Best wack movie theater experiences

I love film.  I've always loved movies... watching them, discussing them, studying directors work... the whole thing.  At one time I actually worked at a movie theater and a video store at the same time.  (that was a trip)  I studied film in college and my roommate was a film major, so we had a lot of discussions and got downright snobby.  Truth be told there was actually one time when we were watching "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and while Leatherface is chasing the girl in the thicket/field there is this beautiful dolly shot.  I remember sitting there watching this very intense horror film and both of us going, "WOAH... look at that shot."  HAHA

Much like how I was with a LOT of my music when I was younger, I was rather snobby and didn't want to lower my standards to watch lower cinema.  (i.e. a ton of movies)  As I've gotten older I've eased up on the attitude and learned to enjoy myself.  I honestly dig watching a real bad movie and kicking back a couple beers.  Films like "Plan 9," "Manos: Hands of Fate," and "Troll 2" have blessed my DVD player and made for a great evening.  Now, for the most part, watching a bad movie is usually best if you're watching it at home on DVD and with Netflix, you can either stream or get movies in the mail and not feel like you're shelling out cash on a sh!tty movie when instead you could rent "Inception."  Also, you usually don't want to pay full price for a movie in the theater if you think or know it's going to be bad.  BUT, if everybody is in on it, it can be like a glorified version of getting some friends to come through and watch it on your TV.

Once, in college, when I was at my snobby peak, my roommate had me go with him to watch "Showgirls" at the Capitol Theater in Olympia with live commentary from one of the writers for "The Stranger."  At first I was holding back because I didn't want to go to a theater to see a really bad, shitty, underage jerk-off movie, but I had one of those moments and thought, "what the phawk."  The best part of the movie was that it was trying so hard to be sexy and it was so UN-sexy, it was actually not arousing in any way shape or form.  Instead is was just flat out funny.  It was honestly one of the best movie experiences I have ever had and was so happy I went and saw that in a theater.  (pseudo midnight movie/grindhouse style) 

Although I've enjoyed watching bad movies with friends or my wife at home there REALLY isn't anything like going to a theater and fully experiencing the film with an audience.  This is where films like "Grindhouse" aka "Planet Terror" & "Death Proof" or "Mechete" do real well.  I'm sorry to say that I didn't get to check "Mechete" in the theater and instead saw it on bootleg, BUT while finishing up principle recording of "Basement Sessions" I DID see "Grindhouse" with my man Corey aka Just Be and it was so friggin' dope. 

There is no doubt a time and a place for bad cinema.  A little over a month ago I was down visiting the in-laws and Kath was going to go out for the night with her cousin.  What was I to do... enter "Resident Evil: Afterlife" w/o 3-D.  I had movie passes and was down to see it by myself, but at the last moment I ended up going with... I guess you'd say cousin in-law Dan.  HAHA  Now, up until that moment I had not seen ANY of the prior "Resident Evil" movies in full, but knew that a zombie apocalypse movie should be a good time.  We rolled up to the theater that shockingly was still playing the movie after it had been out for longer than it's shelf life and used passes instead of paying.  (the ultimate laugh)  We get into the theater and there are only 4 other people.  I honestly thought there would be us two, but alas there would be a couple other people there to enjoy what most likely was going to be a bad movie. 

This was one of those movies that was an obviously trying to cash in on something as soon as they could.  1st off, it's a movie based on a video game, 2nd zombies are vogue and 3rd and most important, it's in 3-D.  Now we did not get to see the film in 3-D and despite how the previews say that it was shot using the same process that James Cameron used there were your typical wack 3-D type effects, like they throw knives at the screen etc.  The print itself also was past it's expiration date and in true grindhouse/midnight movie fashion it had started to fade and turn colors when some reels would start. 



Now, that trailer doesn't look to bad and it seems pretty decent.  Unfortunately the BIG problem this movie has is simply... it tries too hard and doesn't know what kind of a movie it wants to be.  It starts off wrapping up what was at the end of the 3rd movie, but honestly when watching the 3rd film you didn't need another installment to know for sure if Alice would seek revenge on the corporation that turned her into what she became in the 2nd and 3rd installment.  So, for the 1st 20-30 minutes of the film it's wrapping up this storyline in a really bad "Matrix/Blade" rip off.  Once it's over, the film finally can catch it's breath and shift into what it's supposed to be about and it does for the next half of the film.  We go from techno horror sci-fi to "Dawn of the Dead" rip off in the process of 40 minutes.  As our heroes finally decide that their prison is too much of a prison and in this case they really are in a prison, it then turns back into a techno sci-fi horror again. 

But that's not the fun part.  The best part of this movie was the simple fact that the story couldn't find itself, the action was over the top and unexplained and dialogue was horrible.  Honestly my favorite part of the movie was when we are being shown what's in the prison and we are taken into the basement.  "When we got here... there was no one left, until we found that."  You then see a prison cell straight out of "Silence of the Lambs" and a shadowy figure locked inside.  As the person comes closer to the light you realize that the person in prison is the guy from "Prison Break."  HAHA  When the audience was introduced to him I actually said out loud in the theater, "Heeeeyyyyy PRISON BREAK!!!"  HAHA  (Poor guy is typecast in movies too.)  He then says he knows how to get out, but must be let free to help them.  When they finally free him, he just so happens to be one of the main character's, who happens to have amnesia, brother.  I couldn't help but laugh out loud at how ridiculous the whole thing was and it was damn fun.

Honestly, it was a pretty bad film, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  Enough that I may just watch it again or cop it on DVD to add to the collection.  Not because I think it should sit next to my "proper" films, but because it can sit amongst my guilty pleasures.

Resident Evil: Afterlife 2/5 for the movie as it self, but 4/5 for the experience.