The Annual Horror and Sci-Fi film festival kicks off Thursday, October 6 with the viewing of the original PSYCHO at Gizmo Pictures.  Admission is FREE.  Then films will play at The Break Room and Field of Greens all day and night Saturday, ending with a large outdoor film.

Click here to learn more about Keith VanSickle, a mastermind behind the festival.

View schedule below and learn more on the official website.

Thursday Oct 6th 2011:

 Gizmo Photography (112 SE Kansas Avenue):

6:30 PM          PYSCHO (1960)

Friday Oct 7th 2011:

The Break Room (911 S Kansas Avenue)

8:30 PM        HOMEMADE HORROR FILM FESTIVAL SHOWINGS

FRIGHT NIGHT (1985) immediately following Film Festival

Saturday Oct 8th 2011:

The Break Room (911 S Kansas Avenue)

10:00 AM      THE GOONIES (1985)
12:00 PM      GREMLINS (1984)
2:00 PM        DRACULA (1931)
3:30 PM        FRANKENSTEIN (1931)
5:00 PM        FEAST (2005)

Field of Greens (909 S Kansas Avenue)

10:30 AM     BEETLEJUICE (1988)
12:30 PM     THE BLOB (1958)
2:30 PM       KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER (1972)
4:30 PM       PLANET OF THE APES (1968)

Outdoor Big Screen in front of Break Room/Field of Greens (909-911 S Kansas Avenue)

6:30 PM         TOPEKA ZOMBIE WALK (Proceeds go to Let’s Help of Topeka)
8:00 PM         SLASHER KINGS (Live Musical Performance)
9:00 PM         TRICK ‘R TREAT (2007)
10:45 PM       NIGHT OF THE COMET (1984)

Slash + Bash Film Fest Schd:

Friday, 6/24
On the outdoor screen
9:00 pm – Lawrence Filmmaker Patrick Rea Presents two short films
with Q&A – “Time’s Up Eve” & “Get Off My Porch”
10:00 pm – “Aliens (Special Edition)”

Saturday, 6/25
The Break Room (Main Screen)
11:00 am – Ghostbusters
1:30 pm – War Of The Worlds (The Original)
3:30 pm – Insanitarium
5:00 pm – The Slash And Bash Short Film Contest
7:00 pm – The Descent
9:30 pm – Bonnie And Clyde Vs. Dracula with Q&A with KC Filmmaker Timothy Friend and actress Jennifer Friend

Saturday, 6/25
Field Of Greens (Second Screen)

11:30 am – Monster Squad
1:30 pm – Night Of The Creeps
4:30 pm – Without Warning
6:30 pm – Scream
9:00 pm – Carrie
Film titles and times subject to change.

Read about the Slash + Bash film festival:

The fifth annual Slash and Bash Horror/Sci-Fi Film Festival is slated for June 24 and 25 in downtown Topeka. Expanding to twice a year and now centered around The Break Room and Field of Greens, the festival is preparing this year to be better than ever.

This would have been the sixth year for this Topeka-based, homegrown movie event, but founder and organizer Keith Van Sickle experienced a setback last year when he suffered a series of strokes, a lingering viral infection that landed him in the hospital in ICU and near death on at least two occasions.

After more than a month of recovery at the Kansas Rehabilitation Hospital, Van Sickle was able to continue his recuperation at home while going to therapy at the hospital every day.

“The strokes were so debilitating that when he first went into therapy, he couldn’t even speak or w

rite his name,” family said. “He is so fortunate to have regained those abilities and so much more.”

Nearly a year later, he still undergoes about three hours of therapy a week, he said, and continues to improve every day. He is grateful for all the people who visited him and supported him during his recovery. The ordeal has changed his perspective and now he relishes even the most mundane of tasks.

“I have a better feeling about everything now. I look at everything differently, and I’m so grateful. I’m just thankful that I get do things like mow the lawn,” he said, laughing.

Van Sickle, who has worked as a film critic on radio, television and in print for the past 15 years, is healthy enough now that he and a group of organizers have decided to rekindle the festival he first created in 2005.

“I started Slash and Bash because I noticed nobody in Kansas was running a horror film festival,” Van Sickle said. “I just think horror and science fiction do not get their due, whether it is in awards or box-office receipts. There are many talented filmmakers and actors in this underappreciated, but popular, genre.”

The first Slash and Bash Festival was only one day, and the screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho was extremely successful, he said. The following year, the event was expanded to two days.

Slash and Bash has continued to grow over the years and has featured appearances by such special guests as actress Dee Wallace (ET, Cujo), stuntwoman Eileen Deitz (The Exorcist) and cast members from the Halloween franchise and Night of the Living Dead.

