Monday, October 28, 2013

Exhumed Films' 24 Hour Horror-Thon 2013

October 26, 2013

The annual Exhumed Films 24 Hour Horror-Thon is the highlight of many a movie fan's year. For the 7th year in a row the fine folks at Exhumed delivered films, trailers, shorts and some surprises over the course of 24 hours. This year the program included 14 and 1/2 films.


12:25pm: "Something awful's about to go down."

After a brief announcement and a series of giveaways Trailer Reel #1 played.

Trailer Reel #1: Previews of Coming Attractions, Tales from the Crypt Presents: Bordello of Blood, The Frighteners, Tremors, John Carpenter's Vampires, The People Under the Stairs, The Exorcist III, Billy Madison.

1st FeatureTales from the Crypt Presents:Demon Knight (1995)

The clue from Exhumed read: "Weird, fun, underrated horror film from the 1990s."

2:15pm: "You deserve whatever you get."

Trailer Reel #2: Animated intermission/refreshments promo, Creepshow 2, Dawn of the Dead, The Dark Half, Diary of the Dead

2nd FeatureMonkey Shines (1988)

This George Romero flick had me wondering why an animal has never won an Oscar for best acting.

4:15pm - (Trailer Reel #3) Tom and Jerry in Switchin' Kitten (1961)



4:25pm: "Oh my God!"

3rd Feature: Revenge of the Living Zombies (1988)
AKA Flesh Eater

Written and directed by Bill Hinzman of Night of the Living Dead fame. Not surprisingly he also plays a zombie. Best viewed in a theater full of like-minded fans,

5:52 -  Trailer Reel #4: Animated refreshments/intermission promo, The Baby, Private Parts, The Clones

6:00pm: "There was no need for this!"

4th FeatureMansion of the Doomed (1976)

"Grim, groesome, disturbing '70s horror film."

Features a young(er) Lance Henriksen, Vic Tayback, and some great makeup design work from Stan Winston (credited as "Stanley Winston").

7:27 -  Trailer Reel #5: Feature Presentation promo, Zombie, Two Evil Eyes, Ironmaster (foreign), The Hex Massacre/Lucifer's Curse double feature, The Adventures of Hercules II

7:35pm: "I'm afreaid to be left alone."

5th FeatureInferno (1980)

The 2nd installment of Dario Argento's "Three Mothers Trilogy". I ducked out for a quick walk to keep the blood flowing when this one started and discovered that the fire alarm had gone off while I was gone. The theater was emptied and after the all clear the movie resumed.

9:25pm: "I will be a lot safer in here than you will be out there."

5 1/2th Feature: Monsters Crash the Pajama Party (1965)

We were promised that this one would require "audience participation" and it did just that. The monsters jumped right out of the screen and interacted with the audience!

10:00pm - Trailer Reel #6: Previews of Coming Attractions, Cry of the Banshee, John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness, Maximum Overdrive, Heavy Metal, Trick or Treat

10:08pm : "Alice Copper rules!"

6th Feature: Alice Cooper: Welcome to My Nightmare (1975)

This is why I look forward to the event every year. You're never sure what you're going to see and there are always a few pleasant surprises.

11:33pm - Trailer Reel #7: Previews of Coming Attractions, The Island, Orca/Orca Novel, Jaws 2, Survive

11:44pm: "I'm just a happy go lucky guy."

7th FeatureTintorera (1977)
One of the many Jaws knockoffs from the 1970s. Features an early appearance from Pricillsa Barnes and lots of righteous partying.

October 27, 2013

1:12am - Trailer Reel #8: Cartoon promo for theater concessions, The Silence of the Lambs, Manhunter, Roadgames, Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, April Fool's Day

1:22am: "You're living in a fantasy world."

8th Feature: The House on Sorority Row (1983)
Low budget slasher film from the '80s.

2:53am - Trailer Reel #9: Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horrors, Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror, Body Bags, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, Hellraiser: Bloodline

3:03am: "...All the fun things."

9th Feature: Night Train to Terror (1985)
This anthology film follows God and the Devil as they ride a doomed train. Before the crash they choose the fate of several souls. In another car a nameless band from the 80s sings the catchiest song ever.

4:35am - Trailer Reel #10: Nightmare Honeymoon, The Devil's Wedding Night, House of Dark Shadows, Brides of Blood, Count Dracula and his Vampire Bride

4:46am: "Stay tuned on further details..."

10th FeatureThe Parasite Murders (1975)
AKA Shivers, They Came From Within
 
Early David Cronenberg. One scene after a reel change towards the end had a French sound track.

6:25am - (Trailer Reel #11): Mister Magoo Meets Frankenstein (1960)


6:32am: "The more I study it, the greater the puzzle becomes."

11th FeatureThe Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973)


 Ray Harryhausen's brilliant stop-motion in glorious 35mm.

In the interest of getting back on schedule after the fire alarm break and some minor projector issues the remaining trailer reels were skipped.

8:15am: "Now you're talking!"

12th Feature: Toxic Zombies (1980)
AKA Bloodeaters


Exhumed showed this years ago and vowed that they wouldn't never show it again. Thankfully they changed their minds.

9:37am: "OK, cut the crap!"

13th Feature: Darkman (1990)


Sam Raimi's first studio film introduced movie goers to a brand new superhero.

11:07am: Poster giveaways.

11:18am: "So this is the forbidden zone."

14th Feature: Demons 2 (1986)
 

Final delivering the sequel to the film that ended the very first Horror-Thon.

All in all it was another great lineup of films. See you next year!

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