You may remember I reviewed Cameo’s third All Night Horror Madness back in October 2011, and this weekend it was time for the fourth 10 hour event (I am writing this at 9:30am Sunday and all concept of time has gone out the window at this point!)
The evening began at 10:45pm where my friends and I just about squeezed in to the packed Cameo foyer. It was fantastic to see such a turnout, with the event virtually sold out yet again. After speaking to organiser Matt Palmer who was co-compere with Ian Hoey through the night, there was a short wait to let people out from the previous film, their faces aghast at how many people were in the foyer – cinema-goers were not sweating with fear at this stage, they were sweltering in the heat of the venue! No wonder those leaving the screen were awash with bewilderment – little did they know that when they were most likely getting up for their Sunday breakfast in bed, the majority of us would still be in the cinema, watching the fifth and final film.
I’ll leave the atmospherics for one moment while I move on to the films of the night. A quick audience poll found that most were there to see ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’, although the reaction to the surprise film as the motion picture certificate for it came on the screen was very positive. The surprise film was ‘Candyman’, a 1992 film with a great lead performance from Virginia Madsen, and it was imaginatively graphic with some interesting and well-cast characters. Whenever anyone said ‘Candyman’ in front of a mirror five times in a row, said man would mysteriously appear and a killing spree would ensue. Gory.
The second film was my highlight of the night – ‘Brain Damage’. This 1988 film is, quite simply, a must-see, and many others in the audience agreed. The story, the animation, the characters and the dialogue merge magnificantlly into a comedic jaunt that incorporates several themes along with bizarre sexual and drug connoatations. An oblong creature attaches itself to a teenager’s brain, feeding him a hallucinogenic ‘juice’ in return for ‘brains’. Mental and memorable material.
The middle film was a sketchily-dubbed Italian zombie-fest entitled ‘Burial Ground – The Nights of Terror’, which was similar to ‘Flesh for Frankenstein’ shown at one of the previous All Night Horror Madness Nights, but it didn’t pack the same comedic punch. The acting was mediocre, but not ‘so bad that it was good / humorous’,really just more irritating. With some creepy sub-plots and dubious music composition, the film was OK, but not as good as the others.
Here is the trailer for Brain Damage just to frighten you…..
The penultimate film was Wes Craven’s 1984 classic ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’. I’d seen the 2010 remake but it was great to see this original on the big screen, with the audience bellowing ‘woops’ for a young Johnny Depp and Robert Englund as Fred Krueger. This highly-regarded slasher flick features some solid acting performances and ingenious special effects, and is another cinematic wonder not to be missed.
After the projector nearly died on the now shattered and, it has to be said, significantly smaller audience, the last film began. ‘The Return of the Living Dead’ was a suitable film to end on as the full-on non-stop action left everyone drained and more than ready to hit the hay. The plot involves a deadly gas which is released into the air and the dead become undead in a frenzy that has to be seen to be believed. The characters were well-developed in this 1985 outing, and the special effects were commendable.
As well as the feature films there were a number of hilarious vintage trailers for similar movies, with ‘The Burning’ and ‘The Winged Serpent’ hopefully featuring in a future All Night Horror Madness line-up, if there is another such event – surely there will be! There is definitely still a craving for a multi-movie-marathon and if you missed it this time round you missed a thoroughly enjoyable atmosphere and great selection of films.
This well-organised event is a credit to the Cameo Cinema, and a big well-done goes to Matt Palmer, Ian Hoey and all the Cameo staff for making it possible. It encapsulates what cinema should be about; people coming together, enjoying great motion pictures and experiencing something memorable – remember to follow ANHM on Twitter so you can scoop tickets for the fifth event, probably later in the year.
For now though, time to sleep. If my dreams are half as horrifying as some of the content I have witnessed over the past few hours, I might not be asleep for too long though.
