The Mel Brooks classic ‘Young Frankenstein’ will be shown on Oct. 9 and 11 as part of the Utah Theatre’s Halloween film fest. Pictured here are the film’s stars (from Left) Teri Garr, Gene Wilder and Marty Feldman (Image courtesy of Facebook).
LOGAN – The Utah Theatre will celebrate the approaching Halloween holiday with a film festival of classic scary – and sometime funny – movies.
The film fest leads off on Monday, Oct. 2 with Frankenweenie, the 2012 feature-length comedy remake of director Tim Burton’s 1984 short film of the same name.
Set in the 1960s, Frankenweenie follows a boy who uses the power of electricity to resurrect his dead pet named Sparky. But mayhem ensues when his classmates reanimate their own deceased pets and other creatures.
The film starred Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau and Winona Ryder.
Next on the schedule is Night of the Living Dead, directed by George A. Romero.
This is the 1968 classic that started the whole flesh-eating zombie craze and eventually spawned numerous big screen adaptations and remakes, including the American Movie Classics television show The Walking Dead.
Fair warning, however, Romero’s movie is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. But accept no substitutes – this is the real, creepy deal.
Night of the Living Dead will be shown on Wednesday, Oct. 4
On Fridays throughout the month of October, the Utah theatre will screen the entire five-movie series of The Twilight Saga.
For those of you that have been living on the moon since 2008, The Twilight Saga is a series of romance fantasies that started the whole sexy, teenage vampire craze that eventually gave birth to TV shows like True Blood and The Vampire Diaries.
Based on Utah author and BYU graduate Stephenie Meyer’s novel, the original film Twilight will be shown on Friday, Oct. 6.
The succeeding films in the series – New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn 1 and Breaking Dawn 2 — will be shown on Oct. 13, 20, 27 and Nov. 3 respectively.
Taking a more serious turn, the film fest will next screen The Sixth Sense on Saturday, Oct. 7.
This is the 1999 thriller that launched the film-making career of writer/director M. Night Shyamalan. It stars Bruce Willis as a child psychologist whose patient – brilliantly performed by newcomer Haley Joel Osment – claims that he can see and talk to the dead.
SPOILER ALERT: Watch out for the wild, curve-ball ending.
To lighten the mood, the Utah will feature Young Frankenstein on Monday, Oct. 9 and Wednesday, Oct. 11.
Young Frankenstein is one of funnyman Mel Brooks’ best films, starring Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman and a young Teri Garr.
On Saturday, Oct. 14, the film fest will continue with the Alfred Hitchcock classic Psycho.
Filmed in 1960, Psycho was a low-budget departure for Hitchcock. Despite being shot entirely in black-and-white, it remains one of the famed director’s most influential movies.
Psycho stars Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin and Martin Balsam.
Jumping back to comedy again, the Utah Theatre will present Ghostbusters on Monday, Oct. 16 and Wednesday, Oct. 18.
Ghostbusters broke the mold for supernatural comedies in 1984, using a combination of practical effects, miniatures and puppets in place of computer generation to deliver its ghoulish visuals.
Shortly after its release, Ghostbusters became a cultural phenomenon, winning critical praise for its amusing blend of comedy, action and horror. Saturday Night Live comic Bill Murray’s performance was also singled out for acclaim.
The film stars Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis and Sigourney Weaver.
And what Halloween film fest would be complete without Nosferatu?
It’s a silent film made in 1922 and one of the best examples of early German expressionist horror.
Nosferatu was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula. Stoker’s heirs sued the movie’s producers and a court ruled that all copies of the film should be destroyed.
But — like a vampire not properly staked — Nosferatu lives on. The film will be shown on Saturday, Oct. 21.
The film festival will veer back to comedy on Monday, Oct. 23 and Wednesday, Oct. 25 with Ghostbusters II.
The 1989 sequel to Ghostbusters reunites the whole gang from the original film.
Like many sequels, Ghostbusters II isn’t as good as the original, but it’s still great fun.
On Saturday, Oct. 28, the Utah Theatre will participate in Logan City’s Center Street Halloween celebration by hosting a free screening of the animated feature Monsters, Inc. at 7 p.m.
Then the one and only Rocky Horror Picture Show will be shown on that same date at midnight.
For a special price, the Utah Theatre will provide all the paraphernalia for audience participation that has become a tradition with Rocky Horror fans.
That 1975 cult classic – which made Tim Curry a star and the exposure didn’t hurt the careers of Susan Sarandon or Barry Bostwick either — is decidedly for adults only, of course.
Another Halloween classic Hocus Pocus will be shown on Monday, Oct. 30.
Hocus Pocus follows a villainous comedic trio of witches played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy who come back to life on Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts.
The Disney film was a box office bomb on initial release in 1993, but has since achieved a cult status following.
Since one good turn deserves another, the Utah Theatre will also reprise its showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at 10 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 30 and at midnight on Halloween (Tuesday, Oct. 31).
All show times for the Halloween film festival at the Utah Theatre will be 7 p.m. unless otherwise specified.