Ghosts and goblins are amateur compared to what else will spook State College this week at the Horror Film Fest held at the State Theatre, 130 W. College Ave.
Beetlejuice, presented by Wegmans Night at the Movies, kicked off the series last night. Psycho and The Exorcist will play tonight, with Alfred Hitchcock's Oscar Award winning 1960 film Psycho (Rated R, 109 minutes) beginning the festival at 7 p.m.
"So many wanted to see an epic film on the big screen, instead of just on DVD," program manager Joe Apfelbaum said. "That was our grounds to do something classic."
Having done past series for Valentine's Day and Christmas, Apfelbaum said this was the State Theatre's first crack at tackling a Halloween series.
"There are a lot of good theaters in the country who do this," he said. "Some do a different film for every day. We had so many to choose from."
In Hitchcock's Psycho, office worker Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) is entrusted by her boss to deposit $40,000 into the bank, but instead runs away with the money. Ending up at The Bates Hotel, she meets owner Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), an eerie gentleman who keeps a close eye on the young woman.
Also playing tonight is the 1973 movie The Exorcist (Rated R, 122 minutes) at 9:30.
Based on the 1971 novel by William Peter Blatty, the movie tells the story of an actress (Ellen Burstyn) who encounters problems with her 12-year-old daughter, Regan (Linda Blair). Blatty enlists Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller) to help the family attack the demon that has taken over Regan's body.
Student Ryan Muller (sophomore - information sciences and technology) enjoyed The Exorcist.
"It's a good movie," Muller said. "It's entertaining, and definitely a little creepy."
The creepiness continues with Eraserhead (Unrated, 108 minutes) playing at 7 p.m. tomorrow.
Released in 1977, the movie is about Henry Spencer (John Nance), who works in a factory while his pregnant girlfriend (Charlotte Stewart) moves in with him after giving birth to a mutant.
The series will end tomorrow night at 9:30 with the 1974 famed horror film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Rated R, 83 minutes) about a group of five hippies who road-trip through Texas and become prey to a murderous cannibal family, led by a chainsaw-carrying leatherface (Gunnar Hansen).
"I think really big horror film fans will go," Muller said. "Although, young adults are into newer movies now."
Apfelbaum said he hopes students will attend the series as a healthier alternative to crazy Halloween celebrations and encourages audiences to wear a costume to the films.
"It's not going to be just showing up to watch a movie," he said. "Hopefully, it'll be bigger than that."
Apfelbaum even hinted that there may be some special effects in store.
"We're going to be doing some weird stuff," he said. "We were going to have a guy with a chainsaw, but figured that might be a bad idea."
