The midnight movie par excellence

On Friday nights, IndieWire After Dark takes a feature-length pace to honor marginal cinema in the streaming era.

In October 2024, we will do the Midnight Movie Monster Mash with movies that challenge our understanding of evil characters and creatures just in time for Halloween.

First, read the spoiler without spoilers. BAIT: a weird and wonderful anytime choice movie. Then go back through the BITE: A breakdown of all the spoilers you’ll want to decompress when leaving a theater.

There comes a time in every Internet writer’s life when they must make the dreaded public apology. For me, this is that day, and for my dear After Dark fans, I’m sorry. You’ll have to excuse me for not crying on camera, but the tragedy of the truth is simply too hard to bear: “Popcorn” is not available to stream.

As charming as it is absurd, this 1991 cult classic was on Shudder in the spring, and when I scheduled it After Dark’s Monster Mash Series Coming in OctoberI was absolutely sure it was available on VOD. maybe it is was Streaming somewhere when I made my picks last month and it got deleted between now and then? Or maybe I got too excited just thinking about my favorite American meta-slasher (filmed entirely in Jamaica!) and made a mistake? Neither is a satisfactory explanation and I will not patronize you by using either excuse. What a disaster. What a stupid move! Cancel me today.

Still, in the spirit of good old-fashioned PR, I’ll go ahead and wax poetic about this excellent fringe film. WHAT YOU CAN TECHNICALLY FIND *WINK* – and the editorial scare I gave myself anyway. “Popcorn” is worth watching in 2024, especially on Friday night the weekend before Halloween. And maybe, just maybe, it’s more rewarding for those who endure the process of finding a way to see it while navigating the depth of their niche.

IndieWire After Dark was created last year as a way to commemorate genre films that routinely get lost in streaming. This might be the conspiracy theorist in me, but media reissues exist for a reason and when “Popcorn” hit Blu-ray in 2017, there was a reason so many genre lovers rejoiced. Directed by Mark Herrier and an uncredited Alan Ormsby (more on that later), this ode to midnight movie culture follows screenwriting student and final girl Maggie Butler (Jill Schoelen) as she and her friends organize a movie terror that lasts all night. department fundraiser in an abandoned movie theater. It’s a movie worth paying for, whether it’s buying tickets to see it in a theater or owning its physical release.

For years, Jill has been plagued by strange dreams about a girl, a menacing man, and a blue swirl of smoke and fire. She doesn’t sleep much. Hey girl, tell Nancy. – but he plans to use his dreams as inspiration for a first feature film.

“I wonder if Orson Welles dreamed up ‘Citizen Kane’ first,” Jill wonders aloud over breakfast with her mother, Suzanne (Dee Wallace), whose patience for nonsense is hard to overstate.

Jill’s classmates are sometimes even more unbearable, but you’re sure to find something to love from Toby (Tom Villard), Mark (Derek Rydall), Bud (Malcolm Danare), Cheryl (Kelly Jo Minter), Joanie (Ivette Soler ), Tina (Freddie Marie Simpson), Leon (Elliot Hurst) and their teacher, Mr. Davis (Tony Roberts). As gonzo moviegoers begin preparing for their festival, an endlessly catchy reggae tune titled “Saturday Night at the Movies” floats over an iconic makeover sequence about the joys of hosting a screening. You can be sure: you will remember the song and the scene for many years to come.

Every big midnight movie event needs a gimmick, but this one-off engagement at the doomed Dreamland Theater has three. The spooky student film series sets several movies with one movie: “Attack of the Amazing Electrified Man,” “Mosquito” and “The Stink.” We learned that each opened in theaters with a different silly joke (think smell of vision, 3D glasses, and electric doorbells hidden in seats) and the class will resurrect them to give their festival an edge. Television legend Ray Walston appears as the delightfully eccentric Dr. M to guide the success of the event. The local movie buff seeks to teach students how to “turn those wilted turkeys into a memorable cinematic feast,” but it’s not long before a sinister force turns bad B movies into a literally lethal night out.

With a strong cast of suspects and some goofy mosquito animatronics waiting in the wings, “Popcorn” combines whodunnit, creature features, supernatural freak shows and more to celebrate the genre in a uniquely silly and stylish way. The film is imperfect in tone and pacing, and given its troubled production history, that makes sense. Still, it’s worth revisiting Mitchell Smith’s story, Tod Hackett’s script, and the ridiculous final product that was ultimately made. That’s especially true for the kind of nerds who will bother to look it up despite my frustrating mistake.

This special screening of “Popcorn,” best enjoyed with a salty snack, reminds us that even in the absence of availability, the way we look at something can often unite us as much as the object itself. Sit back, relax, and (at 100 percent of your personal risk!) exact revenge from the authorities: No one said your initiation into a cult classic had to be easy.

“Popcorn” is available to stream on YouTube…technically.

The bite: an excuse for smell or vision or a midnight cultural sniff test?

Check back for a feature film… Are you watching “Popcorn”? Somewhere? …Anywhere?

IndieWire After Dark posts midnight movie recommendations every Friday night at 9:30 pm ET. Read more of our deranged suggestions…