The Ohio Sci-Fi and Horror Marathons

So this past weekend, we FINALLY screened AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON at an Ohio Horror Marathon. We also FINALLY gave VIDEODROME and PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE their Marathon bow. And you could argue that SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES had also long deserved a Marathon screening. All three of these films are modern classics in their own way, but for one reason or another it took decades for them to show.

Which brings up the obvious question: which major film that's never played the Horror Marathon should be featured sometime in the near future? Definitions of major will vary, but try to stick with something of importance. Any fan of HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD (which is one of the great shameless Italian zombie ripoffs) can say that it's been overlooked, but I'm aiming for films that would merit some surprise from a listener if you told them it had never screened at the Horrorthon. And remember that not every title is readily available in 35mm; argue all you want, but for the time being it's often still the preferable format for such screenings.

I know that a certain Mr. Cornelius and I are in agreement that Jack Clayton's THE INNOCENTS is long overdue for a Marathon spot. It serves as a companion piece to THE HAUNTING, both low key ghost stories that are master classes in slow burn tension. Print availability has been a major reason for its absence, but like AMERICAN WEREWOLF, it's also just been pushed back many times.

Some of these I have mentioned before, so I don't want to belabor the point, but you know my first answer has got to be Poltergeist.
Others I have mentioned before have played the SciFi marathon but not Horror, which isn't necessarily the question you were asking: Alien, Altered States, and both versions of The Fly.

I think Friday the 13th will be mentioned by someone, so the rest of us don't really have to, but I am also surprised that none of the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise has ever popped up.

Is it too new to put Scream in this category? That would be great to pair up with The Cabin in the Woods whenever that makes it's inevitable appearance.

The Birds is 50 years old next year, and House of Wax will be 60...

Given the history of gonzo, out-there choices for our marathon, I'm pretty surprised Audition has never screened here.

Peeping Tom, The Omen, Repulsion...

Heck, this is just off the top of my head, I'm sure I'm forgetting several...

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Aliens? Us?
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Excellent question. I don't have as much institutional knowledge as many around here but I look forward to researching and brainstorming some possibilities.

Audition
Repulsion
Friday the 13th
A Nightmare on Elm St 1 & 3 (Dream Warriors went over like gangbusters in Chicago last weekend)
The Omen
Halloween 3
Piranha
Night of the Creeps
The Birds
Frenzy
Brain Damage
Children of the Corn
Amityville Horror
City of the Living Dead aka Gates of Hell
Slither
Food of the Gods
The Lost Boys
Nightbreed
The Entity
Tombs of the Blind Dead


Admittedly some are less classic than others, and some are classic for reasons I don't get. But I think any of these titles would be welcome with open veins....

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As a child of the 1980s, I'd definitely be open to seeing a Nightmare on Elm Street or Friday the 13th movie make the cut eventually. These were my first real exposures to horror (thanks babysitters and friends whose parents didn't pay attention!). Sleepaway Camp is another one I saw very early in my movie-consuming life. Not sure if that has screened in the past, but having watched it with a group of people who haven't seen it before, I feel pretty certain it'd be a marathon crowd pleaser.

I'm a huge DePalma fan and have been pleased to see a few of his efforts in the lineup in recent years. Sisters or Body Double might make good viewing. Maybe not classics, per se, but I'd argue DePalma himself is. Same with something like In the Mouth of Madness or The Frighteners -- neither are the most heralded work from Carpenter or Jackson, respectively, but both are masters of the genre and I've generally enjoyed their lesser works as well.

Scream is a fine choice.

Carnival of Souls
Eyes without a Face
The Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge
Targets (horror is debatable, but has Karloff and is an interesting movie)

I would like to just add to the above list:

Jaws (1, 2 and 3-D)
Friday the 13th part 2 & 3D
My Bloody Valentine (Original)
Terror Train
The FunHouse
Ghost and Mr. Chicken
Prom Night
The Prowler
Halloween II (Original)
Amityville Horror 2 and 3-D
Trick or Treat (Sammi Curr Lives)
House of the Long Shadows

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The Compiled List so far:

A Nightmare on Elm St
A Nightmare on Elm St 3
Alien
Altered States
Amityville 3-D
Amityville Horror
Amityville Horror 2
Angel Heart
Audition
Audition 
Birds, The
Body Double
Brain Damage
Cabin in the Woods, The
Carnival of Souls
Children of the Corn
City of the Living Dead aka Gates of Hell
Entity, The
Eyes without a Face
Fly, The
Food of the Gods
Frenzy
Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th part 2
Friday the 13th part 3 in 3-D
Frighteners, The
FunHouse, The
Ghost and Mr. Chicken
Halloween II (Original)
Halloween III
House of the Long Shadows
House of Wax
In the Mouth of Madness
Inferno
Innocents, The
Jaws
Jaws 2
Jaws 3-D
Lost Boys, The
My Bloody Valentine (Original)
Night of the Creeps
Nightbreed
Omen, The (Original)
Peeping Tom
Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge
Piranha
Poltergeist
Prom Night
Prowler, The
Q the Winged Serpent
Repulsion
Scream
Shaun of the Dead
Sisters
Sleepaway Camp
Slither
Targets
Terror Train
Tombs of the Blind Dead
Trick or Treat (Sammi Curr Lives)

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Jaws3dfan®
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Poltergeist
Angel Heart
Inferno
Q the Winged Serpent
Shaun of the Dead

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

And how could I forget The Devil's Rain?!!!

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

Just as a point of reference, Carnival of Souls was shown at a Studio 35 Marathon, so it doesn't belong on this particular list. But that doesn't mean it's not due for a repeat showing.

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

I'll second Sleepaway Camp and In the Mouth of Madness (I was really hoping they were gonna show this a couple years ago after showing Prince of Darkness and The Thing in the years prior). Plus it would be nice to see Sam Neill in something that actually made sense.

I'm certain that the marathon audience would just LOVE Sleepaway Camp, its entertaining on so many different levels.

Another suggestion occurred to me last night. This one isn't necessarily a classic movie, but more about a classic figure - Stephen King.

The Shining and Carrie (the two true, bona fide classics) have shown. I don't have the lengthy institutional knowledge to know if any other adaptations of his work have made the event (Christine? Creepshow?). Obviously there are a lot of dogs (Cujo?) out there that have their creative roots in King's writing, but he's such a huge figure in modern horror, he seems under represented at the marathon, which also happens to coincide with the majority of his career.

Of course now we come to the question of what could show and I immediately see part of the problem.

Christine and Creepshow both aired during the Studio 35 years. The Dark Half has shown, although at a Sci-Fi (I think it may have been a premiere at the time).

A few notable King films that have never aired, which might make fun additions, would include Pet Semetary, Maximum Overdrive (which we often get a trailer for, and which would be prime snark target), or Silver Bullet.

If I were making a list of Stephen King movies never shown at a Columbus Marathon, at the top of it would be The Mist

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