Another relatively quiet night at the Festival, or is just compared to the heaving madness of the West End on a Friday night, the Apollo is a sanctuary of tranquility? Tetsujin-28 was out in Leicester Square escorted by a bevy of Japanese schoolgirls, spreading the Festival word. And there were more great films and the return of Talkaoke.
First on the bill was a double-feature of documentaries, Dreams From a Red Planet and Hollywood UFO. You really do have to wonder about the Americans sometimes. After the films, Hollywood UFO director George Wallis had a brief Q&A with intelligent questions from the audience, as would be expected. Also showing at the same time was the Russian mockumentary, First on the Moon.
After a relatively sedate start with the weird (and imagined) realities of the space race (travelling in both directions) the programme got stranger and stranger as the night progressed. From the B-Movie schlock of Insecticidal to the tamer but surprisingly twisted White Skin, which were followed by the completely bizarre Survive Style 5 and more B movie madness in Die You Zombie Bastards.
One of Sci-Fi-London’s missions is to bring you a traditional cinema experience, but with a bit extra. Sure we show ads from our sponsors, which is only fair because without them the Festival would not happen, but in the place of trailers we show a short film, and during Die You Zombie Bastards there was even an intermission where the lovely SFL volunteers brought in trays of Cobra Beer, Red Bull and delicious Purbecks ice-cream, not to sell at the usual cinema prices, but to give to the audience because, well, we like you.
Meanwhile out in the bar area the Talkaoke was offering a contrast to the schlock horror on the screens with some serious discussions on an eclectic range of topics covering everything from metatags to metaphysics. Let out your inner geek and join in this public forum with other intelligent and discerning film fans.
On to the longest day (and night) of the Festival