Their cry… MOVIES! Their oath… WEIRD! This year, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema had to put a temporary hold on beloved, long-running series Terror Tuesday and Weird Wednesday. However, can’t stop/won’t stop Alamo Drafthouse from sharing their love for genre films in a safe, socially distanced environment. Say hello to Night Creatures.
Night Creatures is what happens when Alamo Drafthouse puts all of its genre series in a blender, hits “liquefy,” and watches synapses melt into a neon slime-soaked delicacy. From horror slayers to hi-octane action blasts, Night Creatures exists to provide nothing less than 1001% fun for true midnight movie maniacs in two different modes: the A-sides and the B-sides.
A-sides are in-theater screenings – bigger, crowd-pleasing titles. B-sides are deeper cuts presented exclusively via Alamo On Demand, Alamo Drafthouse’s virtual cinema platform. They’ll sometimes extend the theme of the prior week’s A-side event, and will feature live chats and viewer/host interaction.
“My biggest takeaway from our recent Celebration of Fantastic Fest is just how much I missed our community of film lovers,” says Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League. “Some of my fondest memories in the 23 years of Alamo Drafthouse are hanging out with friends in the lobby after particularly cranium-destroying Weird Wednesdays. With Night Creatures, we are doing our COVID-best to recreate that special experience, both online and virtually, for a special group of humans.”
Both A-sides and B-sides are set to feature introductions by Weird Wednesday and Terror Tuesday hosts, and whenever possible, Q&As with special guests after the films. Naturally, each screening will be preceded by a curated pre-show and vintage trailers. For Night Creatures’ in-theater shows, a Golden Ticket giveaway will be a part of the special festivities. One lucky guest each week will receive a Golden Ticket, and the winner will receive a mystery prize pack delivered to their seat!
The Night Creatures lineup through the end of the year:
November 13th (Friday the 13th)
B-side: THE F13TH FAN FILM MIXTAPE Watch Party | Alamo On Demand
In the 1980s and ‘90s, no psychopathic maniac was more popular than Jason Voorhees. So it makes perfect sense that any kid with access to a camcorder would film their own Voorhees-inspired epic . . . even if it meant lighting themselves on fire with a homemade blowtorch. AGFA and Bleeding Skull! are proud to present THE F13TH FAN FILM MIXTAPE, an awe-inspiring compilation of the best-of-the-best in DIY Voorhees tributes from Jason’s biggest fans. Underage driving! Cameos from Michael Myers! Illegal usage of songs by The Beastie Boys! Featuring digest versions of our favorite full-length rippers, unseen trailers, and deranged clips, THE F13TH FAN FILM MIXTAPE is a valentine to the greatest horror franchise in history. And also teenage lunatics everywhere.
Note: This presentation contains sequences of flashing lights which may affect viewers who are susceptible to photosensitive epilepsy or other photo sensitivities.
November 20th
A-side: POLTERGEIST | Only in Alamo Drafthouse theaters
A creative collision between producer-writer Steven Spielberg (E.T.) and director Tobe Hooper (THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE), POLTERGEIST is the nerve-shredding ghost story that made televisions terrifying to an entire generation. JoBeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson are patriarchs of a haunted household, one with phantom beasties living in the TV, a lot of STAR WARS product placement, and the creepiest ghostbusters of the 1980s in the form of wee blondie Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke) and the incredible Tangina Barrons (Zelda Rubinstein). Beautifully shot and executed, POLTERGEIST joins THE HAUNTING and THE SHINING as one of the most accomplished haunted house films of all time.
November 27th 9:00pm Central
B-side: PENITENTIARY Watch Party | Alamo On Demand
The story of boxer “Too Sweet” (Leon Isaac Kennedy), whose only way out of lockdown is by winning the big fight. Highly plausible scenario? Of course not. Entertaining? You bet. The breakout action hit from filmmaker Jamaa Fanaka (WELCOME HOME, BROTHER CHARLES), PENITENTIARY remains one of the crowning achievements of 1970s black cinema. Gritty, violent and maddeningly entertaining, the movie has been newly restored in 4K from its original 35mm camera negative. You can also opt to have a Mr. Goodbar (it’ll make sense after the movie) and a PENITENTIARY-themed cocktail delivered to your door to enjoy during the screening.
December 4th
A-side: DIAL CODE SANTA CLAUS | Only in Alamo Drafthouse theaters
Previously only available via VHS bootlegs — and a major audience annihilator since its debut at Fantastic Fest — DIAL CODE SANTA CLAUS (aka 3615 CODE PÈRE NOËL and DEADLY GAMES) is your new favorite holiday slayride. Thomas is a typical 1980s kid: he loves computers, role-playing games, and his dog. While mom is away at the office on Christmas Eve, Thomas and his grandfather are left home alone; perfect timing for a disgruntled, perverted, bloodthirsty Santa Claus to raid the home down the chimney. But Hell hath no fury like a mulleted 10-year-old with an arsenal of toys! Made a year before HOME ALONE, the French-made DIAL CODE SANTA CLAUS has almost the same plot… only filled with more style, bloodshed, and Rambo references.
