The Ohio Sci-Fi and Horror Marathons
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2009 Recap
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Author:  Dennis [ Mon Oct 19, 2009 1:08 pm ]
Post subject:  2009 Recap
I may post a few of these comments over at the Grandview's site. Let me preface this with I love the marathons. I enjoyed this marathon. There were some issues which I will get to, but I don't want anyone to think I had a terrible time or that I will not come back etc. I'm not sure I will be that harsh, but just in case anyone thinks that, I want to clear that up front.

Chaos seemed to be the order of the day. I think a lot of this is the result of a not fully finished theater. We did get in at a decent time, I only waited from about 8 am. I was feeling a bit under the weather, seems to be a trend for me lately, thought by the time the marathon started I was feeling fine and never felt like bailing due to health. I did end up with an extra ticket. I was holding out hope my other friend would be able to make it. I also figured I could eat the ticket and use it to store coats and stuff. However, given the seating, more on that in a moment, I couldn't in good conscience do that. By the time I tried to do something about it, Joe and Bruce were elbows deep in stuff and the "concession/ticket stand" was in a bit of chaos. I tried to ask Jennifer if she could sell it to the next person but she needed to talk to Bruce and/or Joe. On the plus side, both ticket numbers were drawn for prizes so I got some neat stuff including Josh Roxx's rubber zombie gun and a plush dismemberable zombie doll. I lent them to my friend Brett who didn't win anything but is screening Shawn of the Dead at work this week.

General Theater Comments

It was what it was. I was really hoping the theater would be a little further along. I realize the seating was not Dave's fault. I always sit in the middle and get in line early so I never tried out the other seats. The "regular" seats were fine.

Big thumbs up for the bathroom. It was always clean, and while the regular hand towels ran out, there were always paper towels of some sort to dry your hands. Also the lights reflecting off the top of the middle urinal hardware make what look like alien eyes on the wall. Fortunately I don't get bothered by that kind of thing and thought it was cool.

The decorations were very nice, the advantage of not having everything done, it was probably a bit easier to so some of the things they did.

Parking was okay. I parked in front until about 11 am on Saturday when I put my chair and sleeping bag in the car and moved to the assigned lot. Easy to get out of considering the marathon. A tad inconvenient when I wanted to take my coat and extra shirt out to the car before they fell into the ooze. But, I figure if I was going to this in DC, I would likely be taking the Metro and so it wasn't so bad.

The "concession stand" can only get better. For some reason, I have no problem paying $5 when my soda comes out of a fountain, but when I see it come out of a 2 liter I can buy for $.99-$1.39 it is more troubling. I bought it anyhow, because I want the theater to succeed, unlike the guy near me who snuck in his off brand Mountain Dew and then tipped the can over about 5 minutes into the marathon. He also had an accident with his twizzlers were they were all over the floor. I don't wish ill on folks, I had nothing to do with either incident and I hate to see food, even junk food wasted, but I have to think the marathon demons were at work there. But back to the concession stand. The folks working it were very nice, but the line seemed slow. I think a big part of it was the lack of the fountain. The plus side is, there was Mountain Dew available. I was in the line and missed the announcement about refills on pop for $1. It wasn't until the break for IRREVERSIBLE did I notice folks were getting refills. I never saw a sign, but maybe I missed it. I do know I missed Joe and Bruce's first break announcements, and that was probably when it was announced. Like I said, I like to support the theater, so I'm not that bothered. It just seemed to be a trend of either poor planning or poor execution. For example there were no hot dog buns at first. Peanut but no plain M&Ms. Little things, but they added up. It did seem like the line got a bit quicker in the evening, maybe it was just shorter or maybe it was the young woman that came in to work. She used to be a manager there, I think. I just remember in the past she did justice to the old school Star Trek uniform she wore and she vaguely reminds me of Uma Thurman. As I said, the concession stand can only get better once it is actually built. I never used the tab or credit card feature, but it was nice they were offered.

Related to the concession stand, the pizza was good and the ordering, and the fact we could customize pizzas, was great. My friend doesn't eat beef so usually I am stuck with cheese pizza, but we were able to get half pepperoni and half pepper. I hope they are the regular suppliers.

The projection also will get better. I hope. :) It really wasn't that bad, focus and framing issues were resolved quickly. The sound issue in From Beyond took a while to resolve as did the Blue Ray issue with I Sell the Dead. In general it just seemed that the breaks were long and it seemed like, perhaps unfairly, that it was the booth. My hope is that will get better with time and experience with the new equipment. Thanks to everyone who worked up there, it is a generally unrewarded job, though Joe and Bruce always do point out the great work you do. We usually only notice when stuff doesn't work, but we need to remember that most of the time it did work.

Temperature was good. Got a wee bit warmer around From Beyond but then got better.

Oh, sounds seemed to bleed in from the lobby I assume when the sound stuff is up on the walls, that will be reduced.

On to the Marathon itself

Good variety of films. Nothing really bad. Some folks didn't like Irreversable, but I found it interesting.

I am lazy and just stealing from the movie time post.

