EXHUMED FILMS – “We
Bring Dead Things to Life”
Formed in 1997, Exhumed Films was created to provide
a theatrical venue for a much beloved art form that had all but disappeared in
the 1990s and is in further decline in the early 21st Century: the
B-grade horror movie. From the
late-1960s through the mid-1980s, low-budget horror films prospered by playing
drive-in movie theaters and single-screen movie houses across the country.
In these days before video, genre fans could see newly released
“grindhouse” films at almost any local theater, often on double- or
triple-bills with other horror movies from years past.
Some of these movies – such as Night
of the Living Dead, Texas Chain Saw
Massacre, Halloween and Evil Dead – are now
thought by many critics to be minor classics. As well, several of today’s most
respected filmmakers cut their teeth on low budget horror.
Had it not been for B-grade movies,
“auteurs” such as Jonathan Demme, Francis Ford Coppola, Alan Rudolph
and John Sayles may have never received their big break.
Sadly, in a time of video/DVD, cable television and
satellite dishes, the theatrical experience of watching horror movies has all
but disappeared. The only fright
flicks a film buff has any chance of seeing in the theaters are the slick,
homogenized “teen” movies released by the major studios.
99% of the small, low-budget genre films being produced go straight to
cable, video or pay-per-view television. In
fact, the entire theatrical experience in general has been altered: the family
owned theatres and drive-ins are being bulldozed in order to make way for
smaller screened multiplexes that can run three or more prints of the latest
Hollywood “blockbuster” simultaneously.
The rationale is simple: smaller screens means more screens and more
screens means more ticket sales. Gone
are the days of local theaters like the Atco Drive-In (now a 14-screen
multiplex) and the Cornet Theater (now a warehouse), not to mention old
Philadelphia movie houses like Sam’s Place and the Duke and Duchess.
It’s as if Hollywood mediocrity and corporate greed have doomed classic
horror movies to the limbo of dusty video store shelves and occasional late
night cable programs.
Until now, that is.
Exhumed Films has worked diligently to re-capture the aura and atmosphere
of the bygone horror double-feature. Exhumed
Films was originally based out of the Harwan Theatre, a then 70-year-old
family-owned movie house in Southern New Jersey. After three years of successful
screenings, they moved to the Hoyts Theatre (a more contemporary theatre) after
the Harwan closed its doors for the last time. Two years later, the Hoyts too
shut down and Exhumed Films took its show on the road, using various theatres
such as the International House in Philadelphia and what now appears to be
Exhumed’s new home: the Broadway Theatre in Pitman, NJ. The Broadway is a
gorgeous, historic theatre built in the 1920s. It is a single-screen movie
palace that holds over 1,000 people and features a balcony, box seats and many
of its original fixtures and chairs.
Exhumed Films has been proud to host many of the
stars and creative minds behind the films they love so much. Exhumed brought out
beloved actor Bruce Campbell, who hosted Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn in
August, 1999 to a sold-out crowd of well over 650 people. In March, 2000, New
York-based film makers Todd Morris and Deborah Twiss screening their acclaimed
indie thriller A Gun for Jennifer. Special make-up effects artist and
director Tom Savini hosted his re-make of Night of the Living Dead in
June, 2000. The East Coast premier of 1999 indie-horror sensation The Convent
was an Exhumed screening. They hosted the world premier of the
newly-restored print of Cannibal Holocaust to a very enthusiastic crowd
in June, 2001. Most recently, actor and director Larry Fessenden hosted a
double-feature of his socially and politically scathing horror films No
Telling and Wendigo. This show was a benefit for Wissahickon Wildlife
Rehabilitation Center in Philadelphia.
It must be mentioned that the most integral component
in the Exhumed Films experience is the sense of community fostered at the
events. Most film screenings are impersonal in nature. The audience member pays
his or her money, takes a seat, consumes the films, then leaves. The end. From
the beginning, Exhumed Films set out to create events that forged a sense of a
welcoming community to film fans and made what is often a passive form of
entertainment into an ebullient night of prize give-aways, wacked-out trailers,
contests and the chance to meet old friends and make new friends. This sense of
community building amongst film fans of highly varying ages, both sexes and
wildly different interests and lifestyles outside of a mutual interest in the cinema
fantastique has its origins in one of Exhumed Films predecessors:
Philadelphia’s Cabbage Collective.
The Cabbage Collective was group founded by Exhumed
Films member Joseph A. Gervasi along with his brother Bull and a few others.
They brought grassroots-level DIY (do-it-yourself) hardcore punk concerts to
Philadelphia. By organizing shows by active enthusiasts, for active enthusiasts,
the Cabbage Collective circumvented the staid, for-profit local music circuit
and created an alternative project in keeping with the politics of punk. The
Cabbage Collective used non-traditional venues such as church halls and
warehouses; operated smoke-, alcohol- and drug-free all-ages events; kept door
prices low; and encouraged attendees to bring vegetarian/vegan food to events,
set up information tables and sell records and fanzines. From the early-‘90s
– late-‘90s, the Cabbage Collective defined the true face of DIY hardcore
punk in Philly and established the locations for much of the underground
operations of the late-‘90s – present.
Exhumed Films took many of the same principles and
applied them to the repertory film world. Fans (some of whom came from the punk
scene) responded to this “by us, for us” vibe and helped to create the
community feeling that draws fans out again and again, often from great
distances. The screenings are correctly perceived by the fans as not just the
only such events happening on a regular basis in this country, but a celebration
of the vitality of film and the importance of a shared experience in a time of
home video isolation. Exhumed Films screenings have been responsible for
inspiring many friendships, more than a few romantic relationships and at least
one marriage!