In 2009, Van Sickle brought Adrienne Barbeau (Swamp Thing, The Fog, Escape From New York) to Topeka as the special festival guest, with Topeka Mayor Bill Bunten declaring a day in her honor.

This year the spotlight will shine on Kansas talent, Van Sickle said, and the festival will feature local filmmakers, actresses and artists.

Lawrence filmmaker Patrick Rea will introduce his shorts, Time’s Up, Eve and Get Off My Porch, which are screening later this month at the Phoenix ComicCon. Newly released on Blu-ray and DVD, the 2008 film, Bonnie & Clyde vs. Dracula, by Kansas City filmmaker Timothy Friend, also will be shown during Slash and Bash. Friend and his wife, actress Jennifer Friend, will conduct a Q&A and sign autographs in conjunction with the screening.

In addition to highlighting Kansas moviemakers, the festival will be highlighted by mainstream horror and sci-fi favorites such as Carrie, Scream, War of the Worlds and a pinnacle outdoor showing of James Cameron’s Aliens.

“I think this is going to be our best festival yet because of the outdoor movie screening and the incredible support we’ve had from The Break Room/Field of Greens and other downtown merchants,” Van Sickle said. “Come on out and watch some great films and be prepared to scream.”

Art Show

Part of Savor Kansas, the month-long celebration of the Kansas Sesquicentennial, the Upstage Gallery is displaying a show titled “The Jayhawk State Theatre of Kansas Celebrates Cinematic History.” This month-long show features juried art by local and regional artists that shows the importance of cinema to pop culture. All pieces are on sale, with some of the proceeds going to the Jayhawk Theatre and their efforts toward restoring the 1926 movie palace.

Here are the top placing pieces in the show:

"Lights, Camera, Action" by Shanon Fouquet, 3rd Place

"Belly Dancers," by Keith Czecheckanski, 2nd Place

"Locked in the Tower," by Jan Jennings, 1st Place

"Goddess of Agriculture," by Renee Johnson, President's Choice award

"Robin in Black and White," by Randy Roach, Best in Show winner

DVD Release

KU doctoral graduate Juli Pitzer is releasing her film, “Preserving the Past: Topeka’s Jayhawk Theatre” on DVD with copies for sale at the Upstage Gallery 5-8 p.m. Friday June 3 for $12, with all proceeds going to the Jayhawk Theatre.

The film itself is a 19-minute short, but the DVD contains a total of nearly 55 minutes of material, including deleted scenes, shorts on downtown Topeka, the Jayhawk Hotel and other behind-the-scenes footage.

Pitzer will be on hand to sign copies of the DVD and talk with people about the film and her knowledge of the theater, which she first discovered in 2008 while doing a research internship for her doctorate program.

Members of the Jayhawk Theatre Board of Directors will be in attendance to give tours of the theater to visitors as well.

For more information, visit jayhawktheatre.com

[ press release | images courtesy Pam Renovato / Upstage Gallery | DVD image courtesy Juli Pitzer ]

The Event

Local businesses will serve as venues for the display and performance of art created by over 100 regional and local artists. A large array of artwork will be showcased, including:

• 2D visual art
• music
• film
• poetry + prose

A variety of activities will occur throughout the afternoon, including activities geared toward entertaining and immersing children in art.

Handmade signs directing pedestrian traffic will mark the Art Walk route.

The location of the Art Walk is meant has special meaning to ReThink Topeka, which is a grassroots organization that seeks to enlighten Topekans and visitors about the positive aspects of the city.

“All the venues will emphasize the importance of downtown’s resurgence,” said Justin Marable, co-founder of ReThink Topeka. “Local eateries will provide refreshments at chosen venues, which will bring more local flavor to the event, stimulate the economy and produce an awareness of Topeka cuisine.”

The event is open to the public and asks for a $2 donation, which will give the attendee a handmade ReThink Topeka button and admission to all venues and activities.

Venues and Activities

• Break Room (911 S. Kansas Ave.): film, music and youth art. Food for sale by the Break Room. Youth/Adult activity: make a city collage with provided materials.
• Blue Planet Café (110 S.E. 8th Ave.): Artwork by regional artists, live music, readings and food provided by the Blue Planet Café. Youth/Adult activity: Linda Carson will do storytelling at 2, 4 and 5 p.m. Merchandise will be headquartered at Blue Planet, with ReThink Topeka shirts, chapbooks and Frisbees for sale.
  

