by Adam Riske and Patrick Bromley
Double Feature 1:
Adam: #1: Critters 2: The Main Course (1988)
Patrick: #2: Ghoulies II (1987)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990), Hobgoblins 2 (2009), Weedjies! (2019)
Patrick: Theme: Little Monsters
Patrick: It’s an obvious theme that almost has a sneaky sub-theme inside of it, which is Little Monster Movie Sequels That Are Better Than Their Predecessors, but I can’t officially call it that because a) wordy and b) I haven’t seen Hobgoblins 2, and Weedjies! isn’t a sequel. I do like both Critters 2 and Ghoulies II better than their respective first installments, though. Where are you at on these?
Adam: I've somehow avoided the Ghoulies series but yes, absolutely, Critters 2 is better than the original Critters. Critters 2 Is everything you could want from a Critters movie. Bravo, Mick Garris.
Double Feature 2:
Patrick: #1: Valentine (2001)
Adam: #2: The Love Witch (2016)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: My Bloody Valentine, Bride of Chucky, Heart Eyes
Adam: Theme: Love Hurts
Adam: Are you a Valentine fan? It didn’t land for me the one time I saw it but I root for Jamie Blanks, so I’d give it another try. Fun fact: I had this as a Valentine-Heart Eyes double but changed it to The Love Witch at the last minute because I like that movie a lot more. Whatever happened to Samantha Robinson? I thought she was going to hit it big after The Love Witch but all I can remember seeing her in afterward was Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Not shading her, I like her and want to see her in more movies.
Patrick: The Love Witch alone should have made Samantha Robinson a giant star because that movie’s very specific, very tricky tone rests so heavily on her performance and she nails it. A visit to her Wikipedia page tells me that she’s still acting in indie movies and features but hasn’t broken out in the way that her breakout should have broken her out. I’m enough of a Valentine fan in that I would never reclaim it as a masterpiece, but I can accept it as a competent slasher now that I have some perspective and I’m not demanding it be something “more” the way I did when I saw it in 2001. I love this double feature and this theme. Great job, bud.
Double Feature 3:
Adam: #1: The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)
Patrick: #2: Piranha 2: The Spawning (1982)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Jaws, Exorcist: The Beginning, Popcorn
Patrick: Theme: Director Switch
Patrick: I haven’t revisited Dr. Moreau since 1996 when it was one of my most anticipated movies of the year based on the property and the trailer. I didn’t love it back then but only knew a fraction of the behind-the-scenes drama. I’m wondering how it would play now that I know just what a disaster the production was. I wanted to pair it with another troubled production, so I went with a theme of movies that changed director halfway (Jaws is a cheat because Spielberg didn’t replace anyone during production, just before it, but I wanted to round out the trailer block). Is my memory of Dr. Moreau faulty? Is it sneaky good? I know any of the trailer movies are probably better than Piranha 2, but I figure if we’re going with disasters we might as well double down.
Adam: I was very excited too for The Island of Dr. Moreau in 1996 but didn’t like it much when I finally caught up with it on video. It’s on my stack of movies to revisit this October. I like pairing it with Piranha 2. I’ve never seen that the entire way through, but I saw the last 30 min or so at a Music Box of Horrors and remember being impressed that even early in his career that James Cameron was directing the shit out of it.
Double Feature 4:
Patrick: #1: Mark of the Vampire (1935)
Adam: #2: The Raven (1935)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: Bride of Frankenstein, Mad Love, Werewolf of London
Adam: Theme: 1935 Horror Movies
Adam: I’m pretty excited about this double feature. It’s always fun to see a pairing of old, 1 hour horror movies together. It makes me feel like I’m accomplishing something in a very short amount of time. I’m not sure if I’ve seen Mark of the Vampire since the very first Music Box of Horrors so for that reason (and Tod Browning), I’m excited to give it another spin. The Raven is just great. Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff always brought out the best in bringing out the worst in each other.
Patrick: Yeah, this is a really excellent double and proves we are so classy at the Cinemarink. I don’t think I ever realized that 1935 was such a great year for horror movies, but this lineup proves it.
