Popcorn
Mahoning Drive-In Theater - Lehighton, PA
Sunday night at the drive-in was dedicated to a movie that was released in 1991, but it feels very much like an 80's horror flick.
Mahoning Drive-In Theater - Lehighton, PA
Sunday night at the drive-in was dedicated to a movie that was released in 1991, but it feels very much like an 80's horror flick.
The Mahoning hosted a Shock Stock Up Horror Market in the hours before showtime where I was able to pick up a VHS copy of Return Of The Killer Tomatoes and a few Star Wars comics. I was hoping to find Popcorn on VHS, but no one had it available for sale.
I saw this tape at Blockbuster Video and the rental shelves at Pantry Quick so many times when I was a teenager that I immediately remembered the "Buy A Bag... Go Home In A Box" slogan from its cover as soon as it was announced on the Mahoning calendar. For some reason, I never rented it. I vaguely remember it being hosted by Joe Bob Briggs on The Last Drive-In, but I must have either been distracted or had fallen asleep because I didn't recognize anything when this movie hit the big screen at the Mahoning, so last night was my first time seeing it.
Popcorn was directed by Mark Herrier, who is probably best known for his role as Billy McCarty in Porky's and its two sequels. It was shot entirely in Kingston, Jamaica, which probably explains why Lloyd Lovindeer and Chalice randomly pop up in the middle of the film to perform a reggae set during the power outage scene.
The story of Popcorn is that a group of film students have rented an old movie theater that is scheduled for demolition for the purposes of hosting a classic horror movie marathon in which they employ William Castle style props and gimmicks to keep the audience engaged throughout the night. Little do they know that a crazed killer is roaming the theater and using these very props to kill the students one at a time.
Even though this movie premiered in 1991, it feels like the last of the great 80's cheezy horror flicks. That's not to say that the 90's didn't have their own cheezy horror, but everything about this film makes it feel like an 80's horror experience. It's available to stream on Shudder, so if you have a subscription, I highly recommend checking it out.
