The Ohio Sci-Fi and Horror Marathons

Good God, I was aching and tired after the ‘thon this year. Maybe I’m getting too old for so many hours in those seats.

I wish I had been able to meet some of you that post on a regular basis- I met Infrakid last year and talked to him again this time, and I think I saw Einhorn and IamJacksUserID. Talked to Jeff and Bruce (and their son named “Juice”)… Maybe saw Jen if she was wearing red. (?) I was wearing a Sci-Fi Channel shirt with glow in the dark logo. Maybe I'll meet some more of you next year.

Before I get into my reviews, I must say thanks to Bruce, Jeff, Jen and everyone else involved in making the weekend happen. I truly appreciate your efforts, even if the lineup, DVD projection and film order was disappointing to me this year.

I’m maybe not your typical marathoid- What I love about the ‘thon is seeing films (on film) that either you haven’t seen in a long time or would never have a chance to see on the big screen in a theatre environment. I love the echo of the soundtrack, the glitches and scratches of the film, the smell of the popcorn, and of course, your company. I tend toward classic Sci-Fi of the 50’s through 80’s (cheesy or cerebral) films that have actual elements of science, space, future, etc. as opposed to action films disguised as Sci-Fi.



Buckle your seatbelts- This is going to be a long bumpy ride.

Trailers – (Film) I love the trailers almost more than the films sometimes. I wish I had been there for the “Trailerthon” that was held one year- I would have been in heaven. As soon as the trailers started running, it made me wish that I was going to be watching some of THOSE films instead of what was ahead. I would have given my eye teeth to see “The Man Who Fell To Earth” or “Moon Trap” instead of “Ink”.

MOON – (Film) Sweet Sepia Surprise.

Stingray Sam – (Film) This was good stuff, and worked well serialized throughout the ‘thon. I’m pretty sure this was film. If this wasn’t film, it certainly looked like it. Great quality projection. The endless loop of men/sons in the “Fredward” song was a hoot. That was the first thing my daughter had to look up on Youtube and play for my wife when we got home (after an extended nap)

I smell hot dogs from the row behind me.

Ink – (DVD) I have no idea how this qualifies for inclusion in a Science Fiction Marathon. Fiction? Yes. Science Fiction? No. I like Sci with my Fi. This was more of a fantasy/action film and, in my opinion, not a good one. Besides being a DVD projection, the image had a digitally-induced soft-focus glow throughout, was not well acted, the story was trite and the big surprise ending lacked any payoff at all, since it was very obvious early in the film. I HATED this one, and it if had to be included, I wish it had switched time slots with “Battle In Outer Space” so I could have just slept through it. I’m REALLY surprised that some people thought that “Ink” was the highlight. I strongly disagree, but everyone is entitled to their opinion. To me, it felt like an audience member had somehow found a way to hack into the projection system from their laptop and was forcing everyone to watch their bad student project.

Spaceboy – (Film) I LOVE the original. I look forward to seeing it every year. Whether it’s “good” or not, it has an atmosphere that just resonates with me. I even love the pinkness of the deteriorated film, in this case. It’s a perfect little gem and something most of us would have never experienced if not for the marathon. While Mike Olenick’s remake fails to capture the magic of the original, I do admire it for what it is: A cheeky, fun labor-of-love tribute. Seeing his remake is akin to watching an SNL spoof, and works partly because we have seen the original. I wonder (and maybe should have asked while I had the chance) if his film is usually screened along with the original so the audience has a point of reference. One observation: The shots of the new “Velana” in her nude colored gem-encrusted body stocking drew howls of derision from the audience. While the actress is a bit overweight, I find it interesting that she was being judged so harshly by a room full of sci-fi fans who from my observation have not been graced with the body of Adonis ourselves. Not everyone can look like Galaxina. I really hope the actress was not present in the theatre to witness the ridicule, and I wish Mr. Olenick had been treated more respectfully in the Q&A. Thank you, Mike Olenick. I share your love of Spaceboy and appreciate your work.

