A Mother/Daughter Devil's Night

Janet and Jamie
Mahoning Drive-In Theater - Lehighton, PA

Although this isn't the final show of the 2021 season, it was the last night that was announced.  We found out the reason for this on the Mahoning Drive-In Podcast.  The original plan for the October 30th show was to screen Halloween II first, with Halloween H20 as the second half of the double feature.  It makes sense to play these two films back to back, because H20 is an alternate timeline of the Halloween franchise which disregards every movie that takes place after Halloween II and treats itself as the third movie in the series.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, as things turned out), Halloween H20 was unavailable to the Mahoning this October because it had been reserved by another group for an exclusive event, so they had to go with their backup plan, which was to have a double feature of Psycho, starring Janet Leigh, and Halloween II, starring Ms. Leigh's daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis.

With all due respect to Halloween H20, this is a massive upgrade.  Don't get me wrong - H20 is a good horror film.  I saw it at the Laurel Drive-In during its initial run when I was 18 years old, but I can't imagine that anyone in this world, including everyone in the cast and crew of Halloween H20 itself, wouldn't rather see the original Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece if given the choice between the two.  This is like going to McDonald's and being told "I'm sorry, we're all out of Big Macs, but please enjoy this filet mignon instead".

I'm not sure what's going on with the area in front of the Mahoning sign, but there seems to always be a puddle there.  It gets smaller if it hasn't rained for a couple of weeks, but it's always there.  If they screen Stephen King's It again, I'm going to put a little paper sailboat on the water with a red balloon nearby.

Like the one for last night's show, tonight's poster was designed by artist Tom Bifulco.  It features Psycho star Janet Leigh, and her daughter and the star of Halloween II, Jamie Lee Curtis, with their names written in the font of their respective movies.  This dude always does a really awesome job with the show posters.

After a cold and rainy night for Ricci's Pieces, it was an unseasonably warm night at the drive-in.  We got settled in right around the time when the sun was setting behind the big screen, and it was over 60 degrees - not too bad for Devil's Night.

Before the first movie, they screened a 35mm print of a 1965 Chuck Jones animated Tom and Jerry short.  The cartoon was called The Year Of The Mouse, and to say that it highlights how much things have changed in children's entertainment would be a massive understatement.

The story has Tom (the cat) trying to take a nap while Jerry (the mouse) and his friend Nibbles (another mouse) play pranks on him.  Perhaps you might be thinking that the pranks Jerry might pull would include things like putting Tom's paw in a cup of water, or tickling his nose with a feather, or maybe even setting off an alarm clock, but that's not what happened here.  Instead, the cute little brown mouse rigged up a series of pranks that caused Tom to shoot himself in the head with a gun and hang himself from the chandelier with a noose.  After two more pranks that involve a large knife and a bow and arrow, Tom catches on to what is happening and decides to get back at the mice by rigging up a trap that would have made Jigsaw proud. The cartoon ends with Jerry and Nibbles trapped in a glass bottle with a gun pointed at them.  The trigger is tied to a string with the other end fastened to a cork in the bottle, with the implication being that if either of the mice attempt to escape the trap, they will be shot and killed, thus allowing Tom to finally enjoy a restful nap.  Damn!

Say what you want about the violence in tonight's feature films, but they showed murder in a serious tone.  When I was growing up in the 80's, I probably saw Elmer Fudd shoot Daffy Duck a thousand times, and countless other acts of violence between cartoon characters.  Some of them were more tame than The Year Of The Mouse while others were more graphic, but the one thing all of them had in common was that they were played for laughs.  As an eight year old, I didn't think anything about it, but I've got to tell you, it's a real eye-opener to see them today.  Don't get me wrong, I certainly don't think they should be banned or anything like that, but my reaction has gone from laughing at the fate of poor Tom to saying "holy shit, they'd never get away with that today!"

  

When I watch movies, I try to do my best to forget everything that I know about them.  That has become increasingly more difficult to do in 2021 with a seemingly endless stream of memes, references and parodies of anything that becomes popular, but it's even more difficult when watching one of the most iconic films in the history of cinema.  I'll bet that you could find people who have never heard of Alfred Hitchcock or Norman Bates, but if you let them listen to five second of the score that plays during the infamous shower scene, they would identify it.  They might not be able to say exactly where it's from, but they'll associate it with a murder, and could probably even narrow it down to a stabbing that takes place in the shower.

