HORROR 101 with Dr. AC

IT FOLLOWS (2014) d. David Robert Mitchell (USA) THE BABADOOK (2014) d. Jennifer Kent (Australia)

10 years ago, a pair of horror films exploded onto the scene, both from independent writer/directors not known for genre fare, both displaying exceptional visual confidence and storytelling skills, and both layered with multiple levels of metaphor and symbolism spicing their genuinely unnerving and clean mythologies. Critics and audiences celebrated this one-two punch of intellectually stimulating and emotionally gut-wrenching fright flicks, subtly shifting the terror landscape forever. Set in a suburban Detroit teenage wasteland of an indeterminate era, Robert David Mitchell's IT FOLLOWS turns a by-the-numbers coming-of-age indie feature into a chilling campfire yarn: Sleep with the wrong person, and a nameless, unrelenting, shapeshifting Thing will pursue and destroy you… unless you pass on the curse to someone else. And if they don't pass it along soon enough, the curse comes back to you. Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, Australian writer/director Jennifer Kent's THE BABADOOK offers up a character study of a troubled widow wrestling with her own mental and emotional stability as well as that of her seven-year-old son, a struggle exacerbated by a malevolent presence invoked by the appearance of a mysterious children's book. With extraordinary production and sound design, musical scores, cinematography, and editing, as well as a mutual uncanny knack for escalating tension and release, these two modern-day classics are the rare beasts that live up to the hype, announcing their creators as deserving of their rightful places within the hearts of the horror faithful. Join AC and his awesome panel of guests (Ashley Lamers, Nicola McCafferty, Brett Neveu, Gavin Schmitt) as we celebrate The Class of 2014, a haunting pair of psychologically stunning and genuinely frightening efforts, guaranteed to provoke spirited conversation and contemplation hours, days, weeks, and even years after the final credits roll. ------------------------------------ ASHLEY LAMERS is a professional counselor, animal advocate, coffee enthusiast, straight edge vegan feminist, and horror lover with a "do no harm, take no shit" sensibility. She has two cats, a business, and many opinions. NICOLA MCCAFFERTY is a PhD candidate in the department of Radio, Television, and Film at Northwestern University whose current research focuses on how screen representations of nonhuman women (think mannequins, cyborgs, and humanoid aliens) help us gain insights into the categories of both humanity and femininity. Outside of grad school, Nicola has a few stray bylines at Dread Central and runs an Etsy store (https://www.etsy.com/shop/vvitchroom), where she sells enamel pins, stickers, and prints inspired by horror and cult films from the 1960s to today. BRETT NEVEU is a professor at Northwestern University where he teaches writing for the screen and stage. His film/TV screenplays include Eric LaRue (dir. Michael Shannon) and Night's End (dir. Jennifer Reeder) with Shudder/AMC. Past theatre productions include Revolution with A Red Orchid Theatre, Verböten with House Theatre and Red Bud with The Royal Court Theatre. Brett is also a recipient of a Steinberg/ATCA New Play Citation, The Marquee Award from Chicago Dramatists, The Ofner Prize for New Work and the Emerging Artist Award from The League of Chicago Theatres. GAVIN SCHMITT is Wisconsin's criminal historian and the author of several books. He's also a degenerate cinephile and has written on film topics, particularly cinematographer Karl Freund. He's been half naked with Norman Reedus, shared breakfast with Tiffany Shepis, and helped David Arquette find cocaine in Chicago. ------------------------------------------- Keep Searching, Keep Exploring, and, most of all, Keep Sharing the Scare!

ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948) d. Charles Barton (USA) By the late 1940s, The Wolf Man, Frankenstein's Monster, and Dracula had become more friends than fiends to audiences. In a flash of inspiration, producer Robert Arthur hit upon the idea of pairing his hit comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello with the creepy creatures. Though nobody, especially Abbott and Costello, were enthusiastic about the experiment, the results were astonishing. The film was a huge success, one of the top-grossing tickets of the year, and it later became a perennial favorite on television, which is where many Monster Kids of the 1950s and 1960s first became aware of it. For many, it was their introduction to the classic monsters, creating a safe gateway if you will into the joys of late-night monster mashes and increasingly darker fare. Tonight, AC is joined by a trio of classic comedy and creature feature connoisseurs: Michael Weber, Doug Long, and Bobby Zier, as they celebrate this classic horror/comedy and its lasting influence throughout the past 75 years. ------------------------------------------------------------------ DOUG LONG teaches film-related classes at DePaul University and writes book reviews for film journals, including Film Quarterly and mise-en-scene.

MICHAEL WEBER is an actor, director and currently the Artistic Director of Porchlight Music Theatre. A Chicago native his fascination with classic horror began with WGN's legendary Creature Features and The Son of Svengoolie. And avid fan of the Golden Age of Radio and he is author of the play, WAR of the WELLeS (about Orson Welles' infamous radio broadcast.) BOBBY ZIER has a passion for Dracula and runs a TikTok and YouTube channel called Lugosi Theatre. He recently received his second "Monster Kid of the Year" Rondo Award for his efforts in keeping classic horror alive and well.------------------------------------------------------------------------- Keep Searching, Keep Exploring, and, most of all, Keep Sharing the Scare!

THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (1964) d. Roger Corman (USA/UK) THE TOMB OF LIGEIA (1964) d. Roger Corman (USA/UK)

On May 9, 2024, cinephiles everywhere bid adieu to one of the true giants of modern-day Hollywood, Roger Corman. The producer of nearly 500 films and director of 50, Corman also served as mentor for countless writers, directors, actors, and technicians who proceeded to shape the face of Hollywood in the 1960s, 70s, and beyond. We at HORROR 101 would like to take this opportunity to honor Uncle Roger by highlighting two of the more unusual efforts in his now-classic series of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations, both of which premiered in 1964 and both starring the inimitable Crown Prince of Horror, Vincent Price: The Masque of the Red Death and The Tomb of Ligeia.

While Masque revels in extraordinary colors and production design, Ligeia enjoys on-location exteriors shot in the English Countryside, with both films borrowing sets from far more expensive British studio productions. Corman was also blessed with fantastic collaborators, such as screenwriters Charles Beaumont and Robert Towne, and cinematographers Nicholas Roeg and Arthur Grant.

For his part, Price rises to the occasions admirably, offering a subdued and sinister turn for the former, and a restrained variation on his usual "madman clinging to sanity" for the latter. The screen icon is ably matched by his co-stars which include Jane Asher, Patrick MaGee, Hazel Court, Elizabeth Shepherd, Richard Vernon, John Westbrook, and Oliver Johnston.

Tonight, AC and his awesome panel of guests (Christianne Benedict, Jessica Dwyer, Dan Kiggins, Larry Sternshein) pay tribute to the closing chapters of the AIPoe cycle, classics that have endured for six decades, and will likely endure another six or more. ---------------------------------------------- CHRISTIANNE BENEDICT is a cartoonist, film writer, malcontent, and Bloginatrix at https://krelllabs.blogspot.com JESSICA DWYER was raised on a diet of Dark Shadows, Doctor Who, and a lot of things she saw way too young. She's been writing for nearly a quarter of a century about the world of entertainment and her own fiction (and that sound you heard was her bones turning to dust.) She works for the JoBlo Network, HorrorHound Magazine, and is a producer on a number of projects. DAN KIGGINS has worked on a number of independent features, shorts, TV shows, and innumerable commercials over the past 15 years as a Jack of all trades. A self-proclaimed cinephile, he has a vast collection of film ephemera including over 3000 movies. LARRY STERNSHEIN is a lifelong movie fan in Colorado and host of the movie memories podcast "Reel Early." Not only does he love talking about horror and action cinema, but is also a big pro wrestling fan. ------------------------------------------ Keep Searching, Keep Exploring, and, most of all, Keep Sharing the Scare!