  ReThink Topeka Chapbook for sale at the event

• Jayhawk Tower (700 Southwest Jackson St.): Artwork by regional artists, live music, readings and food provided by the Brickyard Barn Inn.  The Jayhawk Theatre will be conducting tours of the theater throughout the afternoon. Youth/Adult activity: cookie decorating.
• NexLynx (123 SW 6th Ave.): Artwork by regional artists will be on display. Youth/Adult activity: poetry workshop. Chapbooks featuring regional authors will be on sale at this location. Door prize provided by NexLynx.
• Supersonic Music (117 S.E. 6th Ave.): Local musicians will perform out front.  Youth/Adult activity: chalking
• Topeka Community Cycle Project (TCCP) (423 S. Kansas Ave.): Local craft and art group, the Craftavists have partnered with the TCCP to upcycle bike parts and materials in order to create handmade bicycle inspired art, which will be on display and for sale at this location
• Music, chalk drawing and other activities will line the sidewalks during the event.

For more information, visit www.rethinktopeka.com

[ April 2011 | press release | images provided by ReThink Topeka | cross-posted at xyztopeka.com ]

Fri.-Sun., Feb. 25-27, 2011

White Concert Hall, Washburn University

FREE admission

The 2011 event is the 14th annual festival. The theme is ”The First Academy Awards®, 1927-1928.”

The festival will feature nominated and award winning films from 1927-1928, the first-ever Academy Awards®. Sound films swept the nominations after this first year, so the organizers are proud to share elite silent films recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The festival has built a national reputation and this year, organizers expect fans to attend from throughout the United States. The musicians, who will play live accompaniment for the films, include The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra from Colorado, Jeff Rapsis from New Hampshire, Marvin Faulwell and Greg Foreman from the Kansas City area, Phil Figgs from Sebetha, Kan. and Bob Keckeisen from Topeka.

Special guests include Annette D’Agostino Lloyd, Harold Lloyd’s biographer and David Shepard, film restoration expert and preservationist.

Award-winning movies that will be shown include “The Last Command” (with Emil Jannings, Best Actor), “7th Heaven” (with Janet Gaynor, Best Actress) and — in a special Sunday afternoon matinee — “Wings,” winner of Best Picture, with Clara Bow and Kansas-born actor Buddy Rogers.

A highlight of the event will be the third annual Cinema-Dinner, held just before the Saturday evening program. Reservations are required and can be acquired at the event, if seats are still available at that time.

Details for making your dinner reservation, the full program, and introductions to the special guests are provided on their web site: www.kssilentfilmfest.org

[ Feb. 2011 | photos courtesy Kansas Silent Film Festival | text by Carol Yoho ]

"Night of the Living Dead" stands the test of time as one of the great scary movies.

1. Night of the Living Dead

I’m not talking about the remakes. I’m talking about the original. At the time this movie came out, it was one of the scariest movies ever. It still creeps some of my friends out to this day—not to mention any names, Chelsey Deaver—but it is what kinda started the whole zombie craze. Give it a shot; you wont be disappointed.

2. The Exorcist

Many of you might not know this, but this was the first scary movie I ever watched. Probably explains a lot, now doesn’t it? This movie, to me, is still one of the scariest movies of all time and I once got to meet Eileen Dietz, who plays the little girl when she gets possessed. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, why not?

3. Poltergeist

Who still doesn’t get freaked out when someone says “They’re here,” being it the relatives, unwanted friends or, in this case, ghosts? The real “Paranormal Activity” minus the shaky cam and bad acting. It is almost kid-friendly, but maybe for 10-year-olds and above, though that’s just me. I don’t have kids, so take that for what it’s worth.

In "Nightmare on Elm Street," everyone's favorite pirate gets sucked into a bed and sprayed with blood. He had it coming.

4. Nightmare on Elm Street

See Johnny Depp get sucked into a bed and gushed out into one of the biggest blood spray scenes I’ve seen in a movie. Yeah, Johnny Depp was in the first “Nightmare on Elm Street,” just like Kevin Bacon was in the first “Friday the 13th.” Make sure and check this out, but don’t get caught up in the remake, with Jackie Earle Haley, which I didn’t really care for.

5. Psycho

One of Hitchcock’s best and, of course, Anthony Perkins was AMAZING in this. Don’t waste your time with the remake with Vince Vaughn—this is where it’s at. I remember watching this when I was growing up and also seeing how they shot the shower scene at Universal Studios in Florida.

6. Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness

You really need to watch all three, and I’m only making this one pick because there are four other movies I’m gonna post on this list. Start with “Evil Dead,” then, of course, “Evil Dead 2,” then “Army of Darkness.” Bruce Campbell at his best and Sam Raimi doing what he does best—horror movies.

