Northwest filmmakers have reasons to rejoice, as several festivals are accepting submissions? Or just go see a great film this week!

Well, the sun is coming for us Northwest Horror Fans again.  But I have a few suggestions to keep you in the Shadow Over Portland for the next week, and avoid the burning rays of that bright glowing orb piercing through the clouds.

And, if you've shot a film and are looking to submit it to a local festival, keep reading, as The Shadow Over Portland has you covered!


Ongoing

Submissions are being accepted for the PDXtreme Fest, 3 days of horror, crime, gore and more at the the Academy Theater (7818 SE Stark) in Portland, OR, December 2 through 4 this year.  You can find more details on how to enter your film at the Facebook Event Page.

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Mental Trap Escape Room Game invites you, and four to ten members, to escape a locked room in one hour.  And yes, it is timed.  Created by the devious minds behind 13th Door Haunted House, Glowing Greens Miniature Golf and Haunted Productions, this offers you the challenge to find the clues keeping you locked in the room and escape within an hour.  But, as the website suggests, it's not as easy as it sounds.  Located at 3855 SW Murray Blvd in Portland, OR, you can challenge your wits (and those of your team mates) to solve the puzzle before time expires.  I don't know what happens if you don't succeed, but that's part of the fun.  For more details, visit the link.

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The Horror Darling of the Sundance Film Festival, The Witch, continues at The Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy Blvd) in Portland, OR.  I've heard mixed about it, but I plan to see it and suggest Portland Horror Fans take a look.  More details, and advance ticket sales, are available at the link.

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The Nesting, a four part semi-improvised stage performance, opens tonight at The Shoebox Theatre (2110 SE 10th Ave) in Portland, OR through March 26.  Created by Joel Patrick Durham, this production is described as a cross between Friends and The Shining, "original, live, and just scripted enough to be dangerous."  Sounds good to me!  For more details, and advance ticket sales, visit the link.

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Well, one can debate if Heathers is a horror tale or not, but a musical version of the 1988 pitch black comedy seems to be worth mentioning.  This Portland premiere of this stage production will take place at triangle productions! (1785 NE Sandy Blvd) in Portland, OR, through April 2.  Showtimes and advance ticket sales are available at the link.

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Bleedingham, a Northwest Horror Short Film Festival, is now excepting submissions.  The chosen films will screen at the Pickford Film Cinema (1318 Bay St) in Bellingham, WA later this year.  More details can be found at the official website. 

Friday, March 18

The Old Porkchop Express is coming to the 7th St Theatre (313 7th St) in Hoqiuam, WA, as John Carpenter's classic spoof on the American hero, Big Trouble in Little China, screens tonight and tomorrow.  No word on showtimes (Hey, it's a few weeks away!), so keep checking back or visit the 7th St Theatre website closer to the screening date.

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Well, Northwest Horror Fans, if you're looking for a St. Paddy's Day celebration that doesn't involve drinking cheap green beer and inappropriate pinching, head to the Blue Mouse Theatre (2611 N. Proctor St) in Tacoma, WA, for a screening of the festive slasher film Leprechaun.  This holiday slasher film is bound to be you into the mood for, well, whatever your local celebration entails.  

Finding a pot of gold isn't enough to keep it, you have to outwit the leprechaun looking to reclaim it.  Warwick Davis and a pre-Friends Jennifer Aniston star in this classic bit of 80s cheese, originally aimed at a PG audience, but was given enough gore to secure an R rating.  And it's all awesome fun, as the film spawned multiple sequels, though I think Leprechaun 4: In Space was probably the best of the bunch, in terms of complete awesome crappiness.  I leave it for you to decide.  The show starts at 10 pm.   

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Beware the moors, as the Olympia Fright Club presents a screening of An American Werewolf in London tonight at 9 pm at the Capitol Theater (206 5th Ave. SE) in Olympia, WA.  This horror/comedy features some AMAZING (and Academy award winning) gore effects by Rick Baker, stellar work by the entire cast and....

Oh, I shouldn't have to be telling you this.  The film is a classic and deserves to be seen on the big screen.  Visit the link for more details.

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Richard Matheson's I Am Legend has a dodgy run on the silver screen.  The Last Man on Earth, with Vincent Price, wasn't a bad version of the story, but the Will Smith update was, well, let's be honest, an ABOMINATION!  Still, I have a soft spot in my Horror Heart for The Omega Man, director Boris Sagal's 1971 version of the tale.  Full of religious symbology (the final shot so nails what the screenplay was building to), the film features Charlton Heston as the last man on Earth, after an accidental plague outbreak reduced the human race to Donald Trump followers.

