kingdom of the spiders

Best of the New Releases: Pandorum
I was not expecting to like Pandorum. I presumed it would be just another generic sci-fi/horror hybrid with Paul W.S. Anderson's name attached as a producer. Thankfully, it is not. Pandorum is actually a surprisingly effective, worthy entrant to the arena of films about space madness. Dennis Quaid kind of dominated the trailers, but the real star is Ben Foster, a gent I wish I saw in more leading roles, as a man who wakes aboard a massive, barren spaceship wondering where all the crew and passengers have gone.

It's got a lot of enigma to it, and while parts of the ending may not be as unforeseen as director Christian Alvert may have wanted, it still goes out on an impressive bang. Good production design avoids feeling like other claustrophobic spaceship movies where people keep running down narrow corridors; though the creature design is a little reminiscent of the Reavers from Serenity. Still, it's an entertaining, above-average genre hybrid that should satisfy those who typically like such things.

The fine town of Austin, Texas, has been overwhelmed by horror films! And I have the next batch! But first, a little history: There once was a man called Zack Carlson, and he was hired to help program films for the Alamo Drafthouse movie theater / restaurant / dream factory. One of Zack's projects was the highly popular Terror Thursday, which meant free horror flicks once a week. The terror has now switched to Tuesdays, which certainly makes more sense in an alliterative way, and the price has now skyrocketed from FREE to ... one dollar. (If you'd like to attend a Terror Tuesday screening and you don't have a dollar, just let me know. I've started a scholarship foundation.)

So mainly because I love Zack and the Alamo, but also because horror movies make me happy, I now bring you the next EIGHT WEEKS of Terror Tuesday titles. (Oooh, now there's an alliteration!) Please keep in mind that, yes, most of these films are readily available on DVD, but also that A) that's not the same as a big screen (and the Alamo only uses actual film prints!), B) it's an excuse to get out of the house, you gore-addicted shut-ins, and C) the Alamo has cheese fries that make other places' cheese fries look like yellow poop on rye.

• 7/7 -- Prince of Darkness
• 7/14 -- Deadtime Stories
• 7/21 -- Re-Animator
• 7/28 -- The House on Sorority Row (with Elvira introducing!)
• 8/4 -- Deathdream
• 8/11 -- Killer Klowns from Outer Space
• 8/18 -- Kingdom of the Spiders
• 8/25 -- 976-EVIL

After the jump: Carlson writes rather pithy synopses for the Alamo Guide. Enjoy!