7. Invasion of the Body Snatchers

The first remake, and the best in my opinion. This movie has been remade, redone, restarted, rebooted, whatever, but this one is the best, from 1978 with Donald Sutherland. Don’t waste your time this Halloween season with the others. Trust me on this one.

Taylor Lautner need not apply.

8. American Werewolf In London

Ok, it was a tough choice between this and “The Howling,” but i’m going with this one. Had to have a werewolf movie in here. It’s no Jacob from “Twilight,” but come on ladies, this one will do.

9. Cujo

Two words for ya—Rabid Dog. If you haven’t seen this yet, you’ll never look at “Beethoven: The Movie” the same. You’re welcome.

10. Halloween

And what would the holiday season be without a title with the same name? I’m talking about the original, not the Rob Zombie one. I am a fan of the Zombie one, but you can’t go wrong with the original. Plus, I was able to meet two people from the movie in real life.

Nick Leach is seveneightfive’s resident movie expert. Check out his blog to follow along on his magical tour through the 151 Greatest Movies You’ve Never Seen.

This was a movie that I’ve been very psyched for since I saw the first trailer that showed you nothing about the movie—all it had was just voices from scenes in the movie with words on the screen like “punk” and “prophet,” ending with a shot of Jesse Eisenberg’s face, then the title “The Social Network” that looked like the Facebook logo.  Of course, I was intrigued and had to check out what it was about.

Based on the book “The Accidental Billionaires” by Ben Mezrich, Jesse Eisenberg (“Zombieland”) plays Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. Zuckerberg is a student at Harvard, where he breaks up with his girlfriend and decides to go back to his dorm room and make a website that rates women from Harvard on which are hot and which aren’t. He does this by hacking into all the facebook accounts per each dorm/house/sorority.  He gets over 20,000 hits in one night, bringing Harvard’s network down. Everyone around  campus hates and loves that he did this, and he catches the eye of three guys. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and their friend ask Zuckerberg to help write code for a website they want to create that would be a new social networking site just for Harvard.  Zuckerberg takes what he learns from the Winklevoss brothers and decides that it isnt good enough and makes his own site that he calls Thefacebook and is only accessible if you had a Harvard email address.  He brings in a good friend of his named Eduardo Saverin, who becomes his CFO.

The rest of the movie I’m not gonna ruin because, well, this movie blew what expectations I had out of the water. It does have its flashbacks and forwards because “present day” in the film is Zuckerberg in two different court hearings where he is being sued, not only by his friend Eduardo, but also the Winklevoss brothers. It does flow and makes since after you realize that it is flashing forward and backwards. Justin Timberlake, I didnt realize till the movie, plays Sean Parker, the creator of Napster. Looking at pictures of Zuckerberg from his younger years and how Eisenberg looks now, director David Fincher practically nailed it.

So if you still dont know what this movie might be about, it’s about Facebook and how it started from the ground up to where it is now and who all was involved. I’m gonna put this movie in my top 10 for this year, so go check it out!

10 outta 10 wahoos

Nick Leach is seveneightfive’s resident movie expert. Check out his blog to follow along on his magical tour through the 151 Greatest Movies You’ve Never Seen.

Of course, I failed to mention Don Johnson, Steven Seagal and Cheech Marin are also in this film. For those who don’t make it out to the movies that often, two films were released together as “Grindhouse” in 2007 by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, shot in a 70s movie style with previews for movies before and in between the two movies. None of the trailers were actual films being released except one, “Machete.” The trailer got so much hype that Robert Rodriguez decided to make this into a film.

From the original trailer in the “Grindhouse” movies, nothing much has changed. He did add De Niro, Alba and Michelle Rodriguez but everyone else including Trejo, Fahey and Marin are all in this. Machete (Trejo), is a federale who is trying to take down a big drug lord at the beginning of the movie played by Seagal. Seagal traps him, forces him to watch his wife die and almost kills Machete. He moves into Texas to work as a day laborer, where he catches the eye of a senator’s right hand man (Fahey). He pays Machete to kill the senator he protects. Everything goes south during the assassination when Machete is set up and shot and almost killed. The rest of the movie, he is trying to take his revenge out on the people that set him up.

“Machete” is blood and guts right up in your face, with everything one would hope for from the trailer of the “Grindhouse’ movies. I, on the other hand, wanted more out of it. It felt like it was missing something that the 2007 movies had, maybe the grittiness of it is what i was looking for. Don’t get me wrong, I did really like this movie, but wish it would have been done like the 2007 movies.

