Sioux Falls’ State Theater Launches Halloween Horror Marathon With Six Classic Films

This Halloween, leave the trick-or-treating to the kids while you head to downtown Sioux Falls to take in some of the spookiest movies to ever hit the big screen.

The State Theater on Phillips Avenue is screening no fewer than six horror classics over three days.

READ MORE: Where Is Halloween Spirit Highest: South Dakota, Iowa, or Minnesota? 

Thursday - October 29

• Retribution - 7:00 PM: This 1987 horror film was directed by Guy Magar, written by Magar and Lee Wasserman, and starred Dennis Lipscomb as a suicidal man who is possessed by a vengeful spirit.

Friday - October 30

• The Exorcist - 7:00 PM: This 1973 supernatural horror film was directed by William Friedkin and produced by William Peter Blatty, who adapted his own 1971 novel. The film stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller, and Linda Blair, and follows the demonic possession of Georgetown, D.C.-residing upper-class young girl Regan MacNeil and the attempt to rescue her through an exorcism by two Catholic priests, Fathers Lankester Merrin and Damien Karras. It became the first horror film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, as well as nine others. Blatty won Best Adapted Screenplay, while the sound engineers took Best Sound.

• Trick or Treat - 10: 30 PM: This 1986 supernatural horror film was directed by Charles Martin Smith in his directorial debut, and produced and released by De Laurentiis Entertainment Group. It stars Marc Price and Tony Fields, with special appearances by Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osbourne in his film debut. The plot centers on an outcast metalhead teenager who is haunted by the ghost of his rock hero.

Saturday - October 31

• The Nightmare Before Christmas - 11:00 AM: This 1993 American stop-motion animated musical fantasy film was directed by Henry Selick and written by Caroline Thompson. It tells the tale of Jack Skellington, a resident of Halloween Town, who stumbles upon Christmas Town and becomes obsessed with celebrating the holiday himself. Danny Elfman composed the score and songs and provided Jack's singing voice, while the principal voice cast includes Chris Sarandon, Ken Page, Catherine O'Hara, Glenn Shadix, William Hickey, Paul Reubens, and Ed Ivory. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, a first for an animated film.

• Godzilla vs. Hedorah - 1:45 PM: This 1971 Japanese kaiju film was directed and co-written by Yoshimitsu Banno, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. It was the 11th film in the Godzilla franchise and Banno's directorial debut. The film stars Akira Yamauchi, Toshio Shiba, Hiroyuki Kawase, Keiko Mari, and Toshie Kimura, with Haruo Nakajima as Godzilla and Kenpachiro Satsuma as Hedorah. The film features an environmentalist message as symbolized by Hedorah being spawned from pollution. It was released in the United States as Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster.

• The Exorcist (Encore Showing) - 4:45 PM

• Halloween - 8:45 PM: This 1978 American slasher film was directed and scored by John Carpenter and Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis (in her film debut), P. J. Soles, and Nancy Loomis. The film follows escaped mental patient Michael Myers, who was committed to a mental institution for murdering his teenage sister on Halloween in the fictional Illinois town of Haddonfield; 15 years later, he returns to Haddonfield, where he stalks teenage babysitter Laurie Strode (Curtis) and her friends while his psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Loomis (Pleasence) pursues him. This film was the first of what has become a 13-movie franchise.