The Ohio Sci-Fi and Horror Marathons

Sure....it was just unexpected and somewhat shocking for the time slot. As an addendum, Bruce issued a mea culpa on the message board after the event, claiming (and I emphasize CLAIMING) that he'd forgotten how blue the trailer was.

Hmmmm.........maybe he can "forget" the content next year and send it on a trailer reel to Boston...

Whoa! You're here and on the Boston board at the same time!!! You Ohio guys really do like to mess around with time/space!


I'd prefer it if he didn't. Not that we ever get to see his trailers anyway.

My own (perhaps overly) personal experience with Flesh Gordon was at a sci-fi convention. I am pretty sure it was the X rated version, it was a lot more graphic than I had anticipated. The guy beside me (who I knew, but only casually) decided for some reason that it would be appropriate to stick his hand between my thighs.



I swear I don't make this stuff up. Surprisingly, the guy still has both hands. I didn't watch the rest of the movie.

I don't know your crowd there, but what I saw was definitely not for the kids, well beyond anything I have ever seen at a marathon. If you decide to show it, I think you would need to make that VERY clear to the parents. Assuming you have the X rated version. I have no idea about the other.

I'm also currently at the Store 24 in West Roxbury...eating a burrito...thinking of rice chex...





YIKES!!! Dunno if we simple Midwest folks could handle the overwhelming power of a film like that. Waitaminit...are you sure you weren't watching THEY CAME FROM WITHIN?



FLESH GORDON has been bandied about as a possible film for years. The SF Marathon (shhh...don't tell Dan I used that abbreviation) has generally kept the sexual content fairly chaste, reserving the harder stuff for the Horror Marathon. CLOCKWORK ORANGE is about as strong as things have gotten, although some of the Troma trailers (MANIAC NURSES FIND ECSTASY....sigh...) screened late at night have pushed the envelope.

I've never been able to find West Roxbury. Mmmm...a rice chex burrito. I might have to make a 7eleven run.



Believe it or not, I have been advocating getting that one shown, once and for all! That incident was the year before I started going. I actually watched the movie on cable just a week or so ago. I thought it was pretty mild! I think the audience would be laughing at it now. Especially the "special" effects.


Ah, don't worry. You can't tell Dan anything!

I remember an orgy scene that would be tough to explain to the kids. Do you guys get many kids?

The kid quota has seemed to ebb and flow throughout the years. Ever since we lost the dear, departed Drexel North (R.I.P.) and experienced a gradual drop in attendance in the following years, it seems like the audience has grayed a bit. Not as gray as the Metamucil crowd in Boston, but older nonetheless.

Joe-how can you forget the rat vs. severed penis at the end of Beyond Re-Animator a few years ago?

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The infamous THEY CAME FROM WITHIN incident has been explained before, but it bears repeating. About two weeks before the 3rd annual Sci-Fi marathon, Boston was clobbered by the Blizzard of '78. Unless you were a police, fire or medical worker, it was illegal to drive in Boston for a week. All sorts of things were cancelled or closed. Cabin-fever set in..... And then it was time for the marathon! In the larger auditorium, seating about 400, in the afternoon there was a brief introduction for this film from an unknown Canadian director. If you've never seen it, this is my memory of how the film begins: A young schoolgirl, maybe 15, is returning to her apartment building. A middle aged man is chasing her. She tries to escape into her apartment, but he forces his way in and chases her around the room, finally catching and strangling her on the couch. He picks her up, puts her on a table and rips open her blouse. From a medical bag he was carrying he takes out a bottle and a scalpel, cuts her open, pours acid into the cut, and then cuts his own throat. This was 1978, pre-home video, pre-a lot of things that have desensitized us over the years and, while the intro had hinted that this might be a bit rough, this was Cambridge, political-correctness central. At least 100, maybe 150, people got up and walked out on the film. The rest of the film is rather mild in comparison to the brutal shock value of that opening scene. Among the walkouts were two who met and shared their dislike for the film. They went on to marry and, if I'm not mistaken, breed a new generation of marathoid. It was memorable. Next year will be the 30th anniversary!

Meanwhile it's sounding as if we'll have to make do with the PG-rated FLESH GORDON trailer.

West Roxbury and the time/space continuum? Only in Massachusetts do you go south-southeast to get from Northborough to Westborough and east to get from Northborough to Southborough. Them wacky Spacing Guild Navigators musta got loose out there! Or was it the Mooninites?

