She Likes to Watch

It’s a month of screams at one local movie theater

Movies inspire. Movies thrill. And sometimes, movies scare the freakin’ pants off of you.

The Palm Theatre in San Luis Obispo celebrates Halloween throughout the month of October with a series of scary, creepy and downright terrifying films. It starts tonight with “The Lost Boys.”

When the Emersons move to the sunny beachside town of Santa Carla, Calif., it looks like a brand-new start for the family.

Michael (Jason Patric) meets a beautiful girl, Star, on the boardwalk and befriends the pack of teens she hangs with. His younger brother, Sam (Corey Haim), meets a couple of juvenile vampire hunters.

Meanwhile, Mom (Dianne Wiest) is falling for her new boss at the local video store.

Everything seems sunny, but this California beach town has a dark secret. Santa Carla is positively crawling with vampires.

“The Lost Boys” features many of the ingredients that made ’80s movies great: bloodsuckers, the Coreys (Haim and Feldman), beautiful misunderstood youth, and, of course,”Cry Little Sister.”

The movie also delivers plenty of thrills and darkly comic moments — doubled with a dose of nostalgia for those of us who grew up in or around the 1980s.

Ignore the straight-to-video sequel, “Lost Boys: The Tribe.” Watch this wickedly good classic instead.

“The Lost Boys” will be screened at 7 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. Wednesday at The Palm Theatre, 817 Palm St. in San Luis Obispo. Tickets are $7.50.

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What else is in store for October? I’m so glad you asked.

• “From Dusk Until Dawn” (Oct. 3)
• “Shaun of the Dead” (Oct. 8 )
• “28 Days Later” (Oct. 10)
• “Event Horizon” (Oct. 15)
• “Mars Attacks” (Oct. 17)
• “The Evil Dead” (Oct. 22)
• “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (Oct. 24)
• “Scream” (Oct. 29)
• “The Crow” (Oct. 30)