The Ohio Sci-Fi and Horror Marathons

I'm really excited for this year's marathon. I was worried when the first few titles announced were nothing exciting at first glance. And then Bruce went away for a while and comes back with an updated list. While some may look at individual titles and consider them less than stellar, all obsessed marathoids like you and me know that a marathon is not just about individual films. The marathon is bigger than all of us, it is a journey. And sometimes the key is in the proper placement of films to give the marathon it's proper flow.

I take a peek at the Boston boards from time to time, especially since we come up just a couple months after them. It gets me excited about our marathon. It seems as if the same thing happened there this year. There was some concerns about a weak lineup at first, and then there were a few last minute additions. When all was said and done, the loyalists there seemed to think it was one of the best lineups in a while.

Now I'm not implying that our Host Organism needs any help with scheduling the order of the films. I think with thirty years of experience, he surely knows a little something by now. But I am wierd and obsessed about things like this so I always like to fiddle around with the lineup once I have a clear picture about what all is on the schedule. If there are any others out there like me, then I would appreciate your thoughts on the matter. And if you all think I'm just a freak, then so be it.

Anyway, for the record, this is the order I would schedule the films:

FLASH GORDON
KING DINOSAUR
FIDO
FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE SPACEMONSTER
SURPRISE CLASSIC
2ND PREMEIRE (if there is one)
GALAXY OF TERROR
STAR TREK
CHOPPING MALL
NIGHT OF THE COMET
SLITHER
12 MONKEYS

I think with the lineup as it stands, leading with Flash is pretty much a no-brainer. The rest is debatable I'm sure. 12 MONKEYS is a strong closer, but I suppose you could also go with SLITHER. I think GALAXY OF TERROR is going to be a surprise crowd pleaser and should be shown when a decent amount of us are coherent.

...hey, stop shaking your head and giggling like that! I already know is it sad that I put so much thought and energy into a silly little movie marathon like this.

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Here is how I would do it, and your right the order is very important!

Star Trek (I think people will enjoy this more early plus it's G rated)
Frankenstein Meets the space Monster
Night of the Commet
Fido
Flash Gordon
Surprise Classic
12 Monkeys
King Dino
2nd Premiere
Chopping Mall
Galaxy Of Terror
Slither

No you you are not weird for thinking about this, I have since I picked up my flyer from the Drexel East, oh did I mention the flyers are great!!!!

The order in which the films are placed is paramount to the flow of the thon. It can make or break an audience's enjoyment, you can dictate how the crowd will react with simple placement. Take Star Trek I like the film, I saw it a couple of years ago at the Screens @ The Continent, and I thought it was good for what it was, as the first feature people will repond to it in IMHOP. Close with Slither as apossed to 12 Monkeys beacause it's fast and upbeat, while I'm afraid 12 Monkeys is closer in tone with THX 1138 (slow and deliberate). Just my 2 cents!!!

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Yes the order can often determin the mood of the 'thon, I remember years ago at a Drexel North Marathon watching 2001 a Space Odyssey at what felt like 3am but I could be wrong I just remembered it was to slow for it's time slot, this is the order I would run this marathon in:

Flash Gordon
King Dinosaur
The Great Yokai War
Costume Contest
Night of the Comet
Fido
Star Trek
Surprise Classic
Galaxy Of Terror
Puzzlehead
Frankenstein Meets the space Monster
Chopping Mall
Slither
12 Monkeys

Revised for the 2 new Premiers

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Here is my order of the movies

King Dinosaur
Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster
Fido
Night of the Comet
Star Trek The Motion Picture
Galaxy Of Terror
Surprise Classic
Chopping Mall
Flash Gordon
2nd Premire
12 Monkeys
Slither

Try to balance the cheese with the classics.

I can get behind Flash Gordon being first, however 12 Monkeys is a great film (If you haven't seen it skip over) .....................................................<spoiler> It ends on a low note, and you don't want the audience to shuffle out on a bummer. Have we learned nothing from THX 1138?........................................<end spoiler> And I believe Star Trek early on is also the best fit as well maybe even early evening. I think Flash Gordon will play great whenever it is shown.

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I like this one. I might move Star Trek up where Night of The Comet is, put the Suprise Classic in Star Trek's slot and move Night of the Comet to the calssics current midnight slot.

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It seems as if most of you would prefer STAR TREK and COMET earlier. I can understand that and I think it would work. The only problem I have is with putting one of the bad B&W snarkfests in the middle of the night. The fun factor becomes tedium when half of the audience is asleep. Let's face it, FRANKENSTEIN is not in the lineup to be appreciated for it's merit as a film.

