The Ohio Sci-Fi and Horror Marathons

Count me in for 11 movies if it means actually ending on time. It's become a running joke about how early we can get behind on schedule (this year we were only an hour behind after the first movie!). AllI could think of during American Werewolf was "please, for the love of God, let this hurry up and be over"

And yeah, screw the dicks who stole people's seats. Don't show up late and expect to be treated like royalty. Show up early like the rest of us who care about where we sit.

For the record, i agree with everything MEATFETISH posted above. 15 to 20 minute breaks where literally nothing is going on is just not necessary. When you have a long music break, followed by the hosts talking (which I enjoy), then go into trailers, then have projection problems it really kills momentum. This year, the trailer reels were not a problem. There were fewer than normal and the blocks were not that long, so i don't know exactly what happened because there were only two significant length projection delays.

However, one should not program a Marathon lighly in order to "factor in" something inevitably going wrong. You should always expect and plan for the best. I suggest less than 5 minutes of "dead space" between films, followed by vamping and trailers and consider the vamping and trailers to be part of the "break time." Personally, I usually take my food/potty breaks in the middle of features I have already seen or don't care about as much anyway, because all the "in-between" stuff is precious to my experience.

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Aliens? Us?
Is this one of your Earth "jokes?"

I'd argue that 11 movies isn't lightly programed though as the marathon currently operates. It's accurately programed. It's the 12th movie that pushes the event over the limit.

I don't want to speculate on how operations could be tightened in order to stay on schedule. I don't know what is going on behind the scenes so I don't know what, if anything, could be changed and what couldn't be changed. That's why my suggestion was one fewer movie. If things can be changed behind the scenes to run more on schedule and 12 movies will fit in the allotted time, then I'm definitely in favor of that. If not, then I think 11 movies is a reasonable solution.

I hope I'm not coming across too curmudgeonly. I love the event as much as anyone and plan on attending as long as I am upright, but I don't think the annual threat of cutting a movie and/or running over the 24-hour timeframe is a good thing. I paid for my ticket too and I (or anyone) shouldn't have to face a choice of skipping the final movie because they have commitments post marathon.

Had a great time at the marathon and felt the triple feature of Kill List, Possession and The Devils was one for the history books. Unfortunately I had to leave after Dead Alive which is a decision i've been regretting since Sunday. I did not choose my diet wisely and that combined with a lack of sleep the night before did me in. My stomach was imploding and in knots after Dead Alive and psychologically the idea that we were going to barrell through four more films seemed daunting to me. I feel as though the marathon and the movie watching experience benefits greatly from being able to take a breather between movies. Going outside for a bit of fresh air, discussing the movie we just watched with friends and enjoying the trailers which are a huge part of the event for me. When at 6:00 in the morning we are so behind and decide we are going to cut trailers, breaks and just descend into a mad fury to get through the films the ability to properly enjoy and process the films greatly decrease. It's not just watching 12 movies that's fun but being able to watch and enjoy them on a heathy, rational level. I say we go to 11 movie rather then cut out breaks and trailers and enjoy the movies more. Knowing that I had to go to 1 or 1:30 to get through American Werewolf (one of the films I really wanted to see) just killed me psychologically and would have also made me have to create an excuse to the babysitter watching my daughter. I had to leave.

So griping aside, one of the best line ups ever but I think we can always look for ways to improve the experience. I know I was irritated with the state of things come 6:00 but surely lack of sleep and nutrition will do that. Also at the risk of sounding like an old lady it was so freaking cold in that theater that that also weighed into my decision to leave. I was freezing and everyone around me was saying the same thing. I can't believe more people weren't complaining about this. There was one point my body was shivering uncontrollably. Can we at least sit in marginal comfort and not feel as though we are in a freezer while at the marathon? Did we not have heating capabilities?

Why don't we have the 12th movie slated as "Slither" and if it gets dropped people won't be up in arms AND it will continue the trend... (I am joking, sort of).

As far as it being chilly, I anticipated that I would be too warm - that's why I wore shorts - but after a while, I realized it was very cold (and I love the cold, but still). I was smart enough to have a jacket AND blanket to keep warm. Next time, I'm bringing pants if I need to change just in case.

I'm learning quickly how to pack --- and have a car ready with certain things (extra clothes, pillows, etc).

That that is change we can believe in.

I've found that dressing in layers is the way to go, something you can remove if you happen to be too hot.

And yeah, the interval breaks are necessary, going 24 hours in that place is hard enough as is, but if you took out the short intermissions to stand up, get some air, talk about the movies, etc, it would just be brutal.

I just wanted to say thanks for all the positive reactions to my comments on the "seat stealing" situation. Sometimes it's difficult to get people to agree on anything around here, but I really appreciate the support.

