The Ohio Sci-Fi and Horror Marathons

Here we go again another year and another year older. Once again this comming weekend will be the fourth 24 hour Shock Around the Clock.

Thank you to Joe Neff who keep going at this year after year. To the Nedrow's who bring the Grandview back from the dead. Without them we might not have a 24 hour horror marathon. The staff of the Grandview who will put up with us for 24 hours. The people who work behind the scenes to sercure the prints/digital copy of the films. The people who work on the website and the message board.

Now for the first timers and the people who lurk please post on the message boards. More input is needed in my opinion.

Now for the virgins who are going for the first time. Welcome. Here is just some suggestions to help you.

No outside food. The theater needs the revenue form concessions sales. There is a full menu of pizzas, subs, salads ect. Bring ID fi you want to buy beer. Moderation is the key here. Please consume in moderation. The people around you must put up with you for 24 hours. Please do not ruin it for them. The theater does sell candy and popcorn as well.

Treat the theater with respect. Clean up after yourself. Respect the people around you. There are times that it is ok to riff. Don't over do it.

Now please shower the day of the marathon. Wear comfortable clean clothes. Being in the theater up to 24 hours and people don't want to be smelling ass at the start.

Comfort is the key. Some marathonoids bring pillows and blankets to keep warm.

Have fun. Please additonal input is welcome.

Wow I can't believe we are just days away from the 2012 Horror Marathon and as always a HUGE THANK YOU to Bruce, Joe and the entire staff at the GRANDVIEW for making this event possible. The Horror Marathon is the ONLY thing that could keep me from a rare screening of JAWS 3-D!!

As stated above, bring lots of extra $$$ and buy a T-Shirt and lots of yummy snacks to ensure the future of the Horror Marathon. Bruce should announce that ALL T-shirts are sold out before the Midnight Hour.

Snark when appropriate but not constantly, if you snore try to stay awake, if your annoying show up, buy a ticket and a t-shirt than go home and watch tv alone.

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Don't forget the coffee mug. If there is a coffee mug this year. Another suggestion is that Werewolves on Wheels is a good film to snark on.

Is it too much to ask that the "snark" and "riffing" is kept to an absolute minimum? I paid 35 bucks to see AND listen to these movies. I really don't care to hear folks comment on what they think of the film while it is screening. I stopped going to midnight screenings because it seems to be cool to loudly make fun of the films, now. This type of behavior is frowned upon by us movie geeks when it takes place at the multiplex during a typical film, why is there a difference for a cult film screening? Someone talking on their phone is just as bad as making some lame attempt at humor, in my opinion. This will be my third marathon, and while it wasn't too much of a problem previously, I'm really worried that this behavior is becoming more acceptable. I don't think I'm being unreasonable but I understand I could be in the minority. I'm also interested in what others think on this topic.

Hello Splatterpunk, I think most marathoneers would agree with you However some movies are just to bad to sit through with out either sleeping or snarking, I think alot of the snarking starts later in the evening when people are getting tired and it becomes a way to stay awake. Generally people respect the true classics and reserve the comments for the not so classic movies that are dated and easy to poke fun at.

With that being said unless Mike, Joel, Tom Servo and Crow happen to show up the MST3K style of snarking is unacceptable. Non-stop talking or snarking is a violation that could and should result in removal from the event (after ample warnings of coarse).

I will admit there have been many times that a well placed snark has cracked me up, also sometimes the character on screen will use a double entendre and the entire audience will all laugh together, those are my personal favorite, mainly because it's proof I am not the only sick ba$tard in the theater.

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I'm going to basically agree with what Tim said. The crowd at our marathon is generally pretty quiet and respectful for classics - and most of the marathoners will agree that when it comes to snarking, less is more.

A well placed snark is a thing of beauty, but it easily gets annoying. Fortunately, most of our crowd is also more than willing to tell someone when they aren't as funny as they think they are, and to shut it.

The good news is that if you look at the long trend of these events? The snarking level has been generally the same - or even slightly decreasing - over the decades. Part of that, frankly, is that the crowd is growing older, and more of us really are interested in watching the films. It ebbs and flows a little bit from year to year (partially based on lineup) but overall, the snarking level hasn't really shown an upward trend.

Thanks for the replies, Aeinhorn & Jaws. I definitely feel less apprehensive, now.

Have fun everybody, wish I could be there.

In Boston, the snark level has definately gone down in recent years. In fact, it has gone down so much, that I've come to almost miss it! You just can never get the right level, correct?

And, for any newbies checking in, here's a link to my 'Stay Awake' guide. Of course, this one is "only" 12 hours, so it should be a breeze compared to 24, right?

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=823

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Long Live the Orson Welles Cinemas

Since Werewolves on Wheels is the "bad and or cheesey" entry of this year marathon it is one of those safe movies to snark on. The plot isn't too hard to follow or the lack there of. IMDB rates the movie 3.3 stars out of 10.

There are some trailers that are for not so great horror films.

At this year Science Fiction Marathon I was audible during the screening of The Captains. It started out good. It didn't needed to be100mins long. Hearing Bill Shanter go on and on about himself. Seeing Avery not all there I just couldn't take it anymore.





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Nope, the horror 'thons have been back to 24 hours for four years now. (Well, this is the fourth)

This is my 22nd marathon overall. (Combining all of the Science Fiction and Horror Marathons since 2003.)

If the sorrid history of the Horror Marathons holds up that It wouldn't surprise me that the Horror Marathon does go back to the 12 or 14 hour all nighters. Hopefully not.

Not since the Drexel North era the 24 hour plus horror marathons did the Horror Marathons last past the fourth or a fifth.

Here is a link for the history of the Horror and Science Fiction Marathons. For the new people.

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

A couple of years ago, someone in the row behind me had a very simple system of continuous commentary. Every time something surprising happened, he said "he-lloo!" Every time something bad happened, he said "Er .. that's not good!" Every time something quirky happened, he said "Ooooo-kaaaaayyyy ..." As you can imagine, it never got old.

I am going to do all of this this year as a commentary on commentary. Helllllooooooo!

There are people that go gonzo when it comes to riffing. When MST3K was on local television the riffs was improvise. The cable network years the riffing was scripted. That's the difference.

If it gets a laugh fine. If it doesn't get a laugh then be quiet.

As one of the chronic who goes to both marathons every year (with the exception of the Fourth Two Headed Marathon) the trailer reels are interesting to watch. One year there was a reel that contain horror movie remakes. As I remember it there was boos.

Some of the riffing/snarking does pay off to be funny. Sometimes not.

Here is a few more things.

When it comes to cash try to limited to twenty dollars bills or lower. Grandview isn't a bank or a large retailer. If you are buying Marathon swag try to limited yourself in carrying large bills. Check that they can break fifties or hundreds.

Flush after using the toliet. No one want to see your filth.

Wash hands. There is going to be around three hundred people in an enclosed space. Spreading germs isn't fun.