Liked the intro film. Any chance we could get the documentary one year? Any chance of a 20/25 year follow up? I saw a lot of filming this time around.

Noon THE BLACK CAT - Nice opener. I always like the old B&W films. Good cast, some unintentional humor and we got bit with a backwards upside down reel, but it was resolved so we got to see the ending.

1:45 THE HOST - For the first time in a while, we saw an Asian film at a horror marathon and I didn't come away thinking, "Man, that was disturbing." Fun film. Not gory. The ending again left me wondering about the value of women in some Asian cultures. But in a way it was satisfying.

4:00 THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH - Nice print. Great movie, I've seen a bunch of times before.

5:45 The 1st Annual COSTUME CONTEST - Joe and I discussed this. He thought it was a little thin, I was happy with the progress. There were a couple guys behind me that talked about doing something conceptual, on the fly but didn't. That's why I have been funding the cash portion of the prize the last few marathons. As much as I like Ro-Man, we need more diversity (and diversity needs to show more flesh if that is all she is doing) up there. Speaking of Diversity, I think she has been a long time attendee. I'm not sure if I have her confused with someone else or not, but I think she has been coming to marathons at least since the Continent.

6:00 MASTERS OF HORROR: THE BLACK CAT - I must have missed the announcement on this while in line at the concession stand.

POE TRAILERS - Mostly a Vincent Price trailerthon, but nicely done.

7:10 A LIVE PERFORMANCE by SUE HARSHE - It's no Adams Family rap, but really, what is. Very moody. Got close, but didn't quite reach tedious at one point because it was a lot of very similar, simple themes throughout. Though a lot of the scenes were very similar. Nice build up and fade out. We should make this a contest some year to see who can name the most films. 1 point per film, -5 points for incorrect films to prevent folks from just listing every film out there.

7:30 FROM BEYOND - Other than the early sound problems, quite enjoyable. Nice intro.

9:15 STUART GORDON Q+A - Good stories, especially Peter Pan. Seems like a really nice guy.

10:00 The Columbus Theatrical Premiere of IRREVERSIBLE - Not very PC. I'm always amused when Europeans talk about how racist the US is and yet, I'm not sure these days some of that dialog would make it into a US film. I may be wrong. Interesting narrative method, though I know it lost a few folks. The rape scene was too long for my tastes.

11:40 The Columbus Premiere of I SELL THE DEAD - Once it started it was great. I thought the casting was excellent and the story was very solid. Nice mix of humor and horror.

1:20 The 1st Annual SCREAM CONTEST - Kudos to the guys for trying. I noticed a couple of the women bailed after the first round because they though they clearly were not going to win. They should have stuck around for the prizes. I am glad to see there was no scram off. Bruce is right, this should be about quality and not who can scream the longest. Also smart move on the part of the young lady who brought something to drink with her.

1:45 DAY OF THE DEAD - Nice print, nice to get it in. Good characters. Nice story in the intro by Joe. The movie itself is okay. Never been one of my favorites, but not a bad movie.

3:55 HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER - Disturbing. Thought I would have trouble staying awake but it engaged me nicely.

5:45 WEREWOLF VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMAN - Ahh Spain, the land of endless full moons and really short nights that you have trouble telling from the days. It is kind pink there. It is also where committed relationship go to die a quick death. And the land of TMI from your driver.

7:20 DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS - Ahh France, err Belgium. Honestly, is there a difference? Isn't it like our Canada? I mean, yeah they pretend to be a different country, but really? I know they tried to explain this in the Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, but since Indy is fictional, I figured Belgium Independence was as well. :) France, err Belgium, near Spain, but so different. The nights are much longer and the days much shorter. And it rains a lot. And people make love because the waves aren't crashing on the shore just because of lunar tidal forces, people. This movie explains why quickie weddings are a bad thing. I'm still not sure why Stephan agreed to get married, must have been Paradise by The Dashboard Light kind of thing. Good print. Not as much skin and lesbian sex as I was led to believe.

9:00 Q - It was an honor for this film to make the list. Next year maybe it can actually make it all the way to the screen. I couldn't have stayed for it if we did it after The Thing, so just as well. I was looking forward to it and continue to do so.

10:40 THE THING - Almost would have traded this for Q. I've seen this a bunch of times, but it is a nice film.

Post-THING/Presentation of Death Certificates - Love the certificates and they were nicely accurate given the weather, etc. I miss the old days when our names were inscribed on them, but Bruce apparently traded his pony tail for more of a life. :)

Off the cuff commentary seemed to be at a good level, but I tend to be in the tolerant camp. Also just one loud snorer and not too terribly long.

Despite my complaining, I had a good time and I am looking forward to next year. Hopefully the first timers understood and will come back next year. I'd like to think I would be that charitable. As I said I love the marathons and because of that I want to point out issues I saw and praise things I liked.
Author:  VitruvianZeke [ Mon Oct 19, 2009 2:22 pm ]
Post subject:  2009 Recap - a Post-Mortem from the Booth
I'll go ahead and chime in at this point, just to give my own perspective.

