The Ohio Sci-Fi and Horror Marathons

So Boston is over. They're all being very secretive about their surprises still. I gather that the surprise premiere was some kind of sci-fi parody. Don't care too much for another Lost Skeleton, so let's forget that. But the other surprise older movie is driving me crazy. I need to know! Actually I just need to know something? Give us a bone Bruce. What direction are we taking this one? Can you throw out some possible titles that we can all start debating now? Freelancing sucks. Too much time on my hands right now.

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"I came here to chew bubble gum and kick a**. I'm all out of bubble gum."

I know we sometimes get leftovers from Boston. If we were to get the two surprise films plus ROBOCOP and PUZZLEHEAD, that would be sweet, the rest would be icing.

The surprise films were posted for about a day on the Boston site before they were removed. If anyone truly wants to know what they were you can PM me. If Bruce already has the classic confirmed, I don't know how it will be kept a secret considering the handful of flolks who keep up with the news in both cities.

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Aliens? Us?
Is this one of your Earth "jokes?"

Robocop and Chopping Mall get my Vote, also at the Horror Marathon this year they showed a trailer for Mindwarp: An Infinity of Terror AKA Galaxy of Terror and I mentioned to Bruce it would be a great one for the 'thon because it never shows up on cable and there is no Domestic DVD release, so we will see what happens with that heck there may not be any prints available.

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Jaws3dfan®
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Last time I posted this there was news later that day or the next day. Thought I'd try our luck again.

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"I came here to chew bubble gum and kick a**. I'm all out of bubble gum."

For the record, the surprise premiere/test screening in Boston was Larry (LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA) Blamire's new film TRAIL OF THE SCREAMING FOREHEAD. Some of the knuckleheads in Boston (yes, believe it or not, I'm actually knocking the beantown audience for something) misinterpreted an announcement at the Marathon and thought they had to keep the title secret, but if you read some of the later reviews on their page it's mentioned quite a bit.

The film itself? Dreadful. To be avoided. Hackneyed, tired stabs at self-reflexive humor. Not one laugh from me for the entire 90 minute running time. Of course, I'm also bored silly by LOST SKELETON, so if you like that flick you might dig FOREHEAD. I enjoy the occasional schlock classic at the Marathon, but I fail to see the value of also screening a film that makes fun of schlock classics. Isn't that what we already do during said films?

Joe is right on all points here. There was some confusion on keeping LOST SKELETON's followup TRAIL OF THE SCREAMING FOREHEAD "secret". It WAS a secret in advance.

Like Joe, I don't see the humor in films like these (or a NAKED MONSTER which played last year in Boston) beyond a 10 or 15 minute short joke. Stretching out the "wink, wink...them 50's films be stupid" joke over 90 minutes more than wears out their welcome. This was especially true in Boston this year for there were a number of short films that packed more original content into a fraction of the time that stuff like FOREHEAD can manage.

FOREHEAD's producers passed out Comment Cards for us to fill out. On mine, I challenged the filmmakers to go out and make a totally ORIGINAL film next time out, no lazy rehashing of the past. If they believe they are that smart and witty - prove it.

But, as Joe said, for the snarkers out there who thought LOST SKELETON was hilarious...............

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Long Live the Orson Welles Cinemas

My defense of LOST SKELETON has always been that is was a good parody because it was funny within it's own context. Exhibit A: The dinner scene where the aliens imitate Animala's outrageous behavior thinking that it is the way normal humans act. Exibit B: "Aliens? Us? Is this one of your Earth 'jokes?'" Exhibit C: "Do you have any idea what this could mean for science? It would mean tremendous advancements in the field of science!"

It's not the greatest movie in the world and it's not the greatest parody in the world and like most spoofs, it is about 30 minutes too long. It was, however, a great surprise at the marathon, having known nothing about it and also compared to that other crap premiere we saw that year called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." So there.

I don't think Bruce wants to book SCREAMING FOREHEAD here because of the lukewarm reception at Boston and the fact that we are dangerously close to the edge of "too much cheese" this year. Though some of the regulars here would probably disagree with that. I mean, seriously, would you really want 24 hours of nothing but cheesy movies? A couple are fun, but when you get to four or five, the "so bad it's good" factor really wears thin. At least for me it does.

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Aliens? Us?
Is this one of your Earth "jokes?"

I concur with IamJacksUserID. I like Lost Skeleton for the same scenes and still think the dinner scene is one of the stupidly funny scens of all time. But I like physical comedy, so maybe that is the reason I liked it. Yes, Skelly was a bit long in spots but there were flashes of brilliance. However I have seen movies, read books and heard albums where the first time out was brilliant and everything else paled, this may be the same case.

I haven't seen the followup and wouldn't mind seeing it, though not this year. I think we have enough Cheese and some years we have too much overlap with Boston. I've never been to Boston, I know it is a different experience, but I want Joe not to have to watch all the same movies within a few months of each other.

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The wages of sin are royalties.

I think Lost Skeleton is hysterical! I even bought it on DVD (well, a used copy for $5). I think it's funnier if you're not a fan of low-budget '50's sci-fi (which I'm not) because it makes fun of everything I find frustrating and irritating about those films. If you like those movies, well...you're probably not going to appreciate it on that level. It's more fun for me to sit through something like that than, say, Robot Monster. I tend not to recall how everyone made fun of it, instead I just remember "wow, that was a really bad movie".

