Director Charles Band

Single tickets are available for $20 from Trash City Entertainment’s Web site at www.trashcityentertainment.com/catalog or by calling the Trash City box office at (602) 953-2728.
 
This one night only show is a horror-palooza of sorts. Cult Horror Film Director Charles Band packs his shows to the brim with puppets, creatures and rare film clips. For horror movie fans and fans of the PUPPETMASTER film series, this event will feature upcoming new release film trailers by Full Moon Features, surprise celebrity guest appearances, question and answer sessions with the Director and his cast, original puppet and doll auctions, hot chicks, unique merchandise and novelty items, audience participation and interaction, and live special effects demonstrations!! With special freak show guests: The Strange Family Circus featuring The Reverend Dr. Stephen Strange and his side show skills of escape and torture.

A pioneer in the field of home video, Band has built a reputation as a prolific and fairly reliable producer and frequent director of entertaining low-budget genre films. Band has produced a string of features variously delving into the realms of horror, sci-fi and fantasy. "Re-Animator" (1985) may be the most celebrated film with which Band was associated. A wild-and-wooly, over-the-top gorefest freely adapted from a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, the film was a surprise critical and commercial smash, winning festival prizes and instant cult status simultaneously. Band subsequently produced Stuart Gordon's "From Beyond" (1986), another ambitious, if uneven, sci-fi horror outing, freely adapted from Lovecraft, that recounted the twisted tale of a scientist's search for a sixth sense.
 
The Full Moon era officially began with "Puppet Master" (1989), in which puppets that were brought to life terrorized a gathering of psychics and scared up several sequels. These films, mostly lensed in Romania, were very profitable for the fledgling company.
 
One of the most highly regarded Full Moon productions was a Stuart Gordon-directed adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum" (1991). Originally intended as a $10 million theatrical release to star Peter O'Toole and Billy Dee Williams. O'Toole was replaced by grizzled genre veteran Lance Henriksen, who delivered a commanding and surprisingly nuanced performance as the inquisitor Torquemada. While not the classic horror film some would have expected, it has been favorably compared with Roger Corman's 1961 version with Vincent Price and Barbara Steele. In a single year (1993), Band produced 12 films, two of which he also directed. In the vastness and thrift of his oeuvre (some 70 features in twenty-one years), Band has been called the Corman of his generation and while he is quick to disassociate himself from the current trashy Corman product, Band welcomes comparisons with the halcyon days of the influential exploitation producer-director in the 50s, 60s and early 70s.
 
Band expanded Full Moon in 1994 to include two new subsidiary labels, Moonbeam, for family-oriented fantasies, and Torchlight, for adult fantasies. The success of "Prehysteria" (1993), a kiddie-oriented "Jurassic Park" knock-off starring Austin O'Brien (of "The Last Action Hero"), alerted Band to the commercial possibilities of modestly budgeted direct-to-video kid flicks. Two sequels quickly followed, as did other wholesome fare, notably the superior "Dragonworld" (1994). A "Free Willy" with a dragon, the film boasts strong performances, imaginative special effects and an atmospheric score that place it among Band's finest efforts. Full Moon Studios further diversified with five CD-ROM titles announced and 51 Full Moon movies were offered on laserdisc for sale overseas. Domestically, horror was increasingly de-emphasized in favor of family fare but the company motto was unchanged: "200 movies by the year 2000." In the past decade Full Moon has grown into an empire which encompasses several subdivisions including Pulsepounders, Surrender Cinema, Pulp Fantasy, Action Xtreme, Alchemy, Filmonsters, Moonbeam, Torchlight, Monster Island and Cult Video.
 
LOCATION AND PARKING
The SETS in Tempe is located at 93 East Southern Avenue, on the southeast corner of Mill Avenue and Southern. Free parking is available throughout the center.
 
ACCESSIBILITY
The SETS in Tempe offers accommodations for the disabled and wheelchair seating is always available. Visit our Web site www.trashcityentertainment.com or contact the box office at (602) 953-2728 for further details. Please inquire about services when ordering tickets.
 
GROUP DISCOUNTS
A $3 discount per ticket is available for groups of 15 or more (subject to restriction and limitation). Call (602) 953-2728 for more information.
 

HOW TO REACH US
Trash City Entertainment & The SETS in Tempe
93 East Southern
Tempe, AZ 85282
Box Office: (602) 953-2728
Web: www.trashcityentertainment.com
E-mail: trashcityfilm@aol.com