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I just know that I would fall asleep if Star Trek was on at 4am but I would make it a point to stay awake for FRANKENSTEIN

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King Dinosaur (1 Hour 3 Min) NOON
Star Trek (2 Hours 12 Min) 1:30pm
Frankenstein Meets the space Monster (1 Hour 19 Min) 4pm
Fido (1 Hour 31 Min) 5:45pm
Flash Gordon (1 Hour 51 Min) 7:30pm
Costume Contest 9:30pm
Slither (1 Hour 35 Min) 9:45pm
Surprise Classic (????) Midnight
Galaxy Of Terror (1 Hour 21 Min) 2am
Chopping Mall (1 Hour 17 Min) 3:45am
SCREAM CONTEST, Kelli Maroney Look-alike Contest, or BEST 80's impression Contest 5:00am
Night of the Comet (1 Hour 35 Min) 5:15am
2nd Premiere (????) 7:45 am
12 Monkeys (2 Hours 9 Min) 9:45am, but later, because evething will be pushed back.

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BEND TIME!!!!!
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hmm, I'm sure Bruce will come up with a pretty good order,
but if I had to choose, I might make it something like this:

King Dinosaur
Night of the Comet
Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster
Fido
Star Trek The Motion Picture
Surprise Classic
2nd Premire
Galaxy Of Terror
12 Monkeys
Chopping Mall
Flash Gordon
Slither

I think that opening with Star Trek might be best for those who want to see it. Late at night would be a real snoozer-kind of like Dune at SF6 (a divisive movie that would have put everyone to sleep late at night). I also think Flash Gordon should be somewhere in the evening hours when like The Apple, when people are awake enough to enjoy the camp, but not too early for those who have some beers with their dinners.

I guess I would go with something like this:

Star Trek
King Dinosaur
Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster
Night of the Comet
Fido
Surprise Classic
Slither
Chopping Mall
Galaxy of Terror
12 Monkeys

With the 2nd premiere (or Robocop) fitting wherever Bruce sees fit.

I think 12 Monkeys is a very strong film to end with. I don't think it's slow or depressing at all. Sure it ends on a down note, but so does The Thing and no one complained when that ended a marathon. I think THX-1138 was a downer because it's a very slow movie. I also think that for those who stick around until the end usually get a second wind around 8 or 9am anyway. Slither is too new to end with. There are a lot of people (myself included usually) that don't like new movies and might be tempted to leave before the end if that played.

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Well, YOU might make it a point to stay awake, but realistically hardly anybody else would, thus some of the enjoyment of that film would be lost. STAR TREK is the type of film that can be enjoyed quietly in the middle of the night. But the downside to that is yes it is slow and would lull many to sleep who may not otherwise want to. I would love it if more people in the audience were as die hard as me and many others who post here, but the fact of the matter is that there is very little audience energy in the wee hours of the morning.

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Aliens? Us?
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I agree!!!!! Slower paced films like Star Trek (and 12 Monkeys, but I'm wrong I suppose on that.....) Should be played earlier. Star Trek is a good film, and it deserves more respect than it has recieved. I do understand that no one has openly bashed it, but when it was released it did very well for a reason. On the new film front, Slither when released last year did very poorly at the Box Office much like another movie that is being hailed by some on this board as a marathon classic, Equilbrium. I saw both of these movies at the theater upon their first release, and I enjoyed them a great deal, and I will argue that it would be a great closer due to the fact that it's box office was so low that most who have seen it, have done so on their TVs, missing the chance to see it with a full crowd. 12 Monkeys is amazing, I've been saying for years that it would be good for the marathon, but as I've said, not as it's closer.Not just because of it's tone, it is also very slow (does not mean bad) and the best movies can feel really long sleep deprived (working as a manager in theaters for 10 years, trust me I've walked out of many late night screenings of some pretty great films). While I understand that we all have thoughts on this, I just wanted to state my reasons again, and I do know that Bruce has been doing this a long time, is a lover of films, and gets the whole point about pacing of an event like this. I trust that he will put together a great sched. and we will all be very pleased with it's outcome.

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Or have Night of the Comet and Chopping Mall plays back to back. Since they have the same actress, Kelli Maroney is in both films.

Yes the order can often determin the mood of the 'thon, I remember years ago at a Drexel North Marathon watching 2001 a Space Odyssey at what felt like 3am but I could be wrong I just remembered it was to slow for it's time slot, this is the order I would run this marathon in:

Flash Gordon
King Dinosaur
The Great Yokai War
Costume Contest
Night of the Comet
Fido
Star Trek
Surprise Classic
Galaxy Of Terror
Puzzlehead
Frankenstein Meets the space Monster
Chopping Mall
Slither
12 Monkeys

Revised for the 2 new Premiers

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