ODE TO THE FINAL GIRL

Halloween (1978) is a foundational masterclass in suspense and atmospheric tension that defined the modern slasher genre. John Carpenter builds terror through patient storytelling, deep focus, and slow tracking shots rather than relying on cheap jump scares or heavy blood and spends over an hour establishing a pervasive sense of dread and voyeuristic unease before the first major kill. Michael Myers is appropriately credited as "The Shape" here, because he embodies pure unrestrained terror and lacks a conventional motive or human emotion. Unlike the later films where he receives complicated backstories, this original film presents him as a silent, unstoppable force of nature representing random, unpredictable danger.

ODE TO THE FINAL GIRL

Scream (1996) brilliantly revitalized the stagnant slasher genre by mixing genuine suspense with clever, self-aware humor. Featuring characters who actually know the "rules" and clichés of horror films and talk about them out loud; it hooks you from the famous first scene; breaking those normal movie rules right away, and creating instant shock value while setting a tense, unpredictable tone where, instead of just running from a monster and being a run-of-the-mill slasher, the story carefully morphs into a clever mystery where anyone could be the killer behind the Ghostface mask.

ODE TO THE FINAL GIRL

They Will Kill You (2026) is a hyper-stylized action-horror-comedy featuring over-the-top gore, fast-paced martial arts choreography, and eat-the-rich genre mayhem. Zazie Beetz stars as Asia Reaves, delivering a physical, go-for-broke performance as an ex-con tracking her missing sister into a sinister high-rise.The film blends kinetic, graphic fight sequences with visual nods to classic martial arts and stylistic horror; sharing a chaotic, blood-soaked bond with movies like Kill Bill and Ready or Not, while leaning heavily into dark humor and practical effects.

Zombie for Sale (2019) is a hilarious, highly original twist on the traditional zombie outbreak. Instead of fleeing in terror from a flesh-eating monster, a struggling rural family captures a zombie and discovers that his bite temporarily restores youth and vitality to the elderly, prompting them to sell tickets for bites.Released the same year as the Oscar-winning thriller Parasite, this film similarly pokes fun at desperate family schemes and ruthless human greed, but leans entirely into slapstick absurdity and features very little gore or terrifying jump scares, instead playing out more like a fast-paced physical comedy and farce rather than a grim survival horror.

KOREA SCREENING SERIES PRESENTED BY KOREA CENTER-KING SEJONG INSTITUTE 코리아센터-세종학당 AND AUBURN WORLD LANGUAGES, LITERATURE, AND CULTURES

6:00 PM // Memories of a Murder (2003) is a brilliant, haunting crime thriller by Bong Joon-ho that completely subverts traditional Hollywood detective tropes. Years before his global phenomenon Parasite, the film showcases the director’s trademark tonal control, seamlessly blending dark, absurdist comedy with bone-chilling tension. Loosely based on South Korea's first confirmed serial killer case (the Hwaseong murders between 1986 and 1991), the film captures the socio-political pressure of late-1980s military-ruled South Korea and unlike standard Hollywood procedurals that wrap up neatly, this film confronts the frustrating, messy, and haunting reality of an incomplete investigation where simple answers do not exist.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER: Dr. Hyongrae Kim is an assistant professor of Korean and translation studies in the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at the Auburn University College of Liberal Arts. He earned a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Massachusetts Amherst (2014–2019) and a Master's degree from the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. His research interests focus on interpreting during the Korean War, the sociology of translation and interpreting, and comparative literature.

Bad Moon (1996) is a unique and underrated creature feature that flips the usual werewolf formula by centering the hero role on a fiercely protective German Shepherd named Thor, who is the first to realize that uncle Ted poses a deadly threat to the family. The physical werewolf suit and animatronics deliver a fierce, bipedal, and genuinely terrifying creature without hiding behind cheap jump scares or endless build-up. The film keeps things intimate and fast-paced, focusing tightly on a single family dealing with a ticking time-bomb in their backyard and offers a strange, entertaining mix of 90s family drama and surprisingly brutal, bloody gore.

