I'm pretty sure AJ and son were making the trip as well.

I'm starting on the mix CD for this year's trip tomorrow. I have a CD player in the car that reads MP3s, so I can usually load up one disc that takes me all the way down and part of the way back.




Mark

Enjoy the trip Mark. I'll be in Pittsburgh the following week for the Horror Realm Convention. If I could have attended both events I would have but one 10 hour drive per month is enough for me.

Have fun at the con. Pittsburgh's a cool town. It was strangely deserted the first time I visited on a Saturday afternoon during the first Monster-Rama. Almost felt like I was in a Romero film, minus the zombies.




Mark

Anyone want to car pool?

Anyone want to car pool? I'm thinking a Saurday only trip?

I can't make the trip, apologies to George. There is just too much on my plate this year to get away for more than a day trip. I know I speak for most here when I say we appreciate events like this George and I hope it's a success and I can make a future showing.
To the CDFer's (that has a cool ring to it) that do make it down, have fun and be sure to give the less fortunate here a recap.

You mean, to the CDFer who will make it down.

What's your problem? This is a friendly board and we don't need to be taunted.

No problems, I'm just jokingly commenting that there will most likely be only one CDFer (Mark) who will make it down besides me (I don't count being the organizer). At any rate, I'm glad that the weather reports are looking good for Friday and Saturday in Vandergrift, where the drive-in is located. Last year on the Friday morning of the first day of Monster-Rama, I woke up in my hotel room, opened up my curtain, and just saw torrential downpour. My heart fell down to my feet! Even though we had some rain Friday night, we managed to get through the night, and on Saturday there was no rain once the movies started.

I have a strange/funny story regarding Drive Invasion in Atlanta, which was this past Sunday. A friend I know went to it, and reported that the movies didn't start until 10 pm due to the over-booking of the bands that played all day, and they had five movies to screen! Here are his comments:

"I was never bored, although they overbooked the bands so the movies didn't get rolling until 10pm -- which means it was daylight about an hour into the last movie (FROGS). How surreal it was to stumble out of the restroom at 7am and look across a huuuuuge and nearly empty drive-in lot and not be able to discern what was on the screen, yet at the same time hear Ray Milland yelling in the distance from my rental car's stereo! Can't wait for next weekend's program [Drive-In Super Monster-Rama]."

Yeah, it was a bit of a drag that the weather was so....moist....last year, but it was still fun. I mostly felt bad that a lot of people probably took a look at the forecast and skipped the weekend altogether, when really it's not that awful to watch a film (or three) with your windshield wipers on. Not as fun if you're one who prefers to sit outdoors, but for me it's the little quirks that make the Drive-In experience what it is (or what it was....or what it shall be...). It's funny, but that cruddy weather gave me one of the most pleasant and relaxing experiences in a long time. During the day (can't recall if it was Friday or Saturday), the rain and dreariness kept me and my pal from wanting to explore the countryside very much (the first year we wound up jaunting over to Monroeville to see the Monroeville Mall, where DAWN OF THE DEAD was shot), so we wound up sitting in plastic chairs outside our second-floor motel room, overlooking a strech of desolate two-lane blacktop with the motel's parking lot on one side of the street and a dollar store on the other, with only the sounds of cars on wet asphalt to fill our ears. I wound up sitting there reading a VIDEO WATCHDOG magazine or two, and it was great. Doesn't sound too thrilling, but sitting there in rural Pennsylvania with nowhere I had to be, nobody who needed anything of me, and an exciting night at the Drive-In ahead of me, it was pretty sweet.

I totally understand George's fear/hope/frustration about attendance, being a fellow putter-onner of cinemaniacal events. We're not looking to get rich, just wanting enough fellow fans to show up and have a good time, with numbers big enough to cover expenses and convince the hosting theater to let us run riot with their screen again the next year. It's almost like throwing a big party and hoping as many of your friends as possible show up, wanting them all to be there so nobody misses out on the fun. Speaking from personal experience, it's really great to see the shining faces of monster fans young and old, thrilling to the sights and sounds of yesterfear, either recapturing a slice of their past, or getting to experience something they were too young to see and do the first time around.

I've got a good feeling about this year, that it'll be the biggest year for Monster-Rama yet, and I'm sure the stories will spread and the event will continue to grow year by year. Whether fellow board memebers can attend or not, I think it's safe to say we all appreciate the effort involved in putting a show like this on, and are glad that there are folks like George out there catering to our tastes when most of the rest of the theater industry is happy to just show whatever's flavor of the week is.

Anyway, George is a good guy, and I trust that any negative remarks can be chalked up to the lack of subtleties in the written vs. spoken word. Either that or he's been driven mad by the fumes given off by his SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA print, and is part-way through his transformation from easy-going George Reis into The Sin-a-Maniac!!!!!


Mark

Okay, here it is the following Friday, and I'm still glowing from the joyous celebration of cinematic carnage that was Monster-Rama 2009.

The weather behaved a bit better this year, with a light sprinkling Friday night, just enough to make you have to hit the wipers once every few minutes. Saturday turned out better, with the sprinkles starting and ending during the first film. Other than that, the weather was great. Not too humid, no bugs, and not freezing. Pretty comfortable overall.

