The Gap Theatre - Wind Gap, PA
For nearly 30 years, Exhumed Films has hosted screenings of retro films and cult classics, including 12 and 24 hour themed marathons where you don't know what movies you're going to see until you buy a ticket and show up for the event. I've been to quite a few Exhumed events at the Mahoning, the Colonial, and the Gap since 2021, but this is the first time I've been in attendance for one of their mystery movie marathons.
For nearly 30 years, Exhumed Films has hosted screenings of retro films and cult classics, including 12 and 24 hour themed marathons where you don't know what movies you're going to see until you buy a ticket and show up for the event. I've been to quite a few Exhumed events at the Mahoning, the Colonial, and the Gap since 2021, but this is the first time I've been in attendance for one of their mystery movie marathons.
The 90s Horror Screamover was a six movie marathon of horror flicks from the 1990's with vintage trailers between each of the features. It began at 9:00 pm last night and continued through nearly 9:00 am this morning. It took a little bit of adjustment on my Friday night and Saturday afternoon sleeping schedule, but I managed to stay awake for the whole thing.
Johnny and Nick who I met at the Mahoning were in attendance as well, so I was lucky enough to enjoy the night with friends.
I sat in the middle of the theater for the Indiana Jones double feature and at the top of the stairs on the right hand side of the screen for the John Carpenter triple feature. This time, I was in the back row by the exits. It's a good place to settle in with plenty of leg room, and it has the added advantage of being able to stand up and stretch your legs during the movie without disturbing anyone else in the theater.
The first movie of the night was Clive Barker's 1990 fantasy horror film Nightbreed. I've seen the VHS cover of this flick so many times over the past 30ish years that I always assumed that I saw it before, but I quickly realized that this was my first time seeing it and I thought that it was pretty great. Not sure how I've gone this long without seeing it, but I'm glad that my first experience was a 35mm print at a retro theater.
The second movie of the night was my favorite film of the night: the 1990 Charles Philip Moore film Demon Wind. I've come to learn that it was one of the movies hosted by Joe Bob Briggs on The Last Drive-In back in 2019, but either I missed that week or my memory has gotten a lot worse because I don't remember ever seeing this movie before. It's one of those horror flicks that seems like it's trying to be sincere, but ends up being one of the most hysterically funny things you'll ever see.
The third movie was the 1990 psychological horror classic Jacob's Ladder. I saw this for the first time on the mid 90's, either on home video or on one of the pay channels, but I was a bit too young to be able to fully understand the story at the time. This was probably the first time I've seen it in over twenty years, and having the opportunity to see in on 35mm on the big screen with no distractions gave me a new level of appreciation for this great film.
The fourth flick was a 1990 cult classic that I had never seen or heard of before. Shakma is the story of a med school professor, his students, and a baboon who they have injected with an experimental drug which unexpectedly fills the animal with violent rage. Later that night, the animal hunt and kills while the professor and his students participate in an elaborate live action role playing game across the building. This movie just screams early 90's and is a hell of a lot of fun.
The fifth movie was a 1991 film adaptation of a HP Lovecraft novella, The Resurrected. I enjoyed it, but if I'm being honest, it was my least favorite movie of the night.
The sixth and final movie of the night was Frank Henenlotter's sequel to his 1982 directorial debut, the 1990 dark comedy horror film Basket Case 2. I'm pretty sure I saw this before, but it's been a very long time since I sat down and watched it from start to finish. The story picks up right where Basket Case left off, starting with a woman and her adult granddaughter rescuing Duane and Belial and bringing them back to her home, the attic of which she has turned into a sanctuary for severely deformed people. For as much as I enjoy the first film in the series, I think that I love this one even more. It was a perfect end to an awesome night of movies at The Gap.
And that's a wrap on the 90s Horror Screamover. This was a hell of a lot of fun and it definitely will not be my last Exhumed Films marathon.