Richard Garriott: Man On a Mission – (DVD) Also not Science Fiction. I understand the appeal to a science fiction audience but although this documentary was interesting and worthwhile, I would have rather watched it when the mood struck me at home on video and not had it in the context of the SF Marathon. Especially since we were watching a DVD projection. Something about this film brought to my mind the awesome documentary “The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters”, which I can wholeheartedly recommend. (also not science fiction.) Maybe Richard Garriott’s eccentricity reminded me of Billy Mitchell, although Garriot was a very likeable guy as opposed to Mr. Mitchell, who comes off as a Grade-A bastard.

Costume Contest – Not a lot of competition here. One of the funniest moments of the ‘thon was watching King Kong topple from his ladder, although I felt bad for laughing once I realized he was an older gentleman. God bless you, sir.

Long Haired Giant Monster Geharha – (DVD) Major audio problems at the beginning with 2 restarts. At least it made for some fun audience participation as we provided our own soundtrack. “Maybe Sea Man caused it.” Hehe This one was actually fun… 20 minutes or so was a good length. The moral dissertations on the environment are hilarious.

Here is where I made the mistake of ordering and eating Donatos pepperoni pizza. I could only stomach 2 slices, and only because I was starving. Note to self: Never again.

Sleep Dealer – (DVD) Bought this one on Blu-ray a month ago and have been holding off watching it until after I had seen it at the ‘thon. I loved it. This was true Sci-Fi that was very believable. Wish it had been on film.

Godzilla vs King Ghidorah – (Film) This was a great film print. It seemed like forever before Godzilla and Ghidorah had any real screen time, but it had a lot of great elements besides the kaiju action. The Jeff Daniels doppelganger cracked me up. Goofy fun.

The Lost Skeleton Returns Again – (DVD) I’m not sure if I would normally think that this was funny, but at 1:15am it worked. It’s painfully self aware repetitive humor, but it kept me awake and laughing…for a while. I thought the skull’s lines were hilarious.

Battle In Outer Space – (Film) Fell asleep after the first 3 minutes, much to my chagrin, since this is one I ACTUALLY wanted to see. Too bad it ran at 3:15am.

Star Trek – (Film) If this had to be screened, this was probably a good time slot for it. It woke people up. I like the film, but it was no big treat to see it within a year of its major theatrical release and after I had seen it 2 or 3 times on blu-ray just months ago.

Galaxina – (Film) Oh, the humanity. I was determined to stay awake so I could see this, because it seemed like it would be a perfect marathon film. Cheesy fun that hasn’t been seen on the big screen in decades. This was pure crap. Not even the beauty of Dorothy Stratten could save it. I liked the IDEA of it more than I liked the film. STILL, I’m glad I saw it in that environment, on film, even if it was pink.

2010 – (Film)? Not sure on this one since we made our departure immediately after Galaxina. I would have liked to have seen 2010, but we had a 3 hour drive ahead of us and I have it on blu-ray at home. We had actually just watched this on New Year’s Day to usher in 2010.

I had a good time, but I’ll have to think long and hard about making the trek next year if the films aren’t ones I care anything about. I realize the film selection is subject to availability, etc and that what makes a good Sci-Fi Marathon film is a matter of opinion, but my couch is comfortable, my screen is big, I have “The Man Who Fell To Earth”, Papa Johns pizza, and I will never subject myself to “Ink”. We’ll see how it goes for next year.

Again, Thanks to all regardless of my discontent. Cheers!

I actually wanted to attend this year, but the schedule just couldn't entice me to go to the effort to fly out there.


Glad most of you had a good time. And, if the Boston edition had been cancelled this February for some reason, I would have gone. Too bad about MOON. It was one of the highlights of the Boston marathon, winning the audience award. What happened? Distributor bailed out? Print got lost in transit?

To answer the folks wondering about SLEEP DEALER. YES, there ARE film prints. But, I suspect that the distributor told Jeff and Bruce that they couldn't have a print and offered the DVD instead. That's what happened in Boston. As much as I like the film, I would have told the distributor to go to hell, the moon etc... It's not THAT good that we are not worthy to rent their precious film prints and show it to an audience that would most appreciate it.

