‘All Monsters Attack!’ 2026 @ Grand Illusion Cinema

We live in a weird world, but every so often, something grand happens. Though they were kicked out of their home of over half-a-century two Januarys ago, the volunteer-run Grand Illusion Cinema survived and are now officially taking over the Varsity Theatre, just five blocks south of their former location. Thus, this year’s All Monsters Attack!, their annual horror series, will be the last chance to support their longtime pop-up screenings at the SIFF Film Center before they settle into their new digs.

And, my word, do they have a slew of crazy chaos to put in front of your eyeballs. Among their 12 offerings, you’ve got gross-outs galore with Stuart Gordon’s “From Beyond” (1986) and Brian Yuzna’s dis-frickin’-gusting “Society” (1989), Cantonese-language spookiness with Ching Siu-tung’s “A Chinese Ghost Story” (1987), and their annual William Kennedy Memorial Screening of David Cronenberg’s body horror masterpiece “Videodrome” (1983).

A major series highlight comes from the Sprocket Society, who will be showing 1932’s pre-code chiller “The Most Dangerous Game” and a bevy of thematically linked shorts, all projected on 16mm. Are you more into the weird moral liminal space of made-for-TV shockers? Come to the Television Terror Triple Feature Pizza Party; you won’t know what the movies will be until you show up, but they guarantee a good time, and that’s without the added pizza dinner bonus.

Get to the Seattle Center in your finest Halloween costume, chill out with the Grand Illusion and count down the days until they open their new spot in the U District.