Northwest Film Event Highlights – October 2015
This month's column is dominated by two events: multiple screenings marking the date when Marty McFly sees his future in Back to the Future Part II, and Halloween, the horror-buff's favourite night of the year
Back to the Future day
Great Scott! It’s 2015 and while we may not have hoverboards or self-lacing Nikes, the one thing we have plenty of is Back to the Future screenings. As any time traveller will know, 21 October is “Future Day,” aka the date Marty McFly arrived in a neon-coloured Hill Valley in the year 2015 and almost unravelled the space-time continuum like a right silly idiot. To celebrate, cinemas across the Northwest are zapping the Doc’s DeLorean back on to their screens. Catch Back to the Future Part II this month at FACT Liverpool or with R.A.D at Gorilla Manchester alongside a science boffin Q&A. Meanwhile, at the Odeon Printworks in Manchester, there's an epic back-to-back trilogy screening. That’s right – where we’re going, we don’t need toilet breaks. (All 21 Oct.)
Old favourites at FACT
Speaking of old favourites, FACT are also resurrecting a load of classics to keep you warm on those chilly autumn evenings. Here you’ll find feel-good comedy Little Miss Sunshine (6 Oct), Pixar’s Monsters Inc (10 Oct), Leslie Nielsen sci-fi Forbidden Planet (11 Oct), the cheeky Monty Python and the Holy Grail (14 Oct), revolutionary animation-live action hybrid Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (17 Oct) and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner: The Final Cut (25 Oct). From there on out, things get a bit spooky as FACT switch to Halloween mode, conjuring screenings of undisputed comedy heavyweight Ghostbusters (25 Oct) and Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie on Halloween night. What a treat.
HP Lovecraft double bill
The fun continues with Grimm Up North in Manchester. Hot off the heels of their annual Grimmfest, they’re hosting a Lovecraft double bill at MMU’s Geoffrey Manton building, featuring 80s horror staples Re-Animator and From Beyond (24 Oct).
Fright Nights
Meanwhile, the Grimm team’s R.A.D buddies are running their own double bill on Halloween night at Gorilla, boasting suburban comedy gem The Addams Family, featuring Raúl Juliá’s definitive Gomez, and Joe Dante’s The ’Burbs, starring late-great that-guy actor Rick Ducommun alongside Tom Hanks and Bruce Dern.
What’s your favourite scary movie? Head to Kabinett in Liverpool for The Scream Experience (8 Oct) and catch late legend Wes Craven rewrite the rules of a genre he helped create with teen-slasher Scream. They’ll even throw in an artwork sale, cocktails and a few competitions to sweeten the deal. The very same venue continues the fright-filled fun with their The An American Werewolf in London Experience (29 Oct), bringing John Landis’s landmark lycanthrope movie back to the big screen, groundbreaking effects and all. Just remember to stay off the moors on your way home.