THEM! (1954) d. Gordon Douglas (USA) Unleashed upon a hungry for sci-fi movie-going public in the summer of 1954, Them! was the first of the "big bug" movies and proved to be the year's biggest moneymaker for Warner Brothers. Originally slated to be shot in color and 3D, the studio cut the budget at the last minute, although the stark black and white cinematography may have worked to its advantage, yielding an impressively eerie visual landscape. These elements, combined with extraordinary sound design, art direction, and solid ensemble performances, resulted in a true genre classic that would go on to earn an Academy Award nomination for its imaginative and thrilling special effects. Them! is also famous for inspiring nuclear monster movies to come, conjuring a common formula for countless imitators to follow. Among the many atomically revived or mutated creatures rampaging through the 1950s, we saw Them's cinematic DNA in It came from Beneath the Sea, Tarantula, The Deadly Mantis, The Monster that Challenged the World, The Black Scorpion, Beginning of the End, Attack of the Crab Monsters, and Attack of the Giant Leeches, to name but a few. In a decade where science fiction movies reined supreme, Them! remains one of the most influential films ever made, one that allowed moviegoers of the moment to process their fears of the atomic age in a safe, exciting, and entertaining fashion. Join AC and his awesome panel of guests (Matthew Amador, Cati Glidewell aka The Blonde in Front, Doug Long, Alan Tromp) as they celebrate 70 years of THEM!!! ------------------------------------------ MATTHEW AMADOR is an actor and owner of Matador Behavioral Health, where he utilizes narrative fiction as a means to process trauma and anxiety through psychotherapy. www.MatadorChicago.com CATI GLIDEWELL (aka The Blonde in Front) is a Chicago-based film critic, lifelong cinephile, film festival jury member, and a member of Chicago Indie Critics since 2020. You can find her on all social media platforms, as well as Post mortem radio and Radio of horror on YouTube. DOUG LONG teaches film-related classes at DePaul University and writes book reviews for film journals, including Film Quarterly and mise-en-scene. ALAN TROMP is a golden age Monster Kid, who has published articles in Filmfax, Twilight Zone Magazine, and We Belong Dead publications in the UK. He was scriptwriter for the shot-on-video nightmare, The Soul Eaters. ------------------------------------------------ Keep Searching, Keep Exploring, and, Most of All, Keep Sharing the Scare!

GHOSTBUSTERS (1984) d. Ivan Reitman (USA) GHOSTBUSTERS 2 (1989) d. Ivan Reitman (USA) GHOSTBUSTERS: ANSWER THE CALL (2016) d. Paul Feig (USA) GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE (2021) d. Jason Reitman (USA) GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE (2024) d. Gil Kenan (USA)

(Apologies for the dicey audio - apparently my microphone wasn't plugged in, so you're getting that sweet, sweet laptop mic instead.) 40 years ago, no one had ever seen anything quite like GHOSTBUSTERS. A movie populated with hilarious and charming heroes and genuinely scary ghosts. A story that made you laugh one minute and scream the next. A big-budget comedy festooned with elaborate special effects. Despite the unconventional concept, director Ivan Reitman and co-writer/co-star Harold Ramis refashioned Dan Aykroyd's original story treatment of interdimensional ghost hunters into a contemporary comedy set in New York City. Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson eventually filled out the titular quartet, alongside rising stars Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis, with improvising galore and guffaws aplenty. Backed by a clever marketing campaign and accompanied by Ray Parker Jr's unforgettable theme song, the movie was a critical and box office smash when it opened in early June 1984. It was an instant sensation, one that spun off into animated series, comic books, video games, mountains of merchandise, as well as multiple sequels. Grab your proton packs, jump into the Ecto-1, and Stay Puft as AC and his awesome panel of guests (Ashley Lamers, Daniel Millhouse, Mackenzie Parker) celebrate four decades of (Who You Gonna Call?) Ghostbusters!!! --------------------------------------- ASHLEY LAMERS is a professional counselor, animal advocate, coffee enthusiast, straight edge vegan feminist, and horror lover with a "do no harm, take no shit" sensibility. She has two cats, a business, and many opinions. DANIEL MILLHOUSE joyfully returns to review films with Dr. AC and friends! As an Assistant Professor at the College of DuPage, he cherishes his Theatre, TV/Film, and Motion Capture acting experiences. He is one mischievous, charming, goofball. MACKENZIE PARKER is a filmmaker living in Los Angeles. He studied at Northern Illinois University and the Moscow Art Theater. He has worked on TV shows such as Sons of Anarchy and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and is currently working as a staff editor for Digital Alliance. ------------------------------------------- Keep Searching, Keep Exploring, and, Most of All, Keep Sharing the Scare!