Double Feature 5:
Adam: #1: Constantine (2005)
Patrick: #2: Angel Heart (1987)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Prince of Darkness, Late Night with the Devil, The Prophecy
Patrick: Theme: The Devil on Screen
Patrick: I’m still of the mind that Constantine is kind of underrated and a good deal of that has to do with Peter Stormare’s bizarro depiction of Satan, which ranks up there with Viggo Mortensen in The Prophecy (which I made sure to include in the trailer block) as far as scene-stealing devil performances go. Even though Robert De Niro’s turn in Angel Heart (spoilers I guess?) isn’t as colorful as the others, I think it’s my favorite movie in which the Devil appears, and I wanted to include it as the second feature. Do you think we can get the green liquid from Prince of Darkness to show up to the theater for a Q&A?
Adam: The green liquid will definitely be making an appearance! But just as a fan, so you have to be cool and casual around it. I’m revisiting Constantine for 2K Replay this month. I didn’t like it back then, but I haven’t seen it since opening weekend in theaters so I’m looking forward to trying it again. Pairing it with the awesome Angel Heart is inspired and will give me something extra to look forward to after Constantine. I didn’t remember Viggo was Satan in The Prophecy. I feel like I need to revisit that one too during Scary Movie Month!
Double Feature 6:
Patrick: #1: Attack the Block (2011)
Adam: #2: Frankenstein (2025)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: Scrawl, Annihilation, The Dead Don’t Die
Adam: Theme: The Horror Awakens
Adam: I was having difficulty figuring out what to pair Attack the Block with, so I decided to go with a theme of horror movies starring actors from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It feels like an outdated idea for a double feature because no one cares about The Force Awakens anymore but I dunno they can’t all be winners. Are you a fan of Attack the Block? I might need to see it again. It didn’t do much for me on the first viewing but there was a lot of hype for it at the time, so my reaction might’ve been pushback to that. Are you looking forward to the Guillermo Del Toro Frankenstein adaptation? I’ll probably see it if they put it in theaters for a short run around here during Scary Movie Month. Or what am I saying? I’ll see it at the Cinemarink!
Patrick: We watched Attack the Block for a Scary Movie Night years ago and I don’t think I’ve seen it since then, so I’d be excited to revisit it. I like this Force Awakens theme! I’m excited for GDT’s Frankenstein in theory the way I’m often excited for a new GDT movie that I ultimately end up not loving. Word of mouth has been just ok, too. I’m weirdly more excited for Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Bride of Frankenstein remake that comes out next year because I actually watched a trailer for it (which I do less and less these days) and thought it looked nutty in a good way.
Double Feature 7:
Adam: #1: X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963)
Patrick: #2: Q: The Winged Serpent (1982)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: X, M, V “Pilot”
Patrick: Theme: One Letter Titles
Patrick: I’ve only seen X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes one time and I remember wishing that Ray Milland was replaced with Vincent Price, which is the same reaction I have whenever I watch Premature Burial. There’s just no substitute for Price. I had originally thought to double this with Ti West’s X so this theme could double as a Same Title Showdown but decided that movie has the wrong energy to follow the 1963 film and went with something sillier instead. Are you a Q guy? I had to do the chapter about it in the book so I’ve seen it way too many times, but it never fails to entertain me.
Adam: I’ve only seen Q once and was kinda mixed on it at the time but would give it another try. This is a really fun theme. And yes, Vincent Price is the king whose addition would make any of these films better.
Double Feature 8:
Patrick: #1: Sleepaway Camp (1983)
Adam: #2: Sleepwalkers (1992)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: Children of the Corn, Clown in a Cornfield, Korn Music Video Block
Adam: Theme: Beware the Corn
Adam: I still remember the Sleepaway Camp commentary and how much comedic mileage you guys got off the dude burning himself with corn water. This led me to think of other moments of the ma-cob like when Alice Krige stabs that dude in the back with corn in Sleepwalkers. I’m not super excited about the trailer block (I’ve never felt like a Freak on a Leash is what I’m saying) but seeing Sleepaway Camp and Sleepwalkers back-to-back would be so fun that it’s worth stretching this theme to its limit.
Patrick: Amazing double. Easily my pick of the month. Instead of popcorn at the Cinemarink we should just hand out full ears of corn this night.
