The Last Word: Kelly Kitchens on Garland’s Campy ‘It Came From Texas Film Festival’

“All of the elements were right there to make this a state-wide celebration…of the campy, quirky, at times cringe-worthy fun films of days gone by.”

Kelly Kitchens
Director
It Came From Texas Film Festival
.…on the festival’s first annual event October 28 and 29 at the Plaza Theater in Garland.

Kelly Kitchens

Some of America’s favorite movies are filled with campy, schlock-y, over-the-top fun—and a lot them were filmed right here in Texas. This weekend, the city of Garland and Garland Cultural Arts are gearing up to celebrate them with the first annual It Came From Texas Film Festival, October 28 and 29 at the Plaza Theater on State Street in Garland.

Offering double features, campy classics, and Texas-sized horror, 11 Texas-produced movies will be brought back to the big screen. Some titles you may know, like “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” Others, like the 1967 flick “Zontar: Thing from Venus,” may be just a tad off the beaten track.

“All of the elements were right there to make this a state-wide celebration of many of Texas’ best features through the years as well as some of the campy, quirky, at times cringe-worthy fun films of days gone by,” Kitchens said in a statement. ““While future It Came From Texas Film Festivals will feature films in various genres and eras all made in Texas, this inaugural festival pays homage to the horror/sci-fi films that went to the drive-in theaters in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s.”

You can read more about the film festival—including how to buy tickets—by reading our story here.

For more of who said what about all things North Texas, check out Every Last Word.

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  • Fasten your seat belts. The city of Garland and Garland Cultural Arts are gearing up for a pre-Halloween weekend of "campy, quirky, at times cringe-worthy fun" at the inaugural It Came From Texas Film Festival. "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"? Check. But you'll also see jaw-dropping not-quite-classics like "Zontar: Thing from Venus" and 1967's "Attack of the Eye Creatures." See what else is on the list.