But then, humor is a completely subjective thing. If you don't find something funny, no one can tell you WHY it's funny. It either makes you laugh or it doesn't.

I would disagree with those comments that argue that LOST SKELETON stands on its own. I think it simply picks at the bones of (sometimes) hapless 50's filmmakers and just acts as if the modern day folks are above them all.

I guess Wolf adopts that POV as well, and it's those snarkers who seem to have the most fun with SKELETON, NAKED MONSTER, FOREHEAD etc. Ironically, if you were to ask the folks who made these films, you'd probably find that they DO like low-budget 50's films as a whole!

To me, the test is whether the films hold up as a movie even if you've never seen what they are parodying. AIRPLANE, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, SLEEPER, TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN (aka INVASION) & STRANGE INVADERS are all examples of films which use the conventions of film cliches, but work as stand-alone comedies. SKELETON and FOREHEAD don't exist if there is no context.

And, I repeat my challenge to the SKELETON/FOREHEAD filmmakers - If you think you are so smart and talented, drop the parodies and put your own creative necks on the line and develop your own project without stepping on the backs of those who went before you.

Sure, Woody Allen (SLEEPER) and MEL BROOKS (Y.FRANKENSTEIN, BLAZING SADDLES) used parody, but they also did much much more.

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Long Live the Orson Welles Cinemas

Hmmm, well I wrote a response to this, but it seems to have gotten lost in the ozone somehow. Probably for the best.

So I'll just say that I think the movie does what it sets out to do, and does it well. Some people don't like it, others do. Those who don't like it don't have to see any more of his films. I don't really see where all this vitriol is coming from. Different people have different tastes. If the new one shows at the marathon, no one is forcing you to sit through it. If it doesn't, I'll live with that and hopefully I'll see it some other time. I would just hate for the opinions of a few people to influence the lineup. I recall Lost Skeleton being one of the big hits that year, so this idea that everyone hates it is simply not the case.

No one on this board knows Blamire or is involved with his movies (I assume), so I think your criticisms of the film and your "challenge" might be better directed elsewhere. A few people don't like the movie, many of us did, what do you want to do about it? Rumble? I'd like to challenge the makers of the Helix to actually make something funny. They're never going to read this. Life goes on.

Sorry about that last post. I didn't mean it to be as harsh as it apparently came off. I was going to edit it, but you replied before I could.

Of course, everybody is entitled to enjoy whatever films they like. The only real vitriol I find is with the small percentage of snarkers who find virtually all low-budget B movies (especially those in B & W) a constant source of scorn and derision. I know in Boston, whenever one of these come on, a segment of the crowd either tunes off completely, or gears up for a full scale MST3K shout-out.

Though I know that the LOST SKELETON folks have a certain fondness for these films, their OWN movies, unfortunately, seem to light up these folks.

Enjoy TRAIL OF THE SCREAMING FOREHEAD.

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Long Live the Orson Welles Cinemas

I don't think this is too harsh, you are just stating your opinion. My argument is that I think Skelly DOES stand up on it's own as a comedy like the examples you sighted. I think your opinion is from the point of view of having seen FOREHEAD in addition to SKELETON. I haven't seen the former, so I cannot comment on whether or not the filmmakers have matured. So if you didn't like LOST SKELETON in the first place, then it sounds like FOREHEAD is not going to be your cup of tea.

I also would disagree that the filmmakers seem "above it all." I got the impression that they were truly in love with the genre they were poking fun at. But that's just me. Though it is quite convenient to have a low budget when trying to emulate a low budget film.

Just to add another point to your argument, the makers of AIRPLANE! also went on to bigger and better things. Though they also made a lot of parodies, the genres were varied and as wide ranging as TOP SECRET and NAKED GUN.

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Aliens? Us?
Is this one of your Earth "jokes?"

Let it be known that I HATED Lost Skeleton. And alot of other people around me hated it as well. That year had a pretty weak line up, or maybe I'm still bored from this film and Don't ask Don't Tell. However this years line up looks awesome!!!!!!

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http://www.ilmfan.com/credits/project_d ... project=26

Well, I understand where you're coming from LA. For the record, I never consider myself "above" any movie. I give everything a chance. But for me, a bad movie is a bad movie. Just because something is 50 years old doesn't necessarily make it good. And just because other people find it "funny" doesn't make it good either. If you have a genuine affection for those movies, that's fine. It just doesn't work for me. I love GOOD '50's sci-fi like Forbidden Planet, The Day the Earth Stood Still, etc. But watching a bad movie for the sake of its badness does nothing for me. I don't necessarily think that makes me "snarky". I always hope that I will enjoy every movie I see. I know there are people who go to the marathons just to mock the films, but I'm not that kind of person.

I'm just trying to counteract the idea that EVERYONE hated Lost Skeleton. I know some people did, and I respect that. But I know I wasn't the only one laughing. Everyone I was with enjoyed the movie. This isn't a Helix or Don't Ask, Don't Tell situation where EVERYONE hated the movie. And I do think Blamire and company intended it to be an affectionate parody. I don't find it a mean-spirited film. Maybe someday he will do something original. I hope so. I doubt that anyone wants him to make the same film over and over again.

And I wish Mel Brooks would come back and make movies again!