First, let me say that I was tremendously happy to see the size of the crowd, given the new (old) venue and the return to the 24-hour format. The turnout was not the greatest in Marathon history, but quite impressive. While many things were admittedly less-than-optimal, I hope people had a good enough time and are willing to give the theater another chance (both when it starts regular film-runs and when it hosts another Marathon.)

The criticisms of the booth are certainly justified, and I can't apologize enough for the delays and the mistakes.

I can tell you that the week running up to the Marathon turned hyper-crazy with totally unexpected issues, and so very little could be worked out and tested ahead of time. The rented video projector was particularly problematic in spots, and not available until late Friday.

Normal practice for a Marathon is to have at least a few prints built-up ahead of time, but a lack of available of reels, two turning out to be too large, and an overall lack of time meant that we were just barely ahead of the curve on build-up (and break-down) of prints.

To Dave Nedrow's credit, that man is the hardest working man in show business. He alone was the driving force behind projection for the whole event, and other than Brian and myself helping schlep reels, film cans, etc. he pretty much did all the serious work. That's a heck of a job for one man, and I didn't see him wink out for one second in 24+ hours. Plus, if he'd had the merit of less bumbling assistance, there might have been better double-and-triple checking.

None of this is meant as an excuse, just an explanation. Without doubt the projection will improve considerably for future events.

Oh, and special kudos to Joe and Bruce, who not only put up with the chaos of the booth, but were extremely good at informing us of frame, focus, sound issues, etc. Joe in particular was sending us rapid-fire text messages which made it much easier to react. He's the one you primarily have to thank for the rapid response. :)

As far as the film lineup goes, I didn't get to see much, so I have little comment. I caught about 1/2 hour of The Host (which I've always loved) and was glad to see the audience reaction. I did watch The Thing at the end, as it's always been one of my absolute favorite Carpenter offerings.

Irreversable is a projectionist's nightmare, by the way. I've never before seen a film which seemed better suited to driving a booth crazy.

The print of The Masque of the Red Death was in astounding shape, and was a real treasure. Hopefully people enjoyed it.

In all, I had a spectacularly fun time, and I can tell you that when the finishing touches are put on the theater (the correct seats, the sound folds, the concession stand, the remainder of the booth equipment) it's going to be a wonderful place to go.

Keep an eye out for what they're showing. Dave in particular has a huge love of classic cinema and will do everything he can to get a wide variety of prints, old and new.

And again, thanks to everyone who showed, and especially everyone who stayed for the duration. Bruce and Joe are right, without you guys, none of this would be worth doing. ;)
Author:  Dennis [ Mon Oct 19, 2009 7:08 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 2009 Recap - a Post-Mortem from the Booth
VitruvianZeke wrote:
The criticisms of the booth are certainly justified, and I can't apologize enough for the delays and the mistakes.


You can and did. Especially in light of the selected quotes below.

Quote:
The rented video projector was particularly problematic in spots, and not available until late Friday.

Normal practice for a Marathon is to have at least a few prints built-up ahead of time, but a lack of available of reels, two turning out to be too large, and an overall lack of time meant that we were just barely ahead of the curve on build-up (and break-down) of prints.


You basically confirmed my suspicion that it wasn't a lack of effort, but a combination of bad luck, new equipment and maybe a little bit planning. Though on the latter, I don't know how much you can plan ahead. For example the video projector was not available until late on Friday. Could it have been there sooner, or would that have bumped the price up? Same for the over-sized reels. I'm betting Dave is putting together a check list of sorts before the next marathon. I run into planning issues at work on a regular basis.

Quote:
Irreversable is a projectionist's nightmare, by the way. I've never before seen a film which seemed better suited to driving a booth crazy.


Hey you got it right. Or if you didn't your reversed reels was genius. Reel Genius, you might say. :lol:

Quote:
In all, I had a spectacularly fun time, and I can tell you that when the finishing touches are put on the theater (the correct seats, the sound folds, the concession stand, the remainder of the booth equipment) it's going to be a wonderful place to go.


That is my hope/belief as well. I'm glad you had a good time especially considering all the work you had to do. I once volunteered to help set up the theater to get out of the cold, but that also meant a stint as the door guard during a movie. I don't mind supporting the marathon and if I had artistic talents I might help with decorations, but I don't want to miss the movies. I appreciate those who do make that sacrifice.
Author:  Joe Neff [ Mon Oct 19, 2009 9:33 pm ]
Post subject:  SHOCK tactics: Reviewing A Horror-Filled Spin of the Globe
I’ve never sat through an entire 24-hour Horror Marathon before.

I know, seems far fetched. But believe it, Jack: before this past weekend, yours truly had never sat through the entirety of one of these all-day, all-night terrorfests. I only attended the last two editions of Night of the Living Drexel (the full-strength one, not the all-nighter that the Drexel Grandview held in 2000), and during both of them I had to leave for five hours in the afternoon to attend a high school marching band contest…in Springfield! If any of you had known the teenage me, you would have seen what a bummer this was, although I still got to enjoy the bulk of each Marathon.

