Fathom Events Bringing Butterfinger the 13th to Movie Theaters with Jack the Ripper

Steve Barton   |  

Oct 1, 2011

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Jack the Ripper is going to lay a finger on your Butterfinger this Halloween if Fathom Events has anything to do with it. Would you pay premium ticket prices to watch a comedy horror short promoting a candy bar in a movie theater? What if it was the warm-up act for a Jack the Ripper docu-drama?

Here’s the press release we received today announcing this two-night event Fathom Events is promoting as “Fathom Thriller Thursdays”:

This October NCM Fathom will take you on an eerie journey back in time to the 1888 dimly lit nightscape of the cobbled stone streets of London where the infamous murderer dubbed Jack the Ripper terrorized the impoverished Whitechapel district.

NCM Fathom, SuperVision Media, and Butterfinger present Fathom Thriller Thursdays – a horrifying event bringing two nights of terror to movie theaters nationwide on October 13 and 27.

Starting at 7:30 pm (local time) fans will be treated to the first ever showing of Butterfinger the 13th, a special horror featurette. Butterfinger the 13th is the story of a troubled young camper that disappears in a bizarre fire, leaving nothing but questions and dark legends of the Masked Butterfinger Butcher behind.

Then at 8:15 pm (local time) Fathom Thriller Thursdays will feature the intriguing docu-drama Jack the Ripper: The Definitive Story, which exposes the truth behind the legendary killer, including key evidence from Scotland Yard as well as segments with forensic experts, criminologists, and historians discussing why Britain’s favorite mass murder remains unsolved to this day. Jack the Ripper: The Definitive Story comes to select movie theaters on Thursday, October 13 and October 27.

I decided to look up this Jack the Ripper: The Definitive Story, and here’s the plot description for it:

Taking you back to 1888, this extraordinary two-hour special goes back to basics, dispelling the myths and misconceptions that have surrounded this case for so long. Reconstructing in 3D virtual environments, this special shows the original buildings and lighting and, using real actors, reconstructs what actually happened on the night of each murder as never seen before. Including witness statements and the coroner’s reports, we take a closer look at the original police investigation. This will change forever everything you thought you knew about the Jack the Ripper murders. This is the definitive story.

Sounds interesting as a History Channel special; not so sure this is something people will pay a little extra to watch on a big screen.
But then again, the real selling point is the premiere of the Rob Lowe-directed candy bar-sponsored comedy horror short film Butterfinger the 13th. We’ve been covering the short since it was first announced, and not once did any of us ever expect to hear it would be playing at a theater near you. Funny thing is what amounts to a tongue-in-cheek featurette commercial for a brand of candy bar may still end up making more money theatrically than Creature.

Here’s the Butterfinger the 13th synopsis: Legend has it that following a mysterious fire years ago, several camp counselors mysteriously disappeared from the local summer camp, Camp Honey Badger. The case was never solved, and as the years passed, the story became an urban legend used to discourage hormonal teens from venturing into the Lake.

Today Camp Honey Badger awaits a new group of summer campers. While preparing for the new arrivals, the camp counselors sit around the campfire, telling spooky stories. It’s here that we find that the legend is still very much alive…

Click here to visit the official Fathom Thriller Thursdays website, which has a list of participating theaters and ticket info.