Double Feature 9:
Adam: #1: Barbarian (2022)
Patrick: #2: Tusk (2014)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Willow Creek, Us, The Craft: Legacy
Patrick: Theme: From Comedy to Horror
Patrick: I just revisited Barbarian in the wake of Weapons and didn’t have quite the same reaction to it I had the first time, probably because the element of surprise was gone. I still liked it quite a bit, but I do think Weapons is a much stronger movie. I love that we’ve seen several comedy filmmakers try horror in recent years with totally different results, and in some cases it seems to be what’s sticking. A Jordan Peele movie would probably make the most sense since he’s more of a 1-1 with Zach Cregger but the idea of following Barbarian with the equally insane (if not more so) Tusk was too good to pass up.
Adam: I love this pairing. These two movies would be really fun to watch together and with an audience.
Double Feature 10:
Patrick: #1: Wrong Turn 2 (2007)
Adam: #2: He Never Died (2015)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: Lost Highway, Feast, The Devil’s Tomb, Suck
Adam: Theme: Henry Rollins House of Horrors
Adam: Remember when we went to the Bruce Campbell Horror Film Festival and we skipped out on the last movie on Sunday to see a sneak preview of The Green Inferno? The movie we skipped was Henry Rollins’ He Never Died and I’ve never made the time to watch it. This finally gives me the opportunity to right that wrong. I also need to see Wrong Turn 2 because I know you’re fan with your boy Joe Lynch directing. I’m assuming you prefer it to the first Wrong Turn? Also, what are your top Rollins Band songs?
Patrick: I have a half-formed memory of seeing He Never Died theatrically at that festival; could it have shown more than once? I actually think I liked it quite a bit. I never saw the pseudo-sequel, though. I like Henry Rollins as an actor. He shows up in interesting stuff and he’s a good screen presence. I definitely like Wrong Turn 2 better than the first movie, but I haven’t seen the first movie since the theater. Planning to remedy that for SMM. As for favorite Rollins Band songs, I like “Liar” enough and “Tearing” is good, but as for the best I’ve gotta go “Low Self Opinion,” an all-time banger. What’s yours?
Adam: I love “Liar.”
Adam: #1: Critters 2: The Main Course (1988)
Patrick: #2: Ghoulies II (1987)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990), Hobgoblins 2 (2009), Weedjies! (2019)
Patrick: Theme: Little Monsters
Patrick: It’s an obvious theme that almost has a sneaky sub-theme inside of it, which is Little Monster Movie Sequels That Are Better Than Their Predecessors, but I can’t officially call it that because a) wordy and b) I haven’t seen Hobgoblins 2, and Weedjies! isn’t a sequel. I do like both Critters 2 and Ghoulies II better than their respective first installments, though. Where are you at on these?
Adam: I've somehow avoided the Ghoulies series but yes, absolutely, Critters 2 is better than the original Critters. Critters 2 Is everything you could want from a Critters movie. Bravo, Mick Garris.
Double Feature 2:
Patrick: #1: Valentine (2001)
Adam: #2: The Love Witch (2016)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: My Bloody Valentine, Bride of Chucky, Heart Eyes
Adam: Theme: Love Hurts
Adam: Are you a Valentine fan? It didn’t land for me the one time I saw it but I root for Jamie Blanks, so I’d give it another try. Fun fact: I had this as a Valentine-Heart Eyes double but changed it to The Love Witch at the last minute because I like that movie a lot more. Whatever happened to Samantha Robinson? I thought she was going to hit it big after The Love Witch but all I can remember seeing her in afterward was Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Not shading her, I like her and want to see her in more movies.
Patrick: The Love Witch alone should have made Samantha Robinson a giant star because that movie’s very specific, very tricky tone rests so heavily on her performance and she nails it. A visit to her Wikipedia page tells me that she’s still acting in indie movies and features but hasn’t broken out in the way that her breakout should have broken her out. I’m enough of a Valentine fan in that I would never reclaim it as a masterpiece, but I can accept it as a competent slasher now that I have some perspective and I’m not demanding it be something “more” the way I did when I saw it in 2001. I love this double feature and this theme. Great job, bud.
