An event-filled weekend awaits you! Get some free comic books, celebrate Star Wars, or catch a film screening or festival!

Hey b-movie fans! It's going to be a gorgeous weekend (in this neck of the woods at least), and there are a lot of cool, nerdy things going on all over the place! Here's a small list of events that are happening over the next few days; some are national, some international, but most are localized. If you know of something happening that is worth mentioning on my list, leave a comment below, e-mail me, or hit me up on Facebook or Twitter.

... and also with you.

MAY 4TH:
INTERNATIONAL STAR WARS DAY ("MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU..." ALL DAY - EVERYWHERE)
Started officially in 2011, International Star Wars Day (which began in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) has since grown (especially now that Disney owns the Star Wars name brand). Look out for screenings of the films at some theatrical venues, or if you live in California, check out the free parade Disney is having at their Hollywood Studios tomorrow! Need some ideas on what to do to celebrate your fave sci-fi franchise? Then head on over to the Star Wars Day Blog for some hints!

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY (ALL DAY - EVERYWHERE!)
Head out to your local comic book store to get freebies! Many shops have contests, giveaways, and special offers on this, their most holy (and busiest) of days. Also, don't be surprised if the shop you visit also happens to be celebrating the aforementioned STAR WARS DAY!

SALT CITY HORROR FEST (THE PALACE THEATER - SYRACUSE, NY - 11 AM)
As posted HERE, this horror/exploitation/cult film fest will take place ALL DAY at the Palace Theater on James St. The movie lineup consists of: ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN, IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE (in anaglyph 3D!), NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, THE MANSON FAMILY, HOUSE AT THE EDGE OF THE PARK, ROBOCOP, NEKROMANTIK, and FRIGHT NIGHT! Tickets are $20 bucks at the door, and you can come and go all day as long as you have your wristband. Also, bring extra money with you because they serve all sorts of snacks and beer, plus there will be vendors there selling DVDs, Blu-rays, collectibles, and more! Maybe I'll see you there!

RIFFING MYSELF W/JOEL HODGSON (DRYDEN THEATER - SYRACUSE, NY - 8PM)
An intimate, funny, one-man show with the creator of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Cinematic Titanic. Get all the feedback about Joel's early years as a ventriloquist and stand-up comedian, and discover every little detail that went into the creation of movie riffing and one of the greatest cult comedy shows of all time. I caught his act in Scranton back in February and it was really interesting, and Joel is one cool cat. (Even managed to sneak in a photo op with him before he escaped.) The show kicks off at 8 PM at the Dryden Theater. It's $20 for the main performance and $50 for the performance, and a post meet & greet + a screening of an MST3K episode. (Most likely, "The Pod People.")

FANTASM SCREENING (SYRACUSE, NY - SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY - SHAFFER ART BUILDING)
Kyle Kuchta visited six horror cons and made this endearing documentary about the conventions and the fans (and guests) that attend them. The abridged version of his thesis film is being shown for free on Saturday night to cap off a two day student film fest. I'm not quite sure about what time his film is being screened, so be sure to check out the FANTASM Facebook page to keep up to date!


MAY 5TH:
EXFEST III (INTERNATIONAL HOUSE - PHILADELPHIA, PA - 11 AM TO 11 PM)
I've always wanted to attend the EXHUMED FILMS' hosted eX-FeST. They show five films in glorious 35mm and never give away the lineup until the day of the event. Tickets are $26 (if any are left after the pre-orders... which is apparently quite rare). Visit THIS PAGE to snag tickets and enjoy the insanity on Sunday!

That's all I know of at the moment, but if you know of an event happening over the next two days that warrants a mention, then by all means contact me and I'll add it to the list! Have a great weekend everybody, and enjoy the awesome!

Big Screen News: See Fulci's ZOMBI in theaters this weekend; PIRANHA 3DD delayed til 2012?

