For those of us who have made it through all 24 hours of any Music Box Massacre horror marathon, its cousin, The Sci-Fi Spectacular (this Saturday April 10 at the Music Box from Noon til 2AM), is a relative walk in the park endurance-wise. I recently spoke with festival director Rusty Nails about this latest edition (now in its fourth year) and the difference between the Horror and Sci-Fi fans that come out to the marathons.RUSTY NAILS: The audiences for our shows at the Sci-Fi Spectacular, Music Box Massacre and Terror in the Aisles [at the Portage Theater] are especially gracious. The people are decent and fun, the atmosphere at the shows tends to be very lively, and everyone seems to have a good time. I couldn't be more happy about the audiences. There isn't much of a difference between the two. The horror audience does tend to have a little more of a specific crowd: horror fans, punk kids, metal kids, film lovers and some curious types. The Sci-Fi audiences tend to be a lot of different people, maybe a bit more so than the horror specific shows. But a lot of different people tend to come to both.
FACETS: This year’s lineup in particular tends to lean more towards the horror side of science fiction then the previous year’s lineup, so I imagine people in both camps will be satisfied. What are your thoughts about the films being shown this year?
RUSTY: They Live is one of my favorite films. It's the film that exposes the truth that all rich Republicans are aliens out to suck the life blood out of people throughout the world. The film is extremely well shot and creative given the slim $2 million dollar budget.
FACETS: I’ve only seen it on TV once a long time ago, and at the time I remember thinking that the extended fight scene was so ludicrous that it brought the film down. I think now that I will actually enjoy that scene because of its silliness, which I’m sure will go over well on the big screen with an energized crowd. [Check out this clip comparing the fight scene to its South Park tribute]! Another film you're showing that I haven’t seen in a long time is the 1980 version of Flash Gordon – I actually haven’t seen it since I was eight and it was in theaters. I don’t remember much except for the theme song, bright colors, being scared by Ming the Merciless, and having a crush on Melody Anderson.
RUSTY: It’s a ridiculously fun action romp with an amazing soundtrack by Queen and it's always nice to see the great Max Von Sydow, and he seems to be having a ball as Ming the Merciless.
FACETS: Speaking of crushes, I’m sure I am not the only one to have a thing for Mathilda May in Lifeforce (pictured above).
RUSTY: Lifeforce is, in my opinion, a very underrated Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre; Poltergeist) film which is very epic in scale. I recently saw Mario Bava's Planet of the Vampires [also screening at the festival], which is supposed to be the inspiration for Alien, and loved the rich colors and moodiness of the piece. John Carpenter's Dark Star [also showing] is absolutely hilarious and it's great to know people can make fantastic films for a mere $60,000!
FACETS: Before we go, of course I have to ask you about this year’s special guest, Larry Cohen.
RUSTY: We couldn't be more excited to have Larry Cohen as our guest of honor. Larry has made so many important contributions to the world of independent film: It's Alive, The Stuff, God Told Me To, Black Caesar, Hell Up in Harlem and of course Q: The Winged Serpent, which we will be showing in a very rare 35mm screening. Q is so full of rich ideas, wonderful stop motion animation, and great acting on a shoe string budget. Larry has always been a father of invention as far as bringing big ideas with no money to the screen, he really should be highly regarded for his innovative story techniques.
-Dan Mucha
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