FREDDY VS. JASON (2003) d. Ronny Yu

Since the closing shot of 1993's Jason Goes to Hell, fans had been clamoring for this "Slash of the Titans." A decade later, New Line Cinema answered their nightmares with a flick that is exactly the low-brow monster-mash masterpiece that the two screen legends deserve.

Screenwriters Damian Shannon and Mark Swift concoct a storyline that builds upon history from the previous films (17 in all) and manages to generate a few new twists of its own, while director Ronny Yu directs with energy, verve, and a solid sense of humor.

AC is joined in the studio by another fantastic panel of guests (Alex DiVincenzo, Matthew Amador, Katie McLean Hainsworth, Freddie Young) for a little Friday the 13th October Madness, celebrating the 20th anniversary of FvJ. Don't forget to bring your Hypnocil!

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KATIE MCLEAN HAINSWORTH is a Chicago actor, writer, tabletop role-player, introvert, and day job aficionado. She has been in many plays, mostly at Rogers Park's Lifeline Theatre, over the years. She currently appears as one of four hapless amnesiac adventurers in the Actual Play, Cthulhu-themed TTRPG weird horror podcast DARK NEXUS (www.darknexuspodcast.com), now in its second season, and as Madge Stallion in the Sherlock Holmes-adjacent Victorian audio comedy FAWX & STALLION (www.224bbaker.com), whose first season is available now in full wherever you cast your pods.

MATTHEW AMADOR is an Actor and Psychotherapist. Check out his recent efforts on Station Eleven (streaming on Max) or http://www.MatadorChicago.com.

ALEX DIVINCENZO is a Massachusetts-based independent filmmaker and journalist. He runs the website Broke Horror Fan, through which he produces a line of modern horror films on VHS, in addition to contributing to the lauded genre outlet Bloody Disgusting and serving as publicist for the streaming service Screambox.

FREDDIE YOUNG (aka Fred the Wolf) has been running Full Moon Reviews since 2007, telling it like it is and enjoying spreading the word on both good and bad films. As a screenwriter, he hopes to create a better Hollywood and stop this remake/spoof trend that the scene seems to be so involved in lately.

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Keep Searching, Keep Exploring, and, most of all, Keep Sharing the Scare!

VAMPYRES (1974) d. Jose Ramon Larraz (UK/Spain)

At a time when throwing extensive vampiric nudity on screen would have been enough, writer/director Jose Ramon Larraz went the extra mile to conjure a deceptively simple, highly satisfying tale of two bisexual bloodsuckers with Vampyres, released in 1974.

Played with charged sensuality by newcomers Marianne Morris (as the dark, mysterious Fran) and Anulka (as blonde, fresh-faced Miriam), the Sapphic duo take up residence in a remote English countryside estate, flagging down unsuspecting male drivers to take home for an evening snack. In addition to their daily iron intake, these vampires enjoy all pleasures of the flesh, and Larraz delivers the goods in numerous well-shot, sexy interludes between the lovers and their victims.

Vampire purists be warned: the couple does move about in rather bright shades of twilight and uses sharp implements rather than fangs to get their victims' blood flowing. And while some may be put off by Larraz's leisurely pace in getting around to any actual bloodletting, when the inevitable feeding time comes, the sheer ferocity with which these naughty nymphs indulge their appetites is appropriately shocking and gory.

