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The Alamo Drafthouse Won July Again With “JAWS On the Water”

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Every summer the Alamo Drafthouse holds “Jaws On the Water” events in Austin, Texas. At these one-of-a-kind screenings, attendees are invited to watch the greatest shark movie ever made from open water (Well, sort of open. It’s surrounded by a dock.). This year, the newly-minted Birth. Movies. Death. Events presented the series, which has run for the duration of July. Much like the “On the Water” screening of The Shallows that I attended last year, this year’s screening was equally as fun and eventful. Even better is that this year screenings were added for Jaws 2Jaws 3 and Jaws: The Revenge (that last one was a Master Pancake screening, of course). Rather than see Jaws, however, I jumped at the chance to see Jaws 2, my personal favorite installment in the franchise, on the water.

“But Trace, why are you going to waste your time seeing Jaws 2? Why don’t you see the much better Jaws?“, you may ask (I know some readers just jumped down to the comments to start tearing me apart). That is an excellent question. While I do agree that Jaws is the best entry in the series in terms of quality, Jaws 2 is actually the entry that I would re-watch at any given moment. You see, Jaws 2 is the first Jaws film I ever saw (yes, I saw it before I saw the first one), and as much as I love the original, Jaws 2 is simply a more fun film. I mean it turns into a slasher movie for the last 40 minutes for God’s sake. Sure, it is the epitome of the bloated sequel (it could stand to have about 20 minutes shaved off of its runtime), Jeannot Szwarc’s direction is nowhere near as strong as Steven Spielberg’s and Jaws 2 clearly has a much less original script. All of that being said I still can’t help but love the damn thing. That’s why I chose to see “Jaws 2 On the Water” instead of “Jaws On the Water”. Also, RIP Marge.

Jaws on the Water

The inflatable screen ready to show Jaws 2!

Tickets for these “On the Water” screenings are $55, and while patrons may be turned off by the steep price tag, it should be noted that every ticket includes:

* A shark-approved inner tube that you get to keep.

* Access to Beachside Billy’s (formerly Volente Beach) Water Park fun from 6:00PM – 8:30PM, including the Lazy Lagoon, The Sidewinder, water slides, volleyball, a beachside bar and grill and a whole lot more.

* A screening of one of the greatest films of all time (and its sequels).

* An explosive fireworks finale.

* The chance to be a floating shark snack for a squad of scuba divers to scare.

Oh! And don’t forget the Mondo-designed pint glass, featuring original artwork by acclaimed artist Kevin Tong:

Jaws 2 on the Water

Mondo-Designed Pint Glass featuring artwork by Kevin Tong.

Needless to say, the price of admission is completely justified. And if you have an aversion to water parks, rest easy that the area where you watch the film is actually on the beach on the outer border of the water park (the park is located on the shore of Lake Travis) All of the water running through the park is fresh water from the lake too. So instead of marinating in a chlorinated cesspool of urine, you’re actually relaxing in a lake while watching the film. Upon arriving at Beachside Billy’s, I was prompted to the registration desk where I had to present my ticket. I was also invited to pre-purchase beers that would be handed out during the screening. After paying a reasonable price of $4 per beer (the options were Lonestar and PBR), I was given one rubber bracelet to trade in for beer during the screening (more on that in a bit). I bought three.

My three beer bands.

I was welcome to grab my inner tube at that time, but I figured since I had two and a half hours to go down the water slides and eat some tasty Texas BBQ that I would hold off. I had free reign to the water slides at the park and went down them more than a few times, but my favorite attraction at the park was probably the Sidewinder, a crazy U-shaped slide with a steep drop. If you like roller coasters, this is the slide to go down.

Jaws On the Water

A rear view of The Sidewinder.

After going down the slides a few times I was able to get some food and grab a couple of beers before everyone in the park was encouraged to get in the water for the screening. I ran to get my tube really quick and ran into the water. For a Friday night, it wasn’t that crowded. One of the park employees informed me that they had roughly 200 tickets purchased for Jaws 2 compared to the 1,000(ish) they had for a Jaws screening the weekend before. I don’t know what’s wrong with people. Jaws 2 is such a blast (okay, I’ll stop defending Jaws 2 now)!

Anyway, remember those beer bracelets I purchased upon my arrival? It turns out those were extremely handy during the screening. Rather than have to swim back to shore and go to the bar for a beer, there were beer attendants standing on the dock and waiting to hand you beers in exchange for those rubber bracelets. You simply swim to the dock, hand an attendant a bracelet and get a beer in return. All you had to do was float over to them and a beer would be waiting for you. You can see them parked on the back of the dock with their ice chests here:

Jaws 2 on the Water

Patrons starting to enter the water before the pre-show starts.

Unfortunately it seems that by opting to see Jaws 2 instead of Jaws that I missed out on two things: scuba divers and fireworks. As mentioned above, many (if not all) of the “Jaws On the Water” screenings feature scuba divers who swim around under the water and grab people’s legs throughout the film. Those divers were not present during the one-time-only screening of Jaws 2. Also missing was the fireworks show at the climax of the film when Brody electrocutes the shark (they usually fire them off when Brody blows up the shark in Jaws). These features may have been missing because attendance was so low compared to the Jaws screenings. It was a disappointing, but certainly not deal-breaking, loss.

The lack of scuba divers and fireworks aside, this was still an incredible movie-watching experience and one that I look forward to attending every summer. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll actually go see Jaws (though I really want to see Jaws 3 on the water since it’s, you know, set in a water park). Also, I managed to snag a few photos before I started making my way through the water park, so please enjoy some more of my excellent photography skills below:

A journalist for Bloody Disgusting since 2015, Trace writes film reviews and editorials, as well as co-hosts Bloody Disgusting's Horror Queers podcast, which looks at horror films through a queer lens. He has since become dedicated to amplifying queer voices in the horror community, while also injecting his own personal flair into film discourse. Trace lives in Austin, TX with his husband and their two dogs. Find him on Twitter @TracedThurman

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS sequel

Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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