Ok, tonight I have good news and bad news regarding some awesome cult films that are hitting the big screen. First up, Lucio Fulci's ZOMBI, which is coming out in a deluxe 2-Disc "Ultimate Edition" Blu-ray from Blue Underground on October 24th (pre-order it HERE), is getting a limited nationwide theatrical release on October 21st and 22nd. (And on other dates, which will be noted on the list below.)

If you live in or near any of the following cities, I envy you. I've seen ZOMBI (a.k.a. Zombie, Zombie Creeping Flesh, Zombi 2) on the big screen once and it was a magical experience.

Here's the list of lucky cities who will get to enjoy the flesh-eating, eye-gouging, and shark-battling insanity of Fulci's most notable film:


ALBUQUERQUE
Guild Cinema (Oct. 28 & 29)

ATLANTA
Plaza Theatre (9:30pm, Oct. 21 only)

AUSTIN
Alamo The Ritz (9:30pm, Oct. 24 & 7:00pm, Oct. 31)

AUSTIN
Alamo S. Lamar (7:00pm, Oct. 30)

BOSTON
Coolidge Corner Theatre

CHICAGO
Music Box Theatre

CLEVELAND
Capitol Theatre (Oct. 15)

DALLAS
Landmark Inwood Theatre

DENVER
Landmark Esquire

DETROIT
Landmark Main Art

HOUSTON
Landmark River Oaks

JACKSONVILLE, FL
5 Points Theatre (11:30pm, Oct. 21 only)

KANSAS CITY
Tivoli Cinemas (9:00pm)

LAS VEGAS
Theatre 7 (7:00pm, Oct. 31)

LAWRENCE, KS
Liberty Hall (10:00pm, Oct. 21 only)

LOS ANGELES
New Beverly Cinema

MESA, AZ
The Royale (10:00pm, Oct. 21 & 9:00pm, Oct. 22)

MINNEAPOLIS
Landmark Uptown (Nov. 4 & 5)

NEW YORK CITY
Landmark's Sunshine

OTTAWA, ONTARIO
Mayfair Theatre (11:30pm, Oct. 21 only)

PHILADELPHIA
Landmark Ritz Bourse (10:00pm)

PITTSBURGH
The Oaks Theater (11:59pm, Oct. 21 & 7:00pm, Oct. 22)

PORTLAND, OR
Hollywood Theatre (9:30pm)

SACRAMENTO
Crest Theatre

SAN ANTONIO
Alamo Westlakes (10:00pm)

SAN DIEGO
Landmark Ken Cinema

SAN FRANCISCO
Roxie Theater (Various Times, Oct. 29 - 31)

SEATTLE
Landmark Egyptian
(Ian McCulloch in person on Oct. 21!)

ST. LOUIS
Hi-Pointe Theatre

ST. PETE BEACH, FL
The Beach Theatre

TORONTO
The Revue Cinema (Oct. 22 & 31)

TUCSON, AZ
The Loft Cinema

WASHINGTON, D.C.
Landmark E Street Cinema

WICHITA, KS
Warren Old Town Theater (7:00 & 9:00pm, Oct. 24 & 25)

WINCHESTER, VA
Alamo Drafthouse Winchester

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA
Park Theatre Cafe (8:00pm, Oct. 13)

YELLOW SPRINGS, OH
Little Art Theatre (9:00pm, Oct. 22 only)

Sigh.... the closest place to me is Philadelphia, but I don't have the money or the time to rush down there this weekend. Well... at least I saw it in a theater once in my lifetime, I guess I should be content with that. CLICK HERE to visit Blue Underground's website and double check to see if they added any other screening locations or changed movie times between now and Friday.

Anyway, the next bit of news is not so joyous. John Gulager's PIRANHA 3DD will not be in theaters next month. Renn Brown over at CHUD.com has reported that the film was unceremoniously yanked from its original release date and shelved by the powers that be at Dimension. While some speculate that they are saving it for a (perhaps) late Spring/early Summer 2012 release (which makes some sense), others say that it will probably go straight to DVD. This sort of bums me out because even though I didn't actually like the previous film, I still had fun watching it, plus I was actually anticipating the sequel, which looks to be completely batshit insane. I want to see Ving Rhames return as a paraplegic with guns for legs dammit!