The performances, which also include Sally Faulkner, Murray Brown, and Brian Deacon, are quite good, while Harry Waxman's handsomely nuanced photography, and James Kenelm Clarke's piano/flute score contribute immeasurably to a realistic atmosphere of gloom.

Tonight, AC and his incredible panel of guests (Troy Howarth, Barry Kaufman, Jason Coffman, Steve Archacki, Jon Kitley) celebrate 50 years of Vampyres with a Y, a high-water mark of '70s lesbian vampire horror films (alongside Daughters of Darkness and The Vampire Lovers) and certainly a must-see title for any fan of sanguinary cinema.

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STEVE ARCHACKI is a connoisseur and collector of all things EuroTrash (especially Italian/Spanish gothic and giallo films and anything Hammer Horror). He also identifies as an avid vinyl soundtrack collector, lapsing metalhead, direct mail marketing guru, and to this day, still harbors perpetual crushes on Rosalba Neri and Dagmar Lassander.

JASON COFFMAN is the Unrepentant Cinephile. Former contributor to Daily Grindhouse and Film Monthly (RIP). Director of Housesitters and occasional "recording artist." Proud owner of 35mm prints of Andy Milligan's Guru, the Mad Monk and Zalman King's Two Moon Junction. On Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/rabbitroom/

TROY HOWARTH is a Rondo Award-nominated writer who specializes in European Cult cinema. His books include The Haunted World of Mario Bava, Splintered Visions: Lucio Fulci and His Films, So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films, among others. He has also contributed audio commentaries, audio essays, and liner notes to over one hundred DVD and Blu-ray releases from the U.S., the U.K., and Germany. He resides in Pennsylvania.

BARRY KAUFMAN has been committed to spreading the gospel of obscure horror and science-fiction cinema since writing the fanzines Monsters of Japan and Demonique in the 1970s and 80s. He ran All-Horror Video out of a house in the woods in Homewood, Illinois through the 1980s, followed by his shop The House of Monsters in Chicago from 1996 to 2007. He now vends at genre-related shows and programs festivals in the Chicago area featuring his inconspicuous film favorites.

JON KITLEY has been running his website, Kitley's Krypt for 25 years. He's a columnist for HorrorHound magazine, a co-host on the Discover the Horror podcast, and attends multiple conventions and all-night horror movie marathons at the drive-in theaters! https://kitleyskrypt.com/

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Keep Searching, Keep Exploring, and, most of all, Keep Sharing the Scare!

SANTA SANGRE (1989) d. Alejandro Jodorowsky (Mexico/Italy)

Visionary filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky cultivates one brilliant sequence after another, employing a staggering use of color shades, sensational aural cues, disturbing themes, and some of the most original onscreen imagery ever laid to celluloid.

Hypnotizing and enticing, repugnant and crude, Santa Sangre is a thoroughly absorbing and unforgettable experience. It is at once a character-based drama, a psychological thriller, a social commentary tract rife daring symbolism, and a bona-fide musical featuring trance-inducing tunes and haunting ballads. It's also Jodorowsky's greatest and most accessible masterwork.

The Chilean-born actor, writer, director, composer, producer, etc. already had two legendary 1970s "midnight movie" achievements to his name with El Topo (1970) and The Holy Mountain (1973), but had been absent from the director's chair for nearly a decade following his rarely seen 1980 elephant drama, Tusk.

Claudio Argento, the younger brother of (and frequent producer for director Dario Argento, made a side trip to Mexico in the late 1980s, eventually co-writing the Santa Sangre screenplay with Jodorowsky and Roberto Leoni, as well as producing.

Santa Sangre's promotional tagline states, "Forget everything you have ever seen." While an admittedly tall order, it's unlikely you have ever witnessed anything like it before, with brilliantly choreographed sequences, fascinating camera angles, vibrant colors, extraordinary characters, and spellbinding onscreen action. It is at once grotesque and gorgeous, unsettling and nightmarish, touching and achingly human.

