The Ohio Sci-Fi and Horror Marathons

This guy is sure excited about Stuart coming to Columbus.


So after weeks of delaying, of teasing you all with possible films and hints of possible films, of making some of you look at your watches, then the board, then pounding your heads on the table...here it is: the big announcement, the lineup AND guest for the 1st annual SHOCK AROUND THE CLOCK.

We're beyond pleased to welcome Stuart Gordon back to Columbus for his second appearance at this cinematic thing of ours. Some of you attended the 1992 Night of the Living Drexel event at the dear, departed Drexel North (R.I.P.), during which Stuart appeared with his version of Pit and the Pendulum and From Beyond. That Marathon is still widely regarded as one of the best in the history of the event. For several years now, we've been in contact with him, both for access to his films (notably Dagon and King of the Ants) and in the hopes that he would attend a revival of the 24-hour horrorthon. Finally, this year, our schedules aligned, and now he'll be helping us kick off what will hopefully be a renaissance in Horror Marathon history.

When we first approached Stuart to be our guest of honor, we gave him several options for which films would show in connection with his appearance. He requested that we show something other than Re-Animator, which is very reasonable, considering it's his most widely played film and that he's probably given many a Q+A about it.) So we decided to once again screen From Beyond, which hasn't screened at a Columbus Marathon since that monumental 1992 horrorfest. We also have his second Showtime Masters of Horror episode, The Black Cat. This episode is of particular relevance, as it stars Jeffrey Combs as Edgar Allan Poe, a role which he is currently reprising in the one man show Nevermore, written by Dennis Paoli and directed by Stuart.

To complete Stuart's portion of the program, we gave him the option of introducing a non-Gordon film of his choice. I admired his audacious pick: Gaspar Noe's controversial, disturbing revenge odyssey Irreversible. A few of you might remember that Stuart spoke about the state of modern horror at the 1992 Horror Marathon, and how he found that the truly disturbing, challenging modern films to be ones like Reservoir Dogs and Man Bites Dog. Irreversible definitely plays by similar rules as those two films. It's not a horror film in the traditional sense, and it definitely won't be for everyone, but it's a violent, brutal, shocking, yet often utterly beautiful descent into the darkness of the human soul. I consider myself to have a strong constitution, and it deeply affected me when I saw it a few years back.

"Okay Joe" you say "but what about the other films"? Well, we've lined up the following slate which, combined with the aforementioned films, includes a whopping ten flicks that have never played a Columbus Marathon before. The current list is:

*The Columbus Premiere of the undead thrill ride I Sell The Dead, starring Dominic Monaghan and Ron Perlman.

*A rare 35mm screening of Edgar Ulmer’s atmospheric 1934 version of The Black Cat, featuring terror titans Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi

*The immortal Vincent Price in Roger Corman’s Technicolor, cinemascope, Poe-riffic The Masque of the Red Death

*George A. Romero’s underground zombie classic Day of the Dead

*Kurt Russell in John Carpenter’s icy, classic remake of The Thing

*John McNaughton’s still controversial and shocking Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

*Seductive vampiress Delphine Seyrig in the lush, erotic Daughters of Darkness

*Larry Cohen’s flying serpent cult favorite Q, in memory of star David Carradine

*Bong Joon-Ho’s 2006 giant monster romp The Host

*Lupine Spanish icon Paul Naschy is the Werewolf vs. The Vampire Woman

PLUS!

-A celebration of the 200th birthday of Edgar Allan Poe!

-The 1st Annual Costume Contest, with $100 first prize and the return of the GIANT check!

-The 1st Annual Scream Contest!

-The triumphant Nightmarathon return of Kevin S. O’Brien’s Bread Trilogy (Night of the Living Bread, Loaf, Another Bread Film,) in GLORIOUS 16MM BLACK AND WHITE! Plus Sandwich in MIND BOGGLING 35MM COLOR!

-Coffinloads of prizes!

-Trailers, trailers and more trailers and shorts from the Nightmarathon archives!

-Blood-scrawled certificate to all who survive!

-And more surprises!

Tickets are $35 in advance, $40 at the door

But for you, the Marathoid faithful, as we did at the Sci-Fi Marathon this year,

we're offering a special early vulture price of $33 for this holiday weekend only

(now thru Monday, September 7).


Tickets are available now at:

Grandview Theatre
1247 Grandview Avenue
Grandview Heights
(Hours may vary during construction. Knock 13 times and ask for David.
Or attend the Manhattan Short Film Festival, September 25-27 and pick them up then.)

