Happy Walpurgisnacht!

Yep, it's almost May, and tomorrow night is Walpurgis Night, named after Saint Walpurga, daughter of St. Richard the Pilgrim.  Born in Devon, England, she studied medicine and became a christian missionary to Germany, converting its people to Christianity from heathenism.  

So why mention this day on The Shadow Over Portland?  Well, it seems Saint Walpurga was also able to repel the effects of witchcraft.  And this lead to the belief that witches celebrate a sabbath on this night, and evil powers are considered at their strongest.  Which sounds like a fun evening to me.

They're coming to put a spell on you!

And, if you are in the Portland area, the witchy goodness goes the entire month.  First off, Wyrd War will bring Eye of the Devil on Walpurgisnacht (Saturday night, April 30) at the Hollywood Theatre, followed by a great Pagan May lineup at the Clinton Street Theater.  This is a great line up of films, from classics to art house to exploitation.  

And, while I don't have all of the films listed on the Weekly Update, you can find the schedule, as well as other great events, on the Horror/Sci Fi/Fantasy Calendar.  You'll want to keep checking that link, as I update it every few days with all the events coming in 2022 and beyond!

Not in the Portland area?  No worries, as this Weekly Update has plenty of events happening in the Pacific Northwest to keep genre fans happy.

A quick word about the new Doctor Strange film.  I've compiled the best list I could as far as when the film opens.  But, if you want to see a film that isn't Doctor Strange in a theater that will be showing it next week, please click on the link and make sure the venue isn't showing it on Thursday.  I did my best, but things can change.

That's all I've got for this week.  Stay healthy, be safe, and I'll be back next week with another Weekly Update from The Shadow Over Portland.

If you'd like to support the site, please visit my Ko-fi page.  Thank you.

 

Happening This Week   

 

Cinema 21 (616 NW 21st Ave in Portland, OR) and the  Pickford Film Center (1318 Bay St in Bellingham, WA) will show David Lynch's last film to date, Inland Empire, through Thursday, May 5.

 

Michelle Yeoh fighting to save the multiverse?  I'm SOLD!  Also starring the amazing James Hong and Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All At Once continues this week at the Joy Cinema and Pub (11959 SW Pacific Highway in Tigard, OR), the Laurelhurst Theater (2735 E Burnside St in Portland, OR), the Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy Blvd in Portland, OR), The Grand Cinema (606 Fawcett Ave in Tacoma, WA), the Kiggins Theatre (1011 Main St in Vancouver, WA), the Pickford Film Center (1318 Bay St in Bellingham, WA), Studio One Theaters (3945 SE Powell Blvd in Portland, OR), the Darkside Cinema (215 SW 4th St in Corvallis, OR), the Salem Cinema (1127 Broadway NE in Salem, OR), the Academy Theater (7818 SE Stark St in Portland, OR) and Cinema 21 (616 NW 21st Ave in Portland, OR).  It opens at the St Johns Twin Cinema (8704 N Lombard St in Portland, OR), the Bagdad Theater (3702 SE Hawthrone Blvd in Portland, OR), on Friday, April 29 and will play through Wednesday, May 4.

The coming-of-age horror film We're All Going to the World's Fair has been held over at The Grand Illusion (1403 NE 50th St in Seattle, WA) through Wednesday, May 4.

 

Artist Repertory Theatre brings The Children, a look at climate change and what, if anything, one generation owes the next, to the Portland Center Stage: Ellyn Bye Studio (128 NW 11th Ave in Portland, OR) through May 15.

Disney's Descendants the Musical takes to the stage through Saturday, April 30.  This Journey Theater production will be at Fort Vancouver High Schoool (5700 E 18 St in Vancouver, WA).

 

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore continues this week at the Cameo Theatre (304 E 1st St in Newberg, OR), the Liberty Theatre (312 NE 4th Ave in Camas, WA), the Granada 3 Theatre (1311 Adams Ave in La Grande, OR), Studio One Theaters (3945 SE Powell Blvd in Portland, OR), the Yelm Cinemas (201 Prairie Park Ln SE in Yelm, WA), and the following McMenamins locations: Anderson School (18607 Bothell Way NE in Bothell, WA), Old St. Francis School (700 NW Bond St in Bend, OR), the Edgefield Power Station Theater (2126 SW Halsey St in Troutdale, OR).  And it plays this weekend at the 99W Drive-In (3110 Portland Rd in Newberg, OR) with The Lost City.

 

Spider-Man: No Way Home swings into the McMenamins Kennedy School (5736 NE 33rd Ave in Portland, OR) through Thursday, May 5.

