Here’s what’s playing at the Apollo this fall

Photo by Jackie Vang

How do $5 big screen movies sound? The Apollo Cinema in downtown Kitchener is offering exactly that.

“It will go through at least until the end of September,” Cara Watson, general manager and event strategist for The Apollo said. “That’s $5 for every show except special events and 3-D movies, which will still have the surcharge of $2.”

This fall is an exciting time to head to Kitchener’s independent theatre, whether for the first time or the hundredth. All you need to get the reduced price on your ticket is your student ID card.

Even better, the theatre runs free movie screenings every month for those who hold their membership cards, but on Sept. 19, Superbad will be free for both members and students.

“Going into the fall, we really wanted to draw the student crowd and let them know that we’ve got a cool independent theatre on this side of town,” Watson said.

What makes The Apollo particularly exciting is their events. These aren’t just your average run-of-the-mill movie screenings; they’re interactive, fun and encourage audience participation.

“We’re continuing on with all of our events, and we’re really going event heavy this year,” said Watson. “We have more sing-alongs coming up. We have more of the interactive ones, like we did with Monty Python.”

In case you missed the interactive Monty Python and the Holy Grail event, the theatre handed out husked coconuts to the first fifty-or-so people at the doors for the screening so they could be the “horses” along with the movie.

Watson couldn’t go into detail about upcoming interactive events like Monty Python due to none of the films being fully confirmed yet, but promised that more were on the way.

In the meantime, the B-Movie Bingo events — which is exactly what it sounds like, a bingo card set to a B-rated movie — and the Monday Bloody Monday horror screenings will be more targeted to female audiences this fall.

One of the things that makes the theatre so special is its commitment to giving back in the KW community. On Sept. 22 and 23, they’re screening The Muppet Movie and $3 from every ticket is supporting Big Brothers & Sisters of Waterloo Region.

The next B-Movie Bingo is Crossroads on Sept. 6, and the next Soundtrack Sing-Along is Grease on Sept. 14. The next Monday Bloody Monday will be on September 24 and it will be the film Scream.

If you’re more into indie films, The Apollo is also continuing their Under the Radar series with Madeline’s Madeline on Sept. 12-13.

They’re also screening Mandy on September 14, 15 and 20 and Skate Kitchen on Sept. 7, 9 and 12.

The next Apollo Anime is Akira on Sept. 22 and 25. For those of you 19+, the next Drunken Cinema is Demolition Man on September 15.

Since the Mercury Cafe closed, the Apollo Feast days have been rolled back, but Watson says that they’re still aiming to have a feast with a local business once every one or two months.

Nothing is firmly in place for the next feast, but the Facebook page will be updated as the theatre has more information.

If you are looking for food, all-you-can-eat cereal will be back in October for the Halloween edition.

Also in October, there will also be a double-bill of Nosferatu and The Phantom of the Opera to live music by The Invincible Czars.

Rainbow Reels, South Western Ontario’s largest queer and trans film festival, will also be back at The Apollo in October, though details for this have not yet been released.

One of the things that makes the theatre so special is its commitment to giving back in the KW community. On Sept. 22 and 23, they’re screening The Muppet Movie and $3 from every ticket is supporting Big Brothers & Sisters of Waterloo Region.

As a tribute to Aretha Franklin, they’ll be doing a by-donation screening of The Blues Bothers, her only big-screen role, on September 5.

The minimum donation is $5 and all proceeds will go to Hope Spring KW, a charity that promotes fulfillment in cancer patients.

This O-Week they’re playing Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, The Spy Who Dumped Me, and The Equalizer 2, in addition to the other special events and screenings featured here.

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