‘Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’ Calls Community to Enjoy Online Screenings

• The ‘Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’ is bringing back “Terror Tuesdays” and “Weird Wednesdays.”
• The goal is to get the community of movie-goers back online and have them enjoy rare horror classics.
• The patrons will have to pay for a ticket on Vimeo, and they’ll get to watch 2K and 4K remakes.

The Coronavirus outbreak has brought the world to a standstill, with billions now stuck at home and movie theaters closing their doors until further notice. That is the case for most cinema chains anyway, as some have found ways to crawl back from the darkness and into our homes now. The ‘Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’ has done precisely that, by launching their “Alamo at Home” online platform. Through this new platform, Alamo wants to reunite its movie-going community to enjoy “Terror Tuesday” and “Weird Wednesday” programming series.

They're baaaaack. @filmarchive presents the #AlamoAtHome returns of Terror Tuesday and Weird Wednesday. https://t.co/p9hR7V1Cif

— Alamo Drafthouse (@alamodrafthouse) March 30, 2020

The first screening goes live today with the gross-out classic “Centipede Horror” in a new 2K preservation that was drawn from the single 35mm film roll existing of that flick. People will be able to witness the signature experience through Vimeo, while the “ticket” costs $7.75. Buying one will give you access to the movie for a timespan of one week. The live screening will take place at 8 PM ET/7 PM CT/5 PM PT. As for the first “Weird Wednesday,” Alamo will offer “Godmonster of Indian Flats” in a 4K restoration, which is scheduled for April 8, 2020.

Sarah Pitre, the Senior Director of Programming and Promotions of Alamo, stated: “Terror Tuesday and Weird Wednesday aren’t just film series — they’re communities, and even though our theater doors are currently closed, it’s vital that we continue to foster these communities because they are truly the heart of the Alamo Drafthouse.”

Tim League, the founder and CEO of Alamo Drafthouse, stated: “The entire reason Karrie and I built theaters in the first place was to bring people together in a celebration of film. Our theaters are currently closed, but that doesn’t have to mean our communities have to remain shuttered as well. We intend to hunker down, weather this storm and reemerge on the other side. Until then, we’ll continue to work to share the movies we love with this community and find ways to support each other.”

Of course, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema isn’t just about the movies, but also about serving dinner and drinks during the watch-time, so they are not leaving home-stayers helpless on that part.

In this situation, cinemas are having a hard time for sure, but filmmakers aren’t doing much better either. They were caught sleeping by this pandemic, and their first attempts to jump on the online release bandwagon were ill-fated, as expected. People are turning to piracy for whatever dares to come online, while in the meantime, streaming platforms are getting so much love that they are causing global internet traffic problems. It is why virtually all popular streaming platforms reduced the video quality down to standard definition by default.