Seasonal Spine-Chilling

As if the isolated thoughts of catching cabin fever being cooped up all winter a la Jack Torrance aren’t “redrum” enough, local B-film impresario Jeff Meyer is back at it again to scare the pants off of you even if you do muster up the courage to step outside and brave Old Man Winter. That’s because Meyer’s monthly Brew and View 35mm Series is featuring a double-billing of some old school horror yarns to cringe in the New Year on Fri., Jan. 8, 7 p.m., at Eastwood’s Palace Theatre, 2384 James St. Slated to screen first is the 1984 mutant rampage C.H.U.D. (Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller). John Heard and Daniel Stern lead the cast for director Douglas Cheek’s campy tale of a policeman, a nutty bum, a photojournalist and his girlfriend who all band together to try to stop a group of grotesquely deformed vagrants living in the sewers of New York City and have been suspected of committing a rash of murders.

After the credits roll on that one, you’ll have time to grab a beer or three in the lobby before the lights go out for the second feature, Phantasm. This 1979 T-n-A coffin fest, which was originally billed with the tagline “If you’re looking for a horror that’s got balls… it’s found you!” is a kind of David Lynch meets Ed Wood mind trip, in which teenage Mike discovers some supernatural happenings being conducted by the mortician simply known as “The Tall Man” (pictured above) at the local cemetery, who uses floating spherical objects to access mirror dimensions. Equipped with an “evil” triple-black 1971 Plymouth ‘Cuda, it’s now up to Mike, his brother and Reggie the ice cream man to save the day. And, just recently added to the lineup, is the 2009 cult blaxploitation smash Black Dynamite, which will see its only Central New York screening during this event. The film, set in the 1970s, follows Michael Jai White who stars as the title character in a quest to fight “The Man” and the all the evils he has perpetrated in the ghetto. Check out the official trailer on Youtube for some crazy sheeeit; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-wqmnJrOFM. Admission is $8, or $6 if you show up wearing the ugliest shirt you can find. For information, call 436-4732.