By Bob Trate, Director of Programming. 

Last October, Box Office Pro ranked the Colonial Theatre in their Top 5 destinations for Horror in the country (see the article here). This year, we are pulling out all the stops with the scariest of scary movies, gateway “horror” films for the kiddies, and some that are just beyond description. Please join us, once again, for ‘Halloween at the Home of the Blob.’

The Thing from Another World on 16mm. When scientist Dr. Carrington (Robert Cornthwaite) reports a UFO near his North Pole research base, the Air Force sends in a team under Capt. Patrick Hendry (Kenneth Tobey) to investigate. What they find is a wrecked spaceship and a humanoid creature (James Arness) frozen in the ice. They bring their discovery back to the base, but Carrington and Hendry disagree over what to do with it. Meanwhile, the creature is accidentally thawed and begins wreaking havoc. Screens Wednesday, October 2nd, 2024. 

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Ganja & Hess (Restoration). Flirting with the conventions of blaxploitation and horror, Bill Gunn’s revolutionary independent film Ganja & Hess is a highly stylized and utterly original treatise on sex, religion, and African American identity. Duane Jones (Night of the Living Dead) stars as anthropologist Hess Green, who is stabbed with an ancient ceremonial dagger by his unstable assistant (director Bill Gunn), bestowing upon him the blessing of immortality… and the curse of an unquenchable thirst for blood. When the assistant’s beautiful and outspoken wife Ganja (Marlene Clark) comes searching for her missing husband, she and Hess form an unexpected partnership. Together, they explore just how much power blood holds. Starts Friday, October 4th, 2024. There will be two additional screenings. 

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The Rocky Horror Picture Show. In this cult classic, sweethearts Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon), stuck with a flat tire during a storm, discover the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry), a transvestite scientist. As their innocence is lost, Brad and Janet meet a houseful of wild characters, including a rocking biker (Meat Loaf) and a creepy butler (Richard O’Brien). Through elaborate dances and rock songs, Frank-N-Furter unveils his latest creation: a muscular man named “Rocky.” Now with two different ways to watch! Both versions screen Saturday, October 5th, 2024. Sponsored by The Record Shop.

Shadow Cast

Sing-Along

Dracula (1931) – Spanish Version. Soon after beginning work for Conde Dracula (Carlos Villarias), the clerk Renfield (Pablo Alvarez Rubio) learns that his employer is, in fact, a vampire who lives on human blood. Now under Dracula’s spell, Renfield helps his master travel to London, where the vampire takes another victim (Carmen Guerrero). Dracula also has eyes on the lovely Eva (Lupita Tovar), but her fiancé, Juan Harker (Barry Norton), and a wise professor named Van Helsing (Eduardo Arozamena) seek to stop him. Screens Sunday, October 6th, 2024. Sponsored by Mad Shelley Comics. 

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Young Frankenstein. Respected medical lecturer Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) learns that he has inherited his infamous grandfather’s estate in Transylvania. Arriving at the castle, Dr. Frankenstein soon begins to recreate his grandfather’s experiments with the help of servants Igor (Marty Feldman), Inga (Teri Garr) and the fearsome Frau Blücher (Cloris Leachman). After he creates his own monster (Peter Boyle), new complications ensue with the arrival of the doctor’s fiancée, Elizabeth (Madeline Kahn). Screens Friday, October 11th, 2024.

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Hocus Pocus. Conjured up by some unsuspecting pranksters, a tricky trio of 300-year-old witches set out to cast a spell on the town and reclaim their youth. But first, they must get their act together and outwit three kids and a talking cat. Now with two different ways to watch! Saturday, October 12th, 2024. 

Daily Screenings

Adult Only and Dance Party

Price, Poe, and Corman Triple Feature with Victoria Price Q&A. We have a new annual tradition at the Colonial, bringing Vincent Price back to our screen in October. This year, our special guest, Vincent’s daughter, Victoria, has asked us to spotlight her father’s collaborations with Edgar Allen Poe. With the recent passing of legendary film icon Roger Corman, we knew one film would not be enough. The Colonial is proud to present three tales featuring Vincent Price, based on material by Edgar Allen Poe and all directed by Roger Corman. Nevermore will there be such an event. Sunday, October 13th, 2024. 

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The Craft – Witchy Wednesday 3. After transferring to a Los Angeles high school, Sarah (Robin Tunney) finds that her telekinetic gift appeals to a group of three wannabe witches, who happen to be seeking a fourth member for their rituals. Bonnie (Neve Campbell), Rochelle (Rachel True) and Nancy (Fairuza Balk), like Sarah herself, all have troubled backgrounds, which combined with their nascent powers lead to dangerous consequences. When a minor spell causes a fellow student to lose her hair, the girls grow power-mad. Wednesday, October 16th, 2024. 

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Halloween III Season of the Witch – Alan Howarth Live Accompaniment. Composer Alan Howarth will perform his classic score to “HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH” live to a screening of the film here at The Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville, PA, on October 17, 2024! This all-immersive audio and visual film screening experience is not to be missed! This will be an awe-inspiring tribute to one of the best “HALLOWEEN” sequels! Thursday, October 17th, 2024. 

