Friday, March 28

Get ready for a horror-filled weekend, kicking off with the inaugural Hollywood Horrorfest at the New Beverly Cinema. At 3:30 p.m. it's the West Coast premiere of Billy Club, one of the in-competition features, in which four friends are hunted by an umpire mask – wearing killer in connection with the murders of their Little League coach and teammates 15 years earlier. Spread across Friday and Saturday, there will be three in-competition shorts programs, raffles and give-aways, a panel on “How to Finance, Produce, Sell and Distribute Your Indie Horror” and noncompetition feature screenings. On closing night, the fest will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Return of the Living Dead with a red-carpet reunion of cast and crew. All in-competition screenings are free and available at the door 20 minutes before the start time. For the other screenings, check blog.hollywoodhorrorfest.com/schedule for ticket prices and availability.Also on Friday is the second annual CineMayhem Film Fest at the Jumpcut Cafe, with a horror film every night at 8 p.m. through Sunday. Friday's The Fog (1980), about a killer fog that takes over a small fishing town, with a post-screening Q&A with director John Carpenter, and Sunday's Hellraiser, about a puzzle box that turns a man into a blood-sucking zombie, are sold out online, but there will be a standby line. Each classic horror flick will have an accompanying shorts segment, and the fest will showcase several pieces of Clive Barker's artwork throughout the weekend. Tickets are free.

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Saturday, March 29

Highlighting the “ladies” in some memorable horror films is the Lethal Ladies of Horror Film Festival with three movies (and Q&As) for $30. Starting at 6 p.m. at Westwood's Crest Theatre, the fest opens with Drag Me to Hell, in which a bank loan officer is cursed after denying a gypsy woman an extension on her mortgage payment, with an appearance by the gypsy woman herself, Lorna Raver. Next is Night of the Comet, about two sisters who must try to stay alive when the passing of a comet causes people to turn into zombies, with appearances by Catherine Mary Stewart (Reggie) and Kelli Maroney (Sam). Last is Christine, about a vengeful 1958 Plymouth Fury. The actual “Christine” from the film will be present, along with members of the film's cast and crew.

See also: More L.A. Weekly Film Coverage

Monday, March 31

On Monday, it's spooky on a G-rated level with a morning screening of Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit at 10:30 a.m. Inventor Wallace and his clever dog, Gromit, must save a village from a mutant rabbit in this family-friendly animated film. Tickets are $5 for kids 12 and under, $10 for everyone else. All proceeds from this screening at the Vista Theatre go to Micheltorena Elementary School. 

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