Zombie Island Massacre (1984) - Newspaper Ad [Oakland Tribune - October 27, 1985]

On the lower right hand side of this ad, clipped from the Oakland Tribune, are the listings for the screenings in San Francisco. At the very top of the listings is the Electric Theater. That is where I saw Zombie Island Massacre.

It also marked my first of what would be many trips to an actual, honest-to-goodness grind-house movie theater. Each week offered a different triple bill. A mix of whatever current movie was about to end its theatrical run, some moldy oldie, and the occasional first run low-to-no budget exploitation flick. Zombie Island Massacre is a lackluster example of the kind of first run flicks that 'debuted' at the Electric.

I regret not staying for at least one of the other two films on the bill. If my memory serves me well, those might have been Terminal Island and The Howling. So it goes.

'Salem's Lot by Stephen King - Newspaper Ad [San Francisco Examiner - October 26, 1975]

I would not make it all the way through the novel 'Salem's Lot until well after the broadcast of the 1979 mini-series, which is what the "major Warner Bros. film" promised in this ad eventually became.

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage [ L'uccello dalle Piume di Cristallo (1970)] - Newspaper Ad [San Francisco Examiner - October 6, 1970]

Dario Argento's impressive feature film debut was an atmospheric jolt of terror and suspense that caught the attention of both critics and audiences. I was unable to see it for myself until the mid-to-late 1980s, when it was released on home video.