Prince Charles Cinema Friday The 13th Marathon Review
Read Dave's account of the night below as well as check out the images from the historic showing at one of the coolest theaters in the world!
A Proper Bucket List Request Ticked Off
By Dave Hastings
So, there we were, in Leicester Square,
in the middle of London, the great capitol of the UK, and it was also
a Friday. However, unlike any other average Friday afternoons, with
people dashing home after work to party for the weekend, it was the
13th, that superstitious of all days shrouded in the realm
of getting stuck with bad luck!
However there was no such bad luck at
all for myself and friends, both old and new, who had met in London
to spend the night at the Prince Charles Cinema, who had announced
back in January that they were to screen a huge marathon of the first
eight Friday The 13th films (the Paramount lot Ed’). I
remember first seeing this advertisement on their website and being
immediately excited! I mean, this was completely unknown in the UK.
Through my American friends on Facebook, I have always heard of
special one off screenings of some of our favourite ‘old school’
franchises around that country during the year and being very
jealous, so the fact that something like this was happening in the
UK…at long last…was just something I couldn’t pass up and was a
dream come true for any fan. I mean, this was the ultimate chance to
celebrate some of our favourite Friday films on the big screen!
Surrounded by hundreds of other fans equally eager to see this
happen!
We all settled into our seats at around
6.00pm, and the atmosphere was electric, people were laughing,
excited, there was a huge buzz in the air. We also had (twitter)
@horrorholic76 dressed up as Jason (of the Freddy vs Jason
variation), which thrilled people more, and meant fans were having
pictures taken with him, and such. Just before 6.30pm the owners of
the cinema arrived on stage just to welcome us all and to encourage
us to have as much fun as possible. Then it happened! The infamous
Paramount logo appeared and the words, ‘Camp Crystal Lake, 1957’
appeared on screen. This was going to be a very welcoming long night
indeed! What I’ll do is try and highlight each film and details
from each!
Friday The 13th: 18.30pm
I very welcoming start, with fans
whooping the air when Crazy Ralph appeared, which consisted of a
round of applause every time the words “you’re all doomed” was
uttered! A truly wonderful response! As well as this, his natural
bike riding abilities also caught us in giggles too! Its amazing also
just how long you realise Alice is making that coffee towards the
end, literary 2 minutes of the film is following her around as one is
being made! Incredible! The print itself seemed to be perhaps a Blu
Ray projection, as the image was crisp and sharp! Detail was amazing,
and you actually end up noticing stuff you’d missed (which is a
shock to any hardcore fan!). With the climax coming, people were
clamouring for Mrs Voorhees, and the whole place erupted in a
standing ovation when she lost her head (and her hairy hands appeared
to boot!).
During a brief interlude at the finish,
the staff came back on stage and had asked during the screening via
twitter what would be the best comment for us all shout out in a
photo opportunity of us all in the theatre, to which the nominated
answer had been “F**K Remakes”, which we all roared with delight
as the picture was taken! Then the theatre fell silent again…
Friday The 13th Pt2: 20.27pm
People regained their seats quickly as
the film began. The noticeable first item was the print, which seemed
to be an original 35mm one, as scratches were evident. Now to anyone
else, this may have been a problem, but for us all, it was a
wonderful sight, to view Part 2 in an original manner. Again
throughout, good ole’ Crazy Ralph received rounds of applause, and
Jason got his first ever “booooo” from us all when he took the
legendary doomsayer out! A friend of mine (Scarecrow from the
Hellbound web), also noted how much this film is superior over the
original in terms of how much more energy the cast in this part have.
Interesting point. Muffin also got a round of applause too! The minx!
Friday The 13th Part 3:
22:00pm
Presented in 2D rather than 3D, the
third chapter opened to a rather humorous display of us all in the
audience clapping and getting all funky over Manfredini’s hip theme
and score. By no means was this an act of mockery I assure you all by
the way, just a gentle and celebratory way of appreciation by us
fans. The 2D element also provided laughs, as everyone was pretending
to duck at the effects, and react in gasps and shocks to faux 3D (a
notable instance was the ever continuing yo-yo!). As Scarecrow has
commented on since ‘Never has so much physical sarcasm
been manifested’. As well as this, and since the audience were
still in mourning over Ralph, everyone began to highlight the next
few foreshadowers of doom. Abel, in this instance got applause. The
bikers were cheered on for their trendy acts of rebellion, and the
first shot of Jason with the hockey mask brought the house down,
encouraged on by cheers and high fives! A magical moment! The print
again, was also an original, and with some scratches was thus met,
with enthusiasm and glee by all! A credit to the cinema for going the
extra mile to do this!
