One of our favourite annual events that we adore participating in and being a part of is Italian Day on the Drive. Like everyone in Vancouver, we have really missed this East Vancouver tradition over the past two summers!

Our friends at The Italian Day Festival Society have organized a scaled-down, village-style Italian Day event in Grandview Park on Sunday, August 28! To celebrate its return, join us for screening of one the Italian sci-fi/horror film epic that 1979 couldn’t handle, THE VISITOR! Giulio Paradisi‘s bizarro cult oddity follows an intergalactic warrior (John Huston) who joins a cosmic Christ figure in battle against a demonic eight-year-old girl and her pet hawk – while the fate of the universe hangs in the balance. Multi-dimensional warfare, pre-adolescent profanity, and brutal avian attacks combine to transport viewers to a state unlike anything they’ve experienced–somewhere between Hell and the darkest reaches of outer space. Oh, marone!

One of the holiest of all Holyfuckingshits, THE VISITOR is a wonderful mishmash of THE OMEN, THE BIRDS, ROSEMARY’S BABY, STAR WARS and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS — but even that barely hints at the fervor with which director Paradisi hurls his cast (also starring Glenn Ford, Shelley Winters, Franco Nero, Lance Henriksen and, yes, even Sam Peckinpah) into the cinematic void.

Just when you think you’ve nailed down which direction the film’s heading in, THE VISITOR shatters your notion of the time-space continuum with a blackhearted blowout of interplanetary possession, telekinetic avian assault, exploding basketballs and ecclesiastical laserstorms.

Sunday, August 28
Doors 9:00 pm | Movie 9:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
Advance tickets HERE

Facciamo un brindisi! In celebration of Italian Day’s return to our beloved Commercial Drive neighborhood, we are pleased to offer 2-for-1 pricing on this screening of THE VISITOR. Bring a friend or date and be a hero!

*Minors permitted. Must be 19+ w/ID for bar service. Rio Theatre Groupons and passes OK for any single film screening only. Please redeem at the box office.
*If you are looking to redeem your tickets to either a canceled Rio Theatre screening or a Rio Theatre gift certificate, please email <[email protected]> with info including your name, canceled receipt number, gift certificate info, what you are wanting to see and when, and we can make the switch for you in advance. Alternately, you can bring this information with you to the venue, and we will do our best to help you at the box office.

THE VISITOR “Stridulum” (Giulio Paradisi, 1979 / 108 mins / 14A ) The soul of a young girl with telekinetic powers becomes the prize in a fight between forces of good and evil.