Movies and Me...

I’m a Cinephile.  I LOVE movies.  All kinds of movies, from the Big Budget Blockbusters to the Shoestring Budget “B” movies.  Horror films, Musicals (don’t look at me that way), Science Fiction, Animation and Anime, Drama and Rom Coms, you name it.

I have a particular fondness for Ultra Low Budget SciFi and Horror Films, you know, the ones they show on SyFy Channel on Saturday Nights.  Yes they are often very bad, low budget, bad production values, really bad special effects and ridiculous plots.  Not to mention really bad acting!  But…  you have to love the fact that without these “Z” list films we would never have Cult Classics like “Darkstar” or “Evil Dead”, etc.  Hey, a lot of our favorite Directors had to start somewhere, right?

My love affair with movies really began in my childhood when Mom and Dad would pile us in the car and head out to the local Drive-In Theater for such classics as “Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte”, “Forbidden Planet”, Disney films like “The Castaways” with Hayley Mills and the occasional re-showing of 1931’s “Frankenstein” where I remember seeing a copy that had the original mood gels for a touch of color to help set the tone.

But things really got going on Friday Nights and Saturday Afternoons when the Local Stations would show “Shock Theater”, and air such  classics as “Man Made Monster”, “I was a Teenage Werewolf” and every version of “Frankenstein” they could find.  This may explain why I have a twisted sense of humor, but more on that later.

As time went on I would save my money earned from doing odd jobs and convince my Mom and Dad to drop me off at the local grindhouse for the day where for 50 cents I would see a Triple Feature, usually consisting of a Western, a Horror Film and a Comedy along with a bunch of Cartoons.  I spent many a Saturday hunkered down on my seat staring at the Silver Screen, munching Popcorn and gorging  myself on various candy treats. I really miss those days.  Now we’re lucky to see one movie at the Megaplex for $10.00/ticket and spending a small fortune on snacks and drinks!