The Ohio Sci-Fi and Horror Marathons

We have a lot of cheesy movies so far, but I'm interested in what everyone thinks: is there room for more cheese? Keep in mind that cheese doesn't necessarily mean bad. Case in point: Slither, very cheesy but also very smart and a complete blast. My own opinion is that there is room for a little more cheese. Sure I want some serious films and fun action sci-fi, but one more really fun cheese wouldn't hurt.

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

I agree with your assessment. Cheese is fine, but we don't need any more snark fodder. We do need at least one or two solid classics, which we do not at present time have.

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

I put my faith in the host organism. He seems to do a good job of balance.

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The wages of sin are royalties.

You're right about that. Even when the lineup looks less than stellar, Bruce & co. do a terrific job. I just have a feeling that this lineup will end up being one of the best in recent years and I'm pulling my hair out waiting for the rest to be announced.

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

Personally, it don't matter to me, I can watch just about anything.

Personal cheese favorites...

The Last Dinosaur
The Loch Ness Horror
King Kong vs Godzilla
Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla

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Here we go again. It seems once a year I type this posting. It’s always the same. I should probably just save this on my computer so I don’t have to retype it. Here goes:

The 24 hour marathon is a unique concept, which to my knowledge started back in the mid 70’s in Boston and simultaneously in Cleveland. Most people, when I tell them that the event is 24 hours straight of sci-fi movies, they inevitably respond, “In a row! How can you do that!” That’s when I explain how the event really doesn’t feel like you are sitting on your proverbial can, watching movie after movie after movie after movie. The event is like one whole movie. It’s paced so that it flows. You watch a silent classic, and then you watch an old relic from the 50’s. Then there’s a Costume contest, then they show some cartoons, then some old trailers, and then a premiere with the guest speaking afterwards. Before you know it is 7PM. There are prize giveaways, contests, serials, cartoons, shorts, trailers, old films, new films, 50’s films, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, silent, black and white, color, cheesy, dramatic, action packed, gory, etc, etc. All with little “extras” in between.

Then it seems they always say, “That’s cool. Have you ever done a 24 hour Western fest?” I’m not kidding. I have had that question asked by soooo many people when I explain the concept of the 24 hour event. The answer, of course, is no I haven’t. Western’s will not work in a 24 hour format. Not that you couldn’t program one, but westerns are too similar. Now, I like westerns, but I have to admit that the tone and feel is pretty similar amongst the genre. It wouldn’t work in a 24 hour format. The Schlock Around the Clock is a 12 hour event for a good reason.

Ahhh, but what about the 24 hour B-fest held in Chicago, you ask. Well, that’s different because the event is interactive. You don’t just sit on your can and watch movies. People do mini-plays during the movies, people dance, people have comic routines that they perform during the movies, some are planned and some are impromptu. Now, the B-fest really isn’t my cup of tea either, and I have never been, but I imagine that it works BECAUSE of the participation and interactivity. In addition, they don’t limit their movies to sci-fi. They show horror, comedies, dramas, action, it’s pretty open as to what films show, the film only needs to fit the spirit of the “B” movie.

I’m not really interested in turning our Science Fiction Marathon into a B-fest. If that were the case, then I would probably stop attending. The marathon works because of the variety. You get a little taste of everything. There is a lot of variety within the genre and I think that is why it works so well. 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Omega Man, The Thing (1982), Day The Earth Stood Still, and Atomic Café are all drastically different films, but they all are within the genre of science fiction. One is a an Epic, one is a fun relic that works BECAUSE of the time it was made, one is a gripping horror film, one is a classic moral tale, and one is a documentary.

I believe there is a flow to the marathon schedule, or at least when it works best. It’s like a good movie; there are high points and low points. You will laugh, then cry, and then be brought to the edge of your seat. Movies and scripts (the good ones) have pacing to them. They are not all one tone. I think this applies to the marathons as well. If it were all action packed, balls to the wall, guns blazing action movies, I would get bored. If it were all 50’s atomic “moral” tale b/w movies, I would get bored. If it were all poorly made schlock films, I would get bored. I like one or two of each, but not every movie.

So, no, I don’t think we should book more schlock/cheesy films. This may come off as pompous, but I will state it any way. I think that those of you who SAY you want more schlock, if given what you want, would realize that it just doesn’t work. I would highly advise you to try the B-fest or, if they ever program another schlock fest, attend that, although it is only 12 hours. Those work within their respective formats for the reasons stated earlier.

I am very excited with this year’s lineup partially because I haven’t been to the Columbus event in 5 years and partially because I haven’t seen most of the films, however I DO think that there is too much silliness in the schedule as it stands. Almost EVERY film is schlock, cheesy, or silly in some way.

FIDO – a comedy (silly)
Flash Gordon – cheesy
King Dinosaur – B schlock
Frankenstein VS the Space Monster – schlock
Galaxy of Terror - unsure of this…probably leans toward cheese
Slither – Comedy (silly)
Chopping Mall – absurd situation (silly)

On a positive note – I haven’t seen 5 of the 7 films! So, yes I am excited, but I do think the balance is to0 weighted too heavily toward the silly content.

Having said all of that. I am ecstatic about this year! I’m sure the rest of the films will not be more of the same. I have faith that the rest of the lineup will be fleshed out with classics and premieres.

^
yeah...
...what he said.