As to DVD projection. Sure, I'm a purist. I work around film cameras every day at work. Occassionally, I work with HD cameras. I prefer film. Period. I understand the reality that Digital is here to stay, and will soon overtake Film. But, there is a quantum difference between showing high quality 4K digital projection and popping in a DVD and spreading those scan lines over a 40-foot screen. Compound that with movies that are RECORDED on lower quality Digital Cameras and you can have an eyesore like what apparantly the millionaire astronaut documentary looked like. Two years ago, an award winning (and very good) indie called FROZEN RIVER was released on film. BUT, it was recorded on low res digital and, even with film prints, looked like absolute hell on the big screen.

So, it comes down to BOTH how the movie was originally shot AND how it's projected. I made a similar point with 16mm projection here: http://www.scifimarathon.com/phpBB2/vie ... 8&start=30

Digital projection is improving, but just showing a DVD will never even approach 35MM Film.

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"Damnati Im Ludum" (VitruvianZeke@att.net)

Was this at the Skyview in Lancaster with Night at the Museam 2?

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Thanks to all who put in the work to make the marathon exist. It is truly one of my favorite experiences of the year. Now on to my two cents on the films.

Stingray Sam worked. Would it work as well in one 60 minute block? No. Would it work as well at home? No. But with this crowd, in serial form, the dose of amiable silliness was a nice break. Especially since the first half of the marathon was pretty serious.

I posted here after I saw Moon, so obviously I would have liked to see it during the marathon. But I did see it in a theater, and I have a copy of it on DVD, and I love the film that replaced it, so I wasn't that disappointed. I actually was more disappointed not to see the Muppets Loew's clip this year. Movie, movie, movie...

I hated Ink. I was taken aback when the audience expressed its love during the poll at the end of the thon. If you put aside the poor acting, a main character who seemed to only have a vocabulary of one F word, horribly muddled storytelling at the beginning yet a blindingly obvious ending, then you are still left with a mess. What is this film about? Is the message that if you visit your child in the hospital she will live? what a pretentious slap in the face to those who have lost children to disease or accident.

Sanctuary perfectly summed up Spaceboy for me. I enjoy seeing it each year, and have put my HOF vote toward Spaceboy the past two years. I missed the Q&A due to pizza ordering related distractions.

Man on a Mission had the material for a decent short, but ran a bit long for me. I found the Ackerman doc much more interesting last year. I also just recently saw The Wonder of It All, which interviews the majority of the men who have walked on the moon, so Garriott paled a bit for me. That said, I personally like one science fact sprinkled in with my science fiction. And can I request For All Mankind for a future thon in that vein?

Geharha was decent, not exceptional. The highlight for me was the taked on ecological message.

I really enjoyed Sleep Dealer. Genuine sci fi, as has been mentioned in this thread, which looks at the Mexico-US relationship from the Mexican side, yet did not forget to put the film in the hands of credible, interesting characters.

So far, I had stayed awake, but I think the low key nature of the first half was starting to catch up with me. I had worn my Lost in Translation shirt (won at an Oscar party at Arena Grand years ago) as a tribute to the two Japanese films booked. And guess which two films I missed significant chucks of due to sleep?

The Godzilla movie took to long for me to get to the GOOD STUFF. I'm glad it was booked, but wish I had seen more of it. And Battle in Outer Space, I missed more than half. Oh well.

Sense of humor is subjective. Some people don't find the Lost Skeleton funny. I do. Especially late at night, with an audience, in the middle of a marathon. I enjoyed the sequel almost as much as I enjoyed the first Last Skeleton when it played.

Star Trek was my third viewing, an I was surprised I stayed awake for all of it. It still works for me. I like one familiar film to play in this slot, when brains are to fried to process new info.

Galaxina is like one of theose old 70s sexploitation films, except without all (OK, most) of the sex. Yet it is still rated R. Who exactly is the audience for this? Even with that description, it is hard to describe how bad the comedy is. I had heard the film was bad, but wow.

Unfotunately, I had to leave at that point. My son had an early afternoon soccer game, and I had to be there. So I didn't get to see 2010, even though I had prepared my daughter by showing her 2001 the week before. I had really wanted to see it. At least my son's team won.

