Well once again, welcome one and all to The Rev’s voyage through Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors in Burbank. I’ve one under my belt already so I no longer go as a convention virgin, and, well, gives a bit of a different perspective on things. And by different perspective, I mean, pretty much the same perspective, as it was still damn cool. This one was Caretaker free I’m sad to report, but since he’sup to bigger and better things at the moment, I shall do the best I can to do this event justice.
Now, being a Friday they didn’t put all their coolest stuff up front, so I haven’t a ton of notes and observations for today, but this weekend looks to be one that will be jam-packed with some cool panel discussions and signing opportunities. I intend to show it all as I saw it.
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Day 1: March 18, 2007
Perhaps the funniest part of the day came as we (my girlfriend and I; this was her first con, so that was a lot of fun) pulled into the parking lot. This attendant with a rather high-pitched Russian accent comes up and asks us, “Are you here for the scary movie?” There’s not a whole lot to it and I’m not making fun of the guy, I just found that pretty damn funny.
While we were waiting in line for tickets, there were a few people walking around handing out pamphlets talking about their new cult, The Quanta Group, as the way to freedom while they wore cardboard signs with the words ‘The End is Near!’ crudely drawn on them with magic marker. I tried ignoring them at first, but they were persistent, and, well, as it turns out instead of being some nutso Jesus group they were actually handing out pamphlets advertising for the upcoming film, The Believers. Although the film doesn’t appear to be my cup of tea, I will admit this phrase out of the pamphlet I found to be especially catchy:
Please come to our special “Believers Panel” at 5 pm, or stop by our converted missile silo anytime! You are always welcome!
Classy.
Anyhow, first thing once we get in and get our tickets, I had to buy a Photo Op ticket. Now, for those of you who haven’t been to a Fango con, they have these things they call Photo Ops, where you pay around $40 to get your picture professionally taken with one of the more well known celebs, and let me tell you they are worth every penny. I got one last year with Bruce Campbell and it still holds a proud place on my bedroom wall. This year? I shelled out the cash to get my picture taken with the lovely Shawnee Smith, star of the hit Saw franchise, and having had a bit of a crush (not that big of one Fiona, I swear!) on her since The Blob, this will most definitely be a treat.
Anyhow, after getting a lay of the land (with half the convention center curiously blocked off and a lot of the vendors moved into conference rooms in the adjacent hotel), we sat in on our first panel discussion for a film I had not heard of, Brutal Massacre. While not a horror film in the traditional sense, I must say it boasts a damn good pedigree of stars. On hand were David Naughton (An American Werewolf in London), Ellen Sandweiss, Theresa Tilly and Betsy Baker (The Evil Dead Girls), while also appearing in the film were Ken Foree and Gunnar Hansen. In short, this film is a mockumentary about the making of a cheap, independent horror film with a sleazy 80’s horror producer (Naughton) at the helm. About a half dozen clips were shown, and let me say they were funnier than hell. Think This is Spinal Tap, but involving Friday the 13th instead of a rock band.
Highlights from the clips include:
- Naughton at a Fangoria convention rationalizing why he does gruesome horror movies, citing that films involving a killer who feeds people gunpowder and chili just to make them explode when they have a bowel movement are good for society, and that he shouldn’t be held accountable for the death of one fan who mimicked a scene from his film, Teasing a Gorilla.
- The film’s assistant director discussing his friendship for Naughton, including their attempts at working on the first slasher film for kids, Killer Koala.
- Gratuitous nudity at the films tryouts.
The Q & A stuff was pretty standard, with the cast lamenting about insanely cold temperatures in PA, the fact that they were filming in abandoned buildings with severe asbestos problems, and Naughton fielding the obligatory American Werewolf question. All in all this one looks like a film to definitely keep an eye out for.
Check out their main site at http://www.brutalmassacre.com
Next up was a panel discussion for the new generation of zombie filmmakers, and on hand were Day of the Dead ’07 screenwriter Jeffrey Reddick, Brain Dead (not to be confused with Peter Jackson’s) director Kevin Tenney, Diary of the Dead producer (and the screwdriver zombie himself!) John Harrison, and Flight of the Living Dead director Scott Thomas. This whole panel was hosted by Max Brooks, a man with definite skills in the MCing category, as let me say he was funnier than hell. Trailers were shown for each of these films with the exception of Diary, which just had some making-of interviews and zero zombie footage. For the most part the trailers were hit and miss. Flight, which looks like a combination of Snakes on a Plane and Return of the Living Dead, was pretty damn funny. Brooks had a good time making fun of this one, as he didn’t seem to care much for Snakes. Brain Dead looked all right, standard group of teens in a cabin film by the looks of it, stalked by one uber-smart zombie.
Then we have Day.
I’m not one who’s against remakes on principle alone, but I’m just going to out and say it. The trailers for this one looks bad. The buzz for this one is bad. If this one tries for a theatrical release, it will be bad. I’ll check it out, but, it looks pretty damn bad. Anyhow, the conversation was rather lively, with Reddick lamenting the lack of influence of the screenwriter (and how authors of books have even less influence, something Brooks didn’t seem too enthusiastic about given how his opus World War Z will soon be a film), while Harrison went into great and enthusiastic detail about his role as the screwdriver zombie in Dawn of the Dead ’78.
Moving on I felt it to be a good time for some shopping, and if you’re into horror shopping then these cons shan’t disappoint. They’ve got t-shirts, obscure posters, odd bits of art, guitars, rare DVD’s and books and toys up the Wazoo. In random corners you’ll find all sorts of stars, big and small signing autographs. Not too big into the shopping scene, I’ll admit, but all the same I do like to build my autograph collection. First stop, Fred Williamson. Got a picture of him as Frost in From Dusk Till Dawn. Next up, a stop by Austin Stoker from Assault on Precinct 13. He was very appreciative of the attention and glad to see any fans who preferred the original to the remake, something I was more than willing to admit to.
After browsing one of the obscure poster booths (and getting my girl an early birthday present), we headed back to the auditorium and found ourselves between shows. The strange people with signs and pamphlets entered the auditorium and began to hand them out again, and after a bit of wondering what the hell they were doing and some debate on the artistic merits of The Monster Mash, we found out why. The next panel for the film The Believers began, with director Daniel Myrick and stars Johnny Messner, child actor Saige Ryan Campbell and Deanna Russo on hand. The film centers around a cult who believes the end of the world is at hand and only their belief in mathematics can save them from the coming destruction. Aside from some average-looking clips and discussion on the frightening ease of renting a nuclear missile silo, not a whole lot interesting here.
As the day wound down we caught one more panel, this one for the upcoming adaptation of Stephen King’s The Mist, with director Frank Darabont, actor Thomas Jane and concept designer Bernie Wrightson on hand. Though with no film to show off, they were incredibly enthusiastic and a candid, fun bunch. They were pretty hush on most details, mostly discussing some of the creature designs and reverent talk of King. They spoke of some changes to the story, though for the most part they chose to remain faithful to King’s vision. Considering Darabont’s previous collaborations with King, I don’t doubt that. But, by this time my girl and I were both a bit on the tired side and ready to call it a day.
Tomorrow is, well, for lack of a better word going to be packed. Among others showing up will be Heather Langenkamp, Eli Roth, Michael Madsen, Henry Rollins, Kane Hodder, Tony Todd, Shawnee Smith and Rob Zombie. It’s going to be a big one, and I shall be there to cover it all.
