Day 27 - The Aero Dusk To Dawn Horrorthon

If you haven't read my other post regarding the New Beverly Cinemas All Night Horror Show, feel free to read the intro to that post to get an idea for the flavor of these all night events:

http://carter9000.blogspot.com/2012/10/day-13-new-beverly-all-night-horror-show.html

Arrived at the Aero Theater at approximately 6:30PM, one hour before showtime.  The event was 7:30AM to 7:30PM - 12 hours of movies and oddities. About 75 people were already in line.  There was a chatty young college-aged guy in a leprechaun costume, a young couple, and a Santa Monica College reporter next to me and my friend in line. Another all night horror marathon! This time I had a buddy. It was his first all nighter.

An announcement was made to all those in line --- apparently they have been working on the projectors all day, but should have them back up and running in time for the show. Oh no! I started having flash backs of last year's cancelation. Last year the event was cut short due to the power on the block being shut down. They closed the event down after the first two films. Chatting up another person in line, I apparently left too early that year. According to him, after half the crowd left, the power was restored and the show went on. I'm a little bummed I left now. Hopefully this would not happen again. Is the Aero cursed!

The delay resulted in the line growing to epic proportions. They didn't start letting people in until about 45 minutes or an hour after the show was suppose to start. The line wrapped around the block all the way into the residential area.  More than 400 people crowding the sidewalk waiting to get in armed with blankets and pillows for comfort. This gave us plenty of time to get to know the folks around us. One of the interesting aspects of these all night events is that you start to feel a kinship with the crowd. You see the same faces year after year. It's like spending the night with a group of like-minded folk. Everyone, or most, are all there because they love to watch scary movies at Halloween.

Once inside we grabbed a couple isle seats about 8 or 10 rows from the front. My friend had to hit the caffein early. I settled into my space. Sitting in front of us was a guy I recognized from the Nightmare City Video Nasty series, so we chatted about that for a bit. See, it's like a community. Even at different theaters you start to see the same faces. We're all one happy group of Halloween misfits.

Grant, the horrorthon host, looking a little like a David Yow clone, casually walks down front in a plane white T-shirt holding a paper bag full of candy and prizes. The moment he picks up the microphone his demeanor changes. "Welcome to the 7th annual HORRORTHON!!!" He screams so loud the microphone crackles. The crowds attention is snapped up.

"We got prizes!" His face is turning red from screaming at the top of his lungs.

"We got saaaandwhiches!" Veins popping out on his forehead.

"We got coffee!" The audience is cheering loudly but are drowned out by the deafening introduction.

"We got FREE Toilet use!" My friend laughs next to me. I forgot to prepare him for the insanity of the horrorthon host.

"We got candy!"

I yell out, "What about Soup."

In a completely normal tone of voice he abruptly replies, "No soup." They use to have soup at the event...an odd choice, but haven't had it for the past two years.

"I'm gonna order some Piiiiiizza!" You see here is the thing. All these things Grant is screaming is FREE! Yes they give away free sandwiches, free cookies, free coffee, free candy, free pizza, free prizes, and free toilet use. Free, Free, Free. I'm puzzled how they make money on this event. Either everything is donated or they are losing money as the event is only $20.

Grant then begins hurling candy into the crowd. Screaming, "Who wants candy!" He tosses in some posters and dvd's in for good measure. The crowd  is all holding their hands up begging for a prize to come their way. He empties his bag of goodies.

Time to start the show. A bionic man episode starts. Steve Austin VS Sasquatch. Intertitles with made up stars flash across Lee Majors' and the ridiculous looking Sasquatch's image. The sequence plays on for well over 5 minutes with dozens and dozens of made up characters and star titles appearing on screen. If you are new to this event, I'm sure you are very confused. This starts the show every year. I believe the made up names are actually the names of people who bought tickets early or perhaps it's volunteers and prize donors or it could be both. One year I need to test my theory and get a ticket weeks in advance.

Words on white appear on screen. Some are in Indian and some in English. A malady is listed at the bottom of the screen. A meditative voice with an Indian accent, "I command your bones to go back into alignment." Very soft, very soothing. "I command your body and spirit to align." Then flashes of the lizard creature from Star Trek, Gorn, superimposed on the screen. The voice continues to hypnotize the audience. This is new. The audience doesn't know how to react.