Tonight, join AC and his amazing panel of guests (Neil Calderone, Raul Benitez, Dave Kosanke, Nicole Mikuzis) as we celebrate the 35th anniversary of Jodorowsky's crowning cinematic achievement, ever-thankful for his unique vision and unquenchable passion. ------------------------------------------------- RAUL BENITEZ is a film programmer in Chicago for over 15 years. Raul currently is the Senior Programmer at the Midwest Film Festival, and the After Dark programmer at the Chicago International Film Festival. Raul also programs at Comfort Station Logan Square, Full Spectrum Features, and the Nightingale Cinema.

NEIL CALDERONE is the founder of The Chicago Cinema Society, a 35mm print collector, film programmer, musician, science educator and former chemist.

DAVE KOSANKE wrote, edited, designed and published Liquid Cheese fanzine for 25 years. During that time, I also freelanced for HorrorHound and Ultra Violent magazines. I currently write for Late Night Snack, a fanzine dedicated to cult cinema.

NICOLE MIKUZIS has been working for Severin Films since 2011 after starting her career in the horror film industry with Dark Sky Films in 2006, with jobs ranging from pre-and post-production, and seeing through physical and digital releases. ---------------------------------------- Keep Searching, Keep Exploring, and, Most of All, Keep Sharing the Scare!

THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957) d. Terence Fisher (UK) THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1958) d. Terence Fisher (UK) THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN (1964) d. Freddie Francis (UK) FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN (1967) d. Terence Fisher (UK) FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED (1969) d. Terence Fisher (UK) FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL (1974) d. Terence Fisher (UK)

With over 130 film and television credits to his name, there are plenty of options by which fans can celebrate horror icon Peter Cushing's 111th birthday on May 26. For our part, we've elected to showcase the half-dozen features that made Cushing (and his myriad onscreen creations) immortal: Hammer's Frankenstein series!

It's impossible to overstate the historical significance of 1957's The Curse of Frankenstein, a relatively low-budget British horror offering that not only launched Hammer Studios onto the international radar, its success paved the way for a second golden age of Gothic horror cinema, this time with a distinctly English accent and in full, vibrant color. As the titular Baron von F. (who would become the focus – and the "monster" – of the series as opposed to his creation), Cushing displays a fanaticism and wit as sharp as his scalpels, fiercely pursuing his ghoulish goal of creating life from dead tissue.

While co-star Christopher Lee is given fewer opportunities to imbue his resurrected monstrosity with the same sympathetic shadings as Boris Karloff, his portrayal proved memorable enough to secure the title role in Hammer's Dracula the following year. Terence Fisher, also to become a mainstay at the "studio that dripped blood," directs with skill and style, and Jimmy Sangster's screenplay, which by law could not resemble the 1931 Universal classic, demonstrates an economy of setting and characterization within its melodramatic confines.

The enormous financial success of Curse, both at home and abroad, spawned five sequels (which occasionally surpassed the original in quality and depth), as well as a blackly comic, non-Cushing prequel, and inspired countless European and American efforts for years.

Tonight, AC and his awesome panel of fans (Jon Kitley, Aaron AuBuchon, Eli LaChance, Ian Simmons) celebrate the Hammer Frankensteins, a fond look back at a series that still endures five decades after its final installment hit screens in 1974. ---------------------------------------------------------- AARON AUBUCHON is a film professor and writer, and also an editor, director, motion graphics artist and producer. He is also co-host of the Discover the Horror podcast. https://discoverthehorror.com/

JON KITLEY has been running his website, Kitley's Krypt for 25 years. He's a columnist for HorrorHound magazine, a co-host on the Discover the Horror podcast, and attends multiple conventions and all-night horror movie marathons at the drive-in theaters! https://kitleyskrypt.com/

