Special EventPhantom Film Festival 2024From: Thursday, October 31, 2024 at 12:00 AM • To: Sunday, November 3, 2024 at 12:15 AM
The first annual Cincinnati Phantom Film Festival haunts Esquire Theatre on Oct. 31 - Nov. 2, presented by Phantom Fest (Cincinnati’s Halloween and horror festival). Whether you're a horror aficionado or just looking for a fun night out, our festival promises thrills and chills for everyone. Enjoy three days of hand-picked selections of classic and contemporary horror films by Cincinnati’s premiere film programmers that will keep you on the edge of your seat! Expect shocking surprises, join in spine-tingling immersive film experiences, and a Halloween weekend like Queen City has never seen. Dress to impress in your best Halloween attire for a chance to win frightful prizes, and join us each night after the films at Alive & Well for a spirited film discussion and hangout.
Saturday, Nov. 2 features the Survive the Night Movie Marathon. All guests who make it through our frightening foursome of films will receive prizes, filled with plenty of tricks and treats.
Single movie tickets are available at esquiretheatre.com and at the Esquire Theatre ($12 each) or save by purchasing an Evening Pass for $50, covering all shows after 5pm (except the premiere showing of REPLICATOR). Marathon passes are only available in-person at the Esquire Theatre Box Office.
Film Lineup:
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2024 (HALLOWEEN)
7:00 PM - HALLOWEEN (1978. Dir. John Carpenter)
Halloween Movie & Costume Contest
Hosted by Phantom Cinema
No Halloween is complete without seeing Halloween. After all, everyone’s entitled to one good scare and we’re kicking off Phantom Film Festival with the quintessential Halloween film. 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 for 15 years. But on October 30, 1978, while being transferred for a court date, a 21-year-old Michael Myers steals a car and escapes Smith's Grove. He returns to his quiet hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois, where he looks for his next victims.
Attendees are encouraged to dress in their Halloween costumes and participate in Halloween activities before the show. Please note our costume policy: We do not allow face coverings including masks, face paint, helmets, oversized hoods or coverings (except for standard face masks used for health and safety reasons). We also do not allow weapons (including prop items).
9:00 PM - THE CROW (1994 Dir. Alex Proyas)
30th Anniversary Screening & Movie Party
Hosted by Phantom Cinema
One of the greatest pop culture time capsules of all time, Australian director Alex Proyas’ first American feature length film stands as a stellar comic-to-film adaptation. Brandon Lee, who tragically passed away during the film production, delivers a breakout role in the gritty gothic revenge thriller about a murdered musician hellbent on retribution for the woman he loves, even from beyond the grave. And if you haven’t grabbed the otherworldly soundtrack featuring Nine Inch Nails, The Cure, and other rock icons, now’s your time.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2024
6:00 PM - REPLICATOR (2024 Dir. Mark Andrew Hamer)
Cincinnati Premiere
Haunted by a troubled past, small town public defender Darby Vigliani uncovers a terrifying truth when the town’s most nefarious citizens suddenly turn virtuous overnight. As violent, otherworldly forces emerge, Darby discovers the path to righteousness is paved in blood and horror…
*The above showing of REPLICATOR is not included in the Phantom Fest Evening Pass, as it is designated as the Cincinnati Premiere of the film. Tickets should be purchased separately for this film.
7:30 PM - A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT (2014 Dir. Ana Lily Amirpour)
10th Anniversary Screening & Movie Party
Hosted by Cindependent Film Festival
Love bites and this film has the scars to prove it. Iranian-American director Ana Lily Amirpour delivers the first ever Iranian Vampire Western, which is every bit as cool and killer as it sounds. Residents of a worn-down Iranian city encounter a skateboarding vampire (Sheila Vand) who preys on men who disrespect women in this breathtaking black-and-white film that combines the simmering tension of Sergio Leone with the surrealism of David Lynch.
9:30 PM - CARRIE (1976 Dir. Brian De Palma)
Hosted by Conveyor Belt Books
Arguably the greatest film adaptation of a Stephen King novel ever, Brian De Palma put his stamp on prom night for the rest of time. Withdrawn and sensitive teen Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) faces taunting from classmates at school and abuse from her fanatically pious mother (Piper Laurie) at home. When strange occurrences start happening around Carrie, she begins to suspect that she has supernatural powers. And can you blame her? Tensions run high in this incredibly disturbing story and warning to all who dare cross their prom dates.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2024
SURVIVE THE NIGHT MOVIE MARATHON
ALL GUESTS WHO WATCH ALL 4 FILMS OF THE MOVIE MARATHON ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2 GET SPECIAL SPINE-TINGLING PRIZES. WATCH … IF YOU DARE!
5:00 PM - A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984 Dir. Wes Craven)
40th Anniversary Screening & Movie Party
Hosted by Phantom Cinema
1, 2, Freddy’s coming for you. Forty years ago, Wes Craven delivered a masterpiece of horror and unleashed dream demon Freddy Krueger into theaters and the dreamscapes of horror lovers everywhere. To celebrate, Phantom Film Festival is taking moviegoers on a journey to Elm Street to kick off the Survive the Night Movie Marathon. We’ll have special props to get you in the mood for a bloody good time. Just remember; whatever you do, don’t fall asleep.
7:00 PM - THE SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE (1982 Dir. Amy Holden Jones)
Hosted by Leontine Cinema
Sparked by the slasher craze of the early 1980’s The Slumber Party Massacre is equally subversive and sensational, reminding horror fans that the genre’s vehicles are often better when they have brains behind the bloodiness. First-time director Amy Holden masterfully helms a sharp satirical script written by American feminist writer Rita Mae Brown (best known for her coming-of-age autobiographical novel, Rubyfruit Jungle) about Trish, a high school senior who decides to throw a slumber party, but things go downhill when an escaped killer wielding a power drill is loose in the neighborhood. (Who hasn’t been there?) Don’t miss this underrated gem and essential addition to the world of horror.
9:00 PM - PHANTASM (1979 Dir. Don Cascarelli)
45th Anniversary Screening
Hosted by Outer Cinema
Beware the ball, beware the Tall Man, beware the never dead. A horror movie praised by both pro and anti-horror cinephiles, Phantasm is a fright fest that many have claimed to be one of the greatest Halloween-esque horrors, elevating itself above many of the other film entries of its era. The residents of a small town have begun dying under strange circumstances, leading young Mike (Michael Baldwin) to investigate. After discovering that the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm), the town's mortician, is killing and reanimating the dead as misshapen zombies, Mike seeks help from his older brother, Jody (Bill Thornbury), and local ice cream man Reggie (Reggie Bannister). Working together, they try to lure out and kill the Tall Man, all the while avoiding his minions and a deadly silver sphere.
10:45 PM - XTRO (1982 Dir. Harry Bromley Davenport)
Hosted by Secret Base Cinema
Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? No, it’s Xtro. A mosaic of nightmares, you have to see Xtro to believe it, gore hounds. The less you know going in the better, as this British sci-fi body horror vehicle will make you go home and watch E.T. just to recover. Family man Sam Phillips (Philip Sayer) has been missing for three years when he suddenly returns home to his son, Tony (Simon Nash), and wife, Rachel (Bernice Stegers). Though Tony has clung to the hopes of his father's return, his mother has moved on and is involved with another man. Rachel still has a place in her heart for her husband, but the love triangle is rudely interrupted when it becomes apparent that Sam's disappearance was the result of an alien abduction, and he's no longer human.