It's been decades since I watched Psycho all the way through from beginning to end, and I wanted to experience it at the drive-in from as fresh of a perspective as I could possibly get.  When I really get into the mindset to fully experience a movie, I have kind of a stupid little ritual that I do.  As the opening credits begin, I'll close my eyes for a few seconds and think to myself "tell me a story".  It's the words I'd use as a child when I wanted my grandfather to tell me a haunted house story on our drives to the mall in Wilkes-Barre or Frackville, and it's become kind of a centering device in my adult life.  Just close your eyes for a couple of seconds and try to forget who you are.  Forger where you are.  Forget everything that you know.  Forget all of the cynicism that has built up over the years.  Forget that the world outside this movie exists.  For the next 110 minutes, it is just you and the film.  Tell me a story.

Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.  This time it worked, and it was amazing.  I will never forget the experience of seeing Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece on the big screen under the stars.

There were no special novelty items at the concession stand.  I suggested that they add some cheese or hot sauce to french fries and sell them as "Evil Fries Tonight" as a good way to sell off whatever excess french fries they have before they go on hiatus for the winter (hat tip to Jeff Whitmire who came up with the name), but I guess the concession crew didn't think it was as clever of an idea as I did.  Oh well, you can't win 'em all.

A vintage cartoon was once again screened on 35mm prior to the start of the second film.  This time, it was the 1966 Woody Woodpecker short: Rough Riding Hood.  This one didn't have quite as many gun and knife pranks, but it did end with Woody being spanked in the woods while he cries in the same cadence as his trademark laugh.  No kinkshaming here, Woody.  You do your thing.

 

Left: Original Halloween II movie poster
Right: Church Hill Cinema - Rt. 309 in Hazleton, PA (Standard Speaker - July 30, 1981)

Another thing that I think the Mahoning missed out on is capitalizing on the fact that they were screening Halloween II 40 years to the day after it premiered in theaters across the country.  I thought that it was pretty awesome that we're all getting to experience a horror classic from an original 35mm print that was screened exactly forty years ago.  There was one post about it a week ago on Instagram, but aside from that, it went completely unmentioned.  I guess these folks don't need marketing advice from a guy like me, but I can tell you one thing: I'm ever fortunate enough to run a drive-in theater and have the opportunity to screen an iconic horror flick on it's 40th birthday, you won't be able to shut me up about it.

Like the most recent movie in the Halloween franchise, Halloween II picks up the story immediately where the first movie lets off.  The sequel definitely ramps up the brutality from the first film, and it's the film that has the "Luke, I am your father" moment when it is revealed that Laurie Strode is, in fact, Laurie Myers - the youngest sister of Michael Myers.  In this timeline, her parents died when she was two years old, and she was adopted and raised by the Strode family while Michael grew up in the sanitarium after he murdered his older sister.  This twist in the story was undone in the current Halloween timeline, which disregards Halloween II and treats the 2018 movie, also titled "Halloween", as the second movie in the series and a direct sequel to the 1978 film, in which Laurie Strode is not Michael's sister, unless you watched the version that aired on television in 1981, which has added scenes that suggest that she is Michael's sister.  If that sounds ridiculously complicated to you, just know that you're not alone.  I wish the current group of writers and directors would put their talents toward creating original stories with all new characters rather than to leech off of existing franchises to make a fast buck.  It's like the difference between opening a mom & pop restaurant with home cooked food, or opening a Denny's franchise and sticking a crane machine in the lobby to add your own twist on things.

Halloween II is a worthy sequel to the original film which was intended to close the book on the Michael Myers, as Halloween III took an entirely new direction with an awesome story about a Halloween mask manufacturer who uses technology and witchcraft to make the holiday evil again.  It's sort of a dark side twist on the "put the Christ back in Christmas" folks, because it's character wants to put the devil back in Halloween.  Unfortunately, it didn't perform as well as the studio hoped it would, so it was right back to Michael Myers for Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers, which has been erased from existence by no fewer than three separate timelines, including the Rob Zombie reboot.

I realize that I've spent the past two paragraphs discussing everything except the actual movie.  It's a good flick, and I highly recommend it.  Just do yourself a favor - if you decide to have a Halloween movie marathon at home, stick to one timeline at a time or else the story isn't going to make a bit of sense.