ELI LACHANCE is a horror writer, chemist, and paleontology enthusiast. He is currently starting his last year in UMSL's MFA in creative writing program. He resides in St. Louis, Missouri with his wife, dog, and two cats, one of which may be the living dead. Some of his writing can be found in Medium Chill and on Channel-31.com. When he's not writing, he loves walking with his dog, bird watching, and hunting fossils. https://channel-31.com/

IAN SIMMONS runs the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel @KickingtheSeat where he posts movie reviews, interviews, and critics round tables. He is also a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, and feels conflicted about referring to himself in the third person. https://kickseat.com/ ---------------------------------------------------------

Keep Searching, Keep Exploring, and, most of all, Keep Sharing the Scare!!

ALIEN (1979) d. Ridley Scott (USA/UK) ALIENS (1986) d. James Cameron (USA/UK) ALIEN 3 (1992) d. David Fincher (USA) ALIEN: RESURRECTION (1997) d. Jean-Pierre Jeunet (USA) PROMETHEUS (2012) d. Ridley Scott (USA/UK) ALIEN: COVENANT (2019) d. Ridley Scott (USA/UK)

When the commercial space vessel Nostromo responds to a distress signal on an unknown planet, one of their crew is attacked by a bizarre life form. Over the course of several hours, the seemingly indestructible creature threatens all of their lives, consistently evolving and exhibiting horrifically distinctive characteristics: acidic blood, rows and rows of retractable teeth, white-hot intelligence, and a fierce predatory instinct. The unforgettable tag-line "In space, no one can hear you scream" heralded the arrival of Alien, a masterpiece of sci-fi/horror in June 1979. Combining the "Boo!" factor of a suspenseful haunted house story with the dread of an unstoppable psychopathic slasher, director Ridley Scott ratchets the tension up to a heart-stopping level that is often sought but rarely achieved. With the elements of Dan O'Bannon's unrelenting screenplay, astonishing scenic design, Oscar-winning special effects, H. R. Giger's nightmarishly original alien design, and a superlative cast (including Tom Skerritt, Ian Holm, John Hurt, Yaphett Kotto, Harry Dean Stanton, Veronica Cartwright, and newcomer Sigourney Weaver), the film delivers dramatic scenes and gory images that sear the viewer's mind, lingering long after the final reel unspools. Unveiled in the wake of Star Wars and Close Encounters' fuzzy, friendly extra-terrestrials, Alien knocked audiences for a loop, and has lost none of its power over four decades and multiple sequels, spin-offs, crossovers, and franchising galore. Tonight, AC and his awesome panel of guests (Chris Hainsworth, Katie McLean Hainsworth, Jennifer Olson, Ryan Olson, Chris Scales) celebrate 45 years of chest-bursting and Xenomorphing, where technology, artistry, and a great campfire tale come together to share space… in space. ---------------------------------------- CHRIS HAINSWORTH (he/him/his) is an actor/writer/director represented by Big Mouth Talent Chicago. He is a DeathScribe winner 2009 for the audio drama "Remembrance" and author of The Fourth Wall, part of Motel 666 (2015). KATIE MCLEAN HAINSWORTH is a Chicago-based performer/writer, whom you can regularly find on both the DARK NEXUS and FAWX & STALLION podcasts. She's happily guested on HORROR 101 a few times as well as on Roll For Impact's THE STRANGER. JENNIFER OLSON is a lifelong horror fan and mother of three monster kids. She is a former member of The Flint Horror Con, and currently part of the Synapse Films street team! RYAN OLSON (aka S. Ravenlord of The Cold Beyond music group) is the owner of Deadspeak Design and Night World Records, as well as a member of the Synapse Films street team and a regular on the Synapse Films podcast. His work has been featured in Liquid Cheese, Horrorhound, and Evilspeak Magazines. CHRIS SCALES is a lifelong horror fan, aspiring horror screenwriter, and horror panelist. -------------------------------------------- Keep Searching, Keep Exploring, and, most of all, Keep Sharing the Scare!!