Now for something familiar from years past, a cute little groundhog appears on screen. It opens its mouth and in an English accent yells, "Alan! Alan!" The crowd loves it. They chant along, "Alan, Alan." This is a pretty known internet meme taken from the BBC program Walk On The Wild Side.

Some marathons play shorts and trailers. The Aero plays bizarre video clips and often repeats them over and over. The best clips get repeated in future years. The groundhog has been there since the first annual event in 2006. The repeat audience members are familiar with the clips and often chant and interact with what's on screen. So its a lot like Rocky Horror in that regard.

Once the movies start, the crowd settles in and becomes 100% reverent. I love this crowd. Total respect for the films. They know when to yell and have fun and when to be quiet and watch. I have been to a lot of different all night or even all day 24 hour events like this and trust me, the crowds vary. Sometimes during events similar to this it can be so disruptive that you cannot even hear what is on screen. The Cleveland 30 hour, yes 30 hour marathons being the most rowdy with people literally yelling every few seconds with some attendees spouting stream of conscious jokes one after the other in an attempt to be funny. Most of the people in Cleveland are there to have a rowdy time with their friends and not as interested in "watching" the films. This event is the polar opposite, but you still get that "Rocky Horror - Like" atmosphere during the in-between video madness thrown up on the screen.

They always start the event with a bang. In 2010 it was Fright Night, last year it was Pet Cemetery, this year it was Hellraiser. What a start indeed. Hellraiser is one of my favorite horror films and still packs a punch today. It's amazing how little Pinhead is in the actual film. Eventually with all the sequels he would become the icon of the series. Here he plays a small role, with Frank being the main villain. The film print was in perfect condition. I hadn't seen this on film since it's initial release so it was nice seeing it in such great shape.

I know I said this crowd was one of the most reverent, but this year there was one exception. There was a group of teenage girls to the right of me on the other side of the isle that chatted through most of the film. Thankfully they were whispering so it really wasn't that bad especially when you compare it to Cleveland's marathon.

My favorite part watching Hellraiser with this crowd was when the statue of Jesus falls creating a loud jump-in-you-seat jolt and of course the entire audience screams, thus getting the be-Jesus scared out of them (Pun intended).

Break time. Sandwiches are served. Enough for all. The line wraps out of the lobby, into the theater, all the way down to the screen.

The host walks up front holding his head in pain. "I'm soooo tired! What was I thinking!" He pulls at his hair. "Oh my god! I can't take it anymore!" Spittle flies. He breaths like he just ran a marathon. "Oh my god, the pain! I'm too tired. WHY! Why do I do this. What time is it!!!"

Off stage, "Grant, it's only 10pm....."

Grant's demeanor snaps to normal. "Oh, it's only 10." He does this joke every year. Done with the joke he treats the audience to more candy and prizes. It's time to bring out Randy. "Who wants candy from Randy?! I said, WHO WANTS CANDY FROM RANDY!" Randy comes out from behind the screen wearing a mask and....well...he gives out candy. Candy from Randy.

"Who wants corn from Gorn?! If you chant for Gorn he will come." Ok...this was new. The crowd begins chanting, "Gorn! Gorn! Gorn!" Finally a guy in a trench coat and a Gorn mask comes out and starts handing out...well...he starts handing out ears of corn. I shit you not. He has a trench coat full of corn. He walks like a zombie and slowly hands ears of corn to the crowd. My friend scores an ear of corn. He looks at me laughing in total confusion. He doesn't know what to think. The whole event is rather surreal.

Screen lights up. We get to watch a most ridiculous mustachioed man in a silver lamay suite sing a disco song. I looked it up later. It was Dennis Parker singing "Like an Eagle". Google it to watch it on youtube. Wow!

Then an old audience favorite. The Red Roof Inn commercial. It's this awful commercial that tries to be funny and you can't help but watch it and groan at the humor. It's one of those commercials that are torturous to watch. So of course they subject the audience to it over and over again. The audience knows the monologue and shouts along with the commercial. This years horrorthon T-shirt is the redroof inn guy as a zombie.

Next film up at approximately 10:20pm, Motel Hell. This 80's tongue in cheek horror film never really stayed with the horror cult fans as much as you would think. I mean, not that it's not known or liked. It's just not as popular of a cult hit as you would think. This of course is just my own personal observation. This crowd however seem to really like it. Rory Calhoun, Nancy Parson, and especially Wolfman Jack, all got a huge applause when their credit came up.

