5 Tips for Surviving a Horror Movie Marathon
Christopher Safranski
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Whether you’re a hardcore or casual horror fan, odds are you’ve watched some form of horror movie marathon. Maybe there was a block of Friday the 13th movies on TV one night. Perhaps you watched a bunch of scary movies at a sleepover. Regardless, the horror genre, with its endless sequels, remakes, and rip-offs of earlier films, lends itself very well to marathons. Some of you may even be attempting one this Halloween.
A few years ago, a friend and I decided to watch every Friday the 13th movie in one night. We managed to complete that marathon and have since watched every single Nightmare on Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Scream, Child’s Play, Hellraiser, Final Destination, Puppet Master, Halloween, and Leprechaun movie, all in one night.
Obviously, this has given me a lot of experience in the area of horror movie marathons. In this article, I’d like to give my advice for any other brave, insane soul interested in attempting these pointless, yet awesome feats. Much of this advice comes from me learning from major mistakes in past marathons. If you follow this advice, you can avoid the near-death experiences that I had after many of the marathons I listed earlier.
1) Easy on the sugar there, buddy.
Our first marathon, my friend and I decided to load up on junk food. We bought a bunch of candy, soda, and energy drinks. By the end of Friday the 13th Part VIII, we were suffering from our third or fourth sugar crash. If you’re going to be up late into the night, drink plenty of water and get your calories from actual food, especially protein, which will fill you up better and reduce cravings. A couple sodas and some snacks won’t hurt you, but don’t let your diet be all sugar, or you’ll be in a world of pain by around 3 A.M. Also, I’m obliged to advise you to avoid sugar as a dentist!
2) Start early.
Some major sleep deprivation could have been avoided on my end by just starting some of these things earlier. Some of the earlier marathons, when we were less experienced, wound up finishing when the sun was rising. We’ve grown wiser since then. Check out the runtimes for your list of movies and map out a starting time that won’t leave you trying to catch up on sleep for the next 6 days.
3) Take a break.
Even the most hardcore horror fan will start to lose his or her mind by the 4th movie in just about any series. Time is precious during these things, but you should try to make time to leave whatever room you’re doing this in and partake in some other activity for a little bit. Maybe get outside and throw a football around, play a video game, take a walk, make a pizza run. You’re going to be in front of a TV for a while; your body will thank you for the bit of fresh air and movement it gets during the break.
4) Prepare.
You need to bring out your inner Boy Scout and be prepared. When we just jumped into the first marathons without thinking anything through, we were hurting for a while. If you get food early, have the movies ready to go, have a set start time, and make any arrangements necessary beforehand, you’ll save yourself a lot of time and grief. You don’t want to make a Walmart run at 2 AM when you realize you have three movies left and are out of drinks or food. You also don’t want to figure out how to get hold of that one movie that you could only find on VHS at the mom and pop video store down the street when you don’t even own a VCR anymore.
5) Most of all, have fun!
This is the most important rule. A horror marathon is a great way to get together with old friends, hang out, and have a nostalgia-filled night in and reminisce about the days when you would watch movies in your friend’s parents’ basement all night. Whether it’s on Halloween or a random night in February, horror marathons are a blast and can remind you of your early days of being a horror fan… and why you’re still one today!
