Looking to get into the mood for Halloween? Director Peter Hyoguchi has just the ticket: a screening of The Occult, his indie thriller about a young man who falls under the spell of a seductive fortune-teller with an extremely creepy family.
But there’s only one chance to see this movie: Go to the Pruneyard Cinemas in Campbell on Oct. 7 at 7pm for a screening followed by a Q&A with Hyoguchi and editor Robert Días, a San Jose native who has worked on television series for more than two decades.
The past year Hyoguchi has been traveling the country, booking one-night stands in 22 cities and promoting the screenings himself. One way he gets the word out: leaving tarot cards around town with information about the local screening. Here in Silicon Valley the movie—which he describes as an “old-fashioned, Hitchcockian thriller”—is screening at the Pruneyard Dine-in Cinemas in Campbell, alongside current Hollywood releases.
Hyoguchi says, “In the past if you were an independent filmmaker and you wanted to do a tour like this, you’d have to pay the theaters what’s called a four-wall fee—a rental fee—and it can be very expensive . But I haven’t done that once, and I’ve done 22 screenings. I’m offering theaters a 50-50 split off ticket sales.”
The director explains that the availability of screens has to do with a “movie drought.” As an example, he cites these statistics: In 1990, there were 101 feature films released in theaters. Last year, there were only 52. “It’s got nothing to do with Covid,” he asserts. Rather, it’s the availability of content on people’s phones, which is “taking away eyeballs by the billions.”
Hyoguchi wants to bring those eyeballs back, one tarot card at a time.
At his events, people will see a movie that is meant to be seen on a big screen. The Occult’s soundtrack will blast out in Dolby 5.1 SurroundSound, which Hyoguchi says is “meant to be felt as much as it is to be heard. Even if you have the best headphones, there’s something about a movie theater sound system—that your body actually feels the vibration and it’s a completely different experience.”
Bottom line, he asserts, “The movie’s not available on streaming, and it won’t be for years to come. I made it for movie theaters, and it will only be in movie theaters.”
After he leaves Silicon Valley, Hyoguchi is heading to Willits, Calif., where The Occult will screen daily, Oct 25-31, as well as in Florida and Minnesota—his first real theatrical run.
“It’s been a really wonderful experience, and I’m hoping if I continue to find success doing an independent alternative theatrical distribution that other filmmakers will do the same thing and hopefully revive our industry, so that the audience has more to choose from and there’s a reason to come back to the theater.”
The Occult screens at 7pm on Oct 7 at the Pruneyard Dine-In Cinemas, 1875 S Bascom Ave, Suite 100, Campbell. 408.717.4712. Find a link to tickets ($22) and a trailer at pruneyardcinemas.com.
Learn more about the project on YouTube and roninfilm.com/theoccult.
Sharan! What a wonderful piece. Thank you so much for your support and enthusiasm for The Occult cinema tour!