The Ohio Sci-Fi and Horror Marathons

Many thanks to those of you who contributed to the first Question of the Week. Some great stuff popped up in that thread.

Now it's time for the next QOTW. The picture above is from the 2nd Annual SHOCK AROUND THE CLOCK from 2010. Those of you who were in attendance (or with a sharp eye) know that this is the rabid Nightmarathoid audience experiencing William Castle's 13 GHOSTS in full ILLUSION-O! Some of you might rank that as one of your favorite Horror Marathon experiences.

So the question? What are your all-time Top 3 Horror Marathon film experiences? Did Joe Bob Briggs introducing CARRIE at the 3rd Annual NIGHTMARE AT STUDIO 35 tickle your fancy? Does the Midwest Premiere of BRAINDEAD (a.k.a. DEAD ALIVE) at the 5th Annual NIGHT OF THE LIVING DREXEL still live on in your memory? And come on, who doesn't still have fuzzy memories of the Ohio Premiere of A SERBIAN FILM three years ago?

In any case, you have 26 years of Columbus Horror Marathons to draw from, so put on yer thinking caps and try to narrow things down to just three. I'll post mine later.

Easy...Bruce Campbell and Evil Dead II from way back at Studio 35.
Crowd pop at the line "Pussy...I said hit me" from Dog Soldiers...same year.
Time Crimes/Let the Right One In back to back foreign films that were the highlights of their respective nights.

Sorry I don't live in Columbus anymore...I had a fantastic 13 year run with y'all and miss the good old days.

Bruce and Joe...here's to your marathon running for many more years.

-Aladron

Thanks for the kind words. Hey, can't someone out there pony up the dough to bring Aladron back for the Marathon?

Oh, and almost forgot: if you need a refresher on what showed when in Columbus Horror Marathon history, feel free to peruse our good friend and general whipping boy Mr. Zecchini's ace Hall of Marathonia at http://www.vitruvianzeke.com/Marathonia/Marathonia.html

Difficult to narrow it down to just three.... but I'll give it a shot:

3) A Serbian Film has to be one of the most memorable experiences I've ever had watching a film. I do understand the hatred for it, but the crowd reaction was just priceless. One woman in my row was so disgusted by it I think her head exploded at one point. Love it or hate it, you can't say it doesn't provoke a reaction.

2) Takashi Miike's Gozu at Studio 35. Hysterical and underrated. Again, people went nuts... but in a good way, I think.

1) Tie: Meeting Bruce Campbell and George A. Romero at their respective Studio 35 appearances. Not that we need to have guests every year, but when we do, it's a lot of fun and really adds something special to the event.

My first marathon in 2004 at The Drexel Grandview. From start to finish the line up was pretty fantastic. Gozu was so awesomely bizarre that I can't wait for it's weird appearance again.

However, I had never seen Cannibal Holocaust prior to going in, so I was pretty fresh on that front. I remember distinctly, asking Not Worldsfinest repeatedly, "are you sure this is fake?!" It was one of those flicks that resonated with me and, really to this day, still does.

Honestly, that first year got me hooked and now I really look forward (and sort of seek out) pretty obscure less popular horror titles. The marathon has become quite the tradition amongst my family friends and we make an entire weekend out of the event starting with our own pre-thon-a-thon the Friday before.

And who could forget giant baby and penis man from last year?

Hard to rank these, so no particular order (and leaving out the "crowd applauding the Re-Animator trailer" I mentioned for last week's question):

The hilarious montage that you guys cooked up to fill in the frames for the missing underage Natassjia Kinski nude scene in the print of To the Devil, A Daughter (Two-Headed Marathon 2007)

"Illusion-O" for 13 Ghosts (Shock Around the Clock 2010)

Toss up between Irreversible and Serbian Film for most "impressive" film -- I probably would not have seen either of those if they had not played at a marathon, I don't think "enjoyed" is really the best word for those but I'm glad I saw them and I think about them frequently.

(ooh -- also loved that weird short a few years ago -- sort of a slasher send-up with the boy scout-like campers and a musical number? Came out of nowhere and played towards the end when I was good and loopy from no sleep. Like a half-remembered dream...)

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Can your heart stand the raw, living terror that is The Tomb of the Undead?!

