‘Time Warp Drive-in’ returns with packed lineup
Pam Grier, Ferris Bueller, Flash Gordon and Howard the Duck.
Those are among the colorful personalities who will cavort across a screen at Memphis’ last remaining outdoor cinema as the popular “Time Warp Drive-in” series begins its sixth season at Malco’s Summer Quartet Drive-in, 5310 Summer.
Although spring and summer are the ideal seasons for drive-in moviegoing, the monthly Saturday night series runs year-round: It begins Feb. 16 with a double feature showcasing the talents of Pam Grier, the queen of so-called “blaxploitation” cinema, and concludes Dec. 14 with the Christmas comedy “Elf.”
Devoted to cult and classic cinema, the series’ success has surprised everyone except perhaps Black Lodge Video founder Matt Martin and local filmmaker Mike Mccarthy, the movie-mad scientists who in 2014 cooked up the “Time Warp” concept and convinced Malco that dusk-to-dawn marathons of “throwback” cinema could find an audience.
They were right: Some weekends, the “Time Warp” films outdraw whatever new studio would-be blockbusters are booked onto the other three drive-in screens.
“We have a great fan base in this city,” said Martin (who said he hopes to reopen Black Lodge — rejiggered as a video store, micro-cinema and performance venue — in its new Crosstown location by April).
Martin said that this year for the first time he solicited requests from social media and “Time Warp” attendees about the series schedule. “The overwhelming response was people wanted a John Hughes night, and I was like, ‘I feel that,’ ” Martin said. As a result, “Time Warp” on April 20 will host a triple feature of 1980s teen movies from the late writer-director.
In addition, “The most requested movie we’ve ever had is ‘The Monster Squad,’ ” Martin said. That’s why the 1987 horror-comedy in which a gang of kids tangle with Dracula, the Frankenstein monster, a werewolf, a mummy and a “Black Lagoon”-esque creature will screen Oct. 19.
As always, admission is $10 per person, and shows start at dusk. Shorts, vintage concession-stand ads, trailers and other examples of cinematic ephemera will screen between movies, and live bands will perform before the movies begin during warm-weather months.
2019 “Time Warp Drive-in” schedule
Feb. 16 — Soul Cinema 6: Nobody Messes With Pam Grier! A Tribute to an Icon.quentin Tarantino’s “Jackie Brown” (1997) and “Coffy” (1973).
UNIVERSAL
Nov. 9 — Monsters, Gods and Mortals: The Genius of FX Master Ray Harryhause. “Clash of the Titans” (1981), “Jason and the Argonauts” (1963). Dec. 14 — Strange Christmas 6. “Elf” (2003), “Scrooged” (1988).
Oct. 19 — Shocktober 6. “Ghostbusters” (1984), “Little Shop of Horrors” (1986), “The Monster Squad” (1987), “Clue” (1985).