The Ohio Sci-Fi and Horror Marathons

I know we don't have a lot of people who utilize the boards, but just in case I figured I'd put a placeholder here if anyone wants to comment about this year's marathon experience.

I loved it - but then, I figured I would.

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David A. Zecchini; Creature of the Wheel, Lord of the Infernal Engines
"Damnati Im Ludum" (VitruvianZeke@att.net)

As someone who's missed the Columbus marathons for the last few years, I really look forward to reading some reviews. Especially about the premieres and guest! Maybe this website needs to be cleaned up and polished. Get rid of some of the ancient posts. The World Watch Wire post is from 2006!

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

There is usually one really good film every year that I never saw that the marathon introduces me to and this year it was Snowpiercer. I really enjoyed it (Ed Harris for the win) and it came at a great time in the lineup when the morning has come and the sane people have gone home and that last bit of energy kicks in when I realize there are only a few movies left before the marathon is over again.

I also really enjoyed Godzilla, Close Encounters, and the ultra-low budget Queen of Blood (thanks to the awesome production backstory around the movie from Job Bob about Russian sci-fi, the cast, and the spray painted wooden sets). I liked all the others pretty well except Doomsday, which felt less like an homage and more of a random mash-up of the many movies it "pays tribute" to. Back in the old days that movie would have been fun to rip on, but we're a pretty tame crowd anymore.

I was also little disappointed this year to see very few younger marathoners which is a shame because I would love for the marathon to grow. How great would it be for the marathon to start selling out every year? I don't have kids, but I'm still going to do my part! Next year (paying attention and not getting caught by surprise by an early sell-out this time) I'll be bringing my teenage nephew along to introduce him to the experience.

Shout out to Kenny who hooked me up with an extra ticket at literally 9PM Friday night. You are the man!

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Favorite Marathon moments--
"Somebody give her a hand!!" -Marathon attendee, Terminator (1989 Marathon)
"Whatcha gonna do, knock my block off?!" - Street punk, Killer Klowns From Outer Space (1989 Marathon)

We have a very quiet crowd anymore. That's kind of a shame because the raucous energy helped keep people engaged and awake. That said, there wasn't a huge amount to riff on this year. Almost everything was solid "I kinda want to see that" material.

As usual, we had a great time this year. Personally, I did a pretty good job of staying awake this year, only really sleeping through most of one movie. (Might have closed the eyes a little here and there, but did far better than the past few years.)

This year was unusual for me because this lineup seems like it had far more movies than usual that I'd actually seen before. Which is fine, because I'd liked most of them. But it certainly made for a less surprising night.

For the folks who haven't been here in years, two little notes about recent marathons in general. First, the new seats at the Drexel are great. Infinitely more comfortable than the old ones, with much more leg room. If you haven't been here since they put them in a few years ago, it's a much improved viewing experience due to them. Also, the past few marathons have had very few projection issues. Things have been going very nicely the past few years.

Joe Bob Briggs was a great guest. His presence absolutely added to the event this year, and as mentioned in the posts above, made a movie significantly more enjoyable to watch.

here's my little ranking of which movies I enjoyed the most, with the important caveat that many of these I had already seen before:


Starfish - Wow, I loved this movie. The solitude was totally my thing. The pacing worked perfectly and I was glad it wasn't a 2-hour long chase. Very disappointed to hear that other folks didn't like it as much as we did. Needed more explosions and monsters for them maybe? I don't know, I loved it. Music and actress and everything just worked for me.

They Live - This movie never gets old. The message is as on point as ever, and as much as I love the fight and hidden messages, the homeless camp at the beginning has just about been my favorite part of it for a while now.

Godzilla - Another one I've loved for a while, and this time I got to experience it with 2 friends who had never seen it before, so that was fun. I'm always down for more giant Japanese monster movies. Heck, even the totally crazy ones like Big Man Japan. (I remember getting a big kick out of that movie, I need to track it down and watch it again someday.)

Queen of Blood - Any enjoyment I got from this movie is 100% because of Joe Bob Briggs. All his great stories about the re-cut footage and Soviet movies and attempts to match spacesuits and sets made this movie a million times more fun to watch than if it had been a blank slate to me. Mark this one down as one where the marathon experience absolutely added to the movie too, because if I had watched this on tv with Joe Bob dropping all those little tidbits in during commercial breaks, I still don't think I would have enjoyed it anywhere near as much.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind - An absolute classic, but yeah, it really had to be in that opening slot, didn't it? If it would have been in one of the late night slots, I surely would have picked it to sleep during. So that said, I'm glad it was scheduled to open. Definitely worth a viewing every few years.

The Man With the Magic Box - I'm pretty sure I liked this movie, but it may require a second watch to fully appreciate. The world-building was pretty cool.

Snowpiercer - Probably would be higher up the list if I hadn't seen before. Lots of fun and weird stuff throughout, and occasionally drops into the realm of batshit crazy. You absolutely cannot fault it for trying.

Lifeforce - I've always enjoyed seeing this movie. Fond memories.

Critters - It's been a while since I've seen it, nice little simple fun. Is there a new Critters tv show on Shudder? Anyone know anything or got a recommendation?

Doomsday - I've always had issues with this movie, and this viewing did not make it any better for me. It's funny, if this movie had come out in 1984 or something, it could have been some low budget cult smash, and maybe I would have loved it. But it's just not my thing. The only thing that would have made it worse for me is if Jason Statham would have been in it.

Phase IV - Sadly, this one was mostly spent with my eyes closed. Apologies if I was snoring.

I haven't been on here in forever, but the marathon just popped into my mind this afternoon. Spending some time reminiscing and looking forward to the next one!