Double Feature 3:
Patrick: #2: Piranha 2: The Spawning (1982)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Jaws, Exorcist: The Beginning, Popcorn
Patrick: Theme: Director Switch
Patrick: I haven’t revisited Dr. Moreau since 1996 when it was one of my most anticipated movies of the year based on the property and the trailer. I didn’t love it back then but only knew a fraction of the behind-the-scenes drama. I’m wondering how it would play now that I know just what a disaster the production was. I wanted to pair it with another troubled production, so I went with a theme of movies that changed director halfway (Jaws is a cheat because Spielberg didn’t replace anyone during production, just before it, but I wanted to round out the trailer block). Is my memory of Dr. Moreau faulty? Is it sneaky good? I know any of the trailer movies are probably better than Piranha 2, but I figure if we’re going with disasters we might as well double down.
Adam: I was very excited too for The Island of Dr. Moreau in 1996 but didn’t like it much when I finally caught up with it on video. It’s on my stack of movies to revisit this October. I like pairing it with Piranha 2. I’ve never seen that the entire way through, but I saw the last 30 min or so at a Music Box of Horrors and remember being impressed that even early in his career that James Cameron was directing the shit out of it.
Double Feature 4:
Patrick: #1: Mark of the Vampire (1935)
Adam: #2: The Raven (1935)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: Bride of Frankenstein, Mad Love, Werewolf of London
Adam: Theme: 1935 Horror Movies
Adam: I’m pretty excited about this double feature. It’s always fun to see a pairing of old, 1 hour horror movies together. It makes me feel like I’m accomplishing something in a very short amount of time. I’m not sure if I’ve seen Mark of the Vampire since the very first Music Box of Horrors so for that reason (and Tod Browning), I’m excited to give it another spin. The Raven is just great. Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff always brought out the best in bringing out the worst in each other.
Patrick: Yeah, this is a really excellent double and proves we are so classy at the Cinemarink. I don’t think I ever realized that 1935 was such a great year for horror movies, but this lineup proves it.
Double Feature 5:
Patrick: #2: Angel Heart (1987)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Prince of Darkness, Late Night with the Devil, The Prophecy
Patrick: Theme: The Devil on Screen
Patrick: I’m still of the mind that Constantine is kind of underrated and a good deal of that has to do with Peter Stormare’s bizarro depiction of Satan, which ranks up there with Viggo Mortensen in The Prophecy (which I made sure to include in the trailer block) as far as scene-stealing devil performances go. Even though Robert De Niro’s turn in Angel Heart (spoilers I guess?) isn’t as colorful as the others, I think it’s my favorite movie in which the Devil appears, and I wanted to include it as the second feature. Do you think we can get the green liquid from Prince of Darkness to show up to the theater for a Q&A?
Adam: The green liquid will definitely be making an appearance! But just as a fan, so you have to be cool and casual around it. I’m revisiting Constantine for 2K Replay this month. I didn’t like it back then, but I haven’t seen it since opening weekend in theaters so I’m looking forward to trying it again. Pairing it with the awesome Angel Heart is inspired and will give me something extra to look forward to after Constantine. I didn’t remember Viggo was Satan in The Prophecy. I feel like I need to revisit that one too during Scary Movie Month!
Double Feature 6:
Patrick: #1: Attack the Block (2011)
Adam: #2: Frankenstein (2025)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: Scrawl, Annihilation, The Dead Don’t Die
Adam: Theme: The Horror Awakens
Adam: I was having difficulty figuring out what to pair Attack the Block with, so I decided to go with a theme of horror movies starring actors from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It feels like an outdated idea for a double feature because no one cares about The Force Awakens anymore but I dunno they can’t all be winners. Are you a fan of Attack the Block? I might need to see it again. It didn’t do much for me on the first viewing but there was a lot of hype for it at the time, so my reaction might’ve been pushback to that. Are you looking forward to the Guillermo Del Toro Frankenstein adaptation? I’ll probably see it if they put it in theaters for a short run around here during Scary Movie Month. Or what am I saying? I’ll see it at the Cinemarink!
