“Hocus Pocus” First Halloween Movie; “Little Shop of Horrors” Opens Sci-Fi Series


BOONE, N.C. – “We just have to do it,” said Appalachian Theatre Executive Director Suzanne Livesay. “With audience members and the general public submitting more Halloween and Science Fiction suggestions than in any other movie genre, we are responding with not one, but two classic film series in October to give our loyal patrons exactly what they most want to see in our historic venue.”
The Cinema Classic Halloween Film Series is sponsored by Lost Province Brewing Company and kicks off on Tuesday, September 27 with “Hocus Pocus” just days before the nationwide release of the movie’s first sequel. The original 1993 version is a fantasy comedy horror film that follows a villainous comedic trio of witches (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy), who are inadvertently resurrected by a virgin teenage boy in Salem, Massachusetts, on Halloween night. The annual celebration of Halloween has helped make the film a cult classic.
It will be followed on October 20 by “Twilight” (2008), the romantic fantasy film starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson that is based on Stephenie Meyer’s 2005 novel of the same name. It is the first film in “The Twilight Saga” and focuses on the development of the relationship between teenager Bella Swan and vampire Edward Cullen and the subsequent efforts of Edward and his family to keep Bella safe from a coven of evil vampires.
The cult favorite “Ghostbusters” (1984) will be shown on October 28. It is a supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as three eccentric parapsychologists who start a ghost-catching business in New York City. It also stars Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis
and features Annie Potts, William Atherton, and Ernie Hudson in supporting roles.
Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993) is described as, “a stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy film” that tells the story of Jack Skellington, the King of “Halloween Town,” who stumbles upon “Christmas Town” and becomes obsessed with celebrating the holiday. Danny Elfman wrote the songs and score, and provided the singing voice of Jack. The voice ensemble includes Chris Sarandon, Catherine O’Hara, William Hickey, Ken Page, Paul Reubens, Glenn Shadix, and Ed Ivory. It will be screened on October 30.
Audience members are strongly encouraged to come to the App Theatre in Halloween costume.
The Cinema Classic Sci-Fi Film Series is generously sponsored by Nancy and Neil Schaffel and consists of four movies suggested by audience members and the general public.
First up is “Little Shop of Horrors” (1986) on Tuesday, October 4, a horror musical comedy directed by Frank Oz. The film centers on a floral shop worker who discovers a sentient carnivorous plant that feeds on human blood. It stars Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia, Steve Martin, and Levi Stubbs, with special appearances by Jim Belushi, John Candy, Christopher Guest and Bill Murray.
“Invasion of the Body Snatchers” (1956) will be screened on October 11. This science fiction horror black-and-white classic, shot in the film noir style, concerns an extraterrestrial invasion where alien plant spores fall from space and grow into large seed pods, each one capable of producing a visually-identical copy of a human. As each pod reaches full development, it assimilates the physical traits, memories, and personalities of each sleeping person placed near it until only the replacement is left. These duplicates, however, are devoid of all human emotion.
Stanley Kubrick’s epic “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968) follows on October 18. This science fiction film stars Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, and Douglas Rain, and follows a voyage to Jupiter with the sentient supercomputer HAL after the discovery of an alien monolith. The film is noted for its scientifically accurate depiction of space flight, pioneering special effects, and ambiguous imagery.
At a special start time of 2 p.m. on October 30, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977) will present the first Sci-Fi film written and directed by Steven Spielberg. It stars Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François Truffaut, and tells the story of Roy Neary, an everyday blue-collar worker in Indiana, whose life changes after an encounter with a UFO. The haunting score was composed, conducted, and produced by John Williams, who had previously worked on Spielberg’s “Jaws.”
The remaining seven films have a family-friendly start time of 7 p.m. with a budget-conscious general admission ticket price of just $5 per person. While the App Theatre’s online ticketing system is accessible 24/7, customers can avoid the online service fees by visiting the lobby box office between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. from Tuesday through Friday, or one hour prior to showtime for each film. For a complete performance schedule of all upcoming events, or to sign up for the theatre’s e-blast distribution list, visit the organization’s website at www.apptheatre.org
Courtesy of the Appalachian Theatre of the High Country.
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