Good Boy (2025) is a fresh, innovative perspective on horror, told entirely through the eyes and instincts of a devoted dog. The entire supernatural thriller is framed from the eye-level and worldview of Indy, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (played by director Ben Leonberg’s own pet) and even offers a compelling explanation for why dogs stare at empty corners. Instead of relying purely on cheap gimmicks, it anchors the horror in themes of fierce loyalty, love, and friendship between the dog and his human and with a tight runtime it wastes no time delivering a moody, atmospheric ghost story without exhausting exposition dumps.

Boxcar and The Mizfits present…

Boxcar and The Mizfits are teaming up for 4 showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the timeless queer cult classic, with a live shadow cast performing in front of the screen.

It's an intimate, up-close night at the movies: sing along, talk back, and join the fun. Prop bags are provided courtesy of Pride on the Plains, so you'll have everything you need to play along.

🎟️ Tickets are $15 . Get your tickets in advance! Seating at Boxcar is limited, and we expect to sell out during presale. If any seats are left, we'll sell them at the door.

Tickets for all four shows are available here.

Boxcar and The Mizfits present…

Boxcar and The Mizfits are teaming up for 4 showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the timeless queer cult classic, with a live shadow cast performing in front of the screen.

It's an intimate, up-close night at the movies: sing along, talk back, and join the fun. Prop bags are provided courtesy of Pride on the Plains, so you'll have everything you need to play along.

🎟️ Tickets are $15 . Get your tickets in advance! Seating at Boxcar is limited, and we expect to sell out during presale. If any seats are left, we'll sell them at the door.

Tickets for all four shows are available here.

TOBE HOOPER DOUBLE FEATURE PRESENTED BY DANIEL GRACE

Crocodile (2000) is perfect if you are looking for a cheesy, nostalgic, late-90s/early-2000s creature feature directed by a horror legend. While the CGI is widely considered horrendous and unfinished, the movie features some decent practical crocodile effects that offer genuine throwback monster-movie fun and even on a direct-to-video budget, Tobe Hooper brings occasional atmospheric touches, low-angle shots, and a sense of frantic energy to the final third of the runtime.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER: Daniel Grace received his master’s degree in Creative Writing and his doctorate in American Literature from the University of California at Davis. His scholarly work has appeared in American Literature and ESQ. He is a Lecturer at Auburn University where he teaches creative writing and literature.

TOBE HOOPER DOUBLE FEATURE PRESENTED BY DANIEL GRACE

Eaten Alive (1976) is a chaotic, swamp-soaked fever-dream atmosphere and unhinged exploitation horror. The movie takes place on a loud, artificial sound stage in Los Angeles that feels like a demented stage play with its bright red lighting and strange country music combining to create an unnerving, surreal mood. Plus it’s a must for horror-movie completionists as Tobe Hooper directed this film shortly after The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Robert Englund appears early in the film as a sleazy character named Buck before his famous role as Freddy Krueger.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER: Daniel Grace received his master’s degree in Creative Writing and his doctorate in American Literature from the University of California at Davis. His scholarly work has appeared in American Literature and ESQ. He is a Lecturer at Auburn University where he teaches creative writing and literature.

Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987) is a wild, entertaining supernatural horror cult classic that completely reinvents the standard 1980s slasher formula. The movie blends the supernatural dream-logic and dark fantasy of A Nightmare on Elm Street with the telekinetic high school vengeance of Carrie. Wendy Lyon delivers a fantastic dual-nature performance as Vicki, transitioning from a repressed good girl into a chaotic, possessed hellcat, alongside Lisa Schrage as the malicious 1950s spirit Mary Lou. It Even though it shares a name with the 1980 original, it functions entirely as a standalone supernatural story packed with dark humor, great pacing, and high quotability and features memorable, over-the-top practical effects—like exploding lockers, a demonic glowing toy horse, and a chaotic climax—that punch way above the film's budget.