 

The Bleedingham Horror Film Festival is taking submissions through September 1, 2022.  The event takes place on Saturday and Sunday, October 22 and 23, in Bellingham, WA.

 

Metalesque Fest will be taking performer applications through June 18.  The festival takes place from September 30 to October 2 at locations in Portland, OR.

 

The Portland Horror Film Festival is accepting submissions for the upcoming festival.  The final deadline for submissions is May 1.

April, 2022

Friday, April 29

Considered by Rue Morgue Magazine to the "most violent and depraved zombie movie ever made," The Sadness chews its way into the Rio Theatre (1660 East Broadway in Vancouver, BC) tonight at 10:45 pm, with a final screening on Sunday, May 1, at 9:30 pm.

The Beacon (4405 Rainier Ave S in Seattle, WA) will screen Brian DePalma's rock horror film Phantom of the Paradise tonight at 8 pm.

Queer Horror at the Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy Blvd in Portland, OR) presents a 25th anniversary screening of Scream 2, hosted by Portland's premier drag clown Carla Rossi.  Showtime is 8:30 pm.

Booklover's Burlesque: The Sci-Fi Edition takes place today at the Alberta Rose Theater (3000 NE Alberta St in Portland, OR) tonight at 7 pm.  Advance tickets are recommended, as previous Booklover's Burlesque shows have sold out.

 

Saturday, April 30

 

Wyrd Wars 7th Annual Walpurgisnacht Film Festival will bring the British horror/mystery Eye of the Devil (AKA 13), starring Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Donald Pleasence, Sharon Tate and David Hemmings, to the Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy Blvd in Portland, OR) tonight at 7:30 pm.

 

Alright, you primitive screwheads, listen up!  The 7th Street Theatre (313 7th St in Hoquiam, WA) is showing Army of Darkness tonight at 8 pm.   The screening is presented by Lion Guard Gaming as a fund raiser for cancer.  Admission is by donation ($5 recommended). Ya got that?!? 

"If Boogie Nights and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre had a baby, X would be their demonic love-child!"  Well, just shut up and take my money!!  The latest from director Ti West (The House of the Devil, The Innkeepers), X plays at the Rio Theatre (1660 East Broadway in Vancouver, BC) tonight at 10:45 pm and Tuesday, May 3, at 9:20 pm.

 

The Pickford Film Center (1318 Bay St in Bellingham, WA) series It's Alive! shambles on with the 1932 horror classic The Mummy today at noon.  

The Clinton Street Theater (2522 SE Clinton St in Portland, OR) will host a screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show with the Clinton Street Cabaret tonight at midnight.  Doors open at 11 pm.

 

May, 2022

Sunday, May 1

The Rio Theatre (1660 East Broadway in Vancouver, BC) will show David Lynch's last film to date, Inland Empire, tonight at 3:30 pm and Monday, May 9, at 5:45 pm.

 

The Rio Theatre (1660 East Broadway in Vancouver, BC) is show The Wicker Man: The Final Cut tonight at 7:15 pm.  And no, it's not the one with THE BEES! 

Tuesday, May 3

Pagan May kicks off at the Clinton Street Theater (2522 SE Clinton St in Portland, OR) with the 1942 rom com I Married a Witch, with Veronica Lake and Fredric March.  Sure, it's a rom com at heart, but Lake's character is a witch, so I'm adding it.  The film starts at 7 pm.

Darkside Cinema (215 SW 4th St in Corvallis, OR) is bringing back the Sci-Fi Extravaganza tonight at 7 pm with a screening of The Last Man on Earth, starring Vincent Price.  Your $10 admission is redeemable for snack bar items.  Be advised, heckling is encouraged during the show.  Doors open at 6:15 pm.

Wednesday, May 4

 

It's Star Wars Day, and the Rio Theatre (1600 East Broadway in Vancouver, BC) is celebrating with Too Hoth to Handle, a new Star Wars burlesque revue from the Geekenders.  Showtimes are 8 pm on Wednesday, May the Fourth and Friday, May6, and 9 pm on Saturday, May 7.  Doors open one hour before showtime and advance tickets are available now.

The Greater Portland Young Parent Fair is an event to empower young parents (teen up to 25 years old) to connect with local resources and opportunities while having fun with their families.  This year's event, May the Fourth Be With You, takes place at KingPins Family Entertainment Center (3550 SE 92nd Ave in Portland, OR).  Wear something Star Wars and you'll receive an extra raffle ticket.  Remember, this event is for young parents 25 and younger and their families.

