Creatures and Zombies Invade Santa Cruz in an Exclusive South Bay Premier! 7:00pm on October 23, 2008 at the Del Mar Theatre.

Santa Cruz, CA - October 23, 2008 - Bay Area Film Events presents the exclusive South Bay premier of a new documentary on one of the most popular local shows in Bay Area television history, CREATURE FEATURES! Taking its title from the show's famous catch-phrase, WATCH HORROR FILMS, KEEP AMERICA STRONG! A JOURNEY INTO CREATURE FEATURES looks back at the showcase of classic horror, science fiction and monster movies.

Included in the evening's events will also be the 40th anniversary screening of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, a Zombie Fashion Show, special guests, displays and more.

The festivities start at 7:00pm on October 23, 2008 at the Del Mar Theatre in Santa Cruz.

IT'S ALIVE!

For 14 years, from January 1971 through September 1984, CREATURE FEATURES ranked in the Nielsen ratings as one of the most popular TV shows in San Francisco Bay Area television history. Broadcast on KTVU Channel 2 in Oakland, California, the Saturday night series was hosted by former TV advertising writer Bob Wilkins for eight years, followed by San Francisco Chronicle entertainment writer John Stanley who kept the series alive for another six. To those who grew up watching with family members and friends, the mixture of host commentary and classic (and not-'so-classic) horror movies remains a nostalgic memory. Wilkins' wit and unusually droll personality and Stanley's celebrity interviews and satiric mini-movies are all part of this full-length documentary journeying back through those years. Featuring interviews with Wilkins, Stanley and other key figures close to the show, as well as classic clips, this historic journey illuminates an era of television that should never be forgotten.

Welcome to a Night of Total Terror!

The show's second feature is the classic horror film that ushered in an all-new era of ghastly gore! George Romero's original and never equaled, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, a movie that premiered on CREATURE FEATURES and was shown uncut there for the first time on broadcast television.

Chaos descends upon the world as the brains of the recently deceased become inexplicably reanimated, causing the dead to rise and feed on human flesh. Speculation rests on a radiation-covered NASA satellite returning from Venus, but it only remains a speculation. Anyone who dies during the crisis of causes unrelated to brain trauma will return as a flesh-eating zombie, including anyone who has been bitten by a zombie. The only way to destroy the zombies is to destroy the brain. As the catastrophe unfolds, a young woman visiting her father's grave takes refuge in a nearby farmhouse, where she is met by a man who protects her and barricades them inside. They both later discover people hiding in the basement, and they each attempt to cope with the situation. Their only hope rests on getting some gasoline from a nearby pump into a truck that is running on empty, but this requires braving the hordes of ravenous walking corpses outside. When they finally put their plans into action, panic and personal tensions only add to the terror as they try to survive!

Dressed to Kill!

Bay Area Film Events encourages all audience members to come to the theater dressed as zombies to participate in Santa Cruz's first ZOMBIE FASHION SHOW for a chance to win a variety of prizes guaranteed to raise the dead!

Come dressed as your favorite ghoul and sign up at the Bay Area Film Events table to qualify for the fiendish event.

There will also be sinister shopping at merchandise booths on the theater's mezzanine, displays and more!

A Cast of Thousands!

Hosting this evening of Thursday night frights is KFJC's host of the "Norman Bates Memorial Soundtrack Show" Robert Emmett. Robert Emmett is the host of THE NORMAN BATES MEMORIAL SOUNDTRACK SHOW every Saturday morning from 9am to 12noon on KFJC 89.7FM or netcast at www.kfjc.org. Each week Robert plays a wide variety of the best music you-ve ever seen, soundtrack music from films, TV and more. Robert also hosts a talk/interview show on Monday nights from 6pm to 7pm called THOUGHTLINE.

Our two special guests for the evening are CREATURE FEATURES host John Stanley and WATCH HORROR FILMS, KEEP AMERICA STRONG! producer, Tom Wyrsch.

For six years (1979-84) John Stanley hosted the highly rated CREATURE FEATURES in the San Francisco-Bay Area TV market, introducing science fiction and horror movies to a midnight audience, and interviewing the leading actors, producers and directors of the time. He also spent 33 years as an entertainment writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, specializing in interviewing TV and movie stars. He has written 13 books, including six editions of The Creature Features Movie Guide series. His novels include World War II and Bogart/'48. He edited and published Them Ornery Mitchum Boys by John Mitchum. He is a noted Elder hostel instructor (specializing in movies, TV and music) and he constructed crossword puzzles for TV Guide publications for eight years.

Tom Wyrsch has worked diligently over the years to keep the CREATURE FEATURES flame burning bright. Through books such as the Bob Wilkins and John Stanley Scrapbooks, DVDs of classic clips and interviews from the show, products, convention appearances and now our feature documentary, Tom has promoted both John and Bob and kept the CREATURE FEATURES success growing and becoming more popular over twenty years since its final broadcast on KTVU.

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