7.5 outta 10 wahoos

Nick Leach is seveneightfive’s resident movie expert. Check out his blog to follow along on his magical tour through the 151 Greatest Movies You’ve Never Seen.

All of that history echoes in the now empty, dusty and crumbling theater. But Juli Pitzer, a University of Kansas doctorate student and filmmaker, is determined to shine a light on that history by directing and producing a short film, and in the process, helping to save the physical structure that houses such a rich past.

“What’s significant about this theater is that it’s still here,” says Pitzer. “It’s the only theatre in downtown Topeka that exists from this time period and any other time period, and I hope that this film will help expose it.”

The 15-minute short, tentatively titled “Capturing the Community at the Historic Jayhawk Theatre in Topeka, Kansas,” is being created through a short film grant from the Kansas Humanities Council (KHC) and will contribute to statewide commemorations of Kansas’ 150th year of statehood next January.

Pitzer and crew will be filming at the Upstage Gallery, 720 S.W. Jackson, this coming Friday Sept. 3 during the First Friday Artwalk, 5-8 p.m. Visitors to the gallery will be able to tour the theater and tell their own personal stories to the camera with the possibility of being included in the short film or in a later extended version.

“For the film, we need the stories, and a lot of the stories are going away, because the population that came here and remembers its origins are in their 80’s and 90’s, so that history is already being depleted.”

But the film won’t just be a trip down memory lane for aged Topekans. Pitzer believes that there is a message for people of her generation, the 20, 30, 40-somethings who grew up with an altogether different movie house experience.

“We just take it for granted in our digital age, you know, media is always with us, so we don’t understand what has brought us to this place. We go to a box out in a suburb with a gazillion choices,” says Pitzer. “There’s very little detail that goes into creating a multiplex. To come in and see the history here and see the hand chiseled décor, to understand the pulling of the curtain, I hope that it births a little bit of passion or love for the nostalgia of those before us.”

The documentary will make its way to the public in January, 2011 for the sesquicentennial celebration. There are plans for an airing on WIBW Channel 13, community screenings and discussions, and, Pitzer hopes, a viewing at the Jayhawk itself, even in its current condition.

“It would be really hard to climate control it for a screening. I would love to do a screening in here. Maybe I could just fan it in some way,” Pitzer laughs.

[ Parts excerpted from seveneightfive Sept. 1 - Oct. 15 | Leah Sewell | photos by EJ Drake ]

Dinner for Schmucks is a remake of a 1998 French film called The Dinner Game. Thanks to seeing the original, I was unable to really sit and enjoy this film. The movie follows Tim (Rudd) who is trying to get to the top of his company that deals with money and assets. He gets his foot in the door when he introduces a lamp made from a deactivated bomb. His boss invites him to a special dinner on the weekend, but the catch is he has to invite a special person to come with him. Not just any ordinary person will do; he needs an idiot or schmuck. By chance, Tim is driving and hits Barry (Carell), who is trying to save a dead rat from getting run over. He’s saving this dead rat because his hobby is dressing up dead rats and putting them into famous scenes from history like the Wright Brothers’ first flight or Benjamin Franklin flying his kite. That part is actually pretty amusing, seeing all the famous scenes he puts his rats in—very good stuff. Tim invites Barry to the dinner and, of course, Barry agrees to go. The night before the dinner, however, Barry comes over to Tim’s house mistaking the dinner for that night and wreaks havoc on Tim’s life in a matter of a couple hours. The movie is right on with the remake minus the dinner part, because in the original, they never made it to the dinner. Some faces you might recognize in the film are Zach Galifianakis, who plays Barry’s boss who thinks he has the ability to control minds; Bruce Greenwood, who plays Tim’s boss; and Ron Livingston, who is trying to get the prize for best idiot at the dinner party.

If I could go back in time and not watch Dinner Game so i could enjoy this film a little more, it’d be nice, because I felt I would have laughed a little more. It’s hard—in my little hobby, with how many films I see—not to judge new films because they are remakes, and I compare it to the original when I know I shouldn’t, but I do—I’m a creature of habit. There were some dry spots in the movie, but it was funny overall, and I would suggest watching Dinner Game after you see this film, (though I know you might not, because it’s all in subtitles, but it is worth it). It was weird seeing how they translated some things from the old to the new, and they did it well. Good job by director Jay Roach for filling in the spots I wish they would have touched on in Dinner Game.

7.5 outta 10 wahoos

Nick Leach is seveneightfive’s resident movie expert. Check out his blog to follow along on his magical tour through the 151 Greatest Movies You’ve Never Seen.