And we won’t count that 1996 mutant bastard of a marathon known as The 1st Annual Cinemark Midwest Horror Spectacular. Yes, it was a 24-hour horrorthon (held twice!), and yes, I sat through the entirety of the Friday night-Saturday night edition. But I can’t in good conscience call that event a canonical Marathon. It featured 24 hours of films, but the spirit and showmanship of any good Marathon was nowhere to be found…and, judging by the meager turnout, neither was the audience.

Yes, I was at the theater for the entirety of all five editions of Nightmare at Studio 35, but I was usually so busy with logistical matters that I only had the chance to sit down and watch a film or two. Back when the idea of organizing a 24-hour Horror Marathon first entered my twisted little brain (approximately 30 seconds after I read that fateful Dispatch article about the cancellation of Night of the Living Drexel on that fateful January Friday the 13th in that fateful year of our Lord 1995), my main concern was that I could never enjoy the damn thing if I couldn’t be in the audience. I’ve been proven wrong over time, but that sense of wanting to share in the audience’s experience has still nagged at me.

Because, you see, the Marathons have been a life changing experience for me. Before I attended my first ‘thon (the 1993 It Came From the Drexel North), I liked movies, had cultivated a love for classic Universal and Amicus horror, watched most of the bigger fare that came out. But my relationship with film was fairly casual. All that changed after my first Marathon, and my first taste of Night of the Living Drexel that fall, I knew there was no going back. Over the years, these events have opened so many doors for me, exposing me to every nook and cranny of these two genres, and encouraging me to expand my definitions of them past those crevices. A good Marathon will almost inevitably leave me with a renewed desire to seek out interesting films, to expose myself to more challenging corners of the film world and to have a deeper appreciation of this universal art.

It’s because of this life changing nature that those old Drexel North Marathons continue to haunt me. I knew about It Came From the Drexel North and Night of the Living Drexel from the moment they began, but I always figured that I was too young to attend, or that my parents wouldn’t let me go (years later, when my mom told me that she would have just had my sister take me, my delayed aggravation was pretty funny.) And by the time I began attending the Marathons, they had arguably just peaked. This was the year after the sold out 6th Sci-Fi (which featured the World Premiere of SPLIT SECOND, METROPOLIS with live music, etc.) and the largely attended 5th Horror, where Stuart Gordon made his first Marathon appearance. Looking back, you can see that these events were at the height of their powers, both in attendance and artistic realization. Two years later, the Horror Marathon was dead and the Sci-Fi was looking for a new home. Ever since, I’ve felt like I came in on the game too late, especially considering that I slept through good portions of the last two at the North (I though I’d always have next year…HA!) And in particular, those two Horror Marathons have stuck in my craw. I often have very Proustian moments when I see a film that played at them, especially when viewing DAWN OF THE DEAD, which was a major influence in my young life. These vivid sense memories are of an event that, at the time, seemed so new and taboo, an cinematic entryway into a mysterious adult world that I was only beginning to comprehend. To have that entryway yanked away from me before I could fully experience it was somewhat traumatic to my young self, and in many ways I’ve been chasing it ever since, trying to recapture some of that feel in the Marathons I’ve organized or co-organized.

And so, for me, a huge step in catching this elusive entryway was to sit and watch most of the films at a real Horror Marathon. And this past weekend, I finally got to do just that.

Aside from resurrecting the 24-hour Marathon with Bruce, this event had added significance for me in that I had only seen THE BLACK CAT and THE THING on the big screen. In booking the lineup with Bruce, I realized that this was a slate that I would create for myself if I had the choice, so getting to watch it was a treat. My notes herewith---

Due to a bit of running around, I missed THE BLACK CAT, but I was settled in for my first viewing of THE HOST. I kick myself for not seeing this before. It’s such a high quality mix of horror, humor and dramatic pathos, all three of which are deftly handled and seem entirely appropriate in their transitions into each other. It wasn’t until later that I realized that Kang-ho Song (who played the wayward father Gang-Du) also plays the lead role of the priest in Park Chan-Wook’s THIRST, an excellent film that we desperately tried to get for the Marathon. When you see it, you’ll appreciate Song’s versatility as an actor, as he’s at the total opposite end of the spectrum from his work in HOST.

I had only seen MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH on DVD, so I wasn’t quite prepared for the decadent splendor it possesses on film. I had forgotten how cruel Price’s Prince Prospero is and how (in the theatrical setting) the lavish set decoration and costume design overwhelm the senses. I was so engrossed in the narrative that it was jarring when I had to step out for a minute to speak with a patron. This was a film that we’ve been trying to get for years, so it was gratifying in every possible way.

Due to helping out with Stuart’s first autograph signing, I missed out on FROM BEYOND. The absence was disappointing, but Bruce and I wanted to make sure that everything ran smoothly. I can’t say enough good things about Stuart. He is a true gentleman, and still a fan at heart. He was beyond easy to work with, even when we had to shuffle things around in his schedule. We could tell that he really enjoyed his time at the Marathon, and I’m glad that all of you enjoyed him as well.

