From the Oct 30 – Nov 5, 2003 issue

Film

Blow Up

Beyond Good and Evil

by Andy Spletzer

Before I get into all the Halloween-themed screenings taking place around town, I want to give props to those venues and curators who resisted the temptation to bow down to the dark lord Satan. 911 Media Arts is showing Andy McAllister's locally made feature film Shag Carpet Sunset (Fri-Sun Oct 31-Nov 2) to support preproduction on McAllister's next DV feature, Urban Scarecrow. A snapshot of a young man cast adrift in his own artistic idealism, Shag Carpet Sunset sometimes bogs down in its coffeehouse-style conversations, but it's also buoyed by some wonderful asides, sharp editing, and goofy flights of fancy. If you're even thinking of making a low-budget feature, you should see it, and it promises great things for McAllister's future work.

Most of the other non-Halloween events only start to feel safe after the holiday. On Wednesday, November 5, EMP hosts Curtis Salgado: My Favorite Things, in which Salgado will present and talk about musical rarities drawn from his personal collection. Wednesday is also the day that the Seattle Human Rights Film Festival kicks off, opening at the Frye Art Museum, continuing at 911 Media Arts, and wrapping up at the Seattle Art Museum on Sunday, November 9. Its schedule can be found at www.amnestyusa.org/filmfest.

The best transition to the soul-sucking celebrations of murder and mayhem takes place at none other than Consolidated Works, where I programmed Horns and Halos (Fri-Sun Oct 31-Nov 2). It's scary in that it's about George W. Bush, not to mention the trouble author J. H. Hatfield had in publishing a tell-all biography about him. Also at ConWorks on Halloween night (but not programmed by me) is a multimedia terror extravaganza by the Now Device that will have bands, movies, and lots of creepy projected images.

Oh, and there are so many more tributes to evil going on about town. There's An Evening of Indy Horror Flicks on Thursday, October 30, at the Seattle Independent Media Center (1415 Third Ave), featuring a sneak-preview screening of In the Loaming, the world premiere of Worst Day Yeti, and Alex Mayer's choice cuts from The Worst of Galaxaco. It should be noted that Mayer has long been vocal about his hatred of Seattle-made films (especially Shag Carpet Sunset), of anything not made in the exploitation style of the public-access channel, as well as much of his own work, so this could be interesting. Elsewhere, Twisted Flicks takes on Creature from the Black Lagoon (Thurs-Sat Oct 30-Nov 1 at University Theater, 5510 University Way); there will be a screening of the silent film Phantom of the Opera (Thurs-Fri Oct 30-31 at First A.M.E., 1522 14th Ave) using the church organ for a new score; Guy Maddin's Dracula continues its brilliant run at the Little Theatre through Sunday, November 2; and hell, there's plenty more evil to be had. Check the listings.

andy@thestranger.com