IamJacksUserID wrote:
Just got back and settled in enough to catch up on the whole post marathon vibe. I travel a long way for these things and I have been coming a long time, so I understand and put up with the frequent timing and projection issues because I have a large investment in having a good time. That being said, it needs to be pointed out what a huge disappointment it was to have such a lack of urgency that killed the momentum from the start, beginning with not opening the doors until 11:45 or so. Then we were faced with a number of projection problems, which I tolerate because I know how difficult the logistics of everything is. It's great that they have the two projector system in order to accommodate more selections in the booking process, but it was quite clear that the theater needed more time or practice implementing that system. I mean no personal offense and I am not trying to be disrespectful, but it needs to be mentioned.
Just wanted to repeat this. No disrespect intended, but I've got friends who never stay around for the whole marathon and always plan on leaving somewhere in the 4-7am range. They really wanted to see The Hitcher, as neither had ever seen it before, but as it was, they ended up leaving right after Midnight Son. So they missed out on two movies due to the glacial pace of the proceedings.
Personally, if I'd have known that The Cabinet of Dr Caligari wouldn't start until after 1 o'clock, I could've done with another hour of sleep before hitting the road from Indy to Columbus. Of course I quite understand that technical difficulties frequently arise at some marathons. Its both understandable and forgivable. But still unfortunate.
Now, that said, I had a good time as always and I'm already looking forward to next year. I could never organize a marathon like this, and I'm incredibly appreciative of the folks who put it all together for us.
Okay, time to stop complaining and start praising.
Sometimes I can rank movies 1-12 really easily in terms of which I enjoyed the most, but I'm having a tough time doing that for this marathon. So I think I'll just say that my three favorite movies this year were, in no particular order: The Hitcher, A Serbian Film, and Midnight Son. Actually, make that 4 favorites, and add in The Legend Of Beaver Dam!
The Cabinet Of Dr Caligari was a logical choice to start with, and it didn't disappoint. Just the opposite in fact. The music from Sue Harshe was very enjoyable, but what really stood out to me were the sets in the film itself. Obviously I'd never seen the film before, and I was really struck by the surreal backdrops and expressionist sets sewn throughout the film's landscape. Really eefective in setting a mood, and certainly not at all what I was expecting from a film from so long ago. Very easy to see why this is considered such a classic. And I suspect that if and when I watch this film again, I'll like it and appreciate it even more the second time!
I rather enjoyed
The Pit And The Pendulum, as it had a compelling story with some simply defined characters. Once again, its a movie I hadn't seen before. And I should mention right now, I had only seen 2 of this year's movies previously: The Hitcher and Hellraiser. Suffice it to say, I was SHOCKED when the trailer for Pit And the Pendulum played after this movie. If I had any idea the movie was supposed to look like
that, I seriously doubt I would've enjoyed the movie as much as I did. Excellent decision by Joe or Bruce or whoever to play that trailer after the movie instead of before it!!!!
Okay, I'll say this about
The House Of The Devil: it get's an A+ for building suspense. I really LOVED the first three quarters of the movie. Unfortunately, as I feared would happen, the ending didn't impress me. A great job at setting things up, but the payoff just wasn't there for me. You can't set things up for an hour straight, and then when something bad finally happened to that girl, she was pretty much just drugged and slumped down the stairs. Weak. Now if you want to argue that this was the director's take on 80's horror flicks, and say that that would be a typical finale for an 80's horror movie, then fine, I'll grant you that. But that still won't make this a good final act in my eyes. Overall though, I did enjoy The House Of The Devil, and would gladly watch more work from this director. Even if the ending was weak, I thought the rest of the movie was really strong. (And maybe its that strength that just heightened my disappintment with the end.)
I'll preface this next part by reiterating that this was my first viewing of
Bride of Frankenstein, and it was definitely not what I was expecting. It felt like this was really a big-budget summer blockbuster of it's day, full of comedy and romance and action. I see folks above complaining about laughs during the blind hermit scene, and I think I have to admit that I laughed a bit there too. But at the same time, I felt that was a really powerful and excellent scene. Now parts of it were a little corny (or at least seem dated now), and I think the highlight was finding out that Franky was such a big smoker and heavy drinker. Funny stuff. But now that I know what this movie is really about, I think this would be a movie that I'd really enjoy and respect upon further viewing. I certainly enjoyed it this time though. (Just because I don't have it in my top three above, don't think that I didn't like it. As usual, I enjoyed most if not all of the marathon.)
So it turns out that
Flesh For Frankenstein was any near as fleshy as I was expecting it to be. Or so I thought, until Joe revealed that this was an edited version. Too bad. The movie was still fairly enjoyable. Lots of the character were really over the top and effective, and the audience still got a decent amount of laughs out of this movie.