Farmer Vincent has the best smoked meats in town. What's in the meat....well....it's a horror film, so I think you can guess. His motto: "It takes all kinds of critters to make farmer Vincent's fritters." Some of those critters just happen to be innocent travelers.

Another absolute pristine 35mm print. Looks as good as it probably did on its first run. I really got into it. It's funny, gory, has solid acting, good comic book like cinematography. I'm surprised it's not more popular. I really remember being freaked out by the film as an adolescent. I think I was too scared to get the humor of it all. A guy in a pig head mask with a bloody chainsaw. That's scary as shit to a 12 year old kid. I assume that was my age because I didn't see it until it went to video. Wow, pretty graphic for a kid...hell even for some adults, though it is all treated in a humorous tone. This was one of the highlights for my friend. I gotta say, I think it was one of mine too. Nice to rediscover this one.

Break time. Next up. Pizza. Boxes and boxes and boxes of Pizza. Can you imagine the order. It's for like over 400 people! Hell, for $20 you get 6 movies and dinner!

More Candy, DVD's and prizes. More Candy from Randy. More Corn From Gorn.

Screen lights up. Words on white. The meditative voice with the Indian accent. "Liver fluke worms I command you to die." After the liver fluke worms are expunged from the collective audience, the voice proceeds to cure us of Diarrhea. Flashes of Gorn on the screen. Each time Gorn appears the audience now shouts, "GORN!" The soothing accented voice says, "I command you scabies and mites to leave the body." Good thing we are getting that taken care of.

Time to go back a little further to 1975 for Devil's Rain starring Ernest Borgnine, Tom Skerritt, William Shatner, and even a guest appearance from John Travolta. All get a big applause. I'm not a huge fan of this film, but it does have a lot of face melting. I mean, if you like face melting you gotta see this film. I think there's like a whole reel worth of face melting in the film. It's like the director fell in love with the effect and decided to put in a 20 minute sequence of faces melting in the rain.

I do like some things about the film. I mean the face melting is cool, just not worth a whole reel. I also like Ernest Borgnine as the cult leader. How can you not like Ernest Borgnine. He's always so likable so it's cool to see him play a villain. Also on display are the awesome acting talents of William Shatner. If you like oddly placed pauses and off beat alliteration in your acting, then you love William Shatner. I can't help but think of Gorn when I see Shatner on screen.

The print was in OK shape. A little faded. Probably the worse print up until now that they have shown. Still worthy of being seen on the big screen. Anytime you get to see Shatner bigger than life, it's worth it.

Breaktime! More Candy from Randy. Corn From Gorn.  Prizes.

Lost about 20% of the crowd at this point.

Time to announce the new Mr/Mrs Horrorthon. Randy, at least I think it was Randy and not Gorn, randomly choses someone from the audience to be the new Mr. Horrorthon. The lucky young man or woman is addorned with the horrorthon costume which is a cardboard box covered with stuck on candy and dvd boxes. He dons the costume and then the Corn Gorn dances with Mr. Horrorthon as Grant and the audience sing the Mr. Horrorthon song. Hell...I can't believe I am typing this. It's truly surreal. You have to see it to believe it. Grant even breaks character laughing at one point.

Hemorroids -- "I command the blood vessels to shrink."
Anal Fissures -- "I command the anal fisure to close. Body and mind align. Pelvis rotate into place"

A bearded guy in his late 20's that's 2 seats down from us starts to freak out. He looks at me, "What is going on! Just play the movie. What the fuck is the Corn Gorn? What is all this shit." This is clearly his first time. I think he is tired and just wants the next movie to start. Even though he complained he still shouted along with everyone as the video madness played. Maybe he was starting to lose his mind. Maybe we were all hypnotized by the on screen visuals and he was the only sane person left.

This is not the best of Carpenter, but still worthy. It feels like a John Carpenter for hire film. It still has his touches, but feels more Stephen King that Carpenter. Not necessarily a bad thing. King's credit got one of the loudest applauses of all. After Devil's Rain this is a nice pick me up for pacing. One of the nice things about the Aero's programming is their sense of pacing. Playing films at all the right times.