I've only been to one Horrothon so far (last year's Shock Around the Clock), so here are my top 3 moments from last year:

3) Seeing The Exorcist on the big screen and being just as scared/wrapped up in it as I was the first time I sawa it

2) Everyone cheering when Ted Raimi showed up for his brief appearance in Candyman

1) Seeing my friends dressed up as a priest and a nun pull a surprise kiss during the costume contest

Hmmmm... my immediate responses come from sci-fi and other marathons, but that's a conversation for another day. In the spirit of answering the actual question, here are my favorite horror marathon moments, in no particular order:

- Bringing my son to the 3rd Shock Around the Clock (and having to send him home during Flesh for Frankenstein and A Serbian Film, though he returned for the rest). It was his second marathon, and he now makes me stay all night long.

- The Tingler breaking loose in the audience during the 7th Night of the Living Drexel back in the old Drexel North days

- Looking down Patty Mullen's Frankenhooker bra while she signed my mini-poster at the 3rd Night of the Living Drexel

Honorable Mentions:
- The audience choosing the Amicus classic Tales from the Crypt at the 1st A Nightmare at Studio 35. Love me some Amicus.
- My first marathon ever, the 1st Night of the Living Drexel. A friend of mine won free tickets, and I went with him. He had to leave after only 3 movies, but it was the event that got me hooked on the marathons.

That would be the brilliant The Legend Of Beaver Dam, something that I'd be happy to see again.

I'll fully admit that this is a tough one. But I'll give it a try. My first Horror Marathon was the 1993 NIGHT OF THE LIVING DREXEL, so I'll start from there.

3.) Okay, so I'll really dig myself further into my self-imposed grave with this one, but I have to agree with Wolf: A SERBIAN FILM at the 2011 SHOCK AROUND THE CLOCK was a truly unforgettable experience. And I still debate whether that's a good thing. All I know is that in 20 years of attending Horror Marathons, SERBIAN FILM stands out as probably the most disturbing, horrifying, gut-wrenching experience I've had in this venue. The fact that I knew about a good deal of the most infamous moments beforehand is even more of a testament to how effective this film was. I've had so many good times at Horror Marathons of various stripes, but as I argued back in the aftermath of the 2011 'thon, the horror genre has to make you uncomfortable sometimes. And A SERBIAN FILM really got under my skin and has stayed with me ever since.

2.) And speaking of fulfilling pre-existing impressions of me while paying tribute to powerful filmic experiences: SUSPIRIA in 35mm at last year's SHOCK AROUND THE CLOCK. I've seen this film so many times uncut on video, and three times before on film in its truncated form. But that still didn't prepare me for last year's screening. As I noted last year, the print was from the original domestic release, and it looked like it hadn't been played more than a handful of times. The colors were absolutely gorgeous, almost hypnotic; during the close-up of Jessica Harper and Stefania Casini, bathed in red, whispering about the head mistress, I almost felt like I was right there with them.

But it was the rightly famous opening ten minute salvo that's really stuck with me. Some on this board have noted/poked fun at the brutal, pummeling soundtrack during this sequence. And that's exactly what I liked about it. Even though I had experienced SUSPIRIA so many times before, there was a point during the murder at Olga's apartment house when I suddenly felt completely overwhelmed by the sound and visuals. It was a full on sensory assault, thrilling and almost dangerous in its power. Most of us strive to give ourselves over to films (even if in small part) when we see them. This ten minute sequence, in this setting, with this crowd was just such an experience for me.

1.) But #1 is an easy one for me, the grandaddy of all my Horror Marathon film experiences: DAWN OF THE DEAD at the 1994 NIGHT OF THE LIVING DREXEL. I've told this story many times, but NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD was a seminal film experience for ten year old me, one of the first truly transgressive films I'd seen at that point. But when I noted references to DAWN OF THE DEAD in various horror guides and picture books over the years afterward, I dismissed it as merely a cheap ripoff of a sequel. So when DAWN started unspooling at the Drexel North, I had no idea what to expect.

And boy, was my 17 year old mind completely blown. We're talking gape mouthed awe here. DAWN was the first horror film I'd seen that was simultaneously frightening, funny, action-packed, gruesome, whimsical, etc. But it was also the first time I realized that horror films could contain social commentary: Romero's anti-consumerist subtext really floored young me. Needless to say, the rest of the Marathon couldn't possibly live up to this viewing. For months afterward, I was mildly obsessed with DAWN, and the eventual fact that it was a keynote film of the last NIGHT OF THE LIVING DREXEL lent it an additional, personal power for me. And it remains my favorite film of all time. Damn, I'm getting excited just writing about it.

