axe! Fast-moving with a memorably great score by Ronald Stein and an uncredited Les Baxter. Produced by Roger Corman. "Francis Ford Coppola's first mainstream feature…is a little gem of Gothic horror, stylishly helmed on a shoestring budget." – TV Guide More on this film.

Ultra-Rare! CURSE OF THE FACELESS MAN, 1958, MGM Repertory, 67 min. Edward L. Cahn (IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE) directed this low-budget scarefest about a petrified man dug out of a Pompeii archeological site who comes back to life, pining for the reincarnation of his lost love, artist Elaine Edwards. Archeologists Richard Anderson and Luis Van Rooten investigate as the stone monster leaves a trail of bodies in his wake. With another great, underrated score by maestro Gerald Fried (THE KILLING). NOT ON DVD

FRANKENSTEIN’S DAUGHTER, 1958, 85 min. Dir. Richard E. Cunha. Good girl teen Sandra Knight is turned into a bucktoothed, pockmarked creature in a negligee by her scientist uncle’s sleazeball assistant, Oliver Frank (Donald Murphy). Boyfriend John Ashley is bewildered by the mysterious goings-on. Of course, Frank is really short for Frankenstein, and Oliver also has plans for the snooty blond bombshell (Sally Todd) who spurned his advances. Two monsters for the price of one! With the ultra-square musical stylings of the Page Cavanaugh Trio. "With lovable horror clichés, gooey monsters, and funny dialogue, this is a classic of its type from director Richard Cunha… one of the best teenage monster movies of them all." – Joe Lozowsky, DVD Drive-In Discussion between the first two films with actor Richard Anderson (CURSE OF THE FACELESS MAN).

Sunday, August 17 – 7:30 PM

IB Technicolor Print! ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS, 1964, Paramount, 110 min. Paul Mantee stars as an astronaut abandoned on the Red Planet, dealing with simple necessities like finding drinkable water and avoiding marauding aliens, in this wonderfully human 1960s sci-fi flick. Directed with surefire confidence by WAR OF THE WORLDS and "Outer Limits" veteran Byron Haskin, from an excellent script by Ib Melchior and John C. Higgins. Co-starring Adam West (TV’s "Batman") and Vic Lundin. Don’t miss this chance to see the rarely revived ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS in a beautiful CinemaScope Technicolor print!

Ultra-Rare: MUTINY IN OUTER SPACE, 1965, 80 min. Dir. Hugo Grimaldi. A slimy, slithering fungus permeates a spaceship returning from the Moon, threatening to annihilate the crew. William Leslie, Dolores Faith and Richard Garland (ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS) are just a few of those menaced by the unstoppable mold. To make matters worse, the paranoid, autocratic head officer on board engenders rebellious feelings from those in his command. A virtually lost drive-in classic, not screened in decades. NOT ON DVD More on this movie.

Wednesday, August 20 –7:30 PM

Rare! New 35mm Print! ISLAND OF LOST SOULS, 1932, Universal, 70 min. Director Erle C. Kenton adapted H.G. Wells’ Island of Dr. Moreau into one of the classic Pre-Code horror shockers. Originally released by Paramount to compete with Universal’s monster menagerie, Universal ironically now owns the rights. Seaman Richard Arlen gets marooned on vivisectionist Charles Laughton’s private isle, where he has developed a race of subhumans from various wild animals in his "House of Pain." An old school chiller that remains scary to this day. Bela Lugosi is the ringleader of the beast-men. With Kathleen Burke as Lota, the Panther Woman. "…a remarkably powerful film." – Time Out (London) NOT ON DVD More on this movie.

Rare! KONGO, 1932, Warner Bros., 86 min. William J. Cowen helmed this sound remake of the silent Lon Chaney thriller WEST OF ZANZIBAR. Walter Huston is a crippled renegade in darkest Africa who drags himself around on his powerful arms. He lords it over local tribesmen, intimidating them with "voodoo" and parlor tricks. He also enjoys torturing and driving mad any whites who fall into his clutches, especially Virginia Bruce, whom he believes to be his arch-enemy’s daughter. Tragic legend Lupe Velez stars as Tula, a woman under cruel Huston’s thumb."…a horror show that is both frightening and disturbing." – TV Guide NOT ON DVD More on this movie.

Thursday, August 21 – 7:30 PM

Egyptian Theatre 85^th Anniversary Double Feature:

ALIEN, 1979, 20th Century Fox, 117 min. From its cool, sinister textures to its (literally) stomach-churning special effects, director Ridley Scott’s ALIEN reinvented the monster-from-space movie as something mesmerizing, inescapable and strangely beautiful. It also introduced the American action heroine in Sigourney Weaver’s tough-as-nails Ripley, going head-to-head with the nightmarish, H.R. Giger-designed insectoid Alien. Influenced by previous sci-fi films such as IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE, PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES and FORBIDDEN PLANET as well as literary giant Joseph Conrad! With Tom Skerritt, Yaphet Kotto, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Veronica Cartwright. Original version.

ALIENS, 1986, 20th Century Fox, 137 min. Seven years after Ridley Scott’s original ALIEN, James Cameron directed this sinister, explosive WWII-movie-in-space, about a platoon of U.S. Marines stranded on planet LV-426. Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley is darker and richer here -- haunted by alien nightmares, confronting her deepest fears. Watch for Cameron’s flawless feel for detail and pacing, the way he builds suspense scene-by-scene (the creatures don’t even appear until almost 50 minutes into the movie!). With Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen and Paul Reiser. For added realism, Cameron hired Marine Corps vet Al Matthews as platoon sergeant -- "If one of the actors dropped their rifle, he’d run over and scream in their face, ‘Your rifle is your life, soldier! Give me 50!’" – James Cameron. Original version. Both films originally premiered at the Egyptian Theatre!