Dusk Till Dawn: Names
Horror marathons with a theme.
As you're reading this, my bags are packed and I'm about to hit the road for the Exhumed Films 24 Hour Horror-thon Part XVI at the Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville, PA. I went last year (and podcasted about my experience! And will do another podcast documenting this weekend!) and had a great time. I've been itching for this year's marathon.
In preparation, I thought it would be fun to program my own (fictional, obviously!) horror movie marathon in the tradition of Exhumed Films and in the spirit of the many great podcasters and bloggers who do the same.
Despite the fact that I have plenty of experience with 24-hour marathons, I think it's just a bit too taxing on the body, so I thought I would go with an all-nighter. Dusk Till Dawn (get it? get it?) was born.
This edition's theme is movies with first names in the title. Why? 'Cause it's the first edition!
We're watching all of the films on 35mm, of course. Unless we couldn’t get a print…
7:00p-8:50p: Alice, Sweet Alice (1976)
Alice is a withdrawn 12-year-old who lives with her mother and her younger sister, Karen, who gets most of the attention from her mother, leaving Alice out of the spotlight. When Karen is found brutally murdered in a church, suspicions start to turn toward Alice. But could a 12-year-old girl really be capable of such savagery?
Creepy little proto-slasher that's a great appetizer for an all-nighter. Not quite scary but consistently weird, Alice, Sweet Alice would be excellent fodder for a remake - the bones are there, but the genre didn't know what it wanted to be yet. Originally titled Communion, it's got enough Catholic guilt for the rest of us. Then titled Alice, Sweet Alice for its original theatrical run, which is the most well-known title, hence it’s inclusion in this marathon. When Brooke Shields hit it big, they released it a third time under the name Holy Terror, easily the worst name of the bunch, but the title on the copy that I saw. I’ll make sure that our print says Alice, Sweet Alice.
8:55p-10:25p: The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
Father and son coroners receive a mysterious unidentified corpse with no apparent cause of death. As they attempt to examine the beautiful young “Jane Doe,” they discover increasingly bizarre clues that hold the key to her terrifying secrets.
Jane Doe is a name! It's just not her real name! Don't start with me!
Anyway, this supernatural horror film lands early in the marathon because we're all still awake and won't be at risk of falling asleep during this slow simmer. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this movie (even though it has Brian Cox!), but I'm hoping that seeing it on the big screen with a fun crowd will help me make up my mind. You guys will be a fun crowd, right?
10:30p-12:30a: Blade (1998)
When Blade’s mother was bitten by a vampire during pregnancy, she did not know that she gave her son a special gift while dying—all the good vampire attributes in combination with the best human skills. Blade and his mentor battle an evil vampire rebel who plans to take over the outdated vampire council, capture Blade and resurrect a voracious blood god.
I'm thinking of this as the primetime spot. We've eased our way in and as the movie crosses the midnight threshold, it'll be the last time we have everyone present and awake - so we're gonna throw a party. Blade is crazy action horror fun that starts with vampires throwing a blood rave and then only gets crazier from there. Wesley Snipes is peak Wesley Snipes and knows exactly how to carry this kind of movie.
Is Blade great? No. But it’s wacky and fun and will kill with a crowd.
12:35a-2:20a: Jennifer’s Body (2009)
A newly possessed cheerleader turns into a killer who specializes in offing her male classmates. Can her best friend put an end to the horror?
This is our "midnight movie" slot and I think Jennifer's Body is a great pick (if I do say so myself) for a few reasons. First, it'll come on just after midnight and it fulfills all the cult classic requirements you're looking for at that time. But even more importantly, it's gonna end at 2:30 in the morning when we're all getting a little loopy. The end of this movie also goes a little loopy and it'll carry us into the real overnight of this overnight marathon.
2:25a-3:55a: Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
Henry likes to kill people, in different ways each time. Henry shares an apartment with Otis. When Otis’ sister comes to stay, we see both sides of Henry: “the guy next door” and the serial killer.
It's 3:00a and we're gonna punish the folks that are still awake with a movie that's equal parts mentally and physically unsettling. The least amount of people are going to be awake for this one and that's probably a good thing as this film is notoriously twisted and dark. Most of the other films on this list have a tinge of camp, but not this movie. Not at all. Based on a true story, it feels all too real.
For those that manage to stay awake and stay inside the theater, we'll be pouring Old Style for anyone who wants one after watching Henry crush a few after each of his kills.
4:00a-5:30a: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
The apparently comatose Michael Myers is being transferred from one hospital to another, but he wakes up when the ambulance crew talk about his surviving niece, Jamie. After slaughtering his attendants, Myers sets out to find his one living relative who is, fortunately, being cared for by a kind and resourceful foster sister named Rachel. Meanwhile, the ever-cautious Dr. Loomis remains on the killer’s path.
We're almost there, so we're gonna wake up (and wash down the last film, both figuratively and literally with Old Style) with a certified banger classic. I wanted to get at least one of our modern movie monsters on the list (I could've gone with anything from Bride of Chucky to Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan to A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge - which is a movie I like!), but I figured I would just go with one of my personal favorites.
Last year, when I ranked all of the Halloween films, I wrote:
I, like most fans, like Danielle Harris' young Jamie, Michael's new niece. Donald Pleasance is taking Loomis into full camp territory. Ellie Cornell as Rachel is a great final girl. And director Dwight H. Little does a lot with a little, keeping the vibes from the first two entries without making it seem forced.
But what I really love about the movie, and the reason I'm programming it here, is the final few minutes. I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it, but I think it'll be the perfect transition into the final film...
5:35a-7:15a: Pearl (2022)
Trapped on her family’s isolated farm, Pearl must tend to her ailing father under the bitter and overbearing watch of her devout mother. Lusting for a glamorous life like she’s seen in the movies, Pearl’s ambitions, temptations, and repressions all collide, in the stunning, technicolor-inspired origin story of X’s iconic villain.
As the sun begins to rise, we'll close out with a horror film that largely takes place in the daylight. It is Dusk Till Dawn, after all, and we have reached dawn. You did it!
There are many reasons to love Pearl (and even more reasons to love X) and many reasons to program it in this marathon, but I chose it primarily because this is our last movie and I wanted the perfect final image to send folks home on. There are few, if any, better final images in the genre.
Good night, folks! Uh, well, I guess...good morning! Hope you had fun! Don't forget to put all your trash in the bins. See you next month!
Credit: Each plot synopsis comes from Letterboxd via TMDb.