The theater goes black and the projector hums to life. Suddenly a low, baritone voice comes on the screen and exclaims, “To avoid fainting, keep repeating: it’s only a movie, it’s only a movie.” Then a disturbing image jumps onto the screen causing a chain reaction of fear and screams from the audience.
For the average B-movie fan, these combined actions make for a killer night.
Andrea Beesley-Brown grew up in New Zealand relishing nights like those. “Me and my girlfriends would always have sleepovers and watch horror movies. We’d watch Chucky, The Swamp Thing all those ridiculous horror movies. [My love for horror movies] blossomed from there,” Brown says.
Showing and collecting grindhouse films (low-budget exploitation films) was a pasttime for Brown but not a career until she attended a festival in New Zealand. “The festival’s called ‘The Incredibly Strange Film Festival.’ For two weeks they would play non-stop strange films,” Brown says. “The director of the film festival, Ant Timpson, had a huge archive of exploitation prints and that was a really big catalyst in getting me into grindhouse films.”
Now every weekend at Chandler Cinemas, Brown is known as the Midnite Movie Mamacita, where she shares her love of 35 mm, B-movies with Valley residents.
In a typical month, Chandler Cinemas will host anywhere from 200 to 300 grindhouse fans. The fans are predominately male, 18 to 34 years old, and generally “have a love for something non-traditional in the cinema,” Brown says.
Giovanni Ciccarone, an education senior, is one of those grindhouse fans. “I think it’s great to have a chance to see all these classics on the big screen because I was not even born or way too young when many of these came out,” Ciccarone says.
“I go to Chandler Cinemas as often I can, usually two weekends out of a month. When I can’t make it out, I make sure I get my fix at home through DVDs,” Ciccarone says.
Although Brown has an entourage of fans, “we could always use more people. We’re just dying to have more people come and experience these films and enjoy them for what they are,” Brown says.
One way Brown encourages new moviegoers is by hosting special events along with her films.
Previous events included special giveaways sponsored by Bookman’s, an erotic aerobics contest and a Michael Myer’s obstacle course in honor of Rob Zombie’s version of Halloween.
This year, Brown is taking on the biggest event yet for Chandler Cinemas by hosting the 4th Annual International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival.
The festival’s previous home was Harkins Centerpoint but after its doors closed, Chandler Cinemas has taken on the event.
“Bringing the biggest horror and science ffiction film festival in the USA to the Chandler Cinemas is a no-brainer,” points out Chris LaMont, the festival’s co-founder and executive director.
“It’s multiple screens and built-in audience of indie-film lovers [that] will continue the tradition of awesome movies at our great event for a fourth straight year,” LaMont says.
Brown is hoping the film festival will put Chandler Cinemas on the map.
“Last year the film festival brought in 4,000 people, which is really awesome. This year, I’m a little nervous [due to the] venue change but I really hope we could duplicate or go above last year’s numbers,” Brown says.
“I definitely plan on going to the horror festival! I’m so tired of the standard Adam Sandler movie, or counting on the Fast and the Furious movies to deliver a dose of action!” Ciccarone says. “I love B- movies and grindhouse flicks because they offer you stories that you just can’t get from mainstream Hollywood.”
The festival will be showing a plethora of horror and sci-fi films. The main attractions are “Re-Animator,” “Friday the 13th,” “Tokyo Gore Police,” and “The Blob.” Short sci-fi and horror films are shown throughout the festival along with festival winning pieces.
“For me, the highlight of the festival is the opening and closing films,” Brown says. “Opening night we have the Arizona premiere of “Donkey Punch,” which is a British horror film that played at Sundance and it’s getting a lot of notoriety.
Then closing the festival, I’m so excited to show Sukiyaki Western Django. It’s doesn’t fit in with the horror and sci-fi genre but it’s gory and Quentin Tarantino put his stamp of approval on it and is in it as well,” Brown says.
The festival also hosts many events along with its films. This year there will be an autograph raffle, a costume contest, various merchant tables and Frazetta Comics artist, Jay Fotos, will be on hand with a special International Horror and Sci-Fi exclusive comic called “68’.”
On Friday, Oct. 24, Icansmellyourbrains.com will be throwing the first Gore Girl Competition. Gore Girls are the horror and sci-fi Web site’s pin-up girls.
“We are giving girls a chance to actually compete to be the November or December Gore Girl. Girls should come down dressed up as a character and then we will do a mock photo shoot,” Brown says. “Then the cool thing is the winner will not only be the December Gore Girl but will also be the face of the advertising of the 2009 festival.”
Although the festival’s events and movies thrill the audience, every year the celebrity personalities who attend the event make for a more memorable experience. In past years Linda Blair from “The Exorcist,” Ken Foree from “Dawn of the Dead,” and Heather Langenkamp from “Nightmare on Elm Street” have participated in the fun.
This year Jeffrey Combs, star of “Re-Animator” and Adrienne King of “Friday the 13th” will be in attendance.
The horror and sci-fi film festival is sure to bring in the crowds for Chandler Cinemas but Brown is counting on an everlasting impression.
“I really hope the festival will let people know what we’re doing (at Chandler Cinemas). There’s “Rocky Horror Picture Show” every weekend and all my grindhouse stuff. I hope this will keep the business thriving,” Brown says.
To find out more about the Midnite Movie Mamacita shows and the complete schedule of events at the International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival, visit www.midnitemoviemamacita.com and www.horrorscifi.com.
But beware, the films may cause chills to run down your spine.
Reach the reporter at theresa.dillon@asu.edu.
