It is finished. By a vote of 14-9, after what seems like a lifetime of FMWL's Midnight Madness Tournament, one film has outlasted 63 others to become our grand champion. In fact, you could say it assimilated those 63 films, because the winner is....
John Carpenter's The Thing
I'm not particularly surprised by this result. Not only was it the tournament's overall top seed (due to its 8.2/10 rating on IMDB), it's also one of the most unanimously loved horror films out there. The gorehounds love it for its effects, classic horror fans love its bleak setting, women love its Kurt Russell beard, etc. There's next to no downside to the film.
Much lauding must also go to Evil Dead II, our runner up, which made a good run as the last Midnight Movie of the Week I picked before starting the tournament. I must admit that I picked it for that spot with the tournament in mind, so its run to the championship matchup didn't surprise me either.
There are a few things I might have changed had I picked this tournament on my own. First of all, Assault on Precinct 13, which was gigantically crushed by Silent Night, Deadly Night in the First Round, would have at least made my Final Four. The same goes for The 'Burbs, which I was shocked to see losing to Hammer's The Curse of the Werewolf in the first round. The Regional Finals matchups might also have gone much differently were I voting, as I picked three losers among the four showdowns.
On the other hand, I loved the way things shook out - thanks to the fantastic list of folks who helped pick the winners! - especially with the likes of Spider Baby, The Entity, and Killer Klowns from Outer Space (despite much controversy!) making their way deep into the tournament. And, though I might have pushed the likes of Predator toward the finals - I can't argue with the result.
And so it is. John Carpenter's The Thing is FMWL's 2010-2011 big thing. May it proudly grace the sidebar until a new champion comes forth to steal its throne.
Or maybe it'll just wait here for a while.... see what happens....
Well it was fun and a nice way to be interactive with others' blog posts. The Thing and ED 2 are among my top faves, so both of them making the finals is a win to me.
ReplyDeleteHope you start making this an annual thing, Mike. You could have potentially started the horror blog version of the Jim Crockett, Sr. Memorial Cup tourney.
+JMJ+
ReplyDeleteI was pulling for Evil Dead II, but it had a really great run and The Thing was tough to beat.
The best Midnight Movie won!
Great feature, The Mike. =) I'm looking forward to the next tournament . . . *starts counting in her head* . . . when you get Midnight Movie of the Week #128 out!
The Thing totally deserves it! An ideal midnight movie! So fucking scary and well made and endlessly rewatchable.
ReplyDelete