As Stuart stated, part of his enjoyment (and part of mine) was seeing IRREVERSIBLE with an audience. I was pleasantly surprised that more people didn’t walk out, and that the negative reactions weren’t more audibly vocal. I’ve made no bones about my desire to always include at least one divisive film in the lineups I have a hand in, and this cinematic sucker punch ably filled that qualification. Yes, the story itself doesn’t break any new ground. But I think that Noe’s intentions are more stylistic assault than narrative innovation, while still making you, the audience, think about your preconceived notions. Opening the film with its extended climax and money shot (no pun intended) is a daring and disorienting gambit, especially when you’re immediately faced with the protagonists’ homophobic and baser violent sides. The rich dramatic ironies of the party sequence are haunting, and even upon a second viewing, I was still immensely disturbed by Monica Belucci’s rape. Most films would have soft pedaled the physical reality of this segment, but Noe doesn’t trade in such tactics. IRREVERSIBLE was the highlight of the Marathon for me, both as a film and an audience experience.

I enjoyed I SELL THE DEAD a bit more than I expected. Despite the obviously shoestring budget, the leads were charismatic, and there were nice flourishes of ace comic timing throughout. And it didn’t overstay its welcome. If we could only secure one premiere this year, I’m glad it was this one.

The second major highlight of the Marathon for me was DAY OF THE DEAD. I had only seen this once before, so many of the smaller moments seemed new. Joe Pilato gets all the good lines, but Richard Liberty (Logan/Frankenstein) is such an enjoyably conflicted character and Howard Sherman is still the definitive on-screen zombie, his performance a silent movie-esque thing of beauty which elicits incredible pathos. His final salute to the dying Rhodes really got to me; it’s such a powerful, triumphant moment. And despite the noted budget constraints, I love how Romero was forced to change his story to such a claustrophobic nightmare. It’s such a logical progression from DAWN OF THE DEAD, and it gives the film a power that LAND OF THE DEAD (which I liked) just can’t match.

Seeing HENRY: PORTRAIT OF SERIAL KILLER on the big screen after all these years was quite the history lesson. For a film that was figuratively banned in the late 80’s, this is far less viscerally shocking by today’s standards. But it’s still a stark and disturbing flick. And has Michael Rooker ever been better? He so ably walks the line between psychosis and sympathy that it’s still a shock to see what happens in the end.

And then we entered the European vacation portion of the Marathon. Mea culpa: WEREWOLF VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMAN was far less overtly goofy than Bruce or I had thought. It still had its laughs, but I had been expecting more of a romp. Not that I didn’t enjoy Paul Naschy’s Columbus Marathon debut. Even more enjoyable was DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS. Bruce had wanted to book this for a Horrorthon since he came to Columbus, and I jumped on his bandwagon years ago, so finally getting to see it in a theatrical setting was very cool. It’s not exactly a stereotypical lesbian vampire film, but it is a lush and haunting fever dream of repressed desire and the hidden, primal urges that come out at night. An excellent addition.

I was genuinely disappointed to cut Q from the lineup, but these things happen. And hey, we still had THE THING. I received a few catcalls for calling it one of Carpenter’s last great films, but look at the man’s history. He’s made some good (and some wretched) film in subsequent years, but THE THING is the work of a master in full control of his talents, a claustrophobic treatise on paranoia and (again) primal fear. And wow, do Rob Bottin’s effects still pack a punch. Sure does change things when you know that the cracking head or the exploding dog were actually on set with the actors.

A few words in regards to the technical problems. Dave Zecchini is right on all counts here. Early on, the problems were immensely frustrating and, in one case of a lost lens, potentially catastrophic. But once things were ironed out, this turned out to be one of my favorite Marathon experiences. Part of that is due to the superb patience and understanding displayed by the audience. But part of that is also due to the Herculean efforts of Dave Nedrow and Jennifer Stancel. I’ll restate it here: they were phenomenal to work with, completely game for following Bruce and I on this mad filmic journey. Words cannot express how glad I am that we chose to take the Horror Marathon to them, and I’m 100% confident that next year, once the theater has been up and running for awhile, the event should be even better. Now that we have access to a greater range of films, and the artistic freedom that we didn’t have with the Drexel, I’m excited for what the future holds. I hope you all join us for the ride.
Author:  VitruvianZeke [ Tue Oct 20, 2009 10:55 am ]
Post subject:  Re: SHOCK tactics: Reviewing A Horror-Filled Spin of the Glo
Joe Neff wrote:
I received a few catcalls for calling it one of Carpenter’s last great films, but look at the man’s history. He’s made some good (and some wretched) film in subsequent years, but THE THING is the work of a master in full control of his talents, a claustrophobic treatise on paranoia and (again) primal fear. And wow, do Rob Bottin’s effects still pack a punch. Sure does change things when you know that the cracking head or the exploding dog were actually on set with the actors.

I'll back Joe on this one. Carpenter's mastery of cinema has fallen off significantly in recent years, though I still think he qualifies as legendary up through Starman (which is one of the best examples of not only his talent but his diversity.) Bridges' performance contributes much of that film's strength, but there's still a brilliance there that's all Carpenter.

