Horror classics, exclusive premieres, director Q&A, and an autograph session.
On Saturday, Oct. 12, the Drexel Theatre kicked-off the 11th annual 24-hour Horror Movie Marathon.
Director and cinematographer, Michael Gornick (Creepshow 1 and 2, Day of The Dead) was present at the event, giving a Q&A session and free autographs.
During the marathon, horror classics such as The Birds and Shaun of the Dead were shown, along with the premiere of independent movies such as The Wretched (2019) and Bliss (2019).
Out of the line-up, there were three showings that really stood out.
The Wretched
One of the standout hits from the night was The Wretched (2019), which was the first premiere of the movie in Ohio.
The movie was written and directed by Brett Pierce and Drew T. Pierce. The story follows Ben, a teenage boy who realizes that his neighbor is a witch.
The witch feeds on children that are forgotten by their family. Throughout the movie, Ben tries to expose the sinister plot that she has planned and rescue the children that have been stolen from their families.
The writing was clever and the plot twist at the end was well set-up.
Despite not having a lot of notable actors and actresses in the movie, the acting overall was incredibly good, especially the performance from Zarah Mahler, who played the witch.
Currently, no info has been given out about release dates for streaming and disc copies.
The Birds
The Birds is hailed as one of Alfred Hitchcock’s greatest masterpieces.
The movie is headed by Tippi Hedren and Rod Taylor.
Hedren plays Melanie Daniels, a young socialite who travels to a coastal town in California to see Mitch Brenner (Taylor’s character), a man she met in a pet store in San Francisco.
Strangely enough, the first act of the movie feels as if you’re watching a romantic comedy. The chemistry between Hedren and Taylor is quite lovable.
Arguably, some of the effects don’t hold up to well, specifically the scene where Hedren is getting attacked in a telephone booth.
At the time though, you have to consider how groundbreaking and terrifying this was for audiences.
Despite having some dated effects, The Birds is still a very well-made piece of cinema that everyone should at least watch once in their life.
Mandy
Mandy (2018) is a psychedelic horror movie directed by Pantos Cosmatos and starring Nicolas Cage.
The movie follows Red Miller (Cage) and his girlfriend, Mandy (Andrea Riseborough). One night a demonic gang of bikers break into their secluded home in the woods and capture the two of them.
After the traumatic experience, Miller gears up for a quest of bloody vengeance.
Besides Nicolas Cage, the greatest aspect of this movie is the cinematography, which was done by Benjamin Loeb, who actually doesn’t have too many movies under his belt.
After Loeb’s work on this film, many people are sure to be looking forward to future projects that he works on.
There won’t be another 24-hour horror marathon until next fall, but for those who want to experience something similar, there’s usually a sci-fi marathon that takes place in the spring.
For showings and pricing, head over to the Drexel’s website.