Keith Gordon plays Arnie, the bespectacled nerdy teen who becomes obsessed/possessed by the 1957 Plymouth Fury he buys from an old man. It's a fixer-upper. Gordon's performance is one of the strong points of the movie. His turn from nervous geek to confident dark possessed youth is impressive. He would later go on to direct -- The Chocolate War, The Singing Detective, and now a lot of TV stuff like episodes of Dexter and House M.D. and the Killing.

Yeah it's a killer car movie. The premise is ridiculous and I love that the movie never really tries to explain it all. The car is evil. Period. No explanation. The real time is spent on character and how Arnie transforms. Not Carpenter's best, but certainly not his worse. I still enjoyed this film even though I have seen it twice on the big screen and several times on video. Oh, and the print was perfect.

Candy...Prizes...Dvd hurling...Grant tosses DVD's on the ground and asks audience members to fight to the death for them.

"Bunions I command you to fall off and not return. Pelvis align with the body..."

Lost a good portion of the crowd. Probably a 3/4 had left.

The Spanish/Italian flick, Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, also known as The Living Dead At The Manchester Morgue was up next. My buddy is starting to fade. Me too. More coffee.

I warned my buddy that this film may be the one that kills me. It's not fast paced. I decide to stand in the back of the theater for a good portion of this film so I can keep my blood flowing. Neither of us had slept yet, and I wasn't about to start. It was about 5AM or so. Most of the West Coast was sound asleep and we were starting our 5th film of the night.

Fully expecting a faded print I was instead treated to a restored digital print. It didn't look like Blu-Ray, but for the life of me I don't see any news about a DCP print...so maybe it was Blu-Ray. I didn't see any compression. The greens were too vibrant and video-like, but other than that the print looked really nice.

The strength of this film is the set-up, the situations, and the characters. The plot isn't anything special. Basically ---  The dead are coming to life caused from a machine that was designed to kill insects. The machine does more than kill insects, it also causes the living dead to rise up and eat the living. What's good about the film are all the little extra color added and the set pieces. Well worth checking out if you are a zombie fan.

No candy, prizes, or video between the last film. Going straight through. Only about 75 people left.

Holy Shit. This is one Holy Fucking Shit movie. The kind of movie you watch and just can't believe its a real movie. A medicine man is growing on the back of a woman like a fetus. Soon she will give birth to a midget medicine man from her tumor like growth. This movie has Tony Curtis in it. I mean, he's a A-list actor. It has Susan Strasberg who just came off of shooting Rollercoaster. This is a real movie. It's hard to believe it exists.

The acting is solid. The movie has a real plot. It's just weird and eventually goes off the rails of the crazy train. The film has it's moments early on, but it is the final 15 or so minutes which are the truly Holy Fucking Shit moments.

I literally was laughing so hard I was crying during the last minutes of the film. My friend could not believe what he was seeing. I don't think he had ever seen anything quite like it. Hell, I don't think many people have. If there is ever a way to watch this film, it is here, with this crowd, in this atmosphere. Watch it at home on video alone and you may be a little disappointed. Watch it with a crowd and it changes everything. The first time I saw this was on video with about 4 or 5 of my friends and it was enjoyable then, but man, it was a blast this time. Only if this had played when there was a full crowd.

Tired, but scored a victory. Neither of us slept a wink. We had endured! I have gone every year but one. I missed the 4th annual event. This was the 7th annual. The lineups have always been solid (see below) and it always proves to be a unique experience. I'll be back again next year.

2006

Night of the Living Dead

Re-Animator

House by the Cemetery

Castle of Blood

Pumpkinhead

Burial Ground

2007

Return of the Living Dead

Freaks

From Beyond

The Beyond

Last House On the Left

The Children

Gates of Hell

2008

Night of the Creeps

Texas Chainsaw 2

Dead Alive

Lets Scare Jessica to Death

Demons

Deathdream

2009

People Under the Stairs

Day of the Dead

Society

The Brood

Mainiac (Will Lustig in person)

Terror

2010

Fright Night

Don't Look In The Basement

Candyman

Bloody Birthday

Phantasm

Cemetery Man

2011

Pet Cemetery

Tourist Trap

The Pit

Videodrome

Alice Sweet Alice

Just Before Dawn

2012

Hellraiser

Motel Hell

Devil's Rain

Christine

Let Sleeping Corpses Lie

Manitou