The credits rolled at about quarter past midnight, which meant that we started watching Halloween II on it's 40th birthday and finished in the early morning hours of Halloween.  There was a fun surprise to kick off the early morning hours of Halloween, but secret features are meant to be kept secret, so you'll just have to take a trip out to the Mahoning Drive-In Theater to find out about those for yourself.  And that's a wrap on the second to last night of the 2021 drive-in season.  One more night to go.

Ricci's Pieces

Ricci's Pieces
Mahoning Drive-In Theater - Lehighton, PA

I love when Halloween falls on a Sunday and turns the holiday into a three day weekend.  This year is even better than usual because it also means that I get to spend three more nights at the drive-in before they close their doors for the winter.  The first night is dedicated to family friendly spooky films from the 90's that include actress Christina Ricci - The Addams Family and Casper.

Christina Ricci was one of my favorite actresses when I was a teenager.  We got to see her at the drive-in last weekend too with Sleepy Hollow.  Even though she's known for her roles in spooky movies in the 90's, she's a tremendous actress with a wide range and a list of incredible films under her belt.  She's a couple months older than I am, so growing up parallel to her meant that the characters she played in films were my age as I was seeing them for the first time.  As a result, it's probably not surprising that she was one of my childhood crushes.

The show poster for Friday and Saturday was done by Tom Bifulco.  He's the same artist who did posters and t-shirts for a lot of shows that we've been to throughout the year, including Monster Mash, Frankenhooker, Cage Match, Joe Bob's Jamboree, VHS Fest, Honey I Shrunk The Kids, and our very first show at the Mahoning Drive-In Theater, Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

It rained pretty much all day on Friday, and it got pretty heavy before and during the first movie.  Unfortunately, this seemed to keep a lot of folks away from the drive-in.  The lot wasn't nearly as filled as I expected it to be for family friendly spooky movies on the Friday before Halloween.  Also, a lot of the events that the Mahoning had planned, like a "trunk or treat" for the kids, and a costume contest, had to be scaled back.  It was also a little difficult to see the decorations in the concession building because they had to move the merch table and the vendors inside.  Don't get me wrong - I still had a great time as always, but I'm sure that the folks in charge were hoping it would have turned out differently.

The first half of last night's double feature was The Addams Family from 1991.  I didn't get to see this in theaters on its initial run, but I did see it shortly after it was released on home video.  It's not a movie that I have watched very often over the past 30 years, but it aged very well and it's a hell of a lot of fun.  Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston are perfect as Gomez and Morticia Addams, and Christopher Lloyd delivers an amazing performance as Uncle Fester, showing once again that he is one of the greatest and most versatile actors of all time.

Back then, I was not at all a fan of the Addams Groove song that was used in the movie.  MC Hammer may have been a mega-star in my later elementary school days, but I really wasn't into him at all.  However, time has softened me on it because I had to smile and appreciate it for all of its cheesy goodness when I heard it during the closing credits last night.

One part of this movie that has lived on far longer than I think anyone expected is The Addams Family pinball machine.  It first appeared in arcades in 1992, and I swear, I think I've seen this game at a hundred different places in the years that followed.  It went on to sell over 20,000 units and is still to this day the best selling solid-state pinball machines of all time.

The second movie was the 1995 film, Casper.  It's a movie adaptation of the Casper The Friendly Ghost cartoon and comic book series that thrived throughout the 40's, 50's and 60's.  I didn't really have a lot of exposure to Casper growing up in the 80's and 90's.  Obviously, I knew the character existed, but I don't ever remember seeing any of the cartoons on television back then.  As a result, the movie flew completely under my radar, and I didn't end up seeing it until well into my adult life.  When I did finally see it, I was surprised to find that I loved it.  It's an incredibly sweet story with excellent performances from Christina Ricci and Bill Pullman, with a memorable cameo from Dan Aykroyd as the Ghostbuster who wants no parts of Whipstaff Manor or the Ghostly Trio.

Seeing Casper on the big screen at the drive-in, along with The Addams Family, was the perfect way to kick off Halloween weekend.  Tonight, we get a lot darker with a mother/daughter double feature of two of the most iconic horror movies of all time: Psycho and Halloween II.

Orange You Glad It's Almost Halloween

These vintage Halloween toys were being sold at Weil Antiques Center in Allentown when we visited this past Spring.  I'm not sure who made the witch on the motorcycle, but the noisemakers were made by the US Metal Toy Manufacturing Company.  I couldn't find a definitive year for any of these toys, but I'm pretty sure that the noisemakers are from either the late 50's or early 60's because my grandparents had similar ones that were themed for New Years Eve in their attic when I was a kid.