I'll post more info about the eventual solid release date for PIRANHA 3DD. Here's hoping to see it sooner rather than later.

See a sneak screening of RUBBER in NYC on Thursday, February 3rd!

RUBBER - "Are you TIRED of the expected?"

I just got an e-mail from the folks at Magnet Releasing letting me know that there's a sneak preview of "RUBBER" playing at the IFC CENTER (323 Sixth Ave at W. 3rd St in NYC) February 3rd at 10:30 PM with director Quentin Dupieux in attendance! Seating is first come, first serve; to reserve your spot (or spots if you want to bring a friend), send an RSVP e-mail to RSVP2[at]magpictures.com, and be sure to get there early!

For those of you who are in the dark about this film, here's a quick synopsis and trailer to get you caught up:

RUBBER is the story of Robert, an inanimate tire that has been abandoned in the desert, and suddenly and inexplicably comes to life. As Robert roams the bleak landscape, he discovers that he possesses terrifying telepathic powers that give him the ability to destroy anything he wishes without having to move. At first content to prey on small desert creatures and various discarded objects, his attention soon turns to humans, especially a beautiful and mysterious woman who crosses his path. Leaving a swath of destruction across the desert landscape, Robert becomes a chaotic force to be reckoned with, and truly a movie villain for the ages. Directed by legendary electro musician Quentin Dupieux (Steak, Nonfilm), aka Mr. Oizo, RUBBER is a smart, funny and wholly original tribute to the cinematic concept of “no reason.”

RUBBER gets a limited theatrical release on April 1st (how appropriate) with a DVD (and Blu-ray?) release shortly thereafter. However, you won't have to wait that long because this flick will be available On Demand on February 25th! If you get to this sneak preview, feel free to comment on how the movie was; I'm quite curious about it and am looking forward to giving it a look!

New print of "The Evil Dead" possesses Dryden Theatre in Rochester, NY!

Greetings cult movie fans! My apologies for not frequenting this blog (or my site)! Truthfully I was thinking of putting the kibosh on this here blog because I just don't know what to do with it. But until I figure that out, it shall remain online as part as the ever-growing, and ever-evolving B-Movie Film Vault.

But nevermind that, the important thing right now is "The Evil Dead," Sam Raimi's cult horror classic from 1981. We've all seen this movie numerous times, and many of us have been duped into buying it over and over again by those bastards at Anchor Bay (case in point, the "Limited Edition" Blu-ray is coming out on Tuesday, August 31st), each one boasting something new that the prior release didn't have.

I myself ended up buying "The Evil Dead" three times (VHS, DVD Special Edition, Book of the Dead Edition), which is pretty good considering I bought "Evil Dead II" five times (two VHS tapes, DVD special edition, Book of the Dead edition, and the Blu-ray release) and "Army of Darkness" five times (VHS theatrical cut, DVD theatrical cut, bootleg edition on VHS, then later on DVD, and finally the "Boomstick Edition). Stop raping (me and) the fans Anchor Bay!

In any case, Saturday night I drove up to Rochester, NY (three hour trip mind you) with my girlfriend Tara, and my buddy Greg to see an all new print of "The Evil Dead," made from the original 16MM print. This particular print of the film was lent to the Dryden Theatre (at the George Eastman House in Rochester) by Sage Stallone and Bob Murawski from Grindhouse Releasing.

Joining us for this milestone event was the triple threat of Kristy Jett (of Fright Rags fame), her best friend Laurie, and Bill Adock from Radiation-Scarred Reviews. We combined our forces and feasted at a place called dogTown where I discovered the horror that is the "The Junkyard Plate." (a.k.a. "The Garbage Plate" which is made up of various foods that I would never dare to mix together.)