I really can't believe some people didn't like
A Serbian Film, I thought it was great! Okay, seriously, it's very easy to see why some folks wouldn't like this, but if you look past that, I think it was an excellent film. And it's a really good thing that the production values were so high, because if this would've looked like some little handheld-cam film, I think that would've made it far more disturbing. I was a little apprehensive going into this, but as it was, I think the professionalism from the film-makers helped to separate this movie from the real world, or at least from realism. Sure, there were some scenes that I could've done without (and frankly I'd rather not even try to think in my head about which scenes were actually the worst), but for the most part they really added to the horror of the film and the story. I felt that this was a really effective story that really gripped you and kept you on the edge of your seat, always waiting for another shoe to drop. This might sound crazy to some of you, but I thought the filmmakers made this material far more "palatable" than it could've been. I was afraid that it would jump straight into the horror scenes with no escape, but the flow of the film was really rather "non-agressive" in parts. That said, the film really took you on an unstoppable roller coaster type of ride, and I'm sure a lot of people were exhausted/relieved/not the person they used to be when it was finally over. And speaking of which, I didn't see that ending coming either. Neither of the endings actually.
Very telling response when we were all asked to clap for various movies at the end. This got both the loudest cheers and the loudest boos. In fact it was the only movie to get significant boos. But the fact that it also got the loudest cheers and applause probably reveals that most marathon goers recognized a good movie when they saw one. But as we all knew, its definitely not for everybody.
Okay, now for a few negative notes about this movie:
Please, don't try to top it next year. It really isn't for everybody, and the marathon can't afford to lose any more of it's crowd. I didn't like the placing of it either. Too early. I know the stated reason was so that folks could leave for dinner. But that doesn't hold up for a movie that didn't start until after 11:30. Pity any movie that has to follow it.
I'm pleased to see that almost everyone has positive words to say about
Midnight Son, especially since I thought this was in a tough spot right after A Serbian Film. It was a little slow paced, but I think that just added to the realism and was something that I found a little charming about this movie. It may not have treaded any terribly new ground, but you don't need new ground to still have a good and well-made movie. It reminded me a little of Near Dark (though it certainly didn't have the atmosphere or the awesomeness of that film) in a man-who-doesn't-particularly-want-to-be-a-vampire-stumbling-through-the-real-world kind of way. And unlike some other movies, I STRONGLY appreciated the final scene of the movie. I just loved the notion that the guy had finally embraced being a vampire, and he and his girlfriend were just sitting there reveling in the blood after they had killed that detective. Hooray for movies with strong endings!
I'm sorry to report that I missed over half of
Goke. I think I was awake for something like the 1st and the 3rd reel, but I slept through the 2nd, 4th, and 5th. What I did see looked pretty good, but I have a bad feeling that this is the type of movie I'll never see again. Too bad.
Unfortunately, I managed to sleep through the first 10-15 minutes of
The Hitcher too! Not cool, as I was really looking forward to seeing this again. Luckily, when I opened my eyes, this awesome movie grabbed ahold of me and didn't let go. Thanks so much for scheduling it this year. Feel free to schedule it next year and the year after too. Seriously, what a classic movie. Some movies today feel like they were made by robots. The folks who make those need to watch this one. Sadly, they probably wouldn't even realize what makes it good. They'd just throw Jason Statham in a movie with non-stop action and think that somehow makes it good or entertaining.
Okay,
The Beyond was interesting. Lots of spooky setup and some freaky scenes. But let's be honest. The most entertaining part of this movie was the audience! "Stop with the damn body shots! Aim for the head!" "Good, he finally shot for the head." "Dammit, why is he shooting at the bodies again?" "Stop wasting bullets!!!" "This guy is pretty stupid for a doctor." "I hope he dies soon. Idiot."
Thank you for not showing
Slither. I've never even seen it, and I'd like to watch it some day. But I think I get more enjoyment out of not watching it at the various marathons. Please announce it as a film for next year, but then don't even bother to book it. Seriously. This marathon had lots of problems with pacing and film delays, but I strongly appreciated the fact that Slither was dropped yet again. Keep up what's become a tradition! I will be very disappointed if it actually plays next year.
Holy crap, what's this?
The Legend Of Beaver Dam? Looks okay. No wait, this might be stupid. Nope, never mind, this is cool. Wait a minute, no, this is awesome. Yep, this is really awesome. Holy crap, that was sweet! Play it again next year!! (I liked it.) Too bad half the audience was gone by this time. Maybe you really should play it again next year, so everyone can enjoy it.
Way to end on a classic with
Hellraiser! Thanks for making it easy to stick around for the full marathon. Sure we've all seen it before, but this is one that feels like it's become even more influential with time. Watching the traliers for this, I really want to watch Lord Of Illusions next year. I rank that as one of the more underrated horror movies of all time. Heck, any movie with Famke Janssen is automatically awesome. I'll bet half the marathon audience hasn't even seen it. I'm debating whether to start a thread demanding Lord Of Illusions next year or Nurse Sherri next year. Heck, I can't decide, I think I'll demand both next year!
scottwoods wrote:
Oh yeah: lanyard, baby!
Nice!
lol
Okay, it's too bad I've typed all this stuff out now, a week later. Most folks have probably deserted the board for the rest of the year and no one will read this. A prize for anyone who reads this far! Oh well, I'm glad to get most of my thoughts down on paper. Er, make that up on screen.