META HORROR
Films within films, films referencing films, films about filmmaking, films on films on films!
WES CRAVEN'S NEW NIGHTMARE 1994
Injecting a dose of meta into the horror genre, writer/director Wes Craven conceived a creepy reboot of his A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise with the fiendishly clever conceit that the true-life cast and filmmakers have to fight off an evil exporting their boogeyman creation into the real world. On the front lines is original leading lady/final girl Heather Langenkamp, who gets to redefine her screen persona; others appearing as themselves include Robert Englund, studio executives, and Craven himself. (Quad)
Wednesday, October 7
Saturday, October 10
Director: Wes Craven
Starring: Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, Miko Hughes
Runtime: 112 min., USA
Language: English
SCREAM 2 1997
Away at college, Sidney Prescott thought she’d finally put the shocking murders that shattered her life behind her… until a copycat killer begins acting out a real-life sequel. Now as history repeats itself, ambitious reporter Gale Weathers, deputy Dewey and other Scream survivors find themselves trapped in a terrifyingly clever plotline where no one is safe — or beyond suspicion. (Metrograph)
Friday, October 16
Saturday, October 17
Director: Wes Craven
Starring: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette
Runtime: 120 min., USA
Language: English
FADE TO BLACK 1980
A meta-horror masterpiece where obsession and identity collide! We all love horror movies about movies, and this is one of the best. Eric lives for cinema. He works at a 35mm print shipping depot and spends his free time watching old classics. Tormented by his co-workers, Eric drifts further into a dream world. Soon, he dons the outfits of his big-screen idols to knock off his bullies in outrageous recreations of famous movie scenes. Like William Lustig's MANIAC, FADE TO BLACK is a haunting portrait of a damaged individual in the guise of an '80s slasher. It's also a chilling examination of the terror that can occur when fantasy and reality collide. (Alamo)
Thursday, October 22
Director: Vernon Zimmerman
Starring: Dennis Christopher, Tim Thomerson, Gwynne Gilford
Runtime: 102 min., USA
Language: English
SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE 2000
F. W. Murnau (John Malkovich) is struggling to create his silent classic “Nosferatu” on location in Eastern Europe. The director is obsessed with making this the most authentic vampire movie ever. To that end, Murnau has employed a real vampire, Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe), explaining to the crew that he is the ultimate of that new breed, the “method actor” — trained by Stanislavsky himself. Schreck will appear only in character and only at night, taking the role of a vampire far more seriously than seems humanly possible... (Musicbox)
Friday, October 23
Sunday, October 25
Director: E. Elias Merhige
Starring: Willem Dafoe, John Malkovich, Udo Kier
Runtime: 95 min., USA
Language: English