Oh damn, I'm sorry.  I try to keep political discourse out of The Shadow Over Portland.  But the anti-science, anti-art, anti-outsiders followers of Matthias (Anthony Zerbe) just makes it an easy (and cheap, I'm not denying it) metaphor.

I expect to be sued soon.  But let's get back to the film...

The Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy Blvd) in Portland, OR, is showing the film in GLORIOUS 35mm tonight at 7:30 pm.  Part of the Frak! Theater sci-fi series, you have to go in knowing this IS NOT the Matheson story.  We've got Heston showing off his pre-IRA roots, the LOVELY Roseland Cash in some daring PG nude scenes (a few of which were in the KPTV Portland broadcast of the film, back in the late 70s, when it was locally owned; I guess the Christ image at the end made up for the nudity).  But still, Heston's acting (or, perhaps, overacting) works much better as a tormented human than Smith. despite the dog's death (Price, however, NAILS IT!).  So this is a RECOMMEND, especially in 35mm!!

You'll find more details, and advance ticket sales, at the link.

  

Saturday, March 19

When Worlds Collide can't be a good thing, at least according to this George Pal classic Sci Fi feature from 1951.  Watch Earth be destroyed, and all the chaos ensuing from the inevitable collision, on the big screen at The Pickford Film Center (1318 Bay St) in Bellingham, WA, today at noon.  Tickets are just $2, and you can find more details, and advanced ticket sales, at the link.

Wednesday, March 23

The Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy Blvd) in Portland, OR, is screening a digitally restored version of Seconds tonight at 7:30 pm.  Directed by John Frankenheimer, with cinematography by James Wong Howe, the film deals with an unhappy middle aged banker (Rock Hudson) agreeing to a procedure that will fake his death and give him a new identity.  As expected, things don't end well.  Check the link for more detals and advance ticket sales.

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Weird Wednesday continues to bring on the AWESOME CHEESINESS to the Joy Cinema and Pub (11959 SW Pacific Highway) in Tigard, OR, as The Bat flaps it's way into the theater.  Vincent Price and Agnes Moorehead star in this cinematic version of Murder She Wrote (based on a Broadway play) set in a creepy old house, where a masked villain is looking for money stolen from a local bank.  Is the murderer Doctor Price in the Study with a Hooked Claw Glove?  You have to attend the 9 pm screening to find out!  As always, admission is FREE, but you must be 21 or older to attend the screening.  Just be sure to spend a few extra bucks at the snack bar to keep Wednesdays WEIRD in Tigard!

You'll find more details at The Joy Cinema official website later in the week.

Thursday, March 24

Norwescon 39 invades the Doubletree Hotel by Hilton Seattle Airport  (18740 International Blvd) in Seatac, WA, for through the weekend.  Billed as the Northwest's premiere Sci Fi and Fantasy convention, I expect Horror Fans might find something of interest if you're in the area.  More details can be found on the Facebook Event Page or the official website.

Saturday, March 26

White Zombie, the first film to portray the Walking Dead onscreen, will be shown tonight at the NW Film Center (1219 SW Park Ave ) in Portland, OR, at 7 pm.  Starring Bela Lugosi as the master of the undead, this 1932 film doesn't deal with flesh eating zombies, but those of true Voodoo origin.  And the film adds a touch of necrophilia, undead slavery and other unsavory topics that were nixed when the Hays Code (AKA The Motion Picture Production Code) began being enforced in 1934.  This should be the unedited version (I hope!), making it a treat for all Northwest Horror Fans.  You can find more details at the NW Film Center website.

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Following White Zombie at the NW Film Center is The Crime of Dr. Crespi, a retelling of Poe's The Premature Burial.  Visit the NW Film Center website for a plot synopsis and more details on the screening.  

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Frankenstein's Comicbook Swap returns to the East Portland Eagle Lodge 3256 (4904 SE Hawthorne) in Portland, OR.  The swap opens at noon, and admission is only $1 (kids and elders are free), with Early Bird Tickets at $5 (allowing you to start shopping at 11 am).  Tables are still available, so check out the Facebook Event Page for more details.

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That's what I have for now, Northwest Horror Fans.  But, be assured, more is coming!  Keep checking back at The Shadow Over Portland for weekly updates, or click on the Horror Calendar for all the genre offerings I've found.

For those with an even that might interest my readers, listing on The Shadow Over Portland is FREE!  Just send me an email at shadowoverportland@live.com and I'll include your event on the Horror Calendar and include it on my weekly updates.

And remember, if you attend any of these events, let the organizers know you read about it at The Shadow Over Portland!!