A Guide to the 2025 Ayrsley Retro Horror Series
An unlucky 13 flicks to choose from
Beginning today for its 12th running year, Ayrsley Grand Cinemas will host its annual Retro Horror film series, showing a slate of classic slashers and frightening flicks … and this year is stacked.
From Sept. 26 to Nov. 6, you can watch Retro Horror films on any day of the week, with two showing every evening, save for the first week, which kicks off tonight with a trio of Dracula movies.
As I reported last year, then-general manager Kara Leonard launched the series in 2013, seeing modest success at first. By 2016, the year they expanded the series to offer double features that rotated on a weekly basis, it had become a bona fide local institution.
This year’s six-week slate of movies includes Dracula, Scars of Dracula, and Bram Stroker’s Dracula (Sept. 26 to Oct. 2); The Blob and Event Horizon (Oct. 3-9); The Thing and The Descent (Oct. 10-16); Phantasm and The Changeling (Oct. 17-23); Demons and Popcorn (Oct. 24-30); and a final week of screenings that starts on Halloween and features Sleepy Hollow and The Witch (Oct. 31 to Nov. 6).
Sept. 26-Oct. 2
- 6:30 p.m. – Dracula
- 8 p.m. – Scars of Dracula
- 9:45 p.m. – Bram Stoker’s Dracula
I believe this is Ayrsley’s first triple-feature run of Draculas, beginning with the classic 1931 film starring Bela Lugosi, followed by 1970’s Scars of Dracula starring Christopher Lee. The atmosphere of the 1970 film is amazing, though it should be noted that it’s not a remake not a stand-alone film but a continuation of Taste the Blood of Dracula, also released in 1970. If you’re left thirsty for more blood-curdling Christoper Lee Dracula content, I’d highly recommend Dracula A.D 1972.
The apt headliner for the night is the 1992 Francis Ford Coppola film, starring Gary Oldman as the titular bloodsucker. Maybe it’s because it was the first Dracula I ever saw as a kid, but for my money it’s still the best of the bunch. It’s not, however, the best vampire movie, as that honor goes to the underrated Near Dark, followed very closely by Lost Boys.
Oct. 3-9
- 7 p.m. – The Blob
- 9 p.m. – Event Horizon
Week 2 offers a heavy-hitting double header featuring two underrated classics. The Blob you’re getting is the 1988 version, not the 1956 version starring Steve McQueen. Directed by Chuck Russell, the film was co-written with Frank Darabont, both giants in their own respective lanes. This is a body horror delight with practical special effects galore. It was a box office failure upon its release, but has become a cult classic thanks in large part to the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Scream Factory re-release in 2023.
In a similar sense, which I suspect is the point of the pairing, Event Horizon was a bomb at the box office but has built up a legion of devoted fans since leaving theaters. Director Paul W.S. Anderson has had a dodgy history given his myriad video game-related films like Mortal Kombat and the Resident Evil film series, but his style serves this film well, and I’d argue it’s best flick on his resume.
Oct. 10-16
- 7 p.m. – The Thing
- 9 p.m. – The Descent
As we approach Halloween (the holiday, not the movie series), you’ll find John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) with Neil Marshall’s The Descent (2005). I like to speculate about the reasons for each pairing when these lineups are announced every year, but this one admittedly has stumped.
If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say it has to do with a small group of people being thrust into an unknown situation with a creature(s) that they don’t understand — creature(s) that have been trapped underground for thousands of years, at that. Checks out for me!
Either way, these are both bangers in their own respects, so you don’t need any more reason than that. In fact, if I may be so bold, I’d say The Thing is a top five all-timer.
Oct. 17-23
- 7 p.m. – Phantasm
- 9 p.m. – The Changeling
As the weather continues to cool, we reach a double feature that I would call the most can’t-miss of this year’s pairing. Phantasm (1979) is super underrated as it perfectly mixes themes and genres from murder mystery and slasher to zombies and the paranormal.
I make it a point to watch this one every year, followed by a trip through the rest of the series. The first is definitely the best, but they’re all a treat. I hate to admit it, as I’m not often a fan of remakes, but I’ve always thought there was a lot someone could do with a reimagining of Phantasm, perhaps in exploring the world of the Tall Man. If you need more Don Coscarelli fare, might I recommend Bubba Ho-Tep?
I had the pleasure of seeing The Changeling (a Canadian supernatural film from 1980, not to be confused with Angelina Jolie’s 2008 mystery, Changeling) at a small screening a few years back. I’d highly recommend seeing it in a theater if possible. It takes a lot for a ghost story to scare me, but this one catapulted to the top of my list of favorite specter flicks, led by a great performance from the legendary George C. Scott.
Oct. 24-30
- 7 p.m. – Phantasm
- 9 p.m. – The Changeling
The week 5 pairing of Demons and Popcorn is an easy to one to see in terms of a throughline, as each involve killers in a movie theater. Demons is an over-the-top Italian cinema treat, but I’ll admit Popcorn is the only movie in this series that I haven’t seen, which is saying a lot for someone who once watched over 365 movies in a single year.
Trivia Tidbit: The director of 1991’s Popcorn is Mark Herrier, who played Billy in Porky’s & Porky’s II, both cable television mainstays in the late ’90s.
Oct. 31-Nov. 6
- 7 p.m. – Sleepy Hollow
- 9 p.m. – The Witch
The grand finale of this year’s lineup features two period-piece horror flicks in Sleepy Hollow (1999) and The Witch (2015). If you were looking to do a triple feature here, I’d recommend The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949) for an animated, family-friendly addition that runs just over an hour, but who asked?
Back to Ayrsley, both of these films are folk-horror flicks set in New England when it was actually new — The Witch in the late 1600s and Sleepy Hollow in the late-18th century.
Tim Burton’s 1999 film takes a lot of liberties with the story, but in a way that fleshes out a backstory not spelled out in Washington Irving’s original short story.
At this point we’re familiar with Robert Eggers’ love for mixing realism and the supernatural/paranormal/fantasy world pre-20th century, with his latest being Nosferatu and his next film set to be Werwulf. When it was first released this one stunned audiences, serving as a breakthrough role for Anya Taylor-Joy and changing the way we all looked at black goats.
Check the Ayrsley Grand Cinemas website for ticket information.