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

I agree. I think the cheese quotient has been reached now. I just hope that there are 4 more serious and or action oriented sci-fi to fill out the rest of the line up. The only serious movie we have is the surprise classic (that's all I'm saying about that one). This is a great lineup so far in part because they are mostly movies that people haven't seen or haven't watched to death. Flash Gordon is fun in a cheesy way and is out of print on DVD as far as I know, so I welcome that. Fido sounds like it will be a good premiere, which are always a craps shoot, but it leans on the silly side. I think if we balance out the marathon with Metropolis, Clockwork Orange, Robocop and 12 Monkeys (or close cousins of said films) then we might have the best lineup in a decade. I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about the possibilities.

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

Once again,schlock is at least NOT BORING. I don't consider any of the titles showing as "schlock". Those are just judgements of critics. Just because things like Blood Waters of Dr.Z,Legend of Boggy Creek or The Creeping Terror are low budget doesn't mean they are bad or schlock. I love those movies and wouldn't judge them harshly as not to watch them cause they are fun and good.
Actually I think we can use some more fun and good flicks like TerrorVision,Infra-Man,Plan 9 and some Godzilla. Always in need of Godzilla.
Anyway,all possiblities are open and there are prints out there to get if they look and ask. I suggested showing Night of the Comet along with Chopping mall and have Kelli Maroney come in but haven't heard back. Seems logical but that's just me.
Eager to see what films are to come and I'll be there no matter what shows up but let's keep the options open.

I'm just curious, what movies have played in recent Marathon history that you would consider "boring?" A lineup made up entirely of the movies you are describing as "fun" would be very boring to me for many of the same reasons that Carter explained so eloquently.

"Schlock
From Wikipedia:
Schlock is an English word of Yiddish origin meaning "something cheap, shoddy, or inferior (perhaps from Yiddish shlak 'a stroke')""

So none of the titles showing this year are "cheap, shoddy or inferior?"

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

Meh, to each his own I say. I ain't worried, cuz no matter what has gotten picked in the past, Bruce IMHO has never steered us wrong.

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From what I understand, Fido is actually a smart satirical comedy. So while it may not be totally "serious", I don't know if I would consider it "silly" or shlock either. That's assuming it's actually booked...

Otherwise, I get what Carter is saying. Can you imagine sitting through 24 hours straight of goofy, shlocky movies? I think it would only take about 6 hours before the audience starts groaning in pain. "Not another one!" Nor would I want to sit through 24 hours of Tarkvosky films either.

Still, it's important to remember that the full lineup hasn't yet been announced. I'm sure Bruce is quite aware of exactly how much cheese is currently on the lineup.

I agree. One person’s schlock is another person’s Citizen Kane. It’s all relative, I think most could agree with that.

I don’t know if I can even differentiate in concise terms between schlock, cheese, and grind house. Do those labels equate a film with “bad”? Not in my opinion. OK, maybe schlock and perhaps I shouldn’t have used that term, but what I am trying to say is that just because I call something cheesy, does not mean that I think that it is bad and unworthy of screening. In fact, I get pretty irritated when people believe that they are above the movie and just want to laugh at it. Laugh WITH the movie.

Sure, The Chinese Mack (just saw it) is no masterpiece; it has terrible acting, terrible dubbing, a bad script, and it isn’t necessarily well shot, however it has some decent fight scenes, and it contains some pretty absurd situations that you won’t find in most movies, which make it unique and fun to watch. So yes, I think it is “bad” (or so some would think so), but I like it for those other elements that actually make it stand out from most typical movies.

If a movie were just bad through-and-through I would rather not watch it at all. That same night I saw The Mack (very cool double feature!). The same can be said for that. The structure of the story was….lacking. Nothing really happened, and what little plot did happen, was predictable, but man that film had some GREAT dialogue and Max Julien, who played the Mack, was really good. He didn’t play the role as you would expect. He had a sense of innocence and kindness, which I think few actors could lend to a role like that and pull it off. So, yes the film is cheesy, but that doesn’t mean that I think it is a bad movie. What it lacks in structure, it makes up for in character and dialogue.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Plan 9 From Outer Space is a cheesy, schlocky, or whatever you want to call it, movie. That’s not saying that it isn’t enjoyable. That’s not saying that it is a stinker through-and-through, AND yes some may even think that it is actually a bonafide good movie, BUT I think we can agree that most people find the film schlocky.

I know you will probably disagree with me, because I think we had a similar discussion concerning the definition of “classic” film. Just understand that when I say cheesy, I am not saying the films suck. I recently got into a debate on this same topic with some of my coworkers. The discussion started because Maxim Magazine listed the top 10 films that were so bad that they are good, and the number one film on that list was Big Trouble In Little China. I in no way find that movie schlocky, or cheesy. So the debate began. This topic also comes up when people find out that I like Godzilla films.

Anyway, I’m on your side. I do find it surprising that you don’t think Plan 9 from Outer Space, or King Dinosaur aren’t schlock or cheese. From what I can gather, you genuinely like these films, and I hope I am not insulting you when I refer to them as shlock, but you have to realize that 99% of the world disagrees with you. That’s cool! To each their own.

A satirical comedy, by definition should be silly! I was in no way saying that the movie was cheesy or schlocky, afterall, I haven't even seen it. I think we should play it. It looks great!

How about the unoffcial subtite of Sci Fi-thon 2007? Here is the following sugesstions:

My God its full of cheese
It's the cheesiest
Not for the Lactose Intolernet
Cheese glorious Cheese