This was my favorite one of the lot.  I definitely wasn't about to pay $75 for it; especially when you consider the fact that there are six of them on eBay right now for under $30.  However I think it might make a good tattoo.  If I do end up getting it, I'm going to have it done with two open eyes instead of a wink.

The Breakfast Vampire Branches Out

Count Chocula Mini Treats
General Mills (2021)

As fond as I am of the character, I'm not an especially big fan of Count Chocula cereal.  It's not that I think it's bad or anything, but I tend to prefer the fruit, or honey, or cinnamon flavored cereals for breakfast over the chocolate ones.  That being said, I've got to hand it to General Mills for these mini treats, because they're freakin' delicious!

The bars aren't very big, but you get twenty of 'em, so it's still a pretty good deal.  Their small size also makes them a good little snack if you're trying to watch your weight, which I will once again try to do after the holidays.  They've got chocolate cereal pieces, marshmallows and a chocolate base and drizzle, and the end result tastes a little like s'mores.

If General Mills decided to go all in with this concept and turn it into a full size candy bar, I think they'd sell millions of them.  These things could hold their own against anything in the candy aisle.

Voo Dew III: Officially A Horror Trilogy

Voo Dew III
Mountain Dew (2021)

For the third year in a row, Pepsi has released a spooky mystery flavor of Mountain Dew for the Halloween season.  The first Voo Dew from 2019 reminded me of Fruit Loops cereal and Creamsicles.  Last year's Voo Dew II tasted like Tropical Skittles candy.  This year's version is a bit more difficult to describe.  It sort of reminds me of Yipe Stripe Fruit Stripe Gum, but with a more tart citrus flavor.  I'm not as crazy about it as I was last year or the year before.

The skeptical part of my brain has me wondering if they just keep releasing the same flavor, but I'm interpreting it differently from year to year.  I wish I thought to save a bottle from the last two years to do a side-by-side comparison.

I'm not sure how much longer this will be available, but I'm guessing that when Halloween has passed and the Christmas merchandise begins to take over the local grocery stores, Voo Dew III is probably going to start getting a little harder to find.  If you want to try it, I'd suggest picking up a bottle as soon as you see it.

Vampire, Frankenstein and Pumpkin Spice Cheese

Transylvanian Hard Cheese
Aldi's (2021)

There's always a pretty good selection of tasty cheese at Aldi's, but they went all in for the Halloween season with their selection of spooky cheeses.  I had this Transylvanian Hard Cheese soaked in red wine over the weekend, and it was very tasty.

I picked up two other blocks of cheese that I haven't tried yet - a Scary Pumpkin Spice Wensleydale cheese with cinnamon, and a Freaky Franken sage derby cheese.  Can't wait to try 'em!

The Terror Of Knowing What The World Is About

Under Pressure
Queen + David Bowie (1981)
One of the most iconic pop songs of all time was released as a single 40 years ago today.  Under Pressure features the vocals of two of the greatest singers who ever walked the face of the earth - Freddie Mercury and David Bowie.

This world has been blessed with this amazing song for four decades.  Press play, close your eyes, and just listen...

I Spy Spider Donuts

Spider Specialty Donut
Dunkin' Donuts (2021)

These Halloween donuts have been available at Dunkin' Donuts throughout October, but they sell out pretty quick.  It's not super fancy - just a chocolate munchkin on top of the hole in a donut that is decorated to look like a giant spider - but it's creative and very tasty!

The Peanut Butter Cup Macchiato looks to be a little too sweet for me.  I'll get the occasional Pumpkin Spice Latte, but for the most part, I prefer unsweetened coffee.  I'm not sure if this is a regular menu item that has been repackaged for Halloween or if it's only available for a limited time.

It's All Gonna Fade...

Still Crazy After All These Years
Paul Simon (1975)

This album was released 46 years ago today.  The title track hits closer to home more with each passing year.  When you come to the realization that more of your life probably lies in the rear view mirror than the windshield, you're prone to reflect a little more often.

