The Monster Squad

Exclusive Event! 20th Anniversary Cast Reunion wth André Gower and Ashley Bank

This film recently came out on DVD, but you can see it here in all its 35mm glory right here.  If screening this Fred Dekker classic as it was originally intended isn't enough for you, original cast members will be in attendance and participate in a post screening Q&A.

Maniac

Exclusive Event! Uncut version with director William Lustig

In the era of grindhouse flicks, William Lustig’s Maniac stands proudly on the shoulders of almost every other film in the category.  ESCAPISM Film Festival invites you to witness this uncut version with its creator, William Lustig, in attendance.  Stick around for a post screening Q&A

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

25th Anniversary Exclusive Screening
Newly Re-mastered 35mm Print!

The ESCAPISM Film Festival is proud to host this exclusive anniversary screening of what is arguably the best Trek film in the series!  Who doesn’t love Wrath of Khan? This may be the best of all Trek movies—especially for people who don’t consider themselves Trekkies. Watch Shatner & Montalban chew the scenery in this 25th anniversary celebration for the geek in us all!

Tron

25th Anniversary Exclusive Screening
Back on the Big Screen in 35mm!

The ESCAPISM Film Festival sincerely thanks Buena Vista for unlocking its vaults and allowing us to host this exclusive anniversary screening of one of the most influential special-effects movies of all time! This is a rare opportunity to see the revelatory film that presaged the coming of CGI-laden movies.

The Signal

North Carolina Premiere!

Yes, this is the film you heard about that had audiences raving at Sundance and South by Southwest!  It is New Year's Eve and the world is disrupted by a mysterious signal that's being transmitted on all TVs, radios, and cell phones. Exposure to the signal drives people mad.  In the course of a few hours, Earth has gone insane, and there’s absolutely no one you can trust.  DO YOU HAVE THE CRAZY?

The Last Winter

North Carolina Premiere!

Director Larry Fessendon helped produced Zombie Honeymoon from this year’s Nevermore Festival. In this film, an oil company's advance team struggles to establish a drilling base that will forever alter the pristine land of northern Alaska. After one team member is found dead, a mysterious disorientation slowly claims the sanity of the others as each of them succumbs to a mysterious fear. Given no reliable narrator, the audience must decide the truth for itself.

Cthulhu

North Carolina Premiere!

A Seattle history professor, drawn back to his estranged family on the Oregon coast to execute his late mother's estate, is reacquainted with his best friend from childhood, with whom he has a long-awaited tryst. Caught in an accelerating series of events, he discovers aspects of his father's New Age cult, which takes on a dangerous and apocalyptic significance. Inspired by the Cthulu mythology created by the great H.P. Lovecraft.

Black Sheep

North Carolina Premiere!

An experiment in genetic engineering turns harmless sheep into blood-thirsty killers that terrorize a sprawling New Zealand farm. Think of The Howling—with sheep. Even scarier in New Zealand where you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a sheep.  Ewe talkin’ to me? Let’s get the flock out of here!

The Last Winter

North Carolina Premiere!

Netherbeast Incorporated is based on last year’s short “The Netherbeast of Berm-Tech Industries, Inc.” It’s a twist on the vampire tale, set in modern day corporate America. It's business as usual at Netherbeast until the top vampire in charge contracts a dreaded disease and invites the first humans to the office in more than a century.

Stalking Santa

North Carolina Premiere!

Self-proclaimed "Santologist" Dr. Lloyd Darrow will stop at nothing to take on government conspiracy, corporate supression and phony mall Santas--all in pursuit of the world's oldest yuletide enigma. With emotional (and financial) support from his perplexed wife Barbara, and with dysfunctional devotion from his needy intern Clarence, and despite growing resentment from his 12- year old son Keith, Lloyd is determined to reveal the truth.

Exiled

North Carolina Premiere!

Imagine a mash-up of Once Upon A Time in America, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot and Little Miss Sunshine and you’ll get an inkling of what a thrilling movie Exiled is gonna be. Director Johnny To’s pitch-perfect film is an accomplished suspense-action piece that touches on universal themes of brotherhood, exile, love and honor.

In the Shadow of the Moon

North Carolina Premiere!

The story of the Apollo astronauts in their own words. Includes interviews with Buzz Aldrin, Alan Bean, Gene Cernan, Michael Collins, Jim Lovell, Edgar D. Mitchell, Harrison Schmitt, Dave Scott, & John Young as well as rare archival footage shot in space during the lunar missions.

Paprika

When a machine that allows therapists to enter their patient's dreams is stolen, all hell breaks loose. Only a young female therapist can stop it: Paprika. This film has been making its way around the country to strong reviews everywhere. It’s become a cliché to describe anime as “ground-breaking,” so let’s just say it’s a beautiful-looking movie from Satoshi Kon, who also wrote & directed Tokyo Godfathers.

ENDURANCE CHALLENGE: MORDRED’S ISLE

North Carolina Premiere!

THE TOLL

North Carolina Premiere!