Joe Neff wrote:
I'll fully admit that this is a tough one. But I'll give it a try. My first Horror Marathon was the 1993 NIGHT OF THE LIVING DREXEL, so I'll start from there.
3.) Okay, so I'll really dig myself further into my self-imposed grave with this one, but I have to agree with Wolf: A SERBIAN FILM at the 2011 SHOCK AROUND THE CLOCK was a truly unforgettable experience. And I still debate whether that's a good thing. All I know is that in 20 years of attending Horror Marathons, SERBIAN FILM stands out as probably the most disturbing, horrifying, gut-wrenching experience I've had in this venue. The fact that I knew about a good deal of the most infamous moments beforehand is even more of a testament to how effective this film was. I've had so many good times at Horror Marathons of various stripes, but as I argued back in the aftermath of the 2011 'thon, the horror genre has to make you uncomfortable sometimes. And A SERBIAN FILM really got under my skin and has stayed with me ever since.
2.) And speaking of fulfilling pre-existing impressions of me while paying tribute to powerful filmic experiences: SUSPIRIA in 35mm at last year's SHOCK AROUND THE CLOCK. I've seen this film so many times uncut on video, and three times before on film in its truncated form. But that still didn't prepare me for last year's screening. As I noted last year, the print was from the original domestic release, and it looked like it hadn't been played more than a handful of times. The colors were absolutely gorgeous, almost hypnotic; during the close-up of Jessica Harper and Stefania Casini, bathed in red, whispering about the head mistress, I almost felt like I was right there with them.
But it was the rightly famous opening ten minute salvo that's really stuck with me. Some on this board have noted/poked fun at the brutal, pummeling soundtrack during this sequence. And that's exactly what I liked about it. Even though I had experienced SUSPIRIA so many times before, there was a point during the murder at Olga's apartment house when I suddenly felt completely overwhelmed by the sound and visuals. It was a full on sensory assault, thrilling and almost dangerous in its power. Most of us strive to give ourselves over to films (even if in small part) when we see them. This ten minute sequence, in this setting, with this crowd was just such an experience for me.
1.) But #1 is an easy one for me, the grandaddy of all my Horror Marathon film experiences: DAWN OF THE DEAD at the 1994 NIGHT OF THE LIVING DREXEL. I've told this story many times, but NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD was a seminal film experience for ten year old me, one of the first truly transgressive films I'd seen at that point. But when I noted references to DAWN OF THE DEAD in various horror guides and picture books over the years afterward, I dismissed it as merely a cheap ripoff of a sequel. So when DAWN started unspooling at the Drexel North, I had no idea what to expect.
And boy, was my 17 year old mind completely blown. We're talking gape mouthed awe here. DAWN was the first horror film I'd seen that was simultaneously frightening, funny, action-packed, gruesome, whimsical, etc. But it was also the first time I realized that horror films could contain social commentary: Romero's anti-consumerist subtext really floored young me. Needless to say, the rest of the Marathon couldn't possibly live up to this viewing. For months afterward, I was mildly obsessed with DAWN, and the eventual fact that it was a keynote film of the last NIGHT OF THE LIVING DREXEL lent it an additional, personal power for me. And it remains my favorite film of all time. Damn, I'm getting excited just writing about it.
Honorable mention goes to the 2012 screening of POSSESSION, which was such a wonderfully strange, off the rails film that the audience ate up.
One more thing: on Facebook, I promised to tell an interesting story about Stuart Gordon and IRREVERSIBLE (a film that a few of you listed as a memorable moment). So here goes:
As most of you know, we gave Stuart carte blanche to program one film for the 2009 SHOCK AROUND THE CLOCK: his choice was IRREVERSIBLE. After the film screened, Stuart was in the lobby signing autographs when a woman approached him. She told the tale of how although she was excited to be at the Marathon and to see him, she was almost offended by the choice of IRREVERSIBLE as one of the films. And she intended to tell Stuart how disgusted she was at its screening. But when she spoke with Stuart, she told him that seeing the film had deeply affected her, that she'd seen it in a totally different way, and that she wanted to thank him with a hug. And so she did. Yes, on that night, for one person, IRREVERSIBLE was a uniting force.
OH GAWD! Sorry, had to be done!