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What weird double features have you seen?
It’s not uncommon for a movie buff like me to mix and match genres in the films I watch. At home recently, I’ve seen everything from acclaimed vampire movie Let the Right One In, to the 1939 version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame to the 70s thriller Three Days of the Condor.
I didn’t see those movies back to back, though. A few times I’ve pulled strange double features in theaters that made even me blink.
The undisputed king of all weird double features has to be the time my best friend and I saw Seven and Showgirls back to back, in that order, on opening weekend. Having experienced Seven, my friend and I were already fairly well wiped out when Showgirls started unreeling - and unraveling.
When Elizabeth Berkley pulled a knife on a guy, with the stupidest steely-eyed expression you’ve ever seen, my friend leaned over to me and whispered “We’re in deeeeeeep trouble.”
The movie wasn’t even 10 minutes old at that point. You can only imagine what we were like by the time the whole ordeal was over.
Then there’s the Columbus sci-fi marathon the same friend and I usually attend together. That marathon always has an interesting mix of movies, but by far, the strangest one-two punch was the brain-melting MST3K-worthy combination of Fire Maidens from Outer Space and The Apple.
What made that duo memorable was the audience reaction. The titular Fire Maidens were a gaggle of girls in short skirts that trotted onscreen every 10 minutes or so. Each time they did, the audience broke out in a fit of purposeful giggles. “hehehehehehehehe.”
But by the time The Apple was under way, however, the stunning awfulness rose to new heights (or sunk to new depths, depending on how you look at it.) This cheesy sci-fi musical made Xanadu look like Singin in the fricken Rain. By the time the insufferable twit of a male lead was warbling a song about lost love from a high window, the audience started chanting “JUMP! JUMP! JUMP! JUMP! JUMP!”
So those are just two of the odder doubles I’ve pulled. Now, as ever, it’s your turn to share. What bizarre double (or more) features have you pulled, in the theater or at home?
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By SRCputt
April 23, 2009 8:25 PM | Link to this
I once went to Burglar (bad Whoopi Goldberg comedy) and then stayed for the second feature showing, A Room With A View. I once followed Platoon with The Aristocats (the Disney film) in the adjoining theater. At Neon Movies I once saw Lawrence of Arabia and then Drugstore Cowboy. But the most memorable was the one time I went to see Seven and then Showgirls with my friend Eric…By Mike
April 23, 2009 2:50 PM | Link to this
ain’t enough chlorine in the world…By Sir Critic
April 23, 2009 12:24 PM | Link to this
Mike: No, I’d count that more as a blessing. However, there IS an eighth sin if you try to imitate the pool scene - or at the very least, a whopper of a medical bill.By Mike
April 23, 2009 11:59 AM | Link to this
is there an 8th deadly sin i’m committing if i’m laughing while picturing elizabeth berkeley’s head in the box?By Allie D.
April 23, 2009 11:43 AM | Link to this
Well, I have a couple of potential entries here, but nothing quite on par with Seven and Showgirls! Just thinking about that makes my brain feel mushy. lol For me, the weirdest back-to-back theater experience was Being John Malkovich followed by Dogma. I was so plum weirded out by Being John Malkovich that I barely even remembered Dogma. lol. One more memorable experience for me was seeing Cloverfield twice in the same day. Once at an early matinee with a group of friends, and then later that night with another friend. I think I was seasick for a couple of days after that experience. ;)