Most Impressive.

Before I get to the review of Best Worst Movie, the Cap'n would like to heap some effusive praise on The Screen, a partially independent / partially tied to the Santa Fe University of Art and Design.

Not quite knowing what to expect, Professor Murder and I arrived an hour early for the 9:10 showing of Best Worst Movie, got lost on campus, and eventually found building that hosts The Screen and is also partially the school's film school production building. While the sign outside said the doors would be locked until half and hour before Best Worst Movie started, the two employees were nice enough to let us wait in the lobby while The Desert of Forbidden Art was playing, followed by a Skype Q&A with the director.

If there's a good way to describe the lobby to The Screen, I suppose it would be best to compare it to a smaller version of The Colony or Rialto in Raleigh, or perhaps a more compact version of the lobby in the Janus in Greensboro (back when the Janus existed). After buying tickets, we were directed down a long hallway to the entrance of the auditorium and waited on a bench. Here's where I had a real kick, because the hallway was lined with framed 8 x 10 versions of posters, all of which had the title removed. "Identify the film," a sign said, "and get a free concessions snack of your choice."

Strangely enough, I've never seen something like this before in any of the "indie" theatres I'd been to, but it's a clever idea and encourages the students on campus (as well as visitors like the Cap'n) to seek out and identify movies we wouldn't otherwise notice. It's great exposure, and since in my slackitude, I only identified The Old Dark House (which earned the Professor a free bag of pretzels) and Thriller: A Cruel Picture / They Call Her One-Eye, there are at least two dozen others to check out if I get back out to The Screen.

The auditorium was surprisingly spacious, particularly for a college campus, and for the twelve of us who attended Best Worst Movie, the seats were comfy and well spaced, the screen large, and the atmosphere welcoming. The staff, who I erroneously assumed were hipster-ish, were quite accommodating considering that our interloping distracted them from setting up the Skype chat and they were in no way obligated to let us in so early for a documentary about Troll 2.

While it was great to see Best Worst Movie, I'm slightly bummed that I missed the Casey Affleck / Joaquin Phoenix film I'm Still Here, which played for one week (the previous week) at The Screen, and I didn't know because their listings are only available on their website (I normally check Yahoo! Movies). Still, I'm very glad to have experienced The Screen and recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone visiting or living in Santa Fe.