After nearly six years of monthly double-features
(and huge multi-film all-night blow-outs each October), Exhumed Films retains
its dedication to bringing the most obscure and the most beloved genre films to
the big screen and the fans who eat them up. Over the years, Exhumed has
expanded its scope to encompass such cult film oddities as The Phantom of the
Paradise, Pink Floyd – The Wall, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls,
Heavy Metal, Shogun Assassin, Master of the Flying Guillotine,
Joysticks and many others. As the boys Exhumed always reply when asked if they’ll
continue to do shows: If you keep turning up, we’ll keep showing ‘em.
EXHUMED
FILMS - History
Exhumed Films is the brainchild of four friends from
the New Jersey/Philadelphia area: Dan Fraga, Joseph A. Gervasi, Harry Guerro and
Jesse Nelson. The quartet, all of
whom are now in their late-twenties or early-thirties, used to bemoan the fact
that monster movies had all but disappeared from the big screen.
They dreamt of a local theatre that would hold a midnight showing of
their favorite horror films; since no one in the area seemed to be organizing
such an event, they decided to take it upon themselves.
In the summer of 1997, the friends began to
investigate the possibility of holding their own horror screening.
Once they found a distributor who possessed some films they were willing
to rent out to a bunch of newcomers, Jesse, Dan, Harry and Joseph knew exactly
where to turn when deciding upon a venue: The Harwan Theater.
The Harwan was a bit of a local legend, being one of the only surviving
single screen movie houses in South Jersey.
Joseph had had some experience booking the Harwan in the late 1980s and early 1990s to host hardcore punk acts such as Neurosis,
Rorschach, Born Against and Bug-Out Society. The look of the theatre had not
been altered since the 1970s, so it seemed the perfect spot to hold a retro
movie screening. Soon, the films
were rented, a deal was struck with The Harwan and everything was in place.
The first show was set for October 24, the Friday
before Halloween. The four friends would screen two movies by the infamous
Italian horror director Lucio Fulci: Zombie
and The Gates of Hell.
For weeks before the show, the group members did everything they could to
publicize the films. They flooded internet newsgroups with postings about the
double-feature; they littered Philadelphia and New Jersey with home made
handbills; they contacted local newspapers about covering the event. Each member
of the group had invested his own money in the undertaking.
It was a gamble, and there was no guarantee that it would pay off.
As the date approached, nervousness and self-doubt set in. Was there
enough advertising? Did anyone else
in the area want to watch a couple of sleazy, obscure horror movies?
Would people show up at all?
Fortunately, people did show up.
In fact, they showed up in droves. From
as far away as Massachusetts and Ohio, fans came out to support the event.
The show was a great success and the profits that the four friends made
from the double feature afforded them the possibility to plan another screening.
What had been envisioned as a one-time happening was soon parlayed into a
welcome side project for the group. By
the time they held their second successful show that February, the group had
come up with an appropriate name for their organization: Exhumed Films.
Since its conception in October, 1997, Exhumed Films
has hosted over 70 film screenings in seven different theatres across New Jersey
and Philadelphia. Exhumed has worked with both the prestigious Philadelphia
Festival of World Cinema and the Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and
has hosted screenings to benefit a South Jersey rape crisis center and an animal
rehabilitation clinic based out of Philadelphia. Please check out the clippings
for some press articles about Exhumed and some of their events.
EXHUMED
FILMS - Personnel
All four members of Exhumed Films are equal partners when it comes to decision making. They collaborate to decide upon what films they wish to show and what movies would work best together on a double-bill. Although they often function as a group, each member also undertakes individual responsibilities within the organization.
JOSEPH A. GERVASI — Joseph has been instrumental in arranging publicity for the Exhumed screenings. Being the only group member living in Philadelphia, Joseph is often saddled with the unenviable task of pasting flyers and posters all across the city. Joseph has also informed newspapers and magazines about the shows and is responsible for much of the positive press we’ve received. Like Dan, Joseph had a history with the Harwan: during the 1980s, he organized punk rock shows at the Harwan theatre as a founding member of Orgasmic Productions (which later moved to Philadelphia along with Joseph and became The Cabbage Collective). He appeared on WHYY FM’s “Radio Times” program with Todd Morris and Deborah Twiss, the creators of the films A Gun for Jennifer in March, 1999. Joseph has formerly edited NO LONGER A FANzine and he founded Bizarre Videos in the early 1990s and co-founded Diabolik DVD, Inc. (http://www.DiabolikDVD.com) with Exhumed Films member Jesse Nelson in 2000. Joseph can be reached via e-mail at: DeadStare4Life@Hotmail.com.
HARRY GUERRO — Harry is responsible for inspecting all of our rented prints and checking for problems with film quality. In his basement, Harry also houses Exhumed’s growing collection of theatrical horror trailers. Most importantly, Harry is responsible for designing and creating the impressive handbills and posters that we use to publicize the shows. Harry is a serious collector of rare 16mm and 35mm film prints and thanks to his tenacity and connections he has managed to procure many of Exhumed Films rare prints.
JESSE NELSON — Jesse created and maintains
Exhumed’s website: (http://www.ExhumedFilms.com).
On it, he provides information about upcoming events, offers directions
to whatever theatre we are screening at and fields all e-mail and questions
about the group. Jesse has also
been responsible for booking some of our most successful screenings, including
our infamous Friday the 13th 3-D show, another sold-out show
at another now-defunct theatre in North East Philadelphia.
In 2000, Jesse started a successful DVD importation business, Diabolik
DVD, Inc. (http://www.DiabolikDVD.com)
with Joseph. Diabolik DVD is now the most successful on-line import DVD retailer
in North America. Jesse hides his secret identity as a horror movie mogul by
posing as a mild mannered internet and telephone sales manager during the day.