THE 1ST ANNUAL ALL-NIGHT HORROR MOVIE MARATHON
The Dusk-To-Dawn Show Lives On
Cinema Arts Centre, Huntington, NY

After a brief nap, night began to crawl in. It was time to get myself ready and out of the house. I needed to arrive as early as I could to the First Annual All-Night Horror Movie Marathon at the Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington, NY.

When I arrived, the fans were already there. A long line of people were assembled in the cafe section of the theatre. Dressed in horror t-shirts, punk t-shirts and even vampire makeup, the unrelenting creatures of the night were eager to see the color red smeared across the big screen. Although it was not the same scenerio as the video rental hit from the 80s, Zombiethon, it was as close as it ever could be.

When finally in the theatre, the curator of the Theatre of the Wild program (a weekly running of classic and modern horror, science fiction and cult films) addressed the audience with great enthusiasm about the movies of the evening. After the curator had a brief trivia contest with the audience (which resulted in the handing out - or throwing - of t-shirts, etc., classic horror trailers began to run. Advertisements for drive-in and grindhouse classics such as Dracula: Prince of Darkness, Mansion of the Doomed, Lady Frankenstein and the unforgettable Werewolf Vs. The Vampire Woman were among the attractions that delighted the patrons who then knew that they were in for something different. The crowd cheered wildly at the announcement of the "vampire fangs" giveaway announcement at the end of the original Dracula: Prince of Darkness trailer.

When the trailer reel stopped, the first movie came onto the screen. It was the Jerry Gross print of Lucio Fulci's Zombie. The crowd had many reactions to the film, much of it laughter. They loved the shark scene, but laughed and cheered to the most notorious scene in the movie, the "eye vs. the splinter" scene.

The film went on, and the crowd responded with glee to the scenes involving the massive number of zombies that met their demise in the "wrapped up" fashion. As the film's effects-laden climax came, the audience became more and more interested in the film. Every time that the film's main theme music started, the crowd clapped along with the bass beat. The final shot of Zombie is what had everyone clapping and cheering wilder than at any point in the night.

After a short break, the trailer was run for Eternal, the upcoming film about Erzbeth Bathory. The next film was Vampyres; the print provided was the Daughters of Dracula version. The audience went wild every time there was a scene geared toward adults. A male character who was entangled in the dramatic web by the two female lesbian vampires spent much of his screen time stumbling around naked shouting "FRAN!!!," the name of one of his vampire lovers. Every time this character was on the screen, the crowd yelled "FRAN!!!"

Another reel of trailers ran. This time, horror comedies and horror camp made its way into the mix. The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant, The Land That Time Forgot and Old Dracula kept the audience laughing until.....an ANDY MILLIGAN film!!!!!

Bloodthirsty Butchers was the next film, and the crowd was in for it. Not only were they surprised by the bizarre nature of the film and laughable dialogue, they were also bored. One of the patrons shouted not even half way through the film "can we go on to the next movie?!?!"

Into the daylight hours the marathon went, as the 5:00 AM hour left the crowd to watch Burial Ground, The Corpse Grinders and Paul Naschy's off-beat Medieval werewolf adventure, The Craving - going far beyond the meaning of the "Dusk-To-Dawn" show. When all was said and done, the tired and the wired shuffled out of the theatre. This reviewer shambled home, much like one of Fulci's zombies, and returned to his grave for a long day's sleep.