Wanna see something scary?
Horror movie recommendations - plus the secrets behind mystery marathons
This Saturday I will be hosting a twelve-hour horror movie marathon at the Alamo LaCenterra. We’ll screen seven films beginning at 9 PM and ending at 9 AM on Halloween morning. If you’re interested in attending, you can buy tickets here.
Pulling off this event is daunting, to say the least. I’ve certainly programmed and hosted my share of marathons - but twelve hours is my most ambitious experiment yet. I’m not worried about how the titles I’ve chosen will play, though - my concern is solely in whether or not I’ll be able to stay awake all night. I’m old.
My confidence in the titles I’ve chosen comes with experience. In my decade of working at a movie theater, I’ve learned a few tips on how to successfully (and not so successfully) program a marathon.
Keep it a mystery! Some guests may tell you they want to know what you’re playing before they buy a ticket - but those guests are chickens. Big ol’ chickens. They spend their life worried a southern gentleman dressed in white is going to deep fry them and throw them into a bucket. Bwak, bwak, bwaaak! In all seriousness, mystery marathons are the best because not only do they fill guests with a sense of anticipation and hope, they allow programmers to be flexible up until the last minute. Are you having trouble tracking down the rights or a print for a film? You can swap things out at the last minute. Likewise, if you discover a gem the week before your event, you can easily fit that puppy into your line-up with no one being the wiser. A couple of caveats - don’t push people’s boundaries at a mystery marathon - Absolutely no films filled with heavy sexual violence, real-life animal deaths, or other taboo-challenging topics. Those films have their place within the appropriate context - but never at mystery marathons.
Play the hits! Don’t be afraid to program one or two sure-fire crowd-pleasers. People like to watch good movies - the purpose of a marathon is not to punish audiences by seeing what they can endure. It’s okay to play a mainstream title here and there if it’s sure to bring the house down.
Give your audience something to discover. Mystery marathons are perfect for “tricking” people into seeing things they might not otherwise have bothered to watch. Always, always, always sprinkle a few deep cuts or hidden treasures into the line-up. When else are you going to have a chance to play these oddities to a packed house?
My preferred mystery movie marathon recipe is:
Movie # 1 - Absolute banger
Movie # 2 - Sneak preview of something new (if you can pull it off)
Movie # 3 - Deep cut discovery
Movie # 4 - Headliner - give the audience something amazing to remember as they leave the event.
Bottom line, mystery movie marathons rock - and this year’s All-Night Horror Hullabaloo is going to particularly rock. I’ve been fortunate enough to get my hands on some deep cuts, some new digital restoration, some sneak previews, and, of course, an absolute banger or two. If you don’t live in Houston, though - don’t fret. Here’s a horror movie marathon you can play at home:
LAMB (2021) - Valdimar Jóhannsson’s film was recently released on PVOD, just in time for Halloween. Noomi Rapace stars as a woman who, along with her husband, discovers a strange child among their lamb heard. They decide to raise it and, for a while, enjoy a life happier than they could have ever imagined. But things go wrong. Very, very wrong. Not a traditional horror film - but beautiful, creepy, funny, and everything else I love in cinema. Baaaaah.
THE FLY (1986) - David Cronenberg’s body horror masterpiece is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year and, as luck would have it, it’s a perfect film in every way. The remake stars Jeff Goldblum as a scientist whose tampering with the laws of nature results in him losing control of his life, his work and - most importantly - his body. I love sad horror and THE FLY is as sad as they can get.
THE NIGHT STALKER (1972) - The made-for-TV film that kicked off the Kolchak franchise, this film stars Darren McGavin as a Las Vegas reporter on the hunt for the killer leaving victims up and down the Vegas Strip, drained of blood and sporting bite marks on their necks. If you’ve never seen any of the Kolchak films or television series, you’re missing out on one of the most important and influential horror stories around. Start with THE NIGHT STALKER, a truly wonderful and spooky seasonal treat.
WAXWORK (1988) - Anthony Hickox’s monster mash is THE AVENGERS of horror movies. Packed to the gills, man, with every monster you can think of, the movie stars Zach Galligan and Deborah Foreman as teens who discover that the new wax museum that’s popped up in their posh neighborhood is actually a gateway to Hell.
THE EMPTY MAN (2020) - David Prior’s film was released in theaters last fall to a deafening thud but it has slowly begun to find an audience in the last few months. A sprawling two-and-a-half-hour horror epic, the film is about a retired cop investigating an urban legend that has left a trail of dead teens in its wake. The movie is constantly reinventing itself, impossible to predict, and scary as hell. See it.
ASYLUM (1972) - Roy Ward Baker’s horror anthology is absolutely wonderful. A doctor applying to work at an asylum must interview four patients and determine which one is the former head of the asylum who has gone insane. A great premise for an anthology that features even greater use of killer robot voodoo dolls.
GHOST KILLERS VS BLOODY MARY (2018) - Don’t be turned off by the title, this Brazilian horror-comedy is super funny and super gross. Imagine the cast of IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY as wannabe ghostbusters. The film’s gore is gleefully inspired by Peter Jackson and Sam Raimi. There’s a ghost turd.
RAZORBACK (1984) - Russell Mulcahy’s killer pig movie will make you order an extra slab of bacon at breakfast - if only to ensure the swine population is kept in its place and never rises up. A vicious wild boar tears through the Australian outback in this stylish JAWS rip-off. Nobody is safe from this killer pig.
GOOD MANNERS (2017) - The best werewolf film the fewest people have seen. Clara is a lonely nurse in Brazil whose latest job is to watch a pregnant woman with unusual cravings. The two women form a deep bond but they are on a road that only leads to tragedy. Sweet, sad, wonderful effects - plus it’s a musical! God, this movie is sooooo good.
BOYS IN THE TREES (2016) - Nicholas Verso’s coming-of-age horror film is stunningly beautiful - like Ray Bradbury’s THE HALLOWEEN TREE, but with Bush and Rammstein on the soundtrack. Two estranged teenage friends find themselves on a journey of self-discovery when they are forced to spend Halloween night together and decide to pass the time by telling each other horror stories - each story an allegory for the real-life horrors that come with growing up.
Q: THE WINGED SERPENT (1982) - I want to huff this film's essence every morning when I wake up. I love movies that combine things that shouldn't co-exist. Larry Cohen’s film is a gritty '70s New York police procedural that has a giant fucking dragon in it - that's some great juxtaposition. When I die, I want heaven to be this film's reality.
THE VOICES (2014) - Marjane Satrapi’s film stars Ryan Reynolds as a mentally unwell factory worker who hears voices. His dog tells him to just be a good boy. His cat orders him to kill. Dark, funny, really freaking dark. This movie me feel really uncomfortable in the best way possible. Funny enough for non-horror fans to enjoy, wild enough to scratch the itch of the most cinematically depraved.
TALES FROM THE CRYPT: DEMON KNIGHT (1995) - The perfect Halloween film. Ernest R. Dickerson’s movie is non-stop fun. Billy Zane stars as a completely unhinged demonic cowboy bounty hunter, on the trail of a man who holds the key to humanity’s survival against encroaching darkness. Stylish, weird, funny, full of amazing creature effects. This is my go-to viewing choice every October - it’s so damn good.
Happy Halloween! Watch something scary!
You have recommended quite a few of these before and I’ve loved most! None more than Boys in Trees. It’s so sad and well haunting. ❤️