" What is this film about? Is the message that if you visit your child in the hospital she will live? what a pretentious slap in the face to those who have lost children to disease or accident"

Good grief you didn't understand this movie at all.

Okay, since everyone has given very good an extensive opinions and reviews of each of the films, I will do my mine in the abreviated form:

1. Stingray Sam: Great Surprise!! Nice Start!
2. Moon: Disappointed that it was not shown.
3. Blade Runner: Great sub for Moon, but bad print.
4. Ink: Loved it!!
5. Spaceboy: Don't need to see it again.
6. Man on a Mission: Interesting break from norm.
7. Sleep Dealers: Nice idea, too political.
8. Geharha: Sort of annoying, but okay.
9. Godzilla: Can never go wrong with a good Godzilla film.
10. Return of Lost Skeleton: Funny start, got tiresome quickly.
11. Galaxina: Never AGAIN please!!
12. Star Trek: Will be and always shall be a fun movie
13. 2010: Thought this wouldn't work as the last movie, pleasantly suprised. It was a good print.

Love the 'thon! Love Bruce! Love Jeff! Love Joe! Love Ben, Vincent, Aaron and any other staff members at the Drexel!! Everyone did a great job!! Look forward to the Horror Marathon in just a short 6 months!

Good grief you didn't understand my point. I know that wasn't the theme of the film. My point was that it came across that way because the film was so poorly made.

LOLOL, I thought someone might take that out of context. XDD

Thanks. And I'm sorry we didn't chat more. I was so braindead by the time we realized who each other were, that I was practically incoherent. Not much over 2 hours of sleep in 48 hours makes Jen a little daft. XDD But it was very nice to meet you. ^_^
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That was likely me. Long black hair? ^_^

I think I spotted you for a few moments too...

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I have to concur on another point mentioned...I felt the audience should have been a little more polite to Mike for his Spaceboy reinterpretation. He was a guest that took the time to try to make things more interesting, and I really think the way the audience chattered during his q&a wasn't cool. :/ I, for one, thought his reinterpretation was really fun and would happily see it again at another 'thon.

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That was one of them. The other was I believe UP followed by Star Trek.

We go to the Skyview a few times a year, Sergei has a good time and my friend Brett often brings his daughter down. The kids have a lot of fun playing before the movies and it kind of wears them out so they tend to be a little calmer during the movie.

The only knock on it is things like Spiderman 3 don't look as sharp as they would in a theater and you lose the surround sound. But it is great for younger kids. I always worry about Sergei bothering other people in the theater because for the life of me I can't seem to get him to stop asking questions.

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I love that Drive-in we go several times a summer but yes you are correct the picture and sound quality are not perfect which is why I saw STAR TREK in the theater first. The kid movies I don't mind sitting through without the perfect sound and picture.

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We've all been posting on this board for years now, and have gone through many a post-Marathon analysis. But I must say that this thread is one of the best I've seen since the start of the site. Everyone has had really interesting and thorough thoughts on the event; they've been a pleasure to read.

This marathon had it's ups and downs before the event even took place so it's nice to read all the positive things people are saying about the event. I personally had a great time and can't wait for Horror Marathon!

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Ok ... the Hall of Marathonia has been updated with the info from the event:

http://www.vitruvianzeke.com/Marathonia/Marathonia.html#SF27

Also, the Archives has scans of the program, certificate, and ticket as well as a few pictures that I snapped along the way. As more items become available, I'll post them there:

http://www.scifimarathon.com/scigallery/index.php?cat=38

We now return you to your regularly scheduled program, already in progress.

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"Damnati Im Ludum" (VitruvianZeke@att.net)

Sorry for not posting any thoughts earlier. My stay in town was a bit longer this year and my dinosaur parents don't have internet access.

Let me start off by once again thanking Bruce for all of his efforts year after year, despite the fact that it is more of a challenge both personally and professionally year after year. It was nice to get some facetime and express my gratitude in person. The lineup as a whole was less than stellar, but the marathon is always so much more than the films (or "digital projections" or whatever) and it is good to meet up with old friends and make new ones.

As for my take on what actually happened on the screen:
Let me start off by saying I agree almost entirely with everything Joe posted (very eloquently, as per usual), except I very much enjoyed Star Trek and still do. So it is difficult to say anything more without being repetitious. So I will be brief...

