Boston’s Coolidge Corner Theatre Celebrates Friday the 13th
John Campopiano Matt Spry
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While the immersive experience of virtual reality may be knocking at cinema’s door — look no further than the showcases at this year’s Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals — there are still rare opportunities to watch films in the same environment and atmosphere in which they are set. After the success of a similar event last November, Mark Anastasio, Program Manager at Coolidge Corner Theatre, partnered again with Massachusetts conservation group The Trustees of Reservations to organize an outdoor camp slasher film event like few others, appropriately titled “Friday the 13th: Camp Crystal Lake at Rocky Woods Reservation Part 2.”
On May the 13th, 2016 (a Friday), over 300 film fans gathered at the campgrounds of Rocky Woods Reservation in Medfield, MA, to view an outdoor double-feature screening of Friday the 13th Part III (in 3D, thanks to the Coolidge going the extra mile and bringing along a dual projector system to ensure that the audience get a genuine experience) and Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter.
While the Reservation’s oak-birch forest provided an appropriate backdrop for the projector screen and Chickering Pond was a worthy stand-in for Crystal Lake, the evening’s most impactful mood enhancer came from an unexpected source: Mother Nature. The cloudy skies that accumulated throughout Friday afternoon dropped rain steadily throughout both screenings. Unfazed by the weather, viewers huddled under canopies, umbrellas, and the shelter of the cabin from which the film was being projected. One towering volunteer even dressed as Jason Voorhees himself to provide filmgoers with jump scares and photo opportunities.
Stephanie Pixley, one of several campers who braved the rain, feels the wrath of Jason Voorhees
Among other moments, the crowd roared with delight for Part III’s vaunted yo-yo scene and the funky Harry Manfredini title track, as well as Crispin Glover’s spastic dance scene in The Final Chapter. At the screening’s conclusion, a few brave viewers who dared to make reservations in advance were able to camp overnight.
Dread Central reached out to Mark Anastasio for a quick comment about how he felt the unique screening experience went: “The rain made for a truly immersive cinema-going experience, but our outstanding audience stuck it out through both films despite the soggy weather. It was honestly one of the most heartening things I’ve seen in my career as a film programmer.”
Enamel merit badges from the Coolidge Corner Theatre’s Camp Crystal Lake at Rocky Woods Part 2 outdoor screening
With two successful immersive cinematic experiences under their belt, we, the authors of this post, would like to encourage the Coolidge Corner Theatre to consider a similar event dedicated to the 1987 mess of a good time Street Trash. We can think of no greater screening venue than our local junkyard.
Mark Anastasio, Program Manager at Coolidge Corner Theatre, at the Friday the 13th: Camp Crystal Lake at Rocky Woods Reservation Part 2
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