A man-killer at large! A countryside in terror! Only one man knows the next victim. But it’s a man gone mad! Join us for a spine-chilling, nerve-shattering horror-drama when the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences shows “The Ape” on First Friday, February 5, 7 p.m.
“The Ape” (1940) stars the big screen’s monster maniac Boris Karloff as Dr. Bernard Adrian, a kindly mad scientist who seeks to cure a young woman’s polio. Meanwhile, a vicious circus ape breaks out of its cage, terrorizes the townspeople and eventually breaks into Dr. Adrian’s lab. The Doctor manages to kill the ape before any harm can come to himself, but the human spinal fluids he requires to create his experimental polio serum are destroyed during the struggle. All is not lost however, as the Doctor soon concocts a particularly horrific plan to re-fill his spinal fluid prescription …
Along with fellow actors Lon Chaney, Bela Lugosi and Vincent Price, Boris Karloff is recognized as one of the true icons of horror cinema, receiving his first big screen break when cast as the monster in the Universal production of “Frankenstein” in 1931. For the next few decades he had varying success in movies, television and Broadway, enjoying a long run in “Peter Pan” as a perfectly-cast Captain Hook. Karloff's last great role was as an aging horror movie star confronting a modern-day sniper in the Peter Bogdanovich film “Targets” (1968). His TV career was capped off by achieving Christmas immortality as the narrator of Chuck Jones's perennial animated favorite, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” (1966).
Prior to the movie, explore the surprising and sometimes bizarre world of “Extreme Mammals,” the Museum’s current featured exhibition, in which you can inspect oversized claws, massive fangs, extraordinary snouts, amazing horns and other traits that make mammals truly remarkable. All tickets purchased at the Museum Box Office during First Friday hours are only $10! Tickets are free for Museum members. The exhibition is open until 8 p.m.; last entry at 7 p.m.
Teens! Join us at 6 p.m. in the Daily Planet Café for this month’s Teen Science Café — “The Science of Severe Weather.” When NC State University PhD candidate Brice Coffer tells people he’s a storm chaser, they first ask, “Are you crazy?” then, “How do you study storms?” Brice will attempt to convince you that he’s not (too) crazy and that storms can be beautiful and not something to fear. He will also describe how he studies these fascinating products of nature. Afterwards, he will lead a quiz game on tornado facts and myths. Open to all teens, no RSVP needed. Free food vouchers to the first 50 teens to arrive.
The Museum stays open from 5 to 9pm on the First Friday of every month, inviting visitors to witness a (classic) sci-fi or horror movie on the big screen, wander through eye-catching exhibits, groove to live music by Mystic Shoe and enjoy snacks and beverages from the Daily Planet Café. Additionally, the Museum Store offers after-hours shopping (till 7pm) and an opening reception for Rick Jackson (6–8 p.m.), whose show “Beach Headz: North Carolina Marine Fossil Portraits,” runs February 5–28 in the Nature Art Gallery. All exhibited art is for sale.