 

The third film in John Water's "Trash Trilogy," Desperate Living, plays at 7 pm tonight at the Whiteside Theatre (361 SW Madison Ave in Corvallis, OR).

 

Thursday, May 5

 

Pagan May continues at the Clinton Street Theater (2522 SE Clinton St in Portland, OR) with Louis Malle's Black Moon, a "Freudian tale of adolescent sexuality set in a port-apocalyptic world of shifting identites and talking animals."  Okay.  The film starts at 7 pm.

 

You know this will open big, so I've started listing theaters as soon as I see an announcement, and I found my first.  Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness opens today at Studio One Theaters (3945 SE Powell Blvd in Portland, OR), the St Johns Twin Cinema (8704 N Lombard St in Portland, OR), the Cameo Theatre (304 E 1st St in Newberg, OR), the Liberty Theatre (315 NW 4th Ave in Camas, WA), the Granada 3 Theatre (1311 Adams Ave in La Grande, OR),  the Columbia Theatre-Saint Helens (212 S 1st St in Saint Helens, OR), the Yelm Cinemas (201 Prairie Park Ln SE in Yelm, WA), and the following McMenamins locations: Anderson School (18607 Bothell Way NE in Bothell, WA), the Bagdad Theater (3702 SE Hawthrone Blvd in Portland, OR), Grand Lodge (3505 Pacific Ave in Forest Grove, OR), Old St. Francis School (700 NW Bond St in Bend, OR), the Olympic Club (112 N Tower Ave in Centralia, WA), the Edgefield Power Station Theater (2126 SW Halsey St in Troutdale, OR), and the St Johns Theatre (8203 N Ivanhoe St in Portland, OR)..

 

Friday, May 6

 

Weird Elephant at The Grand Cinema (606 Fawcett Ave in Tacoma, WA) brings the creepy Finnish body horror film Hatching to the big screen tonight and tomorrow at 10 pm.  

 

Pagan May continues at the Clinton Street Theater (2522 SE Clinton St in Portland, OR) with a screening of Mario Bava's classic Black Sunday, starring the amazing Barbara Steele.  That says it all.  The film starts at 7 pm.

 

More Pagan May goodness tonight at the Clinton Street Theater (2522 SE Clinton St in Portland, OR), with a screening of George A. Romero's Season of the Witch, tonight at 10 pm.

 

Alright, you primitive screwheads, listen up!  The Rio Theatre (1660 East Broadway in Vancouver, BC) is showing Army of Darkness tonight at 11:30 pm.  Ya got that?!? 

 

It's Mother's Day weekend, and just in time, Central Cinema (1411 21st Ave in Seattle, WA) is screening Psycho through Thursday, May 12.  So treat your mom to this classic film.  After all, she is your best friend...

 

The Beacon (4405 Rainier Ave S in Seattle, WA) has The Suspense is Killing Us podcast host a screening of 1998's Wild Things tonight at 8 pm.

 

You know this will open big, so I've started listing theaters as soon as I see an announcement, and I found my first.  Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness opens today at CineMagic (2021 SE Hawthorne Blvd in Portland, OR), the 99W Drive-In (3110 Portland Rd in Newberg, OR), and Blue Mouse Theatre (2611 N Proctor St in Tacoma, WA). 

Saturday, May 7

Pagan May continues at the Clinton Street Theater (2522 SE Clinton St in Portland, OR) with a screening of the folk horror classic The Wicker Man: Final Cut.  Don't worry, it's not the one with THE BEES!  The film starts at 7 pm.

If you're a movie studio that lost the rights to make a Doctor Strange movie before production started, you could just move on to another property.  But Full Moon Features decided to rewrite the script, get rid of any connections to the Marvel comic and release the film as Doctor Mordrid: Master of the Unknown, starring Jeffrey Combs as the definately not Sorcerer Supreme.  You can check it out at midnight tonight, when CineMagic (2021 SE Hawthorne Blvd in Portland, OR) brings it to the big screen as part of the VHS Night program.  The show starts at midnight.

The Bonebat Comedy of Horrors Film Fest takes place today from 1 pm to midnight at SIFF Cinema Uptown (511 Queen Anne Ave N in Seattle, WA).

The Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy Blvd in Portland, OR) will screen int groundbreaking 1988 anime Akira tonight at 9:30 pm.  It's going to look AWESOME on the big screen!

 

The Clinton Street Theater (2522 SE Clinton St in Portland, OR) will host a screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show with the Clinton Street Cabaret tonight at midnight.  Doors open at 11 pm.