Upon
awakening on December the 1st, I just knew it would be an horrific
day. Horrific in the sense that I would be getting to see a bevy of horror and
exploitation flicks on the big screen, in glorious 35mm. The reason for this?
Why, it was the day of Hudson Horror Show 6 at Silver Cinemas South Hill 8 in
Poughkeepsie, New York, that’s why!
This was to
be my first time attending, to my shame, but it will not be my last, of that
you can be sure. I’ve already made plans to attend HHS 7, which should be in
the Spring of 2013. Anyway, I left the house at just after 9.30am, as the first
film was due to start at 12.30pm and I had a two hour drive ahead of me. The
drive itself was fairly pleasant, with the majority of it being on the eerily
quiet and fog-enshrouded I-84, and it wasn’t until I was in farting distance on
the theater that the GPS decided to fuck with me. You see, the theater is
located at the back of a mall and the GPS decided to take me round in circles.
Nevertheless, I arrived at the venue only 10 minutes later than planned.
Once inside,
after having to queue in the bloody cold New York outdoors, I quickly made my
way to the t-shirt stand. Wise move, as the limited edition event shirts
quickly sold out. For those that were too late to buy one at the theater if
wasn’t all doom and gloom though, as the organizers informed everyone that they
would run a second print and mail them out to anyone who left their details.
Nice move, chaps.
It was about
now that I would meet up with the one and only James Harris aka Jimmy Terror of
Doctor Terror’s Blog of Horrors (http://www.docterror.com/).
We had hoped to meet up at March’s Monster Mania in New Jersey, but alas that
was not to be. So, it was great to finally meet up with him.
Then it was
on to check out the vendors stalls, which included the good folk from www.VHSPS.com from whom I picked up a copy of
Trick or Treat later in the day. There were movies, soundtracks, comics,
magazines, artwork and various other knick-knacks for sale from the vendors,
all of whom seemed to be doing decent business. I also grabbed myself a copy of
Last House on the Beach, which I have wanted to see for ages.
On to the
movies then, after all that is why we were all here! First up was the 1975
flick The Devil’s Rain, which stars William Shatner, Ernest Borgnine and Tom
Skerritt, and I absolutely loved it. Laden with Satanism, uber-cheesy dialogue
and Shatner’s mad acting skills, this was the perfect way to start off the day.
Ever want to see where Michael Myers’ Shatner mask originated from? Watch The
Devil’s Rain and you will find out.
During the
short break that followed The Devil’s Rain it was time to meet up with the
human movie machine, Justin LaLiberty. Again, was great to meet up with him
finally; a diamond geezer indeed.
The second
film on the schedule was the original slasher flick Black Christmas from 1974.
Bob Clark’s festive horror flick was a blast, with the perfect blend of horror
and humor, not forgetting Margot Kidder’s delightful performance as the drunken
Barb. It’s not my favorite film, but it was still good fun and great to see on
the big screen.
Smoke break
and snack time followed, before heading into the dark horse of the show; that
being Jack Hill’s Switchblade Sisters. I will admit to not knowing much about
this film, but I needn’t have worried. Made in 1975, Switchblade Sisters, aka
The Jezebels, was a glorious movie about the hard-hitting girl gang The Dagger
Debs, and featured plenty of ass-kicking action, and yet more dialogue
liberally covered with cheese.
After the
surprising delight of Switchblade Sisters it was onto the film I was most
excited about; Phantasm 2. I first saw the film on VHS back when it was
released in 1988, and have been a huge fan of the series since I first saw the
first film around the same time, maybe a year earlier. I would have been a
happy man if this was the only film I watched, as Mikey and Reggie go on the
hunt for the Tall Man. Blood, yellow goo and big shiny balls ahoy! I love this
film and to see it at the theater was truly a joy.
My final film
of the day was Re-Animator, from 1985. I had to leave before the final film,
Conan the Barbarian, due to the 2 hour drive and the fact that the show was
running a little behind schedule, which would have meant getting home at maybe
3am. Back to Re-Animator though, and it doesn’t matter how many times I see this
film, it is pure horror/comedy genius. Gore aplenty, great dialogue and a
terrific cast, it is one of my all-time favorites and rocked on the big screen.
So, as I
mentioned, I had to make the drive home after Re-animator, and if the journey
up was foggy, nothing prepared me for the fog on the way home. I could see
literally only 50 feet in front of me, and due to this had to limit my speed.
Still, I made it home ahead of schedule, my head still buzzing from the great
day out I just had.
If you get
the chance to go to a Hudson Horror Show, I highly recommend that you do; you’ll
have a blast. Aside from the movies and vendors, there was also plenty of swag
given away, and we also got treated to some old school movie trailers before
each film, some of which I now have to track down the movies themselves. Duel of
the Iron Fists? The Devil Inside Her? Yes please!
All that remains
for me to say is to thank Chris and Errol, and everyone else involved in the
organizing and running of the show, for putting on a great show; it was an
absolute blast from start to finish!
Roll on spring
2013!
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