This year, Epsilon Spires presents a Christmas event worthy of its reputation. Pop culture, satire, and unusual music fill the bill on Friday, Dec. 22, when the downtown arts organization will screen the comedy-horror hit, Gremlins.
Guests are encouraged to wear their best - or worst - ugly holiday sweater to win gift certificates to local businesses and other prizes. Mulled cider, eggnog, and other seasonal treats will be served.
Before the movie begins, Synthesizer Santa, a.k.a. Jolly Olde Synth Nick, will play unorthodox versions of Christmas carols and holiday music.
Synth Santa, an entertainment industry veteran, decided to revamp his act with the latest technology in sonic possibilities. He replaced outdated concepts like reindeer and jingle bells with mono- and polyphonic synthesizers, vocoders, electronic drum machines, and sequencers.
After Synth Santa finishes his set, the ugly holiday sweater contest and film will begin.
Gremlins, released in 1984 to critical acclaim and commercial success, was directed by Chris Columbus (director of Home Alone), with Steven Spielberg as executive producer.
Darkly funny and often scary, Gremlins drags out numerous holiday- and B-movie tropes to poke fun at them.
What's a holiday film without a family drama? Gremlins has that. An inventor dad who can't seem to succeed, whose child has to pick up the slack. A cute family dog whose life is threatened by a mean, old, lonely woman. A love interest with a secret.
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But Gremlins is also a science-fiction horror film, so add to the mix a character in search of something who travels to an unusual and mysterious location to find it. Another character has a horrifying childhood story that explains why she doesn't like Christmas.
And, the B-movie common denominator: a supernatural being that seems cute, friendly, or alluring at first, but then, due to human folly, transforms into an intractable menace.
Because this film is also a dark Christmas comedy, the menacing creatures don't just go about their usual business of maiming and killing everyone and everything they see. They also pause their destruction long enough to don their Santa apparel and screech Yuletide tunes to terrified neighbors.
The satire doesn't end there. With a nod to the knowledge that Christmas has also become a secular holiday centered around neverending materialism, this film's plot device is a present that magically reproduces itself. The gift that keeps on giving!
But, Gremlins, like many old B-movies, has a lesson: Be careful what you wish for.
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Gremlins is rated PG and is not suitable for young children. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., and the contest and musical performance begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are on a sliding scale (minimum $5).
Epsilon Spires is located at 190 Main St. in Brattleboro. For more information, or to purchase tickets in advance, visit epsilonspires.org.
Wendy M. Levy, a former reporter and columnist for this newspaper, contributed this piece on behalf of Epsilon Spires. The Commons' Deeper Dive column gives artists, arts organizations, and other nonprofits elbow room to write in first person and/or be unabashedly opinionated, passionate, and analytical about their own creative work and events.
This The Arts column by Wendy M. Levy was written for The Commons.