The turn-out for Friday night was better than I'd seen in past years, so word seems to be spreading. My pal and I were first in line (got there about 45 minutes before the gate was set to open, just to hang out and assure ourselves of a good spot), and were quickly followed by a friend we'd made at the show the previous year, a Drive-In enthusiast who has criss-crossed the country visiting and photographing outdoor theaters and who always brings his stacks of Drive-In photo albums for others to peruse and enjoy. When the ticket booth ladies came out to open the gate, they again recognized us from the previous two years and greeted us like old friends. There was a good 8 or so cars lined up at that point, and we all went in and grabbed our preferred spots. Once inside, we reunited with George and other friends we'd made at previous Monster-Ramas, checked out the bountifully beastly swag that the gang from Creepy Classics had for sale in the snack bar (new and rare DVDs, T-shirts, books, model kits and more), and had fun socializing, meeting some new friends along the way. I had to restrain myself, and only picked up a DVD copy of the Bob Wilkins/CREATURE FEATURES documentary (WATCH HORROR FILMS--KEEP AMERICA STRONG) and the TALES FROM THE STARLIGHT DRIVE-IN graphic novel, which was being sold in the snack bar by its author, Michael San Gaicomo.

Once the sun went down and the time was right, the pre-feature entertainment started, with theater ads and vintage horror trailers (and one for STRIPES, kind of an odd choice but still fun to see nonetheless) filling the screen with wonderfully wild imagery. First up was THE WITCHFINDER GENERAL, seen in its UK cut (complete with "X" certificate at the head), followed by SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN (again in its UK version, containing things not seen in the US cut), then came THE CRIMSON CULT, followed by a beautiful print (minus a brief section of water damage) of the black and while chiller TERROR CREATURES FROM THE GRAVE, a great way to end the evening. The prints of the films were pretty good to my eyes, some a little worn near the reel changes and with slightly faded color, but any imperfections only added to the feeling that you were seeing these after they'd made the rounds once or thrice at Drive-Ins across the country. The projection at the Riverside Drive-In is top-notch, with a crisp, bright image, bringing out the best in whatever prints they may run. After each film was a brief intermission, at which point everyone got out of their cars and either continued their conversations or made a dash for the snack bar for food or to look over the piles of DVDs some more. Before each feature were more vintage trailers (some for films I'd never heard of but looked fun), cartoons, and Three Stooges Shorts.

I was a little bummed that my awakeitude was dodgy that first night, as I konked out through most of THE CRIMSON CULT and TERROR CREATURES. Still, a blast was had by all.

I managed to sleep a good chunk of Saturday morning/early afternoon, so I was far more refreshed for that night's round of entertainment. This time out we were the second car in line (just behind our Drive-In fan pal), and were soon joined by a first-timer from New York State (from Rod Serling's home town, which was pretty cool) and another new friend from the Pittsburgh area. We all had a great time talking flicks and trading stories, and again there was a line of cars waiting to get in by the time the gates opened. Talking to the ticket ladies, I found out that about 6 or 7 folks (or groups) took the Riverside up on their offer of camping out on the lot overnight, which I thought was pretty cool. The crowd for Saturday night turned out to be the biggest for any Monster-Rama so far (according to George), and it was great to see so many Hammer/monster fans in one place enjoying all the films.

First up on Saturday was a gloriously pristine print of the uncut version of THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, followed by THE SEVEN BROTHERS MEET DRACULA, then COUNT DRACULA AND HIS VAMPIRE BRIDE, and lastly a reddish (but still watchable) print of VAMPIRE CIRCUS. Between each film were more trailers (mostly for other Hammer films) and shorts, and this time I managed to stay alert through all but VAMPIRE BRIDES. Another great night.

One thing I love about Monster-Rama is that the folks who turn out for these films legitimately like them, and aren't there to hoot and holler and make fun of the flicks. It's great to spend time with so many like-minded folks, and I've already set aside vacation time for next September 10-11 for round four.




Mark

Nice review Mark.
I'm glad George's event is picking up steam, wish I could have made it but hopefully next year.

this is one of those things i would love to do but never seem to have the time to make it work.

i love vampire circus. saw it for the first time about a month or so back. its a classic.

glad you had a good time mark!

Here's a two-part photo essay of sorts on this year's Monsterama, posted by our pal Max The Drunken Severed Head:

http://drunkenseveredhead.blogspot.com/ ... -2009.html

http://drunkenseveredhead.blogspot.com/ ... -rama.html

Thank you for sharing that Mark. Very amusing photo essays. And thank you (belatedly) for your review of the weekend--it sounds like it was a blast. As so many of us keep saying, I WISH I could have made it down there. One of these times (as long as they keep putting them on of course). Glad to hear that attendance seems to be increasing as satisfied customers spread the word and all! That certainly bodes well for future installments.

I'm looking forward to hearing what will be featured next year. With almost a whole year to plan for it maybe, just maybe I can somehow manage to make it happen this time (crossing fingers)!!!