2018 is here and it’s alive! Alive!
At least it is at Gateway Film Center, where Universal Studio’s classic set of monster movies is coming to the big screen. All month long, GFC will screen the biggest names in monster movies.
“Chris [Hamel, GFC president and programmer] has been working on putting together a Universal Monsters program for some time,” says Jason Tostevin, GFC Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff. “The Universal Monsters are a living part of cinema history. They were the first blockbuster genre films, and are still part of our culture and collective cinema memory. They’re important, and the best way to experience them is on film, on the big screen.”
Beginning with the one-two punch that made Universal the name for horror—Frankenstein and Dracula, both from 1931—GFC ticks through the catalog throughout January.
“We’re doing Universal Monsters GFC-style,” says Tostevin, “which means we’re both celebrating them as classic cinema and presenting them as great retro horror. And like he does, Chris managed to find them on 35mm, so they can be as close to the original experience as possible.”
One stand out is Creature from the Black Lagoon, which is screening in 3D.
“Part of the excitement of bringing together our maverick mix is the thrill of the hunt,” says Tostevin “But it is a lot of work. That’s something I think people would be really surprised to learn, in an era where you can watch so many things at the touch of a button. It’s not like that for theatrical exhibition. Rights holders have changed. Prints can only be played on certain equipment. And then 3D is just one more layer to manage. That’s why Creature is the only Monster being shown digitally. That allows us to present it in 3D.”
Tostevin is particularly excited about sharing a couple of these with Columbus.
“Knowing its history, Frankenstein is the Monster I’m most excited to experience on the big screen,” he says. “And I really can’t wait for Abbott and Costello!”
Full Universal Monsters lineup:
· January 1-3 – Frankenstein (1931) with Boris Karloff
· January 4-6 – Dracula (1931) with Bela Lugosi
· January 7-9 – The Mummy (1932) with Boris Karloff
· January 10-12 – The Invisible Man (1933) with Claude Rains
· January 13-15 – Bride of Frankenstein (1935) with Boris Karloff & Elsa Lanchester
· January 16-18 – The Raven (1935) with Boris Karloff & Bela Lugosi
· January 19-21 – The Wolf Man (1941) with Lon Chaney, Jr.
· January 22-24 – Phantom of the Opera (1943) with Claude Rains
· January 25-28 – Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) with Lon Chaney, Jr.
· January 29-31 – Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) in 3D with Richard Carlson
Read more from Hope at MADDWOLF and follow her on Twitter @maddwolf.