When a couple’s been together just a little while, the next logical step is — well, probably not to go to an overnight movie marathon featuring seven horror films, whose titles will be kept secret until they’re about to hit the screen. But in October 2018, my now-wife (and then not-yet-girlfriend) Sarah and I took this gamble on our third date, and made our inaugural run at the Belcourt’s annual gauntlet of gore, 12 Hours of Terror. And it paid off: We were immediately welcomed into a joyful celebration of this dark realm of genre cinema — in which hilariously wild choices and self-effacing humor can do as much to make a film memorable as great acting, writing and direction — among an audience whose devotion and persistence rival the unquiet dead.Â
I’m not saying 12 Hours of Terror (which we await eagerly every year) is why we got married. But it didn’t hurt. Very early in our relationship, 12HOT gave us powerful positive reinforcement for trusting each other and stretching our comfort zones a bit. Hats off to the chief programmers, Zack Hall and longtime Scene contributor Jason Shawhan, as well as everyone who helps them curate and book each year’s lineup. (Where else are you going to see genuinely terrifying found-footage feature Rec back to back with the uproariously splatter-tastic Blood Diner?) Also deserving of undying thanks: the other Belcourt staffers who stay up all night, stellar Halloween band Boo Dudes who join in each year and late, great Scene editor Jim Ridley, who encouraged the crew to start this tradition and keep it going.
—Stephen Trageser
Music Editor, Nashville Scene
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