I'm sure you've thought of this already, Bruce, but if your illustrious collection includes a SATURDAY THE 14TH trailer, this year would be a perfect time to show it.

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Your memory of They Came From Within is pretty close, however that wasn't quite the opening scene. The first few minutes were more mundane. Once you are settling in, they sock you with the acid scene. Also, according to a news report later in the movie, the girl was 19. Phew!

Without giving away spoilers for those who haven't seen it, if people had continued to watch the movie, they would have discovered that scene was not quite what it appeared to be.

As for West Roxbury, I live in Jamaica Plain, which is to the east of West Roxbury. But west of Roxbury! Don't even get me started on the North End/East Boston!

Any Chance of seeing A Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell? As a all. for Flesh Gordon?

A Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell is the WORST troma movie ever (and thats saying alot) it's slow, boring and very mild. As with most troma movies the trailer is a lot more fun.

I have to throw in my 2 cents worth on the whole Flesh Gordon topic. I definantly think JASON X should play at a marathon. Oh Wait wrong topic

I don't think the sci-fi marathon is as family friendly as it used to be, in the glory days at the Drexel North (R.I.P) you would see entire families but over the years I have noticed more of an older crowd. Also in past marathons Bruce has announced movied that were not KID friendly and asked parents to well um be parents.

Movie theaters are not the police and they are not parents, as long as everyone is made very aware of what is about to be seen than the 'thon should be able to show Flesh Gordon. A few years back we showed BLOOD SUCKING FREAKS at a Drexel Horror Marathon, if you are not familiar with this movie try to imagine hundreds of naked women being brutally tortured for an hour and a half and we made an announcment before the movie warning people, a couple of people chose to sit in the concession area or sleep and everyone else enjoyed the show although I didn't hear about anyone touching the person next to them.

Anyway I have never seen Flesh Gordon (I know Joe just fell out of his chair) but I would like to see it in it's X rated glory on the big screen!!!

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Gaaahhhh!!!! And I call myself a Marathon Historian! I'll dock myself two points for bad form.




I think if we could arrange for JASON X to screen around 5am with a complimentary pancake buffet, all the problems of the world might be solved. Or we might rip a hole in the West Roxbury space/time continuum.



Parents needn't fear warning their kids about BLOODSUCKING FREAKS. Withing 15 minutes, everyone involved would be sound asleep.



Believe it or not, Tim, I haven't seen the legendary FLESH either. So I'll stay in my chair. Although, I guess I SHOULD be surprised that YOU haven't seen it. Ok, preparing to fall as we speak.

I know, I feel I am gonna be docked 2 points on the perv scale

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I saw FLESH years ago and I think I saw the hardcore "X" version. My memory, which doesn't serve me as well as it use to, is that there are indeed a few "hardcore" scenes in the movie. So it would be a bit of the ole extreme Close Up hardcore on the screen.

Mostly, I remember it just being bad. I'm sure that's the point, but I don't remember it being bad in a good way. It trys hard to be funny. So if you think spaceships in the shape of a penis is funny, and that bad acting is a riot, then this is your movie.

When movies try to be "Campy" I usually don't find them funny. "Camp" should evolve on it's own without the influence of the filmmakers. I think it is a pretty unworthy goal to try and intentionally make a "campy/bad" movie. Those are better when they just happen. The Apple is a great example, from what I gather, this was a film that the director believed was a masterpeice. He believed he was making a piece of Avant-garde cinema, and well, you all have seen the results. John Water may be the exception...although, I don't feel like typing an essay on this topic, or I would delve deeper into this. Feel free to say, "CARTER, YOUR WRONG!"

In general, I agree. But there are laws about dispensing pornography to minors and there are movies that theaters by law must not admit minors to. I know that the standards and the rating system have changed since the 70s but what I saw would probably still qualify as porn today. IANAL but I think there is at least the possibility of a legal issue for a theater showing it when minors are present. I'll let those more knowledgable than I address that if they care to.

I believe the other Ohio marathon requires everyone under a certain age to leave during the late night hours, though they can come back in the morning. I wonder if this is part of the reason for that?

Edit: I know that the ratings system is voluntary, but I am fairly certain a theater that allowed a 10 year old to buy a ticket to a porn flick would get in trouble for it.