SHRIEK SHOW XV

There are many traditions associated with Halloween but none are as resilient, or as brain-meltingly fun, as Spectacle’s annual SHRIEK SHOW (or SHRIEKSHOW, depending on the year, apparently).

Mark Freado unleashed Shriek Show upon an unsuspecting public in 2011 with seven gut-busting horror films back-to-back in a 14-hour marathon. Mark presided over nine years of Halloween carnage before passing the curse to Zach Fleming in 2020, and the marathon has continued almost every year since.

This year marks the fifteenth year of this beloved Spectacle tradition, so we wanted to celebrate by doing something nearly as crazy as the movies Shriek Show has inflicted upon audiences over the years: a three-day Shriek Show  marathon, playing one film from every previous edition. Mark and Zach have each delved back into their respective years to pick a favorite from every edition they programmed, and where possible we’ve dug up the original program text that accompanied each film when it first screened.

Fourteen years of regional oddities, shot-on-video nightmares, forgotten slashers, supernatural freakouts, bargain-bin monsters, and movies that probably should never have existed in the first place, dragged back onto the big screen for one long Halloween weekend.

We kick things off at 7 PM on Friday, October 30th with the very first film ever screened at Shriek Show, before working our way (almost) chronologically through fourteen years of the marathon.

FULL WEEKEND PASS

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30TH

7 PM / 9 PM / 11 PM

$10 DAY PASS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31ST

NOON / 2 PM / 4 PM / 6 PM / 8 PM / 10 PM / MIDNIGHT

$25 DAY PASS

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1ST

3 PM / 5 PM / 7 PM / 9 PM

$15 DAY PASS

Individual tickets are $5 at the door.

DAY 1 – FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30TH

SHRIEK SHOW 1 – 7PM:

X XXXX XXX XXXXXX

Dir. XXXXXX XXXX, 1958

United States. 76min.

In English.

A tense and atmospheric descent into madness, X XXXX XXX XXXXXX is a lean, low budget treat with art direction that’s equal parts Man Ray and poverty row.  This film is a must for lovers of great B movies and creepy cemeteries!

SHRIEK SHOW 2 – 9PM:

XXXXXX XXXXX’X XXXX

Dir. XXX XXXXXXX, 1989

United States. 80min.

In English.

XXXXXX XXXXX’X XXXX began life as a student film before expanding into a feature. Made on a shoestring budget with a largely local cast and crew, it’s a wildly inventive example of late-’80s DIY horror, packed with handmade effects and surreal imagery.

SHRIEK SHOW 3 – 11PM:

XXX XXXXXXXXXXX

Dir. XXXX XXXXXXXXX, 1986

United States. 100min.

In English.

Someone once said “Texas regional horror is the best regional horror.” It’s a bold statement, but it would be difficult to disagree. With a close community pushing the boundaries in pretty much every aspect of the genre, the output is impressive to say the least. Bret McCormick made XXX XXXXXXXXXXX on Super-8 and edited it on 3/4″ and the result is a heartfelt, lo-fi, gut munching success. Disconnected sound, hallucinatory loops, chanting, droning, and a world of practical effects pepper this nightmarish vision of the Lone Star state.

DAY 2 – SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31ST

SHRIEK SHOW 4 – NOON

XXXXXX’X XXXXXXX: XXX XXXXXXX XXXXX

Dir. XXX XXXXX, 1989

United States. 83min.

In English.

This years entry is…well, something special indeed. With the Spectacle Shriek Show IV in full swing this will be the proverbial “third bowl of porridge” to your melted brain.

SHRIEK SHOW 6 – 2PM

XXXXXX XXXXX XX XXXXXXX X

Dir. XXXXXXX XXXXX, 1985

United States. 87min.

In English.

One of the most confusing and compelling homemade horror films ever made, future music video director XXXXXXX XXXXX’X debut feature film, shot over years on nights and weekends, is a delirious collage of oddball gore, ludicrous plot twists, and a general milieu of weirdness unlike anything else in cinema history. A head-scratcher of this magnitude hasn’t graced the Shriek Show screen since…well, probably last year!

SHRIEK SHOW 7 – 4PM

XXX XXXXXXXXXX

Dir