What do you get when you mix two movie buffs, their love for the horror genre, their passion for community and a big industrial space with nefarious vibes? A movie night packed with terror and special marketplace where you can support local vendors.
On Oct. 25, LFX Filmworks will turn into the The Horror Industrial Complex, a one-night marketplace/party and movie night hosted by Blake Jackson and Nate Bishop, the oft-opinionated, leg-washing enthusiasts who run the movie discussion podcast Popcorn & Jalapeños.
"We're just two Black guys talking about movies and trying to put people on to things they might not normally see... and this is probably our biggest and most ambitious movie night we've put together," Bishop said.
While tickets for the movie screening are sold out, you can still enjoy a party and marketplace that will be open until almost midnight.
There's still time to purchase a ticket to the marketplace and the first 25 guests to arrive will receive a goody bag. The marketplace opens at 6 p.m. and the horror will be on full display with terrorizing installations made by the LFX crew, which the duo worked with on one of their first movie nights.
The market will feature local vendors and artists including tattoos by Frances Logan, tarot card readings by Sierra Jeter, gothic creations by Aesthete, handmade candles from Barrio Bruja, floral arrangements from Black + Blossomed and clothing from Lost Boys. The guys from Munchies & Mimosas will also be in attendance handing out wristbands for their upcoming Halloween event.
Food and drink will also be available from the usual suspects. It's a Bodega will be providing exclusive and exotic snacks. Specialty cocktails and mocktails will be provided by Slashers and Vino Out the Trunk will have the classy natural wine on deck. Hex Kitten will be providing the tunes and Good Chemistry will have the adult medication.
Bishop and Jackson said all of the people involved are friends they've met along the way, a community they've help build.
"If you look at any of our events, you can kind of trace a through line through how people know each other and like where they met and like how they got introduced to stuff. We always want to support our homies," Jackson said. "Our audience is really all about making sure community is number one...We want to show people that coming together for community is not something that can be done, or should be done by corporations or established individuals.
If you're holding a movie ticket or just want to shape the night's fun, you can help the crew decide what movie they should watch.
For the past month, P&J followers have been winding their way through the Tournament of Terror, a 16-movie bracket filled with horror classics such as "Child's Play," the unknown like "I Saw the Devil" and fan favorites like "Barbarian."
Folks have been voting and eliminating contenders like "Get Out" by Jordan Peele and "Evil Dead 2" by Sam Raimi. As of Monday evening the final four stand at "Barbarian" versus the Ridley Scott classic "Alien" and "The VVitch" versus 1982 classic "The Thing."
It's classics versus newbies and, when you ask Bishop and Jackson about the voting, the silence is telling and hilarious.
"It's a sore subject for me right now," Jackson said. "I'm not upset that 'Get Out' lost. It's the organized campaign to get our boy Jordan Peele up out of there. 'Barbarian' is the Cinderella of this tournament right now."
Bishop interjected, "Blake has strong feelings about "Barbarian...From all the people I've talked to about the final four, basically it's either going to be a straight horror movie or something that's going to be a goofy crowd pleaser."
The discourse is reminiscent of their podcast with the pair discussing the fall of "The Descent," how people will often choose newer movies in the bracket because of "quality" (which is never true, Bishop said) and the shock of "Barbarian" making its way to the finals.
"People were saying Barbarian is like the greatest modern horror movie and that may be true for muggles maybe. Like regular people maybe," Jackson mused. "To be clear this is a very good horror movie but this is a regular ass horror movie bro."
These types of discussions are what brought Jackson and Bishop together. They launched P&J in 2019 to have fun and to introduce Black and Brown folks to new movie genres.
But carving out a space in the predominantly white cinema and film critique field was also vital to the duo, who knew all too well what it's like living in areas where people don't look like you or think like you.
The pair had to find their community and have since been building upon it.
"One of my favorite things is putting people on to s*** that they don't think exists out here," Bishop said. "People just don't know that there's a lot of stuff to do out here. It's like behind the veil of Denver...I just love being able to find other people and put them on to some s*** that we're doing or our friends are doing just so they can find a community of their own or build a community around themselves with the stuff that they like to do because yeah, it's hard to find if you're not from here."
But there's still two major questions left to answer: what horror movie should Denverites be watching this season and when is P&J dropping a new podcast episode?
The first question is simple. Jackson's suggestion is "Speak No Evil."
"That's a gut punch. You have to stick through it though," Jackson said.
Bishop had two and both are movies that didn't make it through the bracket: "The Night House" and "The Ritual." A shared, and so-called silly suggestion: "Malignant."
As for the podcast episode, we'll just just have to stay tuned. The last time they published an episode was three years ago.
"One day we're going to pop up. You never know what the fuck we're going to be doing. That's the joy of what we do. We pop in. We do what we have to do. We disappear. There's no schedule. We're basically the Joker of podcasts," Jackson said.
Bishop laughed, "We're always building the plane while it's flying."
What: The Horror Industrial Complex
When: Oct. 25 starting at 6 p.m.
Where: LFX Filmworks 6545 East 49th Ave., Commerce City