Patrick: We watched Attack the Block for a Scary Movie Night years ago and I don’t think I’ve seen it since then, so I’d be excited to revisit it. I like this Force Awakens theme! I’m excited for GDT’s Frankenstein in theory the way I’m often excited for a new GDT movie that I ultimately end up not loving. Word of mouth has been just ok, too. I’m weirdly more excited for Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Bride of Frankenstein remake that comes out next year because I actually watched a trailer for it (which I do less and less these days) and thought it looked nutty in a good way.
Double Feature 7:
Patrick: #2: Q: The Winged Serpent (1982)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: X, M, V “Pilot”
Patrick: Theme: One Letter Titles
Patrick: I’ve only seen X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes one time and I remember wishing that Ray Milland was replaced with Vincent Price, which is the same reaction I have whenever I watch Premature Burial. There’s just no substitute for Price. I had originally thought to double this with Ti West’s X so this theme could double as a Same Title Showdown but decided that movie has the wrong energy to follow the 1963 film and went with something sillier instead. Are you a Q guy? I had to do the chapter about it in the book so I’ve seen it way too many times, but it never fails to entertain me.
Adam: I’ve only seen Q once and was kinda mixed on it at the time but would give it another try. This is a really fun theme. And yes, Vincent Price is the king whose addition would make any of these films better.
Double Feature 8:
Patrick: #1: Sleepaway Camp (1983)
Adam: #2: Sleepwalkers (1992)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: Children of the Corn, Clown in a Cornfield, Korn Music Video Block
Adam: Theme: Beware the Corn
Adam: I still remember the Sleepaway Camp commentary and how much comedic mileage you guys got off the dude burning himself with corn water. This led me to think of other moments of the ma-cob like when Alice Krige stabs that dude in the back with corn in Sleepwalkers. I’m not super excited about the trailer block (I’ve never felt like a Freak on a Leash is what I’m saying) but seeing Sleepaway Camp and Sleepwalkers back-to-back would be so fun that it’s worth stretching this theme to its limit.
Patrick: Amazing double. Easily my pick of the month. Instead of popcorn at the Cinemarink we should just hand out full ears of corn this night.
Double Feature 9:
Patrick: #2: Tusk (2014)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Willow Creek, Us, The Craft: Legacy
Patrick: Theme: From Comedy to Horror
Patrick: I just revisited Barbarian in the wake of Weapons and didn’t have quite the same reaction to it I had the first time, probably because the element of surprise was gone. I still liked it quite a bit, but I do think Weapons is a much stronger movie. I love that we’ve seen several comedy filmmakers try horror in recent years with totally different results, and in some cases it seems to be what’s sticking. A Jordan Peele movie would probably make the most sense since he’s more of a 1-1 with Zach Cregger but the idea of following Barbarian with the equally insane (if not more so) Tusk was too good to pass up.
Adam: I love this pairing. These two movies would be really fun to watch together and with an audience.
Double Feature 10:
Patrick: #1: Wrong Turn 2 (2007)
Adam: #2: He Never Died (2015)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: Lost Highway, Feast, The Devil’s Tomb, Suck
Adam: Theme: Henry Rollins House of Horrors
Adam: Remember when we went to the Bruce Campbell Horror Film Festival and we skipped out on the last movie on Sunday to see a sneak preview of The Green Inferno? The movie we skipped was Henry Rollins’ He Never Died and I’ve never made the time to watch it. This finally gives me the opportunity to right that wrong. I also need to see Wrong Turn 2 because I know you’re fan with your boy Joe Lynch directing. I’m assuming you prefer it to the first Wrong Turn? Also, what are your top Rollins Band songs?
Patrick: I have a half-formed memory of seeing He Never Died theatrically at that festival; could it have shown more than once? I actually think I liked it quite a bit. I never saw the pseudo-sequel, though. I like Henry Rollins as an actor. He shows up in interesting stuff and he’s a good screen presence. I definitely like Wrong Turn 2 better than the first movie, but I haven’t seen the first movie since the theater. Planning to remedy that for SMM. As for favorite Rollins Band songs, I like “Liar” enough and “Tearing” is good, but as for the best I’ve gotta go “Low Self Opinion,” an all-time banger. What’s yours?
Adam: I love “Liar.”
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