Creepy Kids Double Bill: THE WATCHER IN THE WOODS (1980) + SOMETHiNG WiCKED THiS WAY COMES (1983)

Name: Creepy Kids Double Bill: THE WATCHER IN THE WOODS (1980) + SOMETHiNG WiCKED THiS WAY COMES (1983)
Start: 2025-11-07T19:00:00-08:00
Location: 4 Star Theatre

Schedule

Fri, 07 Nov, 2025 at 07:00 pm

UTC-08:00

Location

4 Star Theatre | San Francisco, CA

MOViES FOR MANiACS is thrilled to continue the “GET OFF THE INTERNET” Film Festival at The 4-Star Theatre on Friday, NOV. 7! Our “Creepy Kids Flicks” Double Bill showcases two incredibly memorable Walt Disney cult classics from the 1980s, both of which were pulled from theaters and censored upon their initial releases for being too disturbing for young children. $15 for one film, $20 for double bill

The “GET OFF THE INTERNET” Film Festival showcases Radical Cinema unavailable to stream online and can only be experienced in a theater.

7:00pm THE WATCHER iN THE WOODS (2K, 1980)
The phrase "They don't make 'em like they used to" perfectly applies to John Hough’s astoundingly creepy 1980 live-action Disney film that was pulled from theaters after only one week after being deemed too scary for young adults. Adapted from a 1976 young adult novel, the story follows “a teenage girl and her little sister who become spiral into a supernatural mystery regarding a missing girl in the woods surrounding their new home in the English countryside.”
Showcasing performances by Hollywood royalty: Carroll Baker (BABY DOLL) and Bette Davis (WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE) who is especially hypnotic as an old hermit who lost her child many years before, along with professional figure-skater Lynn-Holly Johnson, hot off her Golden Globe nominated performance in ICE CASTLES (1979). Filmed in the house from Robert Wise’s THE HAUNTiNG (1963), this lost cinematic treasure was pitched to Disney by producer Tom Leetch, stating that "This could be our EXORCiST (1973)."
Very few audiences were able to see this genuinely eerie film in the theatre upon its original release... and frustratingly enough, the film is still unavailable on any official streaming site so don't miss this rare chance! New 2K Restoration, 84min, 1980/1981. Rated PG (with mild violence and frightening & intense sequences.)

+ 9:15pm SOMETHiNG WiCKED THiS WAY COMES (2K, 1983)
Ray Bradbury adapted his own short story for this remarkably thoughtful and downright creepy Walt Disney flick. Following a couple of 13-year-old boys growing up next door to one another in Green Town, Illinois, a carnival comes to town which seems to mystically bewitch many of the small town locals. Showcasing an all star cast of Jason Robards, Jonathan Pryce, Diane Ladd and Pam Grier, It is also one of the very first films to showcase the newly invented "computer-generated-imagery", winning the Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film and Best Writing in 1984.
Upon its release, Roger Ebert called it "a horror film with elegance" and "one of the few literary adaptations I've seen in which the film not only captures the mood and tone of the novel, but also the novel's style." The director Jack Clayton, who helmed the brilliantly gothic THE INNOCENTS (1961), ran into many conflicts during the production and deserves much more credit than history has written about.
Similar to RETURN TO OZ, this eerie Disney entry has built quite a cult following over the decades, even though it has suspiciously been absent from ever streaming on Disney+ as well as basically been erased in the UK, which does not list it ever being screened in the UK film database. Very Rare Screening is a 2K Restoration courtesy of Walt Disney. Running Time: 95 Minutes. Rated PG (for frightening and intense sequences.)
(**NOTE: Due to a "licensing issue" the screening of KENNY & COMPANY is postponed. Stay tuned for further information.**)