Movies
Unreleased 2002 Film ‘Night Creep’ Closing Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival
The film was one of the last the late Don Calfa (Return of the Living Dead) acted in.
Set to haunt the Proscenium Theater at the Drake in Center City Philadelphia from Thursday, September 28th, to Sunday, October 1st, the second annual edition of the Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival (“PUFF”) has just announced the latest and final additions to their 2017 line-up.
In addition to Tragedy Girls, Terrifier and Ruin Me, as well as the World Premiere of the highly-anticipated 100 Acres of Hell, PUFF adds two extremely unique films to their roster, including a shot-on-video horror film that has been lost for over 10 years…
“Officially selected as the Closing Night Film for PUFF 2017, the Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival will host the World Theatrical Premiere of “Night Creep,” a shot-on-video horror film that is so shocking, bizarre, and absolutely insane that it must be seen to be believed. Directed by “Dark Seduction” filmmaker Greg Travis and starring “Return of the Living Dead” icon Don Calfa in one of his final roles, this tongue-in-cheek genre offering was shot nearly 15 years ago, released directly to DVD in Africa and South America, and has remained out-of-print for over a decade. PUFF is excited to bring a new, high-definition remaster of “Night Creep” to U.S. audiences for the very first time.
Set in Los Angeles, “Night Creep” stars Christine Sparks as Cindy Cinnamon, a down-on-her-luck exotic dancer who, following a sudden break-up, moves into an apartment owned by an eccentric and strange stroke victim (Calfa). Shortly afterwards, she experiments with a psychotropic drug called “Night Creep,” fueling visions of a disturbing visitor taking on the visage of her landlord. As her world falls apart around her, Cindy’s nightmares begin to blend in with her reality. Is it her past coming back to haunt her? Or is it the work of… the Night Creep?!
Co-starring Patricia Scanlon (“Getting On”), Paula Shaw (“Freddy vs. Jason”), and Greg Travis (“Lost Highway”), “Night Creep” is a singular genre experience, offering twisted thrills that inhabit the underground spirit on which PUFF thrives. As shameless and jaw-dropping as anything the exploitation genre has to offer, “Night Creep” will make its big-screen debut at 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 1st. However, be warned: “Night Creep” is absolutely, positively not for the easily offended.”
You can check out the Night Creep trailer below!
Badges for PUFF 2017 as well as individual tickets for all programmed films can be purchased via Film Freeway. For more information, including the full schedule and feature film trailers, please visit the official Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival website.
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At the Abigail premiere, Dan Stevens listed Norway among his four favorite vampire movies. “I just saw a great movie recently that I’d never heard of,” he told Letterboxd. “A Greek film called Norway, about a vampire who basically exists in the underground disco scene in ’80s Athens, and he can’t stop dancing ’cause he’s worried his heart will stop. And it’s lovely. It’s great.”
You won’t find a better endorsement than that, but allow me to elaborate. Imagine Only Lovers Left Alive meets What We Do in the Shadows by way of Yorgos Lanthimos. The quirky 2014 effort follows a vampire vagabond (Vangelis Mourikis) navigating Greek’s sordid nightlife circa 1984 as he dances to stay alive. Not as campy as it sounds, its idiosyncrasies land more in the art-house realm. Stylized visuals, colorful bloodshed, pulsating dance music, and an absurd third-act reveal help the existentialism go down in a mere 74 minutes.
With the recent solar eclipse renewing public interest in the astrological event, Bloody Birthday is ripe for rediscovery. Three children born during an eclipse – Curtis Taylor (Billy Jayne, Parker Lewis Can’t Lose), Debbie Brody (Elizabeth Hoy), and Steven Seton (Andrew Freeman) – begin committing murders on their 10th birthday. Brother and sister duo Joyce (Lori Lethin, Return to Horror High) and Timmy Russell (K.C. Martel, The Amityville Horror) are the only ones privy to their heinous acts.
Bloody Birthday opened in 1981 mere weeks before the release of another attempt to claim the birthday slot on the slasher calendar, Happy Birthday to Me. Director Ed Hunt (The Brain) combines creepy kid tropes that date back to The Bad Seed with slasher conventions recently established by Halloween and Friday the 13th – with a little bit of the former’s suspense and plenty of the latter’s gratuity. The unconventional set up helps it to stand out among a subgenre plagued by banality.
Starting in the late ’70s and throughout the ’80s, Italy built an enterprise out of shameless rip-offs of hit American movies. While not a blatant mockbuster like Cruel Jaws or Beyond the Door, 1989’s Alien from the Abyss (also known as Alien from the Deep) was inspired by – as you may have guessed from its title – Alien, Aliens, and The Abyss.
After a pair of Greenpeace activists attempt to expose an evil corporation that’s dumping contaminated waste into an active volcano, the environment takes a backseat to survival when an extraterrestrial monster attacks. Character actor Charles Napier (The Silence of the Lambs) co-stars as a callous colonel overseeing the illicit activities.
Director Antonio Margheriti (Yor: The Hunter from the Future, Cannibal Apocalypse) and writer Tito Carpi (Tentacles, Last Cannibal World) take far too long to get to the alien, but once it shows up, it’s non-stop excitement. The creature is largely represented by a Gigeresque pincer claw that reaches into the frame, giving the picture a ’50s creature feature charm, but nothing can prepare you for its full reveal in the finale.
Set against the backdrop of displaced Syrian and Palestinian refugees, What Is Buried Must Remain is a timely found footage hybrid from Lebanon. It centers on a trio of young filmmakers as they make a documentary in a decrepit mansion alleged to be haunted on the outskirts of a refugee camp. Inside, they find the spirits of those who died there, both benevolent and malicious.
It plays like Blair Witch meets The Shining through a cultural lens not often seen in the genre. The first half is presented as found footage (with above-average cinematography) before abruptly weaving in more traditional film coverage. While the tropes are familiar, the film possesses a unique ethos by addressing the Middle East’s plights of the past and the present alike.
Cathy’s Curse is, to borrow a phrase from its titular creepy kid, an “extra rare piece of shit.” The Exorcist, The Omen, and Carrie spawned countless low-budget knock-offs, but none are as uniquely inept as this 1977 Canuxploitation outing. Falling squarely in the so-bad-it’s-good camp, it’s far more entertaining than The Exorcist: Believer.
To try to make sense of the plot would be futile, but in a nutshell, a young girl named Candy (Randi Allen, in her only acting role) becomes possessed by the vengeful, foul-mouthed spirit of her aunt, destroying the lives of anyone who crosses her path. What ensues is a madcap mélange of possession, telekinesis, teleportation, animal attacks, abandoned plot points, and unhinged filmmaking that must be seen to be believed.
Visit the SCREAMBOX Hidden Gems archives for more recommendations.
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