After filling our bellies with deliciously greasy food, we went to the theater to see, what is in my opinion, the most beautiful print of "The Evil Dead" in existence. (I kind of want to get the Anchor Bay Blu-ray, just to compare the picture quality.)

To kick things off, Kristy got up and did an introduction for the night's feature presentation, and geeked out a bit about Sam Raimi, telling the audience about how he eventually teamed up with Rob Tappert, Bruce Campbell, Scott Spiegel, and everyone else who brought this cult gem into existence. She also shared a few fun anecdotes about Sam Raimi that she heard from folks like Fred "Monster Squad" Dekker and Mark Shostrom.

I got a kick out of Mark Shostrom's tale of his meeting with Sam Raimi to do the makeup f/x for "Evil Dead II." He was so embarrassed by his crappy car, that he parked it a few blocks away, and walked to the meeting, only to later discover that Sam himself drove an equally crappy vehicle. (a.k.a. "The Classic")

After Kristy finished her little speech, the lights dimmed, and a series of cult movie trailers were played to get us all in the right mood. My memory is a bit sketchy, but I think this is the full list of trailers we saw: "Maniac," "Alligator," "Phobia," "The X Y Z Murders," "Venom," "On the Right Track," (with Gary Coleman!) and "Dressed To Kill." Bill and I cheered for "Alligator," and the audience as a whole cracked up during the trailer for [in a whispering voice] "Phobia." (a.k.a. "The Nesting")

Here are some of the aforementioned trailers that I managed to find on Youtube:

And then "The Evil Dead" played.... and all was right in the world. For the next 85-minutes, we all gawked at the most beautiful print of "Evil Dead" I think any of us has ever seen. The crowd in the theater was totally in tune, and we all screamed, shouted, and laughed in unison at the demonic antics of the film's beleaguered stars. It is truly experiences like this that makes three-hour drives to a movie screening totally worthwhile!

As for the film itself, I will say that the image was a bit soft, but compared to all the VHS and DVD versions I've seen, nothing comes close. The picture was clear, the movie was in its original aspect ratio, the audio was fantastic, and I think I have finally fallen in love with this cult classic. (To date, "Evil Dead II" was, and still is, my favorite in the trilogy.) Plus, I can tally up seeing yet another classic horror film on the big screen!

After the movie, we bid our fond farewells to Kristy and company, then departed for our (tortuous) three-hour trek back into Northeastern, PA. And while we're on that topic, many thanks to Garmin for making a GPS that likes to mess with its users. The damned contraption decided that the best course to take on our return home was through a toll road, then down Route 96, through Ithaca, NY. Thanks for making our return trip longer than it had to be! (A-holes!)

Saturday was a blast, and I still can't over how good "The Evil Dead" looked! If it's playing in a city near you, I urge you to go out of your way and see this print of the film; you will most assuredly thank me.

You can get the entire schedule of "Evil Dead" movie screenings by clicking HERE and going to the official Grindhouse Releasing webpage! Cross your fingers that it is playing at an independent theater near you!

As for actual website news: Stay tuned for a double-dose of Monster-Mania Con XV coverage with a (lengthy) article chronicling my adventures, plus a podcast (chock full of John Carpenter scores in the background)! After that, I'll return to my original mission of reviewing Gary Ugarek's "Deadlands: Rising" and "Deadlands 2: Trapped," and finally post Holly Hobgoblin's guest review of "Burial Ground: The Nights of Terror."

After that? Well, if I make it to Monster-Mania XVI, you can expect coverage of that event; the return of some ancient reviews from the olde Vault archives, perhaps another podcast, and my two contributions to a remake-themed roundtable at the end of September!

Finally, I know I haven't been posting much on the blog (or site for that matter), but I'm working towards changing that. If you don't see much action around the Vault, feel free to bug me over at The B-Movie Film Vault Facebook Page. (Now with over 260 "likers" and counting!) At the very least, I check out said Facebook page twice a day and post various links, videos, and b-movie news that should be right up your alley. JOIN US.... won't you?