Friday The 13th The Final
Chapter: 23:45pm
As the witching hour was approaching,
it was only natural that the Final Chapter was to begin, which picks
up straight after part 3, at night, perhaps around the same time as
we were starting to view it, some of us mused. Both Corey Feldmen
and Crispin Glover had cheers of encouragement as their names burst
on screen during the opening credits! Bonnie Hellman as the
hitchhiker brought about the laughs with her “F**K You!” response
to “hey hunny you got a sister! Ruff Ruff!!” A very endeared
moment to the fans it seems! Jason’s actions were continually (as
with the other films), being cheered on as the death count became
higher and higher! At this point, its probably only fair to mention
how us, as an audience were feeling, since we were pretty much now 7
hours into this marathon, and were only at the half way point. Red
Bull cans were doing well, with nearly everything downing some around
us, as well as us doing the same, and drinking water! Even though
people were getting tired, everyone was committed to making it
through! This was such a unique event, and no matter what, we were
going to see it through! The print again was an original, seemingly
more in common with a hi-end VHS image this time.
Friday The 13th Part 5:
01.26am
The one film from the whole night that
got the most laughs! Most notably from Ethel (“You big dildo!”
got a roaring response of laughter!), who became one of the marathons
most memorable highlights throughout the remainder of the night! “Hey
Baby”, also started a succession of amateurish singing imitators in
the audience throughout the remainder of the film at the most
inappropriate moments, yet with precise comical timing for maximum
effect. Roy’s “You talking to me Sheriff” also gave people the
giggles with its random delivery. The kills all got people in a twist
and Reggie also had his fair share of fans! A great thrill ride with
everyone.
Friday The 13th Part 6:
03:08am
After a dash to the loo (c’mon, it
had been nearly 9 hours at this point!), Jason Lives arrived, and its
dark gothic imagery lashed with joyous amounts of black comedy came
at the right moment for us all, almost like an injection, as if we
had all been jolted back to life by that electricity like Jason.
Everyone enjoyed this entry, with us all singing along with Alice
Cooper! Martin the graveyard keeper, also helped us all with our
continued mourning for Ralph! His presence kept us all happy. The
audience got a real buzz out of this entry, and the Cort/camper van
sex scenes seemed to be a real highlight for some at the back who
were admiring the show! The print again, this time seemed like
another 35mm, was also welcomed happily.
Friday The 13th Part 7:
04.45am
At this point we were all gasping for
that last bit of red bull out of our cans, and splashing our faces
with water, as the tiredness was starting to kick in! However, the
audience were all still determined to see this through, and this was
made ever more evident by the huge cheer Kane Hodder’s name got on
the opening credits! As well as this, the sleeping bag death got the
biggest cheers of the whole night, while Doctor Crews was continually
booed and told to go back to Weekend At Bernie’s comically! Another
audience favourite, the film glossed along with so much admiration
from the theatre, and everyone was in a buzz over it. This time I
believe a DVD copy may have been used, but nevertheless, was a big
hit with all.
Friday The 13th Part 8:
06:23am
At this point, I’m sure a new day was
starting to gear up and the city was coming to life again, however,
since I’d not seen any of the outside world since 6pm the night
before, I had not considered it, strangely. And with this, we all sat
down for the final hurdle….the film we knew would allow us all to
leave after with our geekiness intact and dignified still. With Jason
coming back to life, everyone watched in awe (while some in the
audience had nodded off a little, unable to prevent sleep any longer
bless), as the Lazarus came and sank, and junkies along with the
1980s equivalent of Chav’s were knocked or scared off by Mr
Voorhees.
As the NY sequences occurred and the
toxic waste came to take Jason away into the night, we all sat there
in silence almost. The end of an era. Even though we were all
knackered, our eyes bloodshot and limited body movements mimicking
those of a zombie apocalypse, we’d done it! There was a sense of
accomplishment and fans all shook hands, and chatted, albeit a bit
more subdued than earlier in the night. But it was amazing. All fans,
from different locations around the UK, had come together to
celebrate these films, films with which we had all grown up on, and
which have spawned constant debate/discussion and passion.
We staggered out around 8.10am, and
while the sunlight burned through our retinas (im sure one person
started turning to dust!), everyone was in a good mood. It was
actually quite sad to see everyone go their separate ways (although
all to the same destination…BED). But the whole night had been
wonderful, throughout each interval, we’d all met new friends as
well as hung out with present ones, chatted, exchanged
facebook/twitter names, so that we could all keep in touch!
Grindhouse trailers had also been played throughout each interval
which kept up the energy and provided many laughs.
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| The Morning After |
It must have been such a surprising
image to outsiders, as horror fans are usually seen as weird,
unsociable types, whereas this presentation couldn’t have been
further from that. This event, which was made only possible by the
Prince Charles Cinema and its wonderful staff (PS- thank you for
letting me charge my mobile up too behind the bar!), was not only a
chance to watch our favourite films on the big screen! But a chance
to come together and make new friends, discuss, celebrate and endorse
the horror community as a truly remarkable arena.
For me, personally, it was a dream come
true! A proper bucket list request ticked off, and a night I
seriously will not forget ever! Thank you Prince Charles Cinema and
its staff, and hello to all the awesome people there I met! Wouldn’t
have missed it for the world!
The Prince Charles Cinema is located in
Leicester Square, London. Further details can be found on their
website at www.princecharlescinema.com
Dave Hastings
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| The Staff Of The PCC |