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Maleficent. As a beautiful young woman of pure heart, Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) has an idyllic life in a forest kingdom. When an invading army threatens the land, Maleficent rises up to become its fiercest protector. However, a terrible betrayal hardens her heart and twists her into a creature bent on revenge. She engages in an epic battle with the invading king’s successor, then curses his newborn daughter, Aurora — realizing only later that the child holds the key to peace in the kingdom. Saturday, October 19th, 2024. 

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Exhumed Films 24 Hour Horror-thon at The Colonial Theatre. The biggest horror movie event on the East Coast is back! Exhumed Films is proud to partner once again with the iconic Colonial Theatre to subject our fiendish fans to another full 24 hours of non-stop, monstrous mayhem!The 24 Hour Horror-thon Part XVII will start at noon on Saturday and go straight through until noon on Sunday–or beyond! As in previous years, the lineup of films is kept secret; audience members will only find out what the features are as they unspool onto the screen. The show will be a combination of popular horror titles mixed with some really rare gems. Plus we’ll run tons of classic trailers, shorts, and other oddities, all projected from 35mm film. We will also have amazing prize giveaways, tons of merch for sale, and a bevy of spooky surprises! Saturday to Sunday, October 19th and 20th, 2024. 

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Little Shop of Horrors – The Director’s Cut. Meek flower shop assistant Seymour (Rick Moranis) pines for co-worker Audrey (Ellen Greene). During a total eclipse, he discovers an unusual plant he names Audrey II, which feeds only on human flesh and blood. The growing plant attracts a great deal of business for the previously struggling store. After Seymour feeds Audrey’s boyfriend, Orin (Steve Martin), to the plant after Orin’s accidental death, he must come up with more bodies for the increasingly bloodthirsty plant. Sunday, October 20th, 2024. Sponsored by Studio 323 & Perch Plants.

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The Texas Chain Saw Massacre – 50th Anniversary. When Sally (Marilyn Burns) hears that her grandfather’s grave may have been vandalized, she and her paraplegic brother, Franklin (Paul A. Partain), set out with their friends to investigate. After a detour to their family’s old farmhouse, they discover a group of crazed, murderous outcasts living next door. As the group is attacked one by one by the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen), who wears a mask of human skin, the survivors must do everything they can to escape. Thursday, October 24th, 2024. 

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Halloween (1978) on 35mm. On a cold Halloween night in 1963, six-year-old Michael Myers brutally murdered his 17-year-old sister, Judith. He was sentenced and locked away inside a sanitarium under the care of child psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis. On October 30, 1978, Myers escapes and makes his way back home to Haddonfield, turning a night of tricks and treats into something much more sinister for three young women, including Laurie Strode, the star-making role for Jamie Lee Curtis. Friday, October 25th, 2024. 

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The Nightmare Before Christmas. The film follows the misadventures of Jack Skellington, Halloweentown’s beloved pumpkin king, who has become bored with the same annual routine of frightening people in the “real world.” When Jack accidentally stumbles on Christmastown, all bright colors and warm spirits, he gets a new lease on life — he plots to bring Christmas under his control by kidnapping Santa Claus and taking over the role. But Jack soon discovers even the best-laid plans of mice and skeleton men can go seriously awry. All day, Saturday, October 26th, 2024. 

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Nosferatu with Live Theatre Accompiment. In this highly influential silent horror film, the mysterious Count Orlok (Max Schreck) summons Thomas Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim) to his remote Transylvanian castle in the mountains. The eerie Orlok seeks to buy a house near Hutter and his wife, Ellen (Greta Schroeder). After Orlok reveals his vampire nature, Hutter struggles to escape the castle, knowing that Ellen is in grave danger. Meanwhile Orlok’s servant, Knock (Alexander Granach), prepares for his master to arrive at his new home. Sunday, October 27th, 2024. Presented by TOSDV. 

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The Phantom of the Paradise. After record producer Swan (Paul Williams) steals the music of songwriter Winslow Leach (William Finley) and gives it to one of his bands, Leach sneaks into Swan’s offices. Catching Leach, Swan frames him for dealing drugs, which lands him in prison. After Leach breaks out and again attempts to sabotage Swan’s empire, an accident crushes his face. Leach then dons a costume and becomes the Phantom, intent on ruining Swan while saving singer Phoenix (Jessica Harper) from a terrible fate. Sunday, October 27th, 2024. 

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Matt McGinnis’s Movie Riffing Melee returns to the Colonial Theatre for a special spook-tacular Halloween event, and this time YOU are the star! Dr. Paul Carruthers (Bela Lugosi) is frustrated because he thinks his employers, Mary Heath (Suzanne Kaaren) and Henry Morton (Guy Usher), have cheated him out of the company’s profits. He decides to get revenge by altering bats to grow twice their normal size and training them to attack when they smell a perfume of his own making. He mixes the perfume into a lotion, which he offers as a gift to Mary and Henry. When they turn up dead, a newspaper reporter (Dave O’Brien) decides to investigate. Wednesday, October 30, 2024. 

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