December 12th 8:00PM Central
B-side: Christmas Found Footage Fest Watch Party | Alamo On Demand
Join Joe and Nick as they pore through the darkest recesses of the most bountiful of superfluous VHS categories: Christmas and holiday cash-ins. We’re also partnering with Sourced to deliver an optional yuletide cocktail kit, a surprisingly tasty recreation of a holiday cocktail from the show, reimagined by the team at Midnight Cowboy.
December 18th
A-side: David Lynch’s DUNE | Only in Alamo Drafthouse theaters
David Lynch legendarily passed up the opportunity to direct Return of the Jedi, choosing instead to tackle an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s mind-expanding sci-fi epic Dune. Released in 1984, this big-budget, big-imagination saga follows intergalactic warrior Paul Atreides as he becomes a messiah for a planet of rebels looking to escape the rule of an evil baron. A trip beyond time and space, DUNE stars Kyle Maclachlan, Patrick Stewart, Sting, and a whole heaping of sandworms. Denis Villeneuve’s hotly anticipated new adaptation of Dune might have been delayed until next year, but that doesn’t mean the spice won’t flow this December.
December 25th
A-side: BLACK CHRISTMAS | Only in Alamo Drafthouse theaters
Holiday movies are sentimental, uplifting, and surprisingly devoid of knife murders. What’s a horror fan to do? Sickos rejoice — BLACK CHRISTMAS is here! When sorority sisters Olivia Hussey (Romeo and Juliet), Margot Kidder (Superman) and Andrea Martin (Cannibal Girls) find themselves under attack from a vicious, potty-mouthed killer, it’s up to police chief John Saxon (A Nightmare on Elm St) to even the odds. But what about Keir Dullea (2001: A Space Odyssey), the brooding art-school pianist? Could he have something to do with the mutilation rampage? BLACK CHRISTMAS is the most important Canadian horror film of all time — and it gets everything right. One-part holiday atmosphere, one-part stalk ‘n’ slash magnificence, and all parts awesome, this is a timeless, terrifying, and demented holiday tradition from the director of A CHRISTMAS STORY.
December 24 9:00PM Central
B-side: SANTA CLAUS Watch Party | Alamo On Demand
We all know that there’s nothing Santa Claus enjoys more than sitting atop his candy cane tower and watching all the children of the earth through his telescope. And naturally, we all know that when a horned, red-skinned devil named Pitch inevitably shows up to turn the wee tots towards acts of darkness, it’s Santa’s job to destroy the hellspawn before — wait a minute . . . WHAT?!! Directed by prolific filmmaker René Cardona and distributed by legendary huckster K. Gordon Murray, this severely unnatural take on jolly ol’ St. Nick is a cinematic miracle made from Santa’s secret mixture of sweetness and Satanism, as if torn from the melting mind of a summertime snowman.
December 31st
B-side: TERROR TRAIN Watch Party | Alamo On Demand
When a nerd receives a high dosage of trauma courtesy some frat-boy buttholes, his only recourse is to crash a costume party train on New Year’s Eve. And also ferociously kill in the name of revenge while adopting the costume of each person he mutilates! Featuring a queer-tinged script by writer Judith Roscoe and Jamie Lee Curtis in her third starring role of 1980 following THE FOG and PROM NIGHT, TERROR TRAIN is the last of the great undiscovered 1980s slashers. This is an ultra-violent, disco-infested Canadian explosion of fun that gives us everything we want from a movie with a tagline that reads: “Terror wears many disguises . . . all of them deadly!” This includes life-enriching appearances from magician David Copperfield and Prince protégé Vanity.
December 31st
Express Train to 2021: The Alamo New Year’s Party | Alamo On Demand
After TERROR TRAIN, join us for the most wonderful at-home moviegoing experience possible. Enter our virtual lobby and a host will help you explore a cornucopia of adventures throughout the night: up-close magic performances, private rooms with a huge assortment of amazing live music, live comedy, fortune tellers, movies and more. Meet your friends in private break-out rooms and explore together, or wander solo and make new friends. And at midnight in your time zone, virtually sing-along to Auld Lang Syne and raise a glass with an epic and hopeful toast by surprise guests.
After experiencing this wealth of extraordinary and unearthly delights, you may never opt for a “real life” party again. That’s of course a lie, but nonetheless this party is going to be awesome. Tickets go on sale soon. Make sure to sign up for a free Alamo on Demand account and we will email you when tickets go on sale.
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- [Interview] Matt Shakman for MONARCH: LEGACY OF MONSTERS - November 28, 2023
- [Interview] Eli Roth for THANKSGIVING (2023) - November 16, 2023