Alrighty, I think I'm awake enough to post my thoughts on the event. I'll try not to bore you all too much.
First, let me just thanks Kevin and CAPA and the whole of the Drexel staff involved, along with Anna and ALL the people behind the scenes who worked so hard bringing this event to screen. There was a lot of work done to bring the 35mm projector back into order, and it really was the key to making this event as good as Bruce and Joe wanted it to be.
Things went amazingly smoothly up in the booth. The schedule was kinda tight going in, and I know there were trailers cut from the start of
Phantasm, but all in all I think it went WAY better than it could have gone given the fact that this was basically its first production run. Sound switching issues were no fault of the booth, and may be something that we can look into improving for next time. Again, huge thanks to Kevin and Anna for the extensive time and effort that went into the restoration.
The Drexel staff were top-notch as always, and I was overall pretty pleased with the food situation. I know this was something that the Drexel had committed to pretty early on, so if you have any feedback or suggestions for them, by all means let them know. Making sure you guys have good choices is important to them.
Of course, as I often forget to do (since I pester these guys all too often), huge thanks to Joe and Bruce for once again bringing a phenomenal lineup in the face of adversity. Changes in the industry, local theaters, and general shifts in technology have made the last few years really tough to plan around, but somehow they manage to pull it off.
OK, enough of my bootlicking ... here's what I REALLY thought ...
FRIGHT NIGHTWow. This was one of my real favorites back in the day and it held up nicely, especially with that excellent DCP restoration from Sony. It often gets overlooked, but there are some truly great performances there and I'm a sucker for the meta "genre looking at a genre" style movies. Probably my second favorite film of the event. Definitely an excellent choice for lead-off film.
THE WOLF MANHaving caught several of Universal's restoration series at the
Wexner (somewhere that ALL film fans in town should keep a watch on, because they play some phenomenal stuff), I fully expected that this restoration would be top notch. I was not disappointed in the slightest. I can't stress enough how important these 2k, 4k, and 8k digital restorations are to the future of the industry and the long-term survival of the classics. What can I say? This movie is iconic. I suggested it last year to go along with
An American Werewolf In London, but I'm actually glad to have waited. The DCP was really worth waiting for.
THE LORDS OF SALEMI'll be the first to admit that I'm a little divided on Rob Zombie films. I love the idea behind what he's doing, independent explorations of the horror genre that don't have to fall into the Hollywood mold. Unfortunately, I usually don't think the films live up to the ideal. This turned out better than I'd expected, though I'm still not a huge fan. Sheri Moon Zombie just doesn't have the oomph to carry a central role like this. It's the supporting names where this movie really shines ... Dee Wallace, Patricia Quinn, Ken Foree, and especially Bruce Davison ... they're the real reasons to watch this film.
The 5th Annual Costume ContestApologies if I got in anyone's way or ruined anyone's photo-op. Joe had me on backup photo-snap duty. Pictures should get uploaded to the website's archives tonight or tomorrow.
THE EXORCISTAgain, what more can be said about this movie that hasn't been said already? Phenomenal DCP transfer of an absolutely bone-chilling classic. The only negative point I will make is that I'm not a huge fan of the Director's Cut of this film. I don't mind the lengthening of the scenes, and for once I don't think that it really hurts the pacing. But the addition of several of the demon-face flashes and in particular the spider-crawl scene sort of overtly accelerate the supernatural aspect of the film's timeline for the audience. Part of the true horror of the film is that it's played so straight and so dubious for so long to build the tension. The Director's Cut sacrifices some of that for little gain. Having said that, though, it still plays out brilliantly, and my nits aside it was a rock-solid choice.
NIGHT OF 1000 CATSSo, when I got into work this morning the first thing that people asked me was "What was the best movie that got shown?" The answer came to me without missing a beat. Words cannot describe my surprise at how enjoyably cheesy this movie is. Wretchedly boring helicopter rides punctuated by gonzo-surreal behavior and completely gratuitous mass cat shots. I went in expecting this to be a snooze-fest, and instead I got really, really, really wacky cheese. I really was pleased.
SUSPIRIAAh,
Suspiria. I like Argento, Goblin, and Jessica Harper all three ... but I'm still not a big fan of this film. Most of that comes from the cuts and the previous releases. As Joe mentioned, cuts in several key scenes really undermine the narrative, which at times feels really forced and somewhat unimportant. Plus, I don't think I've ever seen any release of this film with a decent sound mix. Heavily accented dialog gets badly washed out and the Goblin score is shrill enough without being over-amped and drilling through the skull. Plus, there was a while when Sci-Fi Channel was showing this film ad nauseam on weekends. I fully support the choice, because it's one of Argento's best known films (and the others are REALLY hard to get), but it's never been my brand of vodka. Hopefully people enjoyed it.