Lyrics:

I met my old lover on the street last night

She seemed so glad to see me, I just smiled

And we talked about some old times, and we drank ourselves some beers

Still crazy after all these years

Oh, still crazy after all these years

I'm not the kind of man who tends to socialize

I seem to lean on old familiar ways

And I ain't no fool for love songs that whisper in my ears

Still crazy after all these years

Oh, still crazy after all these years

Four in the morning

Crapped out, yawning

Longing my life away

I'll never worry

Why should I?

It's all gonna fade

Now I sit by my window and I watch the cars

I fear I'll do some damage one fine day

But I would not be convicted by a jury of my peers

Still crazy after all these years

Oh, still crazy after all these years

The Weird World Of Tim Burton

The Weird World Of Tim Burton
Mahoning Drive-In Theater - Lehighton, PA
The second to last weekend of the 2021 season was definitely one to remember, filled with fun surprises, trailers and four incredible full length feature films that showcase the creative brilliance of Tim Burton.

The double feature on Friday evening were made up of a couple of classic films from the 90's.  It began with a movie that kicked off the decade in style - the 1990 surreal love story Edward Scissorhands,  starring Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder.  The second film showcased the end of the decade with Tim Burton's 1999 imagining of Sleepy Hollow, starring Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci.  This movie served as a bit of foreshadowing for next Friday's double feature, which is centered around Ms. Ricci's films from earlier in the decade.

Saturday night's movies began with a movie that is nothing short of a masterpiece; the 1993 Halloween and Christmas stop-motion animated film, The Nightmare Before Christmas.  The second feature was a movie that I had seen parts of throughout my life, but never actually sat down to watch the whole thing - the 1988 horror comedy classic, Beetlejuice, starring Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder.

Before we left for the drive-in, I received some pre-show reading material in the mail with the latest issue of The Joe Bob Briggs Fanzine.  If you're a fan of Joe Bob Briggs and The Last Drive-In, this is something you really should check out.  The most recent issue covers Joe Bob's Jamboree, and there's no better place to read it than on the grounds where it all happened.  Pick up your own copy from Patty Jack Press.

The photo ops were outstanding, as always.  There was a giant sandworm from Beetlejuice to the right of the entrance of the concession building.  Behind it, and in between the concession entrance and the merch table, there was a scene with topiaries from Edward Scissorhands, with a projector showing clips of Tim Burton movies.  On Saturday night, Steve Mills added his incredible Pumpkin King lighted display, which cast a very cool shadow on the building.  I bumped into him when we were both waiting in line for food and he showed me some of the photos of the different stages of this display being put together.  The talent and dedication, and the amount of work that goes into these displays is simply fantastic, and they add so much to the atmosphere of the weekend.

The seating areas inside the concession building were decorated to look like the afterlife waiting room from Beetlejuice, and they absolutely nailed it!  I wish I would have taken more pictures of the decorations and the many cosplays that my fellow moviegoers had put together, including an adorable puppy that was dressed up like Beetlejuice.

If you have popped onto my blog at any point this year, you'll know that I've been a pretty frequent visitor to the Mahoning Drive-In Theater.  I have never seen the place so busy for a double feature as it was on Saturday.  We're talking VHS Fest and Joe Bob Jamboree sized crowds here.  The line at the concession stand stretched outside of the building, through the parking lot, roughly halfway to the entrance.  Usually, the building starts to empty out when the trailer reel begins because everyone wants to be at their car to watch the movie, but the staff told me that they were serving food nonstop through the first feature.  They couldn't even tell when the intermission began because the line never stopped.  And keep in mind, this was just for food!  The merch tent has an entirely separate line!

It's great to see that so many people are discovering this amazing place.  Much respect to the staff who works the concession stand.  Those folks bust their ass while everyone else is out having fun.

 

There were some special guests in the concession stand who were selling meat sticks to raise money for the Team 209 Wrestling Club out of Lehighton, Palmerton, and Jim Thorpe.  They were only a dollar each, and they had a pretty big selection of flavors, so I got a bunch of 'em.  I fully intended to do a taste on here, but they were so good that I ate all but one of them during the movies.  However, I can do a review of the Sweet Maple Bacon one.  It's good.  It's very, very good!  The rest of them were good too, but since I scarfed them down in a dark car, I couldn't tell you which flavor is which, but I can say that I enjoyed all of them.

