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Peaches Christ’s Horror Film Starring Natasha Lyonne is Back!

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All About Evil

Broke-Ass fans of indie horror, mark your calendars for 8:00 to 10:00 PM on June 11, 2022.  That’s when the Victoria Theater will host the special edition 4-D event screening of Joshua Grannell aka Peaches Christ’s horror film “All About Evil.”  Originally intended as a 10th anniversary screening of Christ’s cult classic splatter film, a certain annoying pandemic squashed those plans pretty quickly.  Fortunately, since the wonderfully twisted geniuses at Severin Films are releasing a new HD Blu-Ray edition of “All About Evil,” it’s time to celebrate “The Slasher In The Rye” as well as the other warped films of Deborah Tennis.  

Who’s Deborah Tennis, the confused reader may ask.  Why, she’s a mousy librarian (played by a pre-”Russian Doll” Natasha Lyonne).  Her beloved dad Walter Tennis may have founded the Victoria Theater (played by the SF Mission District’s own Victoria Theater), but Deborah’s taken on the job of keeping the fading movie house alive.  However, her lack of success in reviving the theater’s fortunes has put an evil gleam in the eye of Deborah’s stepmother to (gasp) sell the theater’s land to developers.  Ms. Tennis refuses to play ball with her step-parent leading to fatal results…and the inadvertent birth of her filmmaking career.  Soon, the Victoria’s audience is treated to such Tennis classics as the aforementioned “Slasher” as well as “The Diary Of Anne Frankenstein” and “The Scarlet Leper.” But will high school horror nerd Steven (Thomas Dekker, “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”) discover the truth about Tennis’ films in time?

“All About Evil” boasts an incredible cast able to bring both the laughs and the gore.  In addition to Lyonne and Dekker, the other actors include: “Elvira” herself, Cassandra Peterson; John Waters muse Mink Stole; Noah Segan (“Looper,” “Knives Out”), Ashley Rae Fink (“Glee”’s Lauren Zizes); and writer/director Joshua Grannell as Peaches Christ.

All About Evil

After Grannell’s film landed at the 2010 San Francisco International Film Festival, it did a theatrical run for several months following its festival debut.  However, despite developing a cult following, “All About Evil” generally became unavailable for years.  When Severin Films releases its special re-issue of Grannell’s film to home video, it’ll include an HD remastering of “All About Evil” plus bonus features both archival and newly commissioned.  Sadly, details on those bonus features are not available yet.

So with the Blu-Ray being commercially released on June 10 and the film’s streaming premiere on Shudder on June 13, why attend the June 11 event?  “All About Evil” was filmed in and around the Victoria Theater, so it’s a chance to physically immerse yourself in Deborah Tennis’ twisted world.  Peaches Christ will host the event, which will feature live pre-show  performances by Trixxie Carr, Peaches Christ, and the Midnight Mass Players.  The screening of the restored film will be followed by a Q&A moderated by Michael Varrati.  Several members of the film’s cast will be present for this event, including Dekker and Fink.  Finally, attendees can get their copies of the new Blu-Ray signed by the film’s cast.  Just remember to behave yourselves at the Victoria, or you might make an appearance in the next Tennis movie.

As you watch Grennell’s hilariously demented horror spoof within the Victoria Theater’s walls, think about this.  More than a few people have said that they’d kill to be in the movies.  But they probably didn’t mean both being in the movies and being killed.

(Tickets for the June 11, 2022 4-D event screening of “All About Evil” can be ordered here.)      

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Peter Wong

Peter Wong

I've been reviewing films for quite a few years now, principally for the online publication Beyond Chron. My search for unique cinematic experiences and genre dips have taken me everywhere from old S.F. Chinatown movie theaters showing first-run Jackie Chan movies to the chilly slopes of Park City. Movies having cat pron instantly ping my radar.