10/1 – 10/31
The Beacon Cinema invites you to āworship at the gore-soaked altar of slash, trash, thrash, and FUNā this month with their new series, Part 2: The Return. The theaterās programmers theorize thereās something truly special about a horror franchiseās second entry, coming after theyāve built a following based on a successful initial outing but before spinning out into insanity, illogic, and oft-accidental, oft-ironic excellence.
Though spread out over the entire month and mixed in with their regularly scheduled programming, the biggest event comes at the climax of the series with a six-hour mystery marathon on October 29, complete with free pizza from Blotto.
What are some sequels to look out for? Sam Raimiās 1987 primary genre document Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn, of course, Tobe Hooperās fiendishly funny The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 from 1986, and infamous ābest worst movieā cable mainstay Troll 2 (1990).
Digging in a little deeper into the series with two films from 1985, thereās A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddyās Revenge, in which Freddy Kruegerās whole āgonna murder you in your dreamsā schtick takes a backseat to a blatantly homoerotic possession story. The filmmakers came clean after years of denying any gay subtext; you can learn more in the 2019 documentary Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Steet, an examination of the filmās content and aftermath through the experiences of out lead actor Mark Patton.
Then thereās the gleeful trash ofĀ The Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf, which is (A) in a whole other tonal world than the Joe Dante-helmed original film, and (B) what happens when Christopher Lee, ā80s B-movie icon Sybil Danning (Battle Beyond the Stars,Ā Malibu Express), and an American-British studioĀ rampage all over communist-era CzechoslovakiaĀ for some bugnuts lycanthropy time.
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