Moon was a pleasant surprise. It was nice to see something "old" before 3AM even if it was unexpected. It's not my favorite classic and I don't revere it as much as some, but it had been just long enough since I last saw it and it was nice to see something on FILM (though not the best quality) and not released in 2009. It makes me curious if there are other films out there that are "not available" due to "presentation rights" only, and what can be done to change that.

Ink just didn't do it for me and I was surprised by the huge audience reaction. There were four "premieres" this year, all of which were digitally projected. Though I may be in the minority, that is just way too much for me. The Blu-Ray projection was very good technologically, except for Geharha, which was terrible and a complete waste of 30 minutes, but I'd rather see a film print or 2 of an older classic than all of these independent video movies.
That being said, Sleep Dealer was a nice story and one of the highlights of the marathon for me. It stinks that there are apparently film prints out there, yet we still saw a digital projection. Man on a Mission kept me interested and it was great to see all of the actual footage from space. My main problem with that film is that when it was all said and done, there was not enough conflict. We are given only a glimpse of any kind of struggle or setbacks, and the rest of the time we are shown the footage of the training and the mission. Although these images are admittedly compelling, it doesn't add up to a thought-provoking documentary film.
The final digital entry, The Lost Skeleton Returns Again was more of the same from Larry Blamire. I loved the first one and bought the DVD after seeing it at the marathon, but Blamire needs to move on. It was amusing at times, including a particularly hilarious five minute scene ("Sloooowly!, Slooowly!...) but it ran about 30 minutes too long and had nothing new to bring to the table. Plus, Animala is way sexier when she doesn't talk.

Godzilla vs. King Ghidora... well, it's Godzilla. I have grown accustomed to the fact that there will be a Japanese film every year and this one wasn't a waste of time. Goofy and fun when it needed to be...

Battle in Outer Space was a simply gorgeous 35MM print but suffered from an absolutely terrible timeslot. This really did deserve the 7PM slot, but with all those DVDs out there I guess there was nothing that could have been done. It's a shame that a fully awake audience was not able to enjoy this, in one way or another.

Star Trek was a great 6AM pick me up, especially with the way the lineup came together this year. I was expecting to snooze, but it kept me awake.

Galaxina, ugh... even worse than I remember it. Slept through most of it. It might have been fun earlier in the lineup, but probably not.

2010 would have been perfect at the start of the lineup, but served it's purpose as probably the only choice suitable to end with. It was interesting how they weren't as interested in keeping the "science" of the film as realistic as Kubrick attempted to in it's predecessor. It's easy to chuckle at, especially after seeing the documentary footage of a real space mission only hours earlier.

Stingray Sam was definitely the discovery of the marathon for me. And here I was worried we would have another Automatons on our hands. As presented, in serial form, it worked perfectly. The later episodes were weaker and if presented in uncut form I have a feeling it may have become tiresome. However, hearing the raucus cheer for the "Liberty Chew" logo was fantastic every time. I agree that at least episode 2 should make a frequent return visit, and I am curious about The American Astronaut.

It was nice to see the audience being really into the films and not a whole lot of disruptive snarking. I guess that couldn't be helped because there wasn't anything funny or snarky for the entire first half of the Marathon, if you don't count Stingray Sam. My favorite shoutout of the night came from none other than the esteemed Host Organism himself: "Jeff and Bruce had a son named 'Juice!'"
I also want to personally thank all of you for cheering the one shoutout that I was responsible for:"San Dimas High School Football rules!"

One note about the trailers, in case no one noticed. It just goes to show you that Bruce is listening. There were a ton of trailer blocks of films that were requested on the board. Stuff like They Live, Buckaroo Banzai and such that he knows we want to see and for whatever reason (reasons he himself probably doesn't even know) aren't able to be shown. Maybe someday, we can all hope. It's good to know that he at least cares.

Once again, a big shout out to Bruce Bartoo and all that he does through thick and thin and for pressing on doing all that he does, just for us. And kudos to Dave and Jen for keeping this website up and running to give us all a forum to expess our appreciation, now and year-round.

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