The 5th Annual Scream ContestAgain, sorry if I got in anyone's way. The scream contest is harder to shoot, people move around a lot more when screaming and the light's low enough that it's tough. Still, got some good shots, so watch here for news that they're available.
THIRSTI like this film, but as good as it is it didn't really quite grab me. The story's a little disjointed, the virus ends up being a largely pointless MacGuffin, and the film feels like it runs a bit long. I think it could have played better and tighter with a bit of focus. Still, I'm glad I got to see it on the big screen with this crowd. It definitely deserved the play, and I know a lot of the crowd hadn't had the chance to see it.
PHANTASMThe Ball is BACK! This is another of my favorite 70's/80's bridge horror films, and another movie that I think is pretty highly underrated. The Tall Man is a really creepy villain, Mike is as level-headed and as intelligent a protagonist as you can get (he's surprisingly smart for a kid in a horror film) and Coscarelli brought a genuinely unique filter to the typical horror/slasher genre. Again, I'm a sucker for genre-bridging stuff, and
Phantasm has a nice mix of horror with a sci-fi feel.
THE CABIN IN THE WOODSJoss Whedon (and Drew Goddard both) have their share of critics, but I have to say that I absolutely LOVED this film when it showed in the theater. As I said above, I'm a huge fan of films that explore their own genre (
The Player is another good example) and this one has a lot of brilliant things working in its favor. I think it was a good idea to show, even if it is a wee bit recent ... I know a lot of people probably saw it during its theatrical release, but I think mixed reviews kinda pushed people away. It definitely sounded like it was a crowd-pleaser, and it sure managed to keep me awake at 5am.
TRICK OR TREATThe film's a perfectly cheesy hair-metal 80's offering, and it was quite a bit more amusing than I'd remembered. But, I was starting to flag a bit by this point, so I nodded off a couple times and was out of the auditorium for a bit. Again, never one of my main choices, it was pretty good schlock for the early morning. It did not bring back my nostalgia for cassette tapes.
Q: THE WINGED SERPENTThis is another giant-ball-of-cheese that I'd seen a long, long time ago and had mostly forgotten. The movie always came across as a really, really impromptu "get it in one take" cheapie. Cohen mostly lets the actors just throw stuff out there, and I never got the feeling anyone seriously wanted to be in this film. It didn't really leave much of a mark on me the first time, and by this point keeping my eyes open was becoming nigh-impossible. Not wanting to miss anything in
Candyman, I just let myself drift off through most of it. Unlike most others, I hadn't been disappointed when it was dropped for time in 2009, but I'm glad Quetzalcoatl was finally able to break free.
CANDYMANThis was another of the films I was most excited to see. Again, as with Fright Night and Phantasm, I've always felt people lumped the film into a "knockoff" category (B-Rated versions of B-Rated movies) thinking it a typical slasher film. When I first saw it I realized there was a lot more here than meets the eye. Granted, the dialog and pacing can be a bit corny and off-putting at some points, but overall it's a solid story that's very well executed. It's well thought out, and I'm a sucker for the Chicago skyline in any film. Plus, I've been wanting to have Virginia Madsen's alien love child since
Electric Dreams so, um, sorry ... little distracted there. The movie's genuinely creepy and pretty stirring with some deeply disturbing visuals, and a great choice to end the marathon.
So that's it! I have a ton of pictures to post to the Archives later, plus Joe will probably post his at some point as well. I'll update the Halls of Marathonia once I've had time to sort out my scanner situation at home and can digitize the certificate and the ticket.
Again, THANK YOU ALL for coming and for all your support. Bruce and Joe have said it many times, but I believe it myself ... it's because of YOU that this event happens at all, and YOU set the standard that Bruce and Joe live by. Thanks as well to the great people at Laughing Ogre, Epic Loot Games, and of course CAPA and the Drexel for their phenomenal support of this venture. Plus the countless decorations guys, staff, Fat Guys at the Movies, etc. Man, way too many people to thank and I know I've forgotten too many. You guys just rule.
By way of thanks, I highly encourage you to patronize the Drexel and other independent theaters around town ... the great comic/game shops mentioned above, White Castle, Jimmy John's, Donatos ... and all the businesses who threw in a hand.
There's still a while, but keep checking back for word about the Science Fiction Marathon, and Bruce's upcoming Trailerthon and other late-night Drexel offerings. Your support is very much appreciated!