The Fort Collins community has a weekly opportunity to get into the Halloween spirit with the “There Will Be Gore” horror movie screening held at 9 p.m. every Monday at The Lyric. Although the screenings are not limited to the month of October, there’s no better time for a scary movie than the fall season.
The event is free with a suggested donation and is open to the public; the films are chosen by community members via email.
The theater was founded by Ben Mozer, alongside a childhood friend of his. Mozer, who was a filmmaker in school, said he fostered a love for art and the humanities.
“And movies — in my brain — are the collision point of all the art forms,” Mozer said. “It’s like audiovisual, you know, all things wrapped into one thing.”
When asked about how these free horror film nights came about, Mozer recalled how they started doing them around the pandemic. The theater had previously done free films on Wednesdays, and Mozer was initially the one who picked all the films, but the selection process was later opened to the community. Mozer said people picked more and more horror films, which led to the birth of “There Will Be Gore.”
Mozer said he hopes these free films open people’s eyes to types of movies they otherwise would never have experienced.
“You know, you go to a free movie, and it’s just whatever gets chosen, you don’t know what it’s going to be, and then you watch some movie that you would have never watched before, and hopefully, from a different perspective, or you’re entertained in a way that you didn’t expect to be,” Mozer said.
The passion of horror movie fans, Mozer said, is what drives the event forward.
“I mean, horror fans are a breed in (and) among themselves,” Mozer said. “You know, that’s all they watch. That’s all they really want to watch.”
On Monday, Oct. 12, the theater screened “You Won’t Be Alone,” a Macedonian horror film that sits outside the box from what many people typically picture when they think of horror, which emphasized how the event can introduce people to types of films they may otherwise might not watch.
“Showing free movies is, like, an effort to help educate people on just the other stuff that they wouldn’t normally choose to watch,” Mozer said.
When asked about the impact Mozer hopes “There Will Be Gore” and The Lyric in general will have on the community, Mozer explained how he sought to provide space for film culture, something he saw was missing from Fort Collins.
“We don’t have, like, a steeped culture in film knowledge, and so, The Lyric is the first, you know, outlet for the Fort Collins film community,” Mozer said.
Mozer said students should be aware of their upcoming Halloween party.
“It’s called the Brave New Wheel Halloween Party,” Mozer said. “I would say at this point in time, it’s, like, one of the biggest parties in town to happen all year. You know, we get about maybe 800 to 1,000 people, and we have DJs, and it’s like a big, huge Halloween costume party, and there are some really elaborate costumes at that party.”
The Brave New Wheel party is scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 31.
The Lyric provides an opportunity to support these events by donating on its website or buying concessions before the movie.
“It’s nice to see something that I have brought to fruition like so,” Mozer said. “You know, like, I don’t know if it’s like bragging to say people kind of adore it, you know, people, like, people are very fond of it in the community, and it’s nice to have something you work so hard on be so loved.”
Reach Olivia Kyazze at entertainment@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
