The Addicition of Midnight Movies
Mood:  lazy
OK---I know I said I'd never Blog, that it is a waste of time, that it is lame, etc. But considering I still don't have a cell phone (I simply refuse to carry one), I figure I'd bend and do an occasional rant for the fans of Novello Publishers and The Horror Fiction Review.
Plus who knows---perhaps one day Blogging will be required by our increasingly fascist government.

Anyway, one of my all time favorite films, Walter Hill's l979 epic THE WARRIORS, recently played at midnight at the Landmark Sunshine theater here in New York, fulfilling a life-long dream of mine of finally seeing this one on the big screen. There is NOTHING like seeing a film you love on the big screen surrounded by like-minded geeks, wording dialogue and even acting out some scenes by your seat!

Many people don't realize it, but YEARS before the ROCKY HORROR phenomenon happened, people were already doing strange things at midnight shows, such as at John Water's PINK FLAMINGOS, HAROLD AND MAUDE, and during screenings of THE HARDER THEY COME.

There is a certain, special feeling that comes with seeing a film at the Witching Hour that can't be described. In the 80s, I saw so many midnight films that I later saw on video, and the feeling is always so much better at midnight. PINK FLOYD THE WALL, URGH! A MUSIC WAR, ROCKY HORROR, DAWN OF THE DEAD, KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE...there's NOTHING like a midnight movie. When I saw the midnight premiere of Troma's horribly bad CLASS OF NUKE 'EM HIGH 2: SUBHUMANOID MELTDOWN at the Waverly Twin in NYC back in l990, the crowd outside the place was more insane than the film itself. Crowds (especially at midnight screenings) can add considerably to the feel of the film (cases in point: FRANKENHOOKER, STREET TRASH, and I WAS A TEENAGE ZOMBIE were all enhanced by the laughing/snorting/beer-cap tossing crowds I saw them with).

For a good book, locate MIDNIGHT MOVIES by Stuart Samuels. And if you've never been to a midnight movie before, it's time to get your booty to New York or L.A.!

And take my advice if you ever attend a midnight screening here in NY: Don't sit in the front row.