Movie theaters aren’t just a convenient place to make “”da move.”” Sometimes, they also show good movies. That’s seldom the case around the Halloween season, but you can bank your candy horde on a selection of the creepiest and campiest flicks of the year. Here’s what this year has to offer.
“”Saw 3D””
Opens: Friday 10/29
Screening at: El Con, Park Place and Oro Valley Marketplace
Rated: R
Since 2004 the “”Saw”” franchise has been committed to killing people in new and exciting ways. What started as a genuinely creepy, low-budget thriller has morphed into a sort of grotesque Halloween ritual that gets a little harder to justify every year. The series has made less money with each release from “”Saw II”” to “”Saw VI,”” bottoming out last year with a $27 million gross — about half of what the original made. This year, “”Saw”” joins the 3D shame train, which means you should expect lots and lots of impalement.
The trailer for “”Saw 3D”” shows gawking audience in Agent-Smith-style glasses being strapped to their seats by spiky roller-coaster harnesses. Later, a dude in a pig mask reaches out of the screen and picks somebody up, presumably to rape and eat them, or whatever computer-generated pig people do. I guess this trailer is meant to terrify children and cultural recluses who don’t realize that 3D images don’t pose any real danger. Or maybe they do. The revival of 3D projection is a death omen for plot-driven storytelling — but so is the “”Saw”” franchise, so why complain? See it if you think a $15 ticket is worth stirring up a little fear of God in the kids.
“”Paranormal Activity 2″”
Screening at: El Con, Park Place and Oro Valley Marketplace
Rated: R
Last year’s “”Paranormal Activity”” was a filmmaking milestone in its own right. The hyper-realistic creeper was filmed on handheld cameras with a budget of about $15,000 and ended up with a $193 million worldwide gross. It’s a figure that puts “”The Blair Witch Project”” to shame, and it didn’t even include any snot.
“”Paranormal Activity 2″” is getting mixed reviews but has already made close to $50 million in the U.S. after one week. The set and cast may have grown — this time the Jim-and-Pam couple is replaced with a happy American family, complete with dog and bouncing baby — but the voyeuristic chills are the same. Fixed cameras capture recurring creepiness, compounded by the horror movie staple of the scary baby in jeopardy. See it on a date, or if you’re amused by theater audiences making asses of themselves.
The “”Rocky Horror”” Halloween Bash
Plays: Saturday, 10/30, 10 p.m.
Screening at: The Loft
Rated: R — $6
Are you a sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania? Would you like to be?
“”The Rocky Horror Picture Show”” is the longest-running theatrical release in film history, thanks in part to venues like The Loft Cinema. The Loft has been holding monthly Rocky Horror parties for years but none so well-attended by friendly costumed freaks as the Halloween bash.
If you’ve never seen the movie, don’t expect a thorough understanding by the end of the night. You’ll be too distracted by the costumed crowd, the raucous sing-alongs, the Loft’s Heavy Petting shadow cast reenacting the plot on the auditorium stage and pelting Rocky Horror “”virgins”” with playful insults and prizes most ghoulish. This year’s theme is “”Zombie Horror,”” so come in undead drag for your chance at the $100 costume contest prize. Sink your teeth into the campiest of camp rituals — the $6 admission is worth a bite.
