i made my way to elias' place in cambridgeport for a half day post halloween horror movie marathon. this is actually the third one i've been to: the first one was 3 years ago back at his old place in jamiaca plain (it was a 24 hour marathon where we could bring our own movie, i only stayed for half of it) while the second one was this past spring. i biked down and although it was cold (40's) the distance was short enough to be just borderline bearable. homemade horror themed snacks greeted incoming guests (red and green popcorn, finger shaped soft pretzels with almond nails, various eyeball dips and rice krispy treats).

stir of echoes (1999): kevin bacon has been in a fair share of horror movies: friday the 13th (1980), tremors (1990), hollow man (2000), and stir of echoes. i've seen the movie before but this time around with newfound appreciation for kathryn erbe's performance as bacon's wife. she plays detective alexandra eames on law & order: criminal intent and comes off as rather staid. however in echoes she's way sexier and a drinking game can be developed for the number of times she shows off her belly. as if that wasn't enough, jennifer morrison (doctor allison cameron from house) plays samantha kozac, the "retarded" girl (because she wears glasses?) who's ghost tries to communicate with bacon. the movie seems like a mixture of the sixth sense, the cask of amontillado, and the shining. the sixth sense came out that same year, but i prefer the sixth sense more; kevin bacon's manic performance is a little over-the-top (particularly those topless backyard digging scenes) versus the subtle "i see dead people" acting of haley joel osment.

may (2002): i've seen bits of may before, probably the last time i still had premium cable movie channels. it's creepy and it's akward and it plays like a typical indie film, a quirky character study, but the main character becomes weirder and weirder until the grand finale, when faced with the inability to make new friends, she decides to literally make a new friend. the film reminded me of cherish (2002), except the quirky main character (played by robin tunney, one of my favorites) doesn't end up resorting to murder.

cemetery man (1994): once again, a movie i've seen bits and pieces but never from beginning to end. i knew there was gore (that's usually a prerequisite of any zombie movies, of which this is one of them) but i didn't realize there'd also be some sex as well. if you're thinking about making out with busty italian beauties in the cemetery, you can learn a lot from this movie. personally i think it's a pretty bad film story-wise; there's hardly a coherent plot and the story seems to meander. watch it more for the snippets, like many short stories threaded together into a single movie.

frailty (2001): i've seen frailty so many times i can't even count them all. i started dozing off a bit during the movie, my head held in place by a neck pillow. i woke up to catch the best part though, which is the ending, when all is revealed.

the thing (1982): it's been a while since i've seen the unedited version of the thing. i try to imagine if the studios decided to do yet another remake of this movie, that they'd mix up the cast and create some female characters. with an all-male cast supposedly set in anarctica, it almost seems like a contest to see who can grow the biggest beard. watching the movie again, it doesn't seem as scary or shocking anymore, but at the time, this was one of the craziest horror movies out there.

evil dead 2 (1987): it was either this movie or the original texas chainsaw massacre, we were allowed to vote. i used to be a fan of evil dead 2 but watching it again, i can't help but to realize how childish it seems. with all the pratfalls and physical comedy, it almost seems like a horror movie for kids (but trust me, it's not). there are definitely cool moments though which stand the test of time, like the numerous bruce campbell's zingers whenever he dispatches a demon.

we actually finished early, by 11pm, despite a pizza break intermission. i put on my layers of jackets and left elias' place. the ride back was freezing, with temperature in the 30's (factor in the wind chill, it felt even colder), and i'd punch myself in the arms whenever i came to a traffic light stop, just to keep my mind off of how cold it was. i squeezed the handlebars tightly, trying to stop myself from shivering, and clenched my teeth. fortunately the ride home took about 5 minutes and even though normally my place feels like a fridge, after riding in the cold the place seemed like an oven in comparison.