Prom Night (1980) is known for its classic early-80s disco atmosphere, a fantastic lead performance by "Scream Queen" Jamie Lee Curtis, and a fascinating dramatic turn by Leslie Nielsen before he pivoted to comedy. Curtis was fresh off her breakout success in Halloween and brings true star power and tension to the screen and before Airplane! turned him into a comedy legend, Nielsen played serious dramatic roles as the school principal and protective father of the victims. Unlike polished modern teen thrillers, this Canadian-budgeted slasher features a real school gym setup, authentic late-70s/early-80s fashions, and an iconic disco dance sequence before the chaos starts and the revenge-driven plot—where teens hide an accidental death only to be stalked years later—directly inspired later hits like I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream.

Rabid (1977) is a chilling early milestone in David Cronenberg's signature body-horror career. After an experimental skin graft following a motorcycle crash, the protagonist Rose (played by adult film star Marilyn Chambers in a notable mainstream crossover) develops a grotesque, retractable blood-sucking stinger in her armpit that infects the city with a rabies-like plague. Unlike smaller, isolated cabin horror films of the era, this low-budget Canadian production expands outward into societal panic, martial law, and civic breakdown and showcases Cronenberg’s growing confidence as filmmaker following as he blends viral outbreak mechanics with deeply unsettling biological mutations.

REC 2 (2009) is a thrilling, direct continuation that expands the original film's outbreak into a fascinating mix of science and supernatural demonology. The story picks up only 15 minutes after the terrifying end of the first movie, keeping the adrenaline running at maximum speed. Instead of a single news camera, the film equips a SWAT team with helmet-mounted cameras, creating a first-person shooter or survival horror video game feel and deepens the mythology by answering questions from the first film by revealing the true, dark supernatural origins behind the infection and the inclusion of heavily armed special forces shifts the tone into an intense, chaotic battle for survival.

SPANISH LANGUAGE HORROR PRESENTED BY AUBURN UNIVERSITY WORLD LANGUAGES LITERATURE AND CULTURES

REC (2007) is a fast-paced, terrifying Spanish found-footage horror film that delivers relentless tension and still holds a 90% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. At just under 80 minutes, the movie wastes no time and keeps your adrenaline high from start to finish. Set entirely inside a quarantined apartment building in Barcelona, the movie traps you right alongside the characters and the hyper-realistic acting feels completely authentic, making the panic and chaos painfully real. The story leans into a chilling, dark mystery inside of a generic viral outbreak and peaks with one of the scariest finales in modern horror.

This BOXCAR Staple returns for its spookiest version yet! The pairing is simple: Talented Musicians plus Silent Film. But each iteration brings a unique mix of sound and screen in one unbelievable night.

Update 10/07 Due to an abundace of severe weather caution, the Silent Film Mixtape has been postponed.

Frankenhooker (1990) a wildly entertaining, fast-paced, and darkly hilarious cult classic that blends over-the-top body horror with sharp, campy satire. Directed by the mastermind behind Basket Case, the film brings a chaotic, punk-rock energy to a loose, modern parody of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and follows an amateur bioelectric engineer whose fiancée is tragically decapitated by a runaway lawnmower, leading him to invent "super crack" to cause New York City sex workers to explode so he can harvest their parts to rebuild her (please go ahead and re-read all of that). It features wonderfully creative, cheesy, and nostalgic practical effects, anchored by a fiercely committed lead performance from Patty Mullen as the titular creation but beneath its sleazy exploitation exterior, it functions as a surprisingly witty black comedy and social critique rather than a mean-spirited trash film.

 The Re-Animator (1985) is a wildly entertaining, fast-paced horror-comedy that reinvents cosmic dread with biting camp and brilliant practical effects. Loosely adapted from the H.P. Lovecraft serial story Herbert West—Reanimator, director Stuart Gordon transforms it from bleak pulp into an anarchic, neon-soaked cult classic that manages the difficult tightrope walk of being genuinely gruesome while remaining laugh-out-loud funny. Jeffrey Combs stars as the eccentric medical student Herbert West and his intense, deadpan delivery makes him one of the most memorable mad scientists in cinema history. Couple that with buckets of gooey, creative practical effects that still hold up and you have the pinnacle of low-budget horror craftsmanship.