Running With The Devil

Diablo Cody and I obviously grew up on many of the same films, as evidenced by her choices for "Horror Night" and "Comedy Night" of her festival.
Three of the films were very old friends of mine, and the team responsible for the only movie I hadn't seen out of the bunch created my favorite sketch comedy show ever.



The first horror film was A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS, one of only two sequels to the landmark film that introduced us to Freddy Krueger that's worth a damn.



The film is more unintentionally funny then I remember it, but it's been a couple decades since I rolled with the Dream Warriors as they tackled the "Bastard Son of 100 Maniacs." I love that last line, and director Chuck Russell and collaborator Frank Darabont (!) admitted they do as well during the Q & A that followed the film.

Another brilliant moment happened in the moments leading up to the movie's climactic battle as a series of nightmare wackiness leads to a door hovering in midair in front of the characters.

"It's a door!" Kristen exclaims as everyone in the theatre howled with laughter. That phrase has since become a battlecry for me and Jason, one of the other regulars.



The obligatory Q&A followed, and the filmmakers were clearly having a ball talking about a film most would regard as the black sheep on their resume. Not often you hear Frank Darabont, the man singly responsible for the finest film I've ever seen, talk about changing the giant Freddy-snake from pink to green because the original "looked like a giant pink cock with a face!"

I even ran up on Darabont to have him autograph a poster of THE MIST. My collection now numbers four!



The epic FRIGHT NIGHT followed, and the film has aged very well for a 23-year-old horror flick made on a modest budget. After hearing filmmaker Tom Holland express his passion for both the movie's creation and its legacy, it's clear how it turned out so well.

Holland spoke at length about the writing and the making of the film, which was born of his love of monster movies and the late-night programs that he watched them on as a child. It was this personal love of the subject, Holland said, that was the key to why the film works so well.

Ever wonder why Chris Sarandon is always eating an apple during the film? I don't anymore. Russell told us.



Diablo switched gears a couple nights later on "Funny Night," showing
WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER...

which I won't talk much about it because I really didn't like it. I'm disappointed because I like so many of the people in the film, especially the alumni from "The State." And director David Wain was very cool and funny in the Q&A.



...and MIDNIGHT MADNESS, a very dear friend from my childhood that I've watched often but hadn't seen in about 20 years. Fortunately, the film is every bit as much fun as it was then; Something I told director Michael Nankin and actors Alan "Leon, The Gamemaster" Solomon and the enigmatic and usually reclusive Eddie Deezen (!!!!) during the Q&A.



MIDNIGHT MADNESS had the distinction of being the second Disney film to recieve anything other than a G rating (THE BLACK HOLE being the first. Impress your friends with that bit of trivia), so I asked if there was any interference from the studio. Nankin said a scene where a young man is using an observatory's telescope to peer into a bedroom window drew a number of executives to the set, while Deezen said his line about scooter and how you couldn't go to a smaller version once you've had "that much power between your legs" almost had to be nixed.



Deezen's presence set off a geek feeding frenzy at the New Bev, and he seemed to be gobbling up the love we were showing him. His presence at these kind of events really is rare, but he was clearly having a great time with it which led some of us hardcores to wonder if they just don't ask him to show up at many of them.



Either way, our girl Diablo bagged him and it made the MIDNIGHT MADNESS screening one of the best of an already epic and extremely nostalgiac festival. Now, if she'd just do me a solid and gimme a dose of THE LAST DRAGON, which I'm sure she was watching on cable the same time I was.

CURRENTLY LISTENING: The Sword -- Gods of the Earth