The Hawk

Issue date: 10/24/07 Section: Entertainment

Dan Fraga holding a favorite horror flick.

Ten years ago, in South Jersey, four friends came up with a simple idea. If they couldn't see their favorite movies in theaters, why not just rent out a theater for a night and put on a show for themselves?

They rented two classic horror films from a distributor, worked out a deal with a single-screen movie house and set to work. Peppering the area with homemade flyers and handbills and spreading word of the event via Internet newsgroups, they hoped that a few more people would come and watch a double feature with them.

As it turned out, hundreds of people came from all over New Jersey and beyond. A decade and 200 film screenings later, these four friends have created the monster of movie experiences that is Exhumed Films.

In celebration of its 10th anniversary, Exhumed Films is going to put on a show unlike anything Philadelphia has seen before, or likely ever will again.

On Saturday, Oct. 27, at noon, Exhumed Films will begin its 24 Hour Horror Thon, a full day of non-stop horror movies, trailers, and shorts with no dead screen time, ending Sunday, Oct. 28 at noon.

The showing will take place at the University of Pennsylvania's International House at 3701 Chestnut St. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the door an hour before show time. It is sure to be the biggest event that the group has ever undertaken.

"This show is going to destroy this city," said Joe Gervasi of Exhumed Films with an impish grin.

The same four founding members of Exhumed Films are still its only members. They are all in their mid-30s now, holding down decent day jobs. But they look and talk like a group of high school friends, punctuating their sentences with some choice colorful language.

There's Dan Fraga, who works as the chairman of a high school English department; Harry Guerro, who is a pipe fitter; and Jesse Nelson, and Gervasi who work in telecommunications and are the co-owners of Diabolik DVD, Inc., a successful Internet company that specializes in the import and sale of rare DVDs. Gervasi also works on the side as a self-described "lab rat," making money by, appropriately enough, volunteering his body for medical experiments.

There is no paid advertising for an Exhumed Films show. It relies in large part on media attention to help spread the word about events, but its greatest source for bringing in audiences is word of mouth. The Exhumed Films crew asks fans to tell their friends about upcoming shows and to post flyers around their neighborhoods. The Internet has also proved an excellent method for spreading the word. Still, not everyone is reached.

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