Like a bat on fire, Halloween is fast approaching. For those of you who like an extended season of scares, Albuquerque offers a week-long lead-up of cinematic spookiness. Here are some of our suggestions for spending your pre-Halloween in the dark.Thursday, Oct. 24Rifftrax Live returns to theaters courtesy of Fathom Events. In honor of the season, the “Mystery Science Theater 3000” gang will be riffing on George Romero’s classic zombie film Night of the Living Dead. The film will screen starting at 7pm at Century Rio and Albuquerque Downtown. Tickets are $12.50 adults, $11.50 students and seniors and $10.50 children at fathomevents.com.New Mexico Fright Fest, Albuquerque’s newest film festival, promises a weekend of horror films from around the globe. The inaugural Fright Fest will take place at the South Broadway Cultural Center this Thursday through Saturday. Thursday’s lineup includes a mix of shorts and features: “Zombiewood” (12:30pm), “Ravenous” (1pm), “Locked Up” (1:15pm), The Gauntlet (1:30pm), An Irish Exorcism (3pm), Intrusive Behavior (5pm), Jake’s Road (7pm) and “Arose The Coward” (9pm). Tickets are $7 per showing, $20 for an all-day pass or $65 for an all-access, three-day pass. Trailers for some of the films are available at nmfrightfest.com.Friday, Oct. 25New Mexico Fright Fest continues with Last Look (1pm), Blood Redd (3pm), Rabid Love (5pm), Blood Slaughter Massacre (7pm) and “Kiss of Night” (9pm)Saturday, Oct. 26New Mexico Fright Fest continues with They Will Outlive Us All (12:15pm), On Air (2pm), I Heart Monster Movies (4pm) and “The Tale of the Curious and Confused Monster” (6:45pm)Sunday, Oct. 27The 48 Hour Film Horror Project is the newest spinoff of the world-renowned 48 Hour Film Project (co-headquartered in Washington DC and Albuquerque). Starting Friday, Oct. 17, teams of filmmakers were given random subgenres of horror (B-Movie, Found Footage, Creature Feature, Sci-Fi, etc.). They were also provided with a line of dialogue, a prop and a character that had to be included. Teams then had just 48 hours to write, direct and edit their short films. Today the public can see the fruits of their labors. A whopping 26 films will be screened at the KiMo Theatre starting at 5:45pm (Block A) and 8pm (Block B). General admission is $10.Haunter is a new horror film starring Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine, Ender’s Game). The film concerns a lonely 15-year-old girl who believes her house may be haunted. Turns out our heroine is actually a dead spirit stuck in her old home. The “ghost” turns out to be another young girl, very much alive, who has moved into the house and is in great danger. Guild Cinema will be screening the acclaimed horror thriller this Sunday through Wednesday as a sort of Halloween warm-up. The film gets underway at 10:30pm each night. Tickets are $8 general admission.Tuesday, Oct. 29The 48 Hour Horror Film Project Awards Ceremony and Costume Contest takes place at ArtBar (119 Gold SW) from 8 to 10pm. Awards will be handed out to the best films as well as the most creative costumes.Thursday, Oct. 31F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu is widely considered one of the all-time greatest horror films. The silent, 1922 take on Dracula is filled with eerie imagery and would be worth checking out all on its own. But programmers at the historic KiMo Theatre are bringing in world-renowned musical trio Alloy Orchestra to perform a live musical score. By combining found percussion and state-of-the-art electronics, Alloy Orchestra will create a haunting soundscape to accompany the classic chiller. Tickets are $20 each and are available through kimotickets.com.The first annual Jack O’ Con, a crazy-crowded anime/horror/steampunk/brony/burlesque/comic mash-up convention, gets underway on Oct. 31 with a Halloween Horror Rave. Among the guests scheduled to appear between today and Nov. 3 are Lisa Loring from “The Addams Family,” Richard Hatch from “Battlestar Galactica,” John Dugan (who played “grandfather” in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Kathy Coleman and Wesley Eure from “Land of the Lost,” a couple of people from the Twilight franchise and wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper. Fans of Wes Craven’s 1991 horror film The People Under the Stairs will be pleased by a cast reunion featuring actors Brandon Quintin Adams, Sean Whalen and Yan Birch. At some point over the course of the weekend, organizers will be premiering two feature films, No Strings 2: Playtime in Hell (featuring actress/guest Maxine Wasa) and the locally shot exploitation flick Left For Dead. Everything takes place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. A one-day pass will run you $25. The website jackocon.com has more details.The Alibi Midnight Movie Madness Creepy Crawl Out is just the thing for you arachnophobes out there. At 5:00, 7:15 and 9:30pm, Guild Cinema will be screening the giant monster movie Big Ass Spider! This horror comedy stars Greg Grundberg (“Alias,” “Heroes”) as an LA exterminator determined to destroy a three-story spider. There will be all sorts of spider-related treats, including door prizes from Stranger Factory and Bubonicon. Plus the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science will be on hand with real live arachnid displays in the theater lobby. Tickets are $8 general admission and $6 students.
Film News: Get In The Holiday Season With A Week’s Worth Of Halloween Haunts—From Fright Fests To Big Ass Spiders!
Count Down To Halloween With Scary Screenings Around Abq
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