Friday, February 21, 2014

How To Throw a 24 Hour Zombie Movie Marathon

Oh Zombies. I've Missed You.

First of all, apologies for my six month hiatus. I've been working on a novel, and for a minute I thought I was over zombies. And then I realized I wasn't.
R: You know you can't stay away.
Me: Shut up and eat my brains.
I went to the Boston Sci-Fi Marathon this year and in my swag bag I received two action figures. One was Ash splitting in two and the other was a zombie warrior. The second I started playing with them, the zombie's hand fell off. It seemed appropriate. The toys came complete with weapons and a little plastic Necronomicon. It doesn't open… thank Lovecraft.

Note detachable (but not reattach-able) zombie hand
Having just come from a 24 hour marathon of science fiction films, I feel inspired to design my own zombie themed marathon for those who need something to do this weekend. Do you have a digital projector and lots of places for people to pass out in your home? Create an event on Facebook and invite all your friends to your very own Zombie Thon from 12 O'Clock Saturday to 12 O'Clock Sunday. I noticed that at the Boston Sci-Fi Thon, they played really scary movies and episodes of Twilight Zone in the middle of the night to keep people from being able to sleep, so this Zombie Thon thing should work.

Here's an example of a potential Zombie Thon. Feel free to customize it. What's great about these things is you can plan to sleep during movies you've already seen. During down time you can order food, play games, or even set up contests. Let me know in the comments feed if you actually pull it off. I will send you a prize. (The prize of satisfaction that you planned something and followed through with it.)

Kick it off right with a screening of the scene from the first five minutes of Night of the Living Dead (1968) "They're coming to get you Barbara." This will be a good reference later for a joke in Shaun of the Dead.

12: 15 p.m.
Army of Darkness (1992)
One Man, One Million Dead… The odds are just about even.

2:00 p.m.
Planet Terror (2007)
A masterpiece by Robert Rodriguez.

3:45 p.m.
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
See where it all started with the first zombie movie set in a shopping mall.

5:45 p.m.
Zombie Vocalization Contest. You can order food for your crew while friends compete for the title of best zombie vocalization. Give away some silly prizes.

6:00 p.m.
Zombieland (2009)
A hysterical adventure all about how to survive the zombie apocalypse.

7:30 p.m.
World War Z Unrated (2013)
See Brad Pitt fight zombie infestation on a global scale.

9:45 p.m.
Cemetery Man (1994)
The dead buried in this cemetery come back a second time. Part of cemetery man Francesco Dellamorte's job is laying them back to rest.

11:45 p.m.
Zombie-walk contest. By this hour of the night, your zombie walk will just be starting to get good. More silly prizes for all who participate.

12:00 a.m.
Return of the Living Dead (1985)
They're back from the grave and ready to party!

2:00 a.m.
Walking Dead Season 4 Episode 9 After
A great stand-alone episode about Carl's development growing up in a zombie infested world.

3:00 a.m.
I Walked With a Zombie (1943)
Creepy atmospheric black and white film. Enjoy the subtle terror of the 1940s.

4:00 a.m.
Night of the Living Dead (1990)

5:45 a.m.
Wild Zero (1999)
Legendary Japanese rockstar Guitar Wolf fights the undead by shooting lightning out of his electric guitar.

7:30 a.m.
28 Days Later (2002)
Cerebral intense zombie movie to help wake you up.

9:45 a.m.
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Finish off with what is possibly the funniest and most light-hearted zombie film of all time.

Hope you enjoyed it. Also, let me know what you think, what could be improved, etc. I might end up doing this myself if my friends show an interest.
And as for the Boston Sci-Fi Festival and Thon, you should check it out. It's awesome. You get to watch movies for 24 hours, meet the nerdiest nerds in the universe and go home with a bag of swag.