What actually happened was that my friends were helping out another friend who was filming the event. The other friend had to step out for awhile because of a work thing, so the first two friends took his place temporarily. That's why they left their seats. When they came back their seats were taken by that couple, who handed them their stuff and basically said, "we're not moving. Tough (expletive deleted)." I was at the other side of the aisle at the time and wasn't even aware their seats had been stolen until they came back. Next to me were two newcomers who had no idea what was going on. My friends are nice guys and didn't want to raise a big stink about it, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't piss me off. No matter what the circumstances, you don't just move people's stuff and take their seats like that, then refuse to move when they come back. If they had done that to ME, well, I wouldn't have been so nice about it. Let's put it that way.

Also worth noting is that one of the guys whose seats were stolen donated most of the prizes this year. So if you got a prize, it probably came from his store. Our seats were saved because my friends were doing the filming and also bringing in the boxes of prizes. So I think they deserve better than that. But of course it shouldn't happen to anyone in the audience, regardless if they are longtime Marathoners or newcomers.

So that's all I wanted to say on this issue. Thanks for backing me up.

I have had The Mercy Seat stuck in my head for roughly 116 hours now.

First he gets ketchup and mustard dumped on him, and now this. What did he ever do to deserve this? If he weren't such a nice guy I would understand, but this is just baffling.

You explaining their reaction when you confronted them makes me even more mad. If these seat stealers happen to be reading this, I hope they are ashamed of themselves. It was crowded, but I'm pretty sure that our community as a whole has the decency and etiquette to make room for late arrivers without them having to resort to this.

I don't mean to dwell on it, but it concerns me because I don't want any newbies to be discouraged by this behavior, especially those on the fence who may not be able to arrive early. I don't want the spike in ticket sales to regress because of the actions of a handful of people who made poor decisions.

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Aliens? Us?
Is this one of your Earth "jokes?"

Purchasing a ticket is a seat reservation and I expect to have a seat (any seat is fine, I'm not particular) waiting for me regardless of when I show up. Purchasing one ticket does not, however, entitle you to multiple seats for all the crap you bring with you, regardless of if you showed up earlier than me. My friend was harassed in a disgusting manner by someone who was asked by management to move their crap out of an unoccupied seat. This was not the only unpleasant interaction we had. I have to say I left the marathon feeling embarrassed by my fellow fans general demeanor. The lone bright spot was the films themselves, which I enjoyed immensely despite the rudeness of several patrons.

No one, and I mean NO ONE has said to get rid of intermissions. Only suggesting that perhaps a 20 minute break followed by 20-30 minutes of trailers and shorts between films is excessive. In fact one of the things I don't like about The Massacre marathons in Chicago is that there aren't many, if any trailers. Like I said previously I wasn't at this year's marathon but I've been to enough over the years to feel like I might have some input. 40 minutes of breaks/trailers between films adds up to more than 7 hours. Granted, the history of the marathons is that the longest breaks and trailer reels happen between the first 4-5 films but then you're already talking about 3 hours of breaks/trailers before the half-way point. What I'm saying is cut down the breaks to 10 minutes and the trailers to 10 minutes before each film. BAM! 12th film doesn't have to get cut! Then you might not even have to cut out the trailers at 6am to make up for time. I absolutely love all the trailers and shorts and contests, etc... but they can be excessive. Either way, I'd rather have shorter trailer reels and 12 films or 11 films and more trailers rather than scheduling 12 films and cutting one because of time.

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

There weren't a ton of trailers this year, and there were no shorts. Both the scream contest and the costume contest seemed to go as quick as you could hope for, as many contestants just went through the line once. I'm not sure where all the time was lost. Sometimes it seemed like Joe and Bruce were standing up there talking forever, but I think they were just waiting for the projector to be ready.

So I think maybe the problem is that the breaks between some of the movies were just too long. As others have stated, you don't need a 15 minute break if there's going to be 15 minutes of trailers before the next movie anyways. Trailers and shorts are some of the highlights of the marathons for me, but there's nothing wrong with missing 2 or 3 to stand in line for food or the bathroom.

I certainly wouldn't want to see any movies get cut, and I have no problem with sticking around to 1:15 or 1:30, though I understand that's a problem for folks who have other commitments on Sunday. I would imagine that most folks plans are "go home and sleep" though.

So yeah, stick with 12 movies, and just have shorter breaks between. Missing trailers because you're standing in line isn't necessarily a bad thing.

As for the seat stealing, yeah, that sucks. Glad there was none back by me. As others have mentioned though, it's great that so many people are buying tickets and seats are in short supply. Maybe next year there will have to be more announcements in line at either the sci-fi or horror marathons that a large percentage of tickets have been sold and people can't spread out too much when they're filling in seats at the start.

As for the temperature, yeah, I noticed it was pretty cold at times, and THAT'S PERFECT!! Just put on an extra layer if you're cold. The last thing we want is that place getting too warm. The cold temperature did a great job of keeping the odors down (as did the marathoners themselves I suppose). I brought 2 jackets this year, and I really only needed one of them. So yeah, I was prepared. If you were cold this year, just bring an extra jacket next year, and leave it in your car. Only go out and get it if you need it.

