For nearly a year, a dedicated crowd of moviegoers have been enjoying cutting-edge movies and cult classics at the Red River Theatres' Xtreme Friday Night film series.
If you are afraid of subtitles and blood and gore, the Xtreme Film Series might not be for you. However, if movies like 13 Assassins (killer samurai!) are your cup of tea and you would relish the idea of seeing movies like Rubber (killer sentient tire!) with a crowd of like-minded people, this film series is just what the doctor ordered.
Starting Hobo With a Shotgun, Red River Theatres has shown films like Troll Hunter and Battle Royale at 9:30 p.m. almost every Friday night. The Xtreme Film Series is the brainchild of Barry Steelman, facilities manager at Red River.
“I thought that this would be a cool thing to do in order to attract an audience demographic that doesn't frequent this place,” Steelman said. “The audience is predominantly younger, but not demonstrably, because if you see the people seated at the movies, I don't think you will find too many that are teenagers, and you may find some people in their 40s and 50s. So it does cut both ways.”
Steelman said he is considering a double feature showing that, for $20, would also include food and beverages for an audience ready to watch cult classics all night and morning long.
Steelman, who gives a quick introductory speech to the audience before every film, told the audience before the showing of Headhunters of his plan.
“After 3 a.m. there would be more breakfast type food,” Steelman said, “and it would be the best of the Xtreme film series. Four or five of the best received of what we played, starting off with Hobo With a Shotgun.”
Steelman then asked the crowd if they would support a double showing that went well into the morning with food, and the audience responded with a unanimously enthusiastic “Yes!”
The movies are shown in the roughly 80-person capacity screening room using a Blu-Ray projector. Films such as Battle Royale, a Japanese film so controversial the film's producers were told they would go to prison if they released the film in the United States, get the attention they deserve from an audience hungry to watch them with other self-described film geeks and cinephiles.
Alex Brune of Pittsfield, Ian Mitchell of Loudon and Amy and Morgan Bellenger went to the Xtreme Film Series for the screening of Battle Royale. “They don't have these movies in other places,” remarked Mitchell.
Ron and Michelle Moses of Merrimack have both seen Battle Royale, with Ron having seen it in the double digits. “I have never seen it on a projected screen with an audience before, which is a great experience,” Ron said.
“It's a unique thing that you're not going to find outside of Concord, at least that I am aware of, so it certainly is drawing us to Concord. The more cool stuff they show, we are all for it,” said Michelle.