Big Trouble in Little China is a personal favorite, but if you're not a fan of the genre, I can see it being less appealing. They Live and Prince of Darkness have admirable points but ultimately fall short. In the Mouth of Madness really didn't sit well with me for some reason. Everything after that has ranged from bad to nearly unwatchable.

Of course, as far as sheer enjoyment goes and "genre defining classics" aside, I think his most fun film is Dark Star. :)
Author:  MarathonVet [ Tue Oct 20, 2009 11:29 am ]
Post subject: 
THE BLACK CAT – I’m a big fan of the classic universal monster movies, which by default makes me a Lugosi & Karloff fan. Embarrassingly, before the marathon, I’d never seen a movie that they were in together. I really enjoyed it.

THE HOST – This was a lot of fun. It had a really odd mix of comedy, action, and tragedy. Really cool looking monster.

THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH – LOVE Vincent Price!! I’ve enjoyed every film he’s been in. Although, I was a little confused by the parade of deaths dressed in every color of the rainbow … but whatever.

FROM BEYOND – Fantastic!! I’m a big fan of ‘80s horror. It was great seeing Stewart Gordon in person (I wasn’t at the other marathon he attended). I thought Jeffrey Combs did a great job and the creature effects were pretty cool.

IRREVERSIBLE – This was the biggest waste of 2 hours I was ever forced to experience. It starts with a twisting, spinning camera view that made me feel sick; then when the camera finally stops moving around and focuses on something, it’s an incredibly brutal rape scene that lasted too long, made my friend leave the auditorium for the rest of the flick, and made me sicker than the spinning camera. The scenes that followed were boring, needless, and obviously not scripted. Then to top it all off, the movie ends with a flickering strobe effect that made me glad that I’m not epileptic. The only good thing I can say about this movie was the backwards playing storyline; but it’s not nearly original enough to save it from ALL the negatives. I would have rather sat through a 24-hours of Automatons.

I SELL THE DEAD – This was the jewel of the marathon. Comedy and horror go hand-in-hand. I’ve always liked Ron Pearlman, and I though Dominic Monaghan did a great job, this is my favorite of his movies. It was a little predictable, I figured out the ending by the middle of the movie. But I really did like how it almost felt like an anthology flick, like Creep Show or Trick r Treat.

DAY OF THE DEAD – The father of the zombie genre can do no wrong … in my opinion. Although it’s not my favorite of his films, it’s still a great movie and falls into my previous “I love ‘80s horror” statement.

HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER – This is a good movie, really disturbing, and Michael Rooker IS Henry! Whenever I see him in another movie, I always think of Henry. That being said, It’s not the kind of movie I enjoy seeing over and over again.

THE WEREWOLF VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMAN – Odd. Fun. I’m glad I got to see it. That is all.

DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS – Again, glad I got to see it … but I’m not really a fan of this movie. They took a whole lot of time to tell a very small story. It had no real depth and it seemed like they just threw stuff in at random.

Q – It’s a shame this movie had to be cut due to the marathon running long, I was really looking forward to some cheesiness.

THE THING – Great movie! But I feel like I’ve seen it one too many times. For me, this film needs to go into a vault for a while. That way when it makes it’s triumphant return, I will enjoy it that much more.
Author:  rotorueter [ Tue Oct 20, 2009 1:42 pm ]
Post subject: 
This was marathon #6 for me (#7 if you include the 2008 Sci-Fi 'thon), and this one did not disappoint overall.

As people have mentioned, the technical/logistic problems were a bit annoying, but it sure was nice to have them within the context of a 24-hour event. Imagine how much those delays would have screwed up one of the shorter all-nighters!

Overall, no real long-term complaints, and I say this as someone who sat in folding chairs until just after Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. The theater was just fine for our use, and having 21st century bathrooms made this whole event so much more comfortable.

Many of my sentiments echo those expressed earlier in this thread, but I'll add a few thoughts.

As someone who had never seen any end-of-the-career Lugosi/Karloff pairings, I thought [i]The Black Cat[/i] was hilarious. Not to say that Lugosi and Karloff were poor actors, but it became clear that their acumen was built on their silent acting ability after hearing Lugosi pronounce words (BALONEY!) and Karloff's lisp.

I feel Joe's pain regarding [/i]Werewolf...[i]. I felt kind of the same way regarding [/i]Daughters...[i], which was also not nearly exploitative enough. With these rare films, many of which are hard to track down beforehand on DVD, sometimes you have to take a chance---and for every gem like [i]Burial Ground[/i], there's a clunker. Taking a chance has its cost, but it is worth it in the long run.

Unfortunately, I slept through[i] I Sell the Dead[/i], which was clearly a huge error on my part. I will be tracking that one down.

Having seen it before, I think [i]Irreversible[/i] is genius. Talk about a film that manages to be non-gratuitously gratuitous. It dissects a revenge film, looking at it from all angles objectively, and still packs an enormous emotional and artistic whallup.

As for the rest: [i]The Host[/i] was satisfying as both a horror film and a political satire, [i]Masque[/i] was gorgeous, and probably would have been almost as good with the sound turned off, [i]Henry[/i] was gritty and terrifying, with great characters, [i]From Beyond, Day of the Dead, and the Thing[/i] remain gory and fun, with the latter being the perfect marriage of psychological thriller and gorefest.

