3:59 PM
My good friend Bob "Videooze" Sargent is a man with a mission-- to watch every cheesy horror and exploitation film ever concieved of. He and his charming wife, Kay, have been throwing the same Horror Movie Marathon party for the last 20 years. I've been to every one of them except one, that I can think of.
Here's the invite for this year:
WE DARE YOU
TO SIT ALL THE
WAY THROUGH
THE 20TH ANNUAL
HALLOWEEN HORROR
MOVIE MARATHON.
WHO:
Bob & Kay Sargent
WHEN:
Saturday, October 29th, 8 PM till the wee hours.
HOW:
While we won’t be providing dinner; snacks, beer, sodas, and coffee will be plentiful.
BRING:
Spare 6-packs of your favorite beverages and your favorite munchies.
Costumes are appropriate and HIGHLY encouraged, but not mandatory.
Adults only. (Yes, we’ve reclaimed the party from our kids and will continue this new tradition!) Some movie content may be inappropriate for pre-teens and younger children. There will be no babysitting available this year.
PROGRAM:
8 PM: LADY IN WHITE (1988/USA, Excellent Halloween-themed supernatural thriller/ghost story was a critically acclaimed sleeper back in the day)
10 PM: RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE (2004/USA, Great sequel to the movie based on a popular video game is fast-paced and even better than the original)
12 AM: DOG SOLDIERS (2002/UK, Grab your popcorn because this out-of-nowhere werewolf movie turns the old conventions of the genre on its head with surprising humor and wild surprises)
2 AM: LAND OF THE DEAD (2005/USA, The fourth film in the George Romero “Dead” quadrilogy, this is the unrated version, not seen in theaters)
Now, I've seen every one of these (except one), some multiple times, but it was a good selection for all of that-- I haven't seen LADY IN WHITE in dog's years, and it's still a hell of a good flick. Not that scary, but very good in establishing tone and general creepiness.
RESIDENT EVIL Apocolypse is pretty good-- not as good as the first (highly creepy) blood and guts phenom of a couple years back I tend to look down upon videogame-themed movies (they are almost all awful). These two movies tend to be the exception to the rule.
DOG SOLDIERS was the movie I hadn't seen yet-- and what an amazing surprise! I have to get me this thing. Starring Kevin McKidd (from the ROME HBO miniseries), Sean Pertwee and a bunch of relative unknowns, Dog Soldiers was just plain fantastic and for me, the hit of the evening.
I had to get up early to take G. and A. to Sunday School, so I didn't catch the uncut LAND OF THE DEAD. I hope to get a copy shortly.
One of the jollier bits was the in-between stuff that Bob was playing this year. Steve "Around the World in 80 Days" Coogan must be a phenom on British Telivision, from what I've been googling. He made a great little homage show called DOCTOR TERRIBLE'S HOUSE OF HORRIBLE a few years back, apparently to manifold jeers because it did not last more than a few episodes. Personally, I think it's fantastic idea--definitely an homage to the best of Hammer productions. I can't see why it's rated so low on IMDB, I found it consistently funny.
Thanks for the hospitality, Bob and Kay, may you continue this fine tradition forever!