Laughing Ogre Comics
4258 North High Street
Columbus
highstreet@laughingogrecomics.com
Monday & Tuesday 11:00-7:00
Wednesday thru Saturday 10:00-8:00
Sunday 12:00-6:00

Tickets may also be purchased online via PayPal

(please add $2 per ticket service fee) payable to: scifimarathon@hotmail.com.


Tickets may also be purchased by mailorder

with check or moneyorder payable to the Grandview Theatre

(please add $1 per order service fee) to:

Horror Marathon

Grandview Theatre

PO Box 12129

Columbus OH 43212

There's more to be said, and I might edit in some more comments as the night goes along. In the meantime, you have the basics. Run wild.

Awesome, awesome, awesome. Stuart Gordon will think I'm stalking him. I plan to go to both the Chicago and Columbus marathons. Now I might be able to skip out of the Chicago one for a couple of hours to see the punk rock show I was going to miss if the schedule lines up right. Day of the Dead and The Thing!!!!!! I've never seen Irreversible before but I've heard enough about it to know that half the audience will probably take a long smoke break. Henry-another masterpiece. From Beyond! I can't wait!!! My schedule so far for October: 10-11th Chicago marathon, 17th and 18th Columbus, the following weekend Flashback weekend in Chicago (horror convention). Looks like I'll need to get another horror tattoo that month to add to the fun...

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

No Salo?

Awesome lineup. Very excited about the ones I've seen -- The Thing! -- and pumped for the ones I haven't.

Missed the Irreversible clue, but nailed Daughters of Darkness.

Sounds awesome, can't wait to go. Even if that douche bag, not worldsfinest, is going to be there.

Some great stuff there. Love THE BLACK CAT in particular. DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS is a wonderful sexy Euro vampire film, MASQUE is Corman's best in the genre, Q and THE THING are on my shortlist for next Feb's SF marathon. HENRY is a brutal nasty film. Brilliant, but supremely unpleasant, doesn't really do it for me as part of such an event.

But, even HENRY is a pleasant day in the park compared to IRREVERSABLE! Gee, I thought you were all joshing about SALO!



SPOILER
The 10 minute rape scene is uncut, unflinching and a chore in the best of circumstances. I don't know...............

Admin note: I added a spoiler tag to L.A.'s post

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Long Live the Orson Welles Cinemas

Monsieur Connection, aren't you the one always griping and preaching about using SPOILER tags where appropriate?

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

fair enough. but, THAT SCENE is by far the most notorious aspect of the film and anybody who googles, wikis or imbd's the film will know about it. Further, the film is 7 years old - obviously, I would take more care for something still playing in theaters. Even before the film was released, it was well publicized for the scene in question, when it caused a scandal at Cannes. Heck, it seemed like half the news stories about it referred to in some was as "That R**E Movie".

And, folks really should be warned. This isn't a lite horrorific moment in an innocuous saturday matinee movie.

_________________
Long Live the Orson Welles Cinemas

Hmmm.... True these movies haven't played before at any of the horror thon incarnations with the exception of From Beyond. All due respect that this is a very safe lineup. No real surprises. True that the lineup is better than the year of the bad print of The Shining. Never meet Stuart Gordan and will be looking forward to meet him. I never been known to be a brown-noise. I will be there.

Buying my ticket sometime in the second or third week of September. It would be interesting to here the off color jokes when Daughter of Darkness screen. Plus the question is about the food. Will there be mararhon specials? Pizza? White Castle endless cup of soda?

Incredible lineup! I can’t wait!

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Remember ... no matter where you go, there you are.

Depends on where you put The Host that is where I might take a nap. I know how hard this would be but please restrain from making jokes on how David died. What no LOAF? To honor the Evil Bread Empire, I will watch the Bread DVD every weekend.

Very nice line-up, I'm especially happy to see Day of the Dead on there. I finally get to see it on the big screen.

If any of the movies can't make it for some reason, I'm sure a copy of Orphan will be easy to obtain

This is a FANTASTIC lineup! This is the Marathon I've been waiting for since the Studio 35 one with Romero! Thank you, Joe and Bruce!!!

Still, HENRY and IRREVERSIBLE on the same bill?!? Yikes! That should weed out the squeamish!

I am wishing more than ever that I could go. At least now I can watch my Thing DVD I have been putting off. Maybe I'll pop it in late that Saturday, so I can be with you all in spirit.

Gordon was a great guest in '92 and I'll expect he'll bring more of the same. I can tell you guys put a lot of care and effort into bringing this 24 hour event back from the dead.

As for some of the other musings... I am puzzled, still trying to figure out what is "safe" about bookings like Irreversible, Henry, Daughters of Darkness, and Werewolf vs. the Vampire Woman.

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