The poster for this weekend was designed by Max Gagnon.  The artwork is very good, but I'm not sure that I understand some of the design choices.  I enjoy Burton's Batman flicks, but they weren't shown during this event and they really don't represent the "weird world of Tim Burton" as much as the world of DC Comics though the eyes of the director.  Tim Burton has a very distinct style, with stripes and polka dots and a wide variety of characters, many of which were shown on the big screen this weekend, but that spirit is nearly absent from the poster.  As much as I appreciate the quality of the work that went into this, I think it's a bit off the mark as a representation of this event.

The first film that was shown on Friday night was Edward Scissorhands.  I think that some of the magic of this movie has been forgotten or overlooked in the decades since it was released, but it truly is one of the most beautiful and engaging films of the 20th century.  It is a story of isolation and rejection, and how someone can never really feel like they belong among other people, despite the occasional burst of acceptance they might experience.

The story is set in a unique universe of a mid-century ticky-tacky community that exists in the shadow of a gothic mansion on the hill.  I've often heard it said that the movie is set in the 1950's or early 60's, but that isn't the case.  The story includes answering machines and references to taping something on VCR, and the vehicles driven in the community are primarily from the 70's and 80's, including the 1977 AMC Gremlin driven by Peg Boggs as she brings Edward home, the 1971 Chevy Van with flames painted on the sides that Kim and her boyfriend Jim ride around in, and a 1985 GMC Vandura that is driven by the news crew who attempts to interview Edward after his arrest.  These aren't the kind of decisions that a director like Tim Burton makes by accident.  They give the film a timeless quality that hints at several decades in the latter half of the 20th century, almost as if the older Kim Boggs is retelling the story in her dreams, where things from various time periods in her life mix together randomly into a surreal world.

Sleepy Hollow is a movie that I first saw when I was 19 years old, but I haven't watched it since and I didn't remember anything about it.  It definitely strays pretty far from the source material, but it's an enjoyable mystery/horror flick with incredible costumes and atmosphere, and it's the perfect thing to see at the drive-in this time of year.  Friday night ended with a fun surprise, but you'll have to come out to the drive-in to see those!

When we go to the drive-in on Friday and Saturday, it sort of feel as if Saturday morning and afternoon are just a very long intermission between films, and the world off of the lot is just an extension of the concession stand.

Speaking of the concession stand, one of the fun surprises that I found on Saturday was a can of Mountain Dew Courageous Sherbet.  I hadn't heard of this before, but it's apparently pretty hard to get.  It was sold online through Game Fuel, which is geared towards gamers who play the type of video games that I could not possibly be less interested in.  This is probably why I never heard of the soda.  Anyway, it was pretty good.  It tastes like rainbow sherbet, and I'm glad to have had the opportunity to try it without subjecting myself to any of the ridiculous dudebro gamer marketing that seems to be the focal point of their website.

Bottom photo from The Mahoning Drive-In on Instagram

There's nothing I could possibly say about The Nightmare Before Christmas that hasn't already been said, but I believe that it's about as perfect as an animated film can be.  Like most stunning works of art, it has been marketed to death since its release, and I could definitely understand how the over-marketing and merchandising of its music and its characters could make it difficult to fully appreciate.  It's like looking at the Mona Lisa.  You've seen it so many times that you have to deliberately put yourself in a state of mind that you're going to see it through fresh eyes; to segregate your memory of novelty socks and t-shirts and just be present in the moment to experience this masterpiece for what it has to offer on its own merit.  Let me tell you, there's no better place to do that than a dark night at the Mahoning Drive-In, and there's no better way to see it than a projection from original 35 mm onto a giant screen beneath the stars.  

 

Bottom two photos from The Mahoning Drive-In on Instagram

Beetlejuice is one of those 80's classics that has always existed in the background for me.  For whatever reason, I wasn't really interested in seeing this when I was a kid.  I guess the trailer just didn't hook me, because to this day, when I think of Beetlejuice, all I can picture is Michael Keaton spreading his arms out and saying "I'm the ghost with the most".  In fact, before last night, I had never sat down and watched the entire film.  I had seen bits and pieces of it over the years from flipping through channels, but that's about it.   Having finally watched the movie last night from start to finish for the first time, I can definitely say that I am a fan!  The creatures and the effects are in Tim Burton's unmistakable style, as is the story, which contains sweetness, darkness and humor in equal measure.

Just like on Friday, there were some fun surprises, both before and after the show, and another incredible weekend at the drive-in came to a close.  Next weekend is the end of the season - three more nights of incredible movies under the stars.