I was VERY disappointed to miss [i]Q[/i]. There's no way I am waiting until next year for that one---it's being Netflixed asap.

As far as the additional programming: Stuart Gordon was great, and so was Sue Harshe.

Again, the only thing that, for me, dragged down the Marathon was the fact that the two most underwhelming films were back-to-back.


[/i]
Author:  Terry [ Tue Oct 20, 2009 2:18 pm ]
Post subject: 
I had a great time. The theater was just fine. It was obvious people were working hard to bring this off. I made it for the 24 hours.

My favorites were Host, Masque, Henry, From Beyond and Thing. I had not seen any of the movies shown before.

The one I would have dropped would be Irreversible.

See you next year.
Author:  Jaws3dfan [ Tue Oct 20, 2009 5:04 pm ]
Post subject: 
I had to leave the marathon just before "I sell the dead" I didn't want to leave but I had a severe Migraine, the first one I have had in years, not sure what brought it on but if you have ever had a Migraine you know the only cure is to find a quiet, dark place and pray you fall asleep (I used ambien to make sure I would fall asleep)

Personally I am happy to hear "Q" was cut from the lineup because I really wanted to see that movie on the big screen again and if I know Joe and Bruce (and I do) "Q" will be making an appearance at an upcoming marathon.

I have seen "The Thing" on the big screen many times in fact I showed it at my 12 hour Sci-Fi marathon in Pickerington and Joe and I screened it the night before, it was Joe's first time seeing "The Thing" and his reaction was exactly as I expected and although I don't agree "The Thing" is Carpenters Last great film I do agree It's a masterpiece of Sci-Fi Terror.

The High points of the 'thon for me was "From Beyond" and "Masque of the Red Death" 2 classics that I welcome to the big screen.

The Low Points were the unfinished theater and "irreversible" I am so glad that the Horror Marathon has a new home and next October should be an amazing experience. I am just not a huge fan of movies like "irreversible" and I don't consider them horror movies. I would much rather see I good slasher film or a zombie movie. Also I don't mind one subtitle movie in a 24 hour marathon but two is one to many. Lets face it we watch movies so we don't have to read :lol:
Author:  MarathonVet [ Wed Oct 21, 2009 10:54 am ]
Post subject: 
usinoh wrote:
I am just not a huge fan of movies like "irreversible" and I don't consider them horror movies.


Amen!
Author:  Jaws3dfan [ Wed Oct 21, 2009 11:50 am ]
Post subject: 
MarathonVet wrote:
usinoh wrote:
I am just not a huge fan of movies like "irreversible" and I don't consider them horror movies.


Amen!


I would say irreversible is more of a revenge film along the lines of Last house on the left and I spit on your Grave, it's hard to put them in a genre so they get lumped in with horror but than why not show Death Wish or Crank?
Author:  VitruvianZeke [ Wed Oct 21, 2009 1:21 pm ]
Post subject: 
Film genre classification is one of the biggest argumentative points you'll ever find among movie buffs. Trust me, try working for a library sometime if you want to know just how confusing categorization can get.

IMDB recognizes 27 different genre classifications, but has the advantage of being able to classify films under multiple categories. They list Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer as "Crime, Thriller, Horror" and Irreversible as "Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller." The New York Public Library lists the VHS as "Revenge - Drama" and the DVD as "Murder - Drama."

I too would be disinclined to add "Horror" to the list for Irreversible, but in a Marathon which features Henry it seems appropriate enough. Certainly Mr. Gordon considers its intensity and style horrific enough ... he picked it, after all. :)
Author:  theburningficus [ Wed Oct 21, 2009 1:32 pm ]
Post subject: 
As the fellow film reel lackey, I don't have much new to add, most of the comments here already are pretty on target. But I'd like to chime in anyway:

Lovely to see The Host on the big screen again... I took for granted that many would've seen it already, but the audience response was exciting, and it was a nice way to wipe the early tech glitches away.

Wish I taken the time to see more of Masque Of The Red Death, that print was especially astounding, and had obviously been handled with care. Kind of a sleeper highlight of the marathon in my opinion.

Was kind of bummed to see Black Cat cut for time, would've been a nice intro for Stuart Gordon, and the double-tap of Jeffery Combs would've been a nice continuity add - but oh well, it's out there on DVD.

The musical performance, in light of other types of 'multimedia' events that have been attempted before, I thought worked well. The reel that Bruce cut together for the performance I thought was pretty impressive, also kudos must be paid to Zeke running out and buying all the MIDI cable in town to get it done :)

From Beyond was a bit shrill at the open, and since one my duties for most of the time was juggling the volume knob, nice to know we got it sorted out for the most part.

Did someone tape Stuart's Q&A? I'd forgotten to ask.

You know what? I thought Irreversible would go over like a lead balloon, and it's far easier to poke jokes at what is a difficult film, but have to say re-watching it again on the big screen it held my interest. I think I'll have to take a look at it again. I also made me research and reappraise the similar films of that genre like Man Bites Dog, etc. (I still think baise-moi is crap, though.)

