Flashback Weekend is Chicago’s longest-running Horror Convention, as featured on both The E! True Hollywood Story and Anchor Bay’s THE EVIL DEAD Ultimate DVD Set!

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A Special Flashback Weekend Event!

Anchor Bay Entertainment and Nova Cinemas presents
Flashback Weekend’s and Grindhouse Releasing’s

Flashback Horror Fest

An all Day and Night Horror Festival featuring Concerts, Spookshows & a Dusk-till-Dawn Drive-In Movie Marathon

September 24, 2005

Hi Lite 30 Drive-In
Montgomery Road @ Hill Avenue
Aurora (Kane County), Illinois

By Day, a Horror merchandise Flea Market, FIRST JASON in Concert, and an amazing Spookshow by Fitzgerald’s Realm of Magic!

By Night, a Dusk till Dawn showing of great Horror features! Yes, that’s right, an all night Horror Movie Marathon! Party till dawn!

Join us at the Nova Cinema’s Hi-Lite 30 Drive-In for a Horror Fest at a REAL Drive-In. Drive your car in for a full day and night event. The first Horror feature will begin at dusk on Saturday evening. At least FIVE features will be shown before the sun rises Sunday morning.

David Hess –“THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT”

David Hess, the star of Wes Craven’s “LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT” will be a very special guest. David will introduce a 35mm presentation of his 1972 classic “LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT” and will also participate in a Q & A session. David will have a variety of photos from “LAST HOUSE” and CD’s for sale.

David will also be performing several of the themes that he composed for “LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT” live!

Nova Cinema’s Historic Hi-Lite 30 Drive-In

Having opened in 1947, the Nova Cinema’s Hi Light 30 Drive-In is the oldest of Illinois’s Drive-Ins in operation. The screen is HUGE, and there is an amazing concession stand which will be open throughout the day and night. The drive-In gates will open early afternoon on Saturday Sept. 24, 2005.

Concerts, Spookshows, Girls, Ghouls, Horror dealers, and more!

The amazing Horror/Rock band FIRST JASON will be performing live in Concert (Featuring Ari Lehman, who played Jason in the first “FRIDAY THE 13th”)! Other special events and guests will be featured during the afternoon and early evening including Fitzgerald’s Realm of Magic - a live performance Gothic Spookshow featuring Girls, Ghouls, Burlesque, and amazing feats of magic!

Arrive early, as our dealer room will take to the drive-in! The gates open at 2:00PM on Saturday Sept. 24, 2005. Horror merchandise dealers will be set-up on the drive-in grounds with the finest in Horror collectables.

Additional films on our all night movie marathon line-up and celebrity guests to be announced. See individual page links for more information about guests, events, films, etc.

   

 

Many thanks to the crowds which packed our Sept. 24, 2005 Flashback Weekend HorrorFest! The event was held at the Nova Cinemas Hi-Lite 30 Drive-In located in Aurora, Illinois. HORRORFEST is a nostalgic tribute to the dusk-till-dawn Spook shows that use to be held at drive-in theatres across the country. Basically, it was a horror convention/all night film festival crammed into 16 hours - the “WOODSTOCK” of Horror events!

The event started at 2:00PM as the Drive-In gates opened. Many of our favorite horror merchandise dealers were set-up on the perimeter and in the concession stand. Celebrity guests included David Hess, (the star of “LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT”), Ari Lehman (the first JASON from “FRIDAY THE 13th), and EVIL DEAD effects artist Tom Sullivan, who brought his EVIL DEAD museum to its very first Drive-In appearance! The celebrity guests greeted, signed autographs, and mingled with attendees during the afternoon. Anchor Bay Entertainment hosted a premiere party for its release of “EVIL DEAD 2: BOOK OF THE DEAD” and provided advance copies of “EVIL DEAD 2: BOOK OF THE DEAD” as contest prizes.

The live entertainment started with Gothic Illusionist Ron Fitzgerald and “Fitzgerald’s Realm of Magic” - a live performance Gothic Spook show featuring Girls, Ghouls, Burlesque, and amazing feats of magic! Many jaws dropped during the incredibly sexy live burlesque performance by Ron’s leading ghoulish lady Mistress Christine. She was split into half, had a needle stuck through her neck, and still had the energy for an incredibly erotic and sexy Burlesque strip tease!

Next up on the stage was Ari Lehman and his Horror Rock band “FIRST JASON”. Having seen the band perform at our July 2005 Flashback Weekend event, we knew they were great, but seeing them perform outside was an entirely different experience. They really had the entire drive-in rockin!

Next up was LAST HOUSE ON THER LEFT star David Hess. David is a true Renaissance man - his accomplishments include being a two-time Grammy winner (having composed a string of hits for Elvis Presley). He brought his guitar along for an acoustical performance of many of his songs from “LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT”. He also treated the audience to amazing stories of the making and release of “LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT”. David was joined on stage by his son JESSE HESS (one-half of the HESS BROTHERS who performed on Eli Roth’s “CABIN FEVER” soundtrack) for an incredible live performance!

It was now past dusk, and time to start the 35mm dusk till dawn film festival. The 35mm features included the Grindhouse Releasing restored and uncut version of “THE BEYOND”, “DEAD & BREAKFAST”, and “PIECES”. Each feature was preceded by a 20 minute reel of classic coming attractions. Each intermission featured vintage concession intermission ads. The dusk-till-dawn film festival was nostalgic, and quite simply, magical. There is just nothing like watching films outdoors under the stars, in nature’s auditorium. The Drive-In is a piece of pure Americana and it is a tragedy that the number of Drive-Ins has declined to the point that there are moviegoers who have never experienced the Drive-In experience.

Flashback Weekend plans on making the Fall Dusk-till-Dawn “HORRORFEST” an annual event. Between our annual summer Horror Convention and Drive-In (held in Rosemont, Illinois), and our Fall HORRORFEST, we at Flashback Weekend are very serious about preserving the Drive-In Theatre experience.

A very special thank you to our contributors who included Anchor Bay Entertainment, Grindhouse Releasing, Lions Gate Entertainment, Ryan Kolkmeyer of Nova Cinemas, and the staff of the Hi-Lite 30 Drive-in. We could not have done this with you!

Nova Cinema’s Historic Hi-Lite 30 Drive-In

Having opened in 1947, the Nova Cinema’s Hi Light 30 Drive-In is the oldest of Illinois’s Drive-Ins in operation. The screen is HUGE, and there is an amazing concession stand which will be open throughout the day and night. The drive-In gates will open early afternoon on Saturday Sept. 24, 2005.

The following films will be shown from dusk 'til dawn. Check back for specific times!

Evil Dead 2Dead and Breakfast

Last House on the LeftThe Beyond

Pieces