Help me out here. I'm asked by the Gasparilla Film Festival folks for suggestions about Florida-based films to show and discuss in a festival sidebar next spring.

We're pretty much set on the underrated, under-seen John Goodman flick Matinee, about a William Castle-style schlockmeister. 
I suggested Blood Feast, 1963's grandpa of gore set in Miami Beach. If you haven't seen it, it's the Citizen Kane of splatter flicks.

Susan Fernandez, a USF professor who co-wrote a great book about Florida films titled Sunshine in the Dark, thinks Cocoon would be a better choice.

You can help. Ring me here or persall@sptimes.com and honor a true Sunshine State classic.

Here's my best Clarence Darrow impersonation to defend Blood Feast to the other idea contributors. If we win, I'll tell you a good story about that flick:

Hi everyone. I have to politely defend Blood Feast. I think Susan
underestimates the Florida look of BF, including South Beach before it
was trendy but gaining new wealth, and the beach itself (albeit mostly
at night) before condos.There's more I'm sure but I haven't seen BF in
3-4 years.

Then, there's the fact that BF is the first true splatter flick, five
years before Romero or his long line of imitators, and a drive-in movie
sensation of which no less than d-i movie critic Joe Bob Briggs
eloquently spoke about a few years ago at the Sarasota Film Festival.

If it's good enough for Joe Bob, it's good enough for anybody.

There's also a shot at getting the director, Herschell Gordon Lewis, to
add something. He's old but collaborating with a couple of local
filmmakers in Tampa Bay's -- sorry -- active gore filmmaking market
that will buy tickets.

And, as some folks know, I can tell a story about BF.

Just my two cents. Thanks for considering.

Steve

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You guys let me know what you think. Am I barking up the wrong dismembered limb?