I Sell The Dead was the pearl of the marathon, and the one I excused myself to see... hope everyone came away with same feeling. Great genre cast, not too serious, really excellent choice for the marathon. There's always one film you're glad you have the opportunity to see on the big screen, b/c it will be harder to track down later on - and this was it.

Wanted to see Day of The Dead, but headed back to the booth... still haven't seen it. Will have to someday.

Henry was another one I wanted to see, I think time has dulled the edge on this film, since I've seen so many other films of this type now (Monster comes to mind as one that strikes a similar tone) but Nedrow reminded me that in 1990, it had a lot of impact, plus it was the first film of a solid director whose gone to make similarly underappreciated films. Was good to finally see it.

One thing I didn't see get touched on much in the comments was our Skype call with Kevin O'Brien. From a technical standpoint, I think it was pretty astounding. It really opens up, after suffering through previous pre-taped intros & cringe-inducing guest interviews, what the marathon can/could/should do. And was nice to Kevin placed in the Hall of Fame. Probably won't get him off his butt to do another film <g> but he looked to enjoy it a great deal (getting to mess with sleep-deprived marthoners was probably a plus, too. Heh.)

At this point, after shimmying up that tiny stairwell at least a hundred times, being occasional reel monkey in the hot booth, and trying to be microphone monkey and give Joe and Bruce a working mouthwordthingy, I shut down during Werewolf. One minute I put my feet up to rest a aching a blistered left foot, next minute we're midway though Daughters of Darkness. <g>

I'm just glad that none of my fellow volunteers had a sharpie or a warm bucket of water nearby.

I was bummed to see Q cut too. Another film I wanted to see, but I'm always glad to see The Thing on the big screen... and as we're dissecting Carpenter's career, I'd say it's at about the midpoint here... five years later we've got Piper all out of bubblegum, and then from then on... it's mediocre at best, but mostly laughable at worst.

And let me agree, and I can't stress enough, that Dave and Jen poured all their energies into making it work - and I thought they did an outstanding job. And as what they have in store for the Grandview continues to evolve, we're going to see this marathon as the first steps of something pretty special, and I hope the marathoids agree.
Author:  Cody [ Wed Oct 21, 2009 1:52 pm ]
Post subject: 
I had a great time at the marathon, as always, and am very appreciative that the Grandview owners let us hang out in their work-in-progress for 24 hours.

As said before the marathon, Day of the Dead was the movie I was most looking forward to seeing, and it was indeed the movie of the marathon for me. I was in giddy fanboy mode as it played out, completing my big screen viewings of the holy trilogy.

Lots of other greats in the line-up - Black Cat, Masque, From Beyond, The Thing.

The one I liked the least... I have to split from majority on this one - The Host. It has some good ideas, nifty monster moments, a nice sense of humor, but something about it makes it very hard for me to sit through. The pacing of most of the scenes just kills me.

I Sell the Dead was the surprise of the night. I didn't know much about it, based on the title and setting I expected just another straightforward telling of the Burke & Hare story, but it turned out to be something much more entertaining.

Irreversible was an interesting experiment, and I enjoyed eavesdropping on the reactions to it.

Stuart Gordon was a very nice, cool guy.

I do hope to see Q next year.
Author:  not worldsfinest [ Wed Oct 21, 2009 5:00 pm ]
Post subject: 
Been attending since the two-headed ‘thons started in Grandview, so this was my first 24-hour.

No real mega highs or mega lows for me this year. The only movie I flat-out didn’t like was Werewolf v. Vampire Woman. The enjoyed the other 10 movies for various reasons.

Oddly enough, of my favorites, two were movies I’d seen previously. I absolutely love The Thing and this was my first chance to see it on the big screen. And while love certainly isn’t the right word for Irreversible, I respect the hell out of it and seeing it on the screen with an audience was pretty unforgettable for me. Not sure if I heard a single peep from the crowd.

I’ll second Cody’s tepid reaction to The Host. I didn’t dislike it, but I’d heard and read so much about how great it was, I was ultimately let down. Solid, but not great. Tedious at times and, honestly, I wasn’t thrilled with the monster FX, which at times just screamed CGI, which is a major pet peeve of mine (see ever movie Stephen Sommers has ever made).

I think I’m also slightly against the grain on I Sell the Dead. Liked it, laughed at it, but didn’t love it. Not sure if I’ll feel compelled to seek it out again.

Daughters of Darkness didn’t have the titillation and smuttiness I’d hoped for, but I ended up being impressed by it. A bit smarter and more transgressive in its themes than I was expecting. It was a better movie than I thought it was going to be, though I wasn’t entertained in the manner in which I hoped -- does that make sense?

Masque was a gorgeous as promised (probably my 3rd fave in the line up).

From Beyond didn’t disappoint.

Henry, as others have noted, wasn’t as shocking as I thought it was going to be in my mind given its infamous reputation, but it is still a helluva movie.

Day of the Dead and The Black Cat were solid.
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