Honorable mention goes to the 2012 screening of POSSESSION, which was such a wonderfully strange, off the rails film that the audience ate up.

One more thing: on Facebook, I promised to tell an interesting story about Stuart Gordon and IRREVERSIBLE (a film that a few of you listed as a memorable moment). So here goes:

As most of you know, we gave Stuart carte blanche to program one film for the 2009 SHOCK AROUND THE CLOCK: his choice was IRREVERSIBLE. After the film screened, Stuart was in the lobby signing autographs when a woman approached him. She told the tale of how although she was excited to be at the Marathon and to see him, she was almost offended by the choice of IRREVERSIBLE as one of the films. And she intended to tell Stuart how disgusted she was at its screening. But when she spoke with Stuart, she told him that seeing the film had deeply affected her, that she'd seen it in a totally different way, and that she wanted to thank him with a hug. And so she did. Yes, on that night, for one person, IRREVERSIBLE was a uniting force.

OH GAWD! Sorry, had to be done!

1) Being at the First ever Drexel North Horror Marathon and seeing HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL on the big screen for the first time.

2) Watching the audience scream and jump as Nephew run up the Aisle with a chainsaw during a screening of Texas Chainsaw the Next Generation at the short lived revival of the Horror Marathon during my reign as GM of the Drexel Grandview. SHOCKTOBERFEST!!!

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"If you have GHOSTS you have Everything" - Papa Emeritus II GHOST B.C.

Only 3 choices? Tough one but I'll give it a shot. These are in no particular order.

1) A Serbian Film is again a top choice for me. Gut wrenching and terrifying which is my kind of movie. Plus I can now say I own the movie on blu-ray so its always great to bring it up and gross people out.

2) Watching Suspiria on the big screen. It has been one of my favorite horror films for a long time so to experience it that setting was great for me.

3) I loved the 1st year I went to the marathon and you screened the Ohio premier of Saw. I love telling people that I got to see Saw months before it became the worldwide phenomenon it is now known as.

This. Just this.

The 1st Annual Shock Around The Clock was my first horror marathon experience, so my range of options is limited to that time frame. Here goes nothing!
(In reverse order)
(1.) Seeing Irreversible was an intense experience. Not just for the rape scene, but the entire film seemed to resonate with different emotions and nerves throughout. And afterwards, everyone was talking about it, good or bad, but regardless, it had an effect on all who watched.

(2.) A Serbian Film is a film I will never forget. My anticipation for it was as high as possible, having read about its' being banned in several places and just because no one seemed to want to fully describe it in their reviews (I now know why). The audience reaction and debate afterwards, combined with just how shocking a film this was, makes it my #2 on this list.

(3.) The 2nd Annual Shock Around The Clock is without a doubt my greatest marathon experience. Part of the reason I love the horror marathon experience in general is that, as a kid, I was not allowed to watch most of the films that are shown, so films like prince of darkness, the exorcist, the hitcher, etc. were completely new and fresh experiences for me at Shock around the clock. This particular lineup was just an awesome experience for me from top to bottom. Edison's Frankenstein was just amazing to watch, followed by the pristine print of Universal's Frankenstein. Illusion-O and 13 ghosts was a purely fun experience that you get nowhere else than the marathon. Psycho was also a first viewing for me, and what a cinematic masterpiece that film is! My favorite marathon shirt is also from this particular year (the Psycho shower scene storyboard is awesome!). I saw Night of the Living Bread for the first time as well, and I loved it! I can't wait to see Kevin at the 2014 marathon! Martyrs was yet another filmic thing the likes of which I won't soon forget, and would never have seen if not for the marathon. We ended on Prince of Darkness, which I remembered seeing commercials for as a kid, and knowing I wouldn't be able to see it then. It was worth the wait!

Overall, I just want to express my deepest gratitude to Joe and Bruce for putting these marathon experiences together. As I said before, you guys are presenting me with opportunities to see films i otherwise wouldn't have seen, or until now haven't had the chance to see. Your love of film and your desire to see others bond over these films is truly commendable. Thank You!!

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"Ernest Hemingway once wrote, 'the world is a fine place, and worth fighting for.' I agree with the second part"