Also you must all remember the theater is there to make money, yes they love us and our event but if they can't make money at it than they will have to cancel the event in the future. The longer the lines at the concession stand the longer the wait between films, they don't want to start the movie and risk having people jumping out of line to go watch the trailers.

Now a word from Jiminy Gravity



YOU CAN HELP!!
(Joe could probably write a song and put this to music)

*Go to the Snack bar and restrooms during the Movie, yes you will miss part of a movie but the lines will be smaller during the breaks thus shortening the duration between films.

*Don't talk to Bruce, Joe or anyone involved with the event during Breaks, let them do what they need to do and you can talk to them during the movie (they love that).

*Don't do or say anything that might lead to a lecture from Bruce or Joe during the next break aka throw bottles.

*Don't participate in Contests.

*Boo everyone that does participate in contest except the last person in line.

*Everyone decide in this forum in advanced who will be voted into the hall of fame so Joe doesn't need to run down a long list (also press record on the video camera so Joe doesn't need to start over)

*Don't Encourage Joe to read passages from books at future events

If we follow these simple rules we should all be able to significantly decrease the time in between films.

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Jaws3dfan®
Follow me on Twitter

Okay, I usually do this, so here are my thoughts on every movie, in order of which ones I enjoyed the most.

Possession - This was just awesome. These two people went so crazy, and it was an awesome kind of crazy. Whether its playing with electric carvers in the kitchen, or just swivelling in a chair in an office, the crazy didn't stop. The level of mess at various times in their apartment was fantastic, the not very subtle private eye, the inimicable Heinrich, and just pretty much everything else about that movie made it all kinds of entertaining. This movie really established that it was going bat-shit crazy, and it really raised the ante of "anything can happen" to a whole new level. Any efforts at trying to predict what could happen in the next scene would likely prove to be futile, and yet the next scene wouldn't just feel random, it would feel like it was progressing the story too.

Phantom Of The Paradise - This really isn't my type of movie, but it turned out to be so entertaining that I just may have to watch it again some day. That said, seeing it with friends and a marathon crowd made it extra special. Funny characters with a couple of amusing twists to the story. I had it pegged as one of the movies I'd enjoy the least, and I couldn't have been more wrong. Now admittedly, the cornier elements really appealed to me, and who knows how those would hold up, but for one marathon viewing, it worked great.

Something Wicked This Way Comes - Yet another movie that I didn't think would work for me. Did a really great job making it creepy and having a dark atmosphere without needing to veer into R-rated territory. These marathons don't offer too many tales of a father and his son, so it made this one feel different.

An American Werewolf In London - Just an absolute classic, and would've been ranked higher here if I hadn't already seen it. Totally worth sticking around to the end to watch it again.

Dead Alive - I don't get it. If you're going to build giant robots to fight giant monsters, why not just make your robot big enough to step on the giant monsters?

The Devils - Wow, this movie looked beautiful. It looked like it was just made a few years ago. Fantastic sets. I'm glad we watched it the way we did, as I'm sure I would've enjoyed it a lot less if it was some crappy-looking, color-fading, falling-apart print.

The Abonimable Dr Phibes - Ah, the old catapaulting unicorn trick, gets 'em every time! A little too predictable at many times throughout, but the goofy police certainly didn't hurt. A lot funnier than I thought it would be. Now what in the world was going on with that lady who was helping Dr Phibes throughout?

The Last Circus - I'm really not sure where this one belongs on the list. I still haven't formed a definitive opinion on this movie. Parts of it were really great, and there were times when you felt like they were going to go over the top, but then they didn't. I certainly didn't foresee the climactic scene happening on that giant cross. This movie might actually go a lot higher on the list with more time, or with a second viewing. There was a lot to like about it. Some of it just felt a little off though.

Kill List - As stated previously, I think I would've liked it a lot more if I could've understood more than half the movie. This was probably the scariest movie in the whole marathon, and it had a decent story. Unfortunately (for me) I found the ending to be extremely predictable.

White Zombie - Good movie, great atmosphere and pacing. Not precisely my cup of tea, but I don't mind watching one or two of these every year. We have to remember where we came from, after all, to understand where we are.

Videodrome - The only reason its so low is that this is the movie that I slept through at least 30 minutes of. My eyes would open and close a bit for some of the other movies, but this is the only one that I really slept during. Fortunately, of course, I've seen it before. Its a classic, for sure, and I wish I could've seen more than half of it this time, so I may have to watch it again sometime soon. It really is a great movie to play in the middle of the night. Great to drift in and out of, feeling like you may have a slightly less than 100% grip on reality.

Werewolves On Wheels - As they said in The Crow, "Here's to you, T-Bird!"
(or was it T-Bone?)

That said, I found all 12 movies to be watchable and enjoyable for their own reasons. Great lineup this year. I know Bruce and Joe won't want to hear this, but this was yet another one of those marathons that left me wishing that Bruce and Joe could find room in the calendar for a third marathon every year. They do such a wonderful job with these things, and it's not just with the planning and organization, but it's always a set of 12 movies that I just love having seen.