Chicago Fangoria Convention 2009

This year’s Fangoria Weekend of Horrors in Chicago was great, plain and simple. It had a great lineup of guests, speakers, and a bunch of vendors. I have to say this year’s convention was much better than the previous year. So much madness and so little time to cover it all, but for the most part, Horror Society tried to hit up every talk and every vendor as much as we could.

Check out pictures here

Friday was the start of the con, and for the most part the lines were long but not overly crowded. We didn’t have to wait that long to grab our tickets, but there were a lot more people than I had expected. Once again, it took place at the Wyndam Ohare hotel in Rosemont, and it’s a great place for the con. A couple of restaurants, bars, upstairs dealer room, downstairs dealer room, film screenings, and more random happenings throughout the hotel. I do hear that they are coming back next year and are looking for a bigger and better venue. I would personally like to see that happen, and I would love for all of the vendors to be in the same room as the LA con.

They did a good job this year at placing several bigger name celebs in the vendor room downstairs, to help get people moving back and forth and not to leave out those vendors that had their table down there. Last year it was difficult for some of the vendors to get people to their booth in the “dungeon” as its called. Simply because people didn’t really know there was a downstairs. This year, problem solved… just throw Tom Savini, Bill Moseley, and the Italian Masters of Horror down there and that is sure to draw a crowd.

Ok on to the Q&A’s.

Friday started off with Raine Brown and Joe Zaso talking about their new project called Beast. Looks and sounds interesting, and as always, they almost never need a crowd to answer to. They have been in so many projects together that they could almost finish each others sentences. Braincell is another project they are working on and from the sound of it, it looks good as well.

Director David Gregory gave us a little bit of info on Plague Town. It’s an old school killer kid type of film and it looks great. It screened at the film room downstairs but I never got around to catching that one.

Bill Moseley talked a bit about how working on H2 and his role with as a Horror Host. Other than that, not much was said for H2 as its basically top secret.

Tom Towles was up next and he talked a little about working with Rob Zombie and how much freedom you have when acting for him. Bill had said the same and I wonder if that is why all of his movies so far have been some of my personal favorites. Tom is a theater actor and was talking about how orgasmic the effects of stage work can be and if you get into your character and really feel like you are him/her, then it will show on the big screen just like it can on stage. Tom used to be a local theater actor here in Chicago.

HG Lewis, the godfather of gore, took the stage, and for a minute there, I was hoping he was going to be able to get up there. It looks like he was about to fall off, but luckily he didn’t. What more can be said about the man the has brought us Blood Feast, Gore Gore Girls, Wizard of Gore and so many other experimental shorts throughout the early years. Yes he is basically the inventor of gore films! From what he said, it was a way to get people into the theater and get them entertained. No one else has ever done that type of film before, and good or bad, it entertained the masses. OK, he lead the crowd with a sing a long of the theme from Two Thousand Maniacs! Seriously, it was great. Also learned that he is a genius at marketing, and has written around 30 books on the subject. (Side Note… My wife rode the shuttle bus back with him on Sunday morning, and talked for a while about his marketing job, taking his wife to Paris every year, and the fact that he had a sore throat from all of the interviews).

After that, I had to leave for the city to co-host a Zombie A-Go Go costume contest with Brian K. Great fun and more on that later! So I missed out on the Rock panel, as well as the Shock and Roll Spooktacular. From what I heard, the bands were great and Shannon Lark looked fantastic! And of course DJ Brianne rocked the crowd like she always does!

Saturday was jammed packed with guests, screenings, and the crowd was there.

We had arrived a bit late, so we missed the first guest (Kauffman) and the Q&A in the auditorium, but we did have a chance to check out Ashley Lawrence talking about her work in Hellraiser among other projects. Ashely doesn’t look any different than she did in Hellraiser, and I have to say she never aged a bit. Fango’s top dog, Tony Timpone was the host for the session, and the topics and questions ranged from Hellraiser, her artwork,  to working with Clive Barker. Such a fan of Clive, Ashley said she is willing to do anything that Barker is working on, even if she never reads a script.

The Italian Masters Of Horror (Ruggero Deodato, Lamberto Bava, Sergio Stivaletti) took the stage next. Even with the language barrier, they managed to give us a little bit of info on their new project coming up, the differences between Italian Horror and American Horror (sounds like it’s all money and budget related) and what some of their favorite American horror films are. Overall it looks like the Exorcist got the most votes, and I have to agree with that one. It was great to see all of them up on one stage together. Even though the questions from the audience seemed a bit too involved for them to understand or translate, I just sat there sort of in awe that these guys are here. Great job on getting them here for this convention!

After that we grabbed some lunch with a few of the staff here at Horror Society, Coye, Shu, Brian K, Kitty, and my wife, then we hit up the vendors rooms.

Upstairs was one of the best companies around, Synapse Films. They had a huge table with a wide assortment of all things horror, cult, and exploitation. John from Horrorbles (the official Fangoria Store) was around the corner with a huge variety of horror goodies. Ranging from movies, masks, toys, shirts, and just about anything you can think of. It was nice to finally meet John in person. I have been to the store in Berywn a few times, but never got the chance to meet him until now. Great guy!

Troma was nearby as well with all of their TROMA goodness, and Lloyd was always singing and mingling a bit (well more like flirting for some) and Chicago’s own Tromette Dystopia (sp?.. its Nora) was there as well. I missed Kaufman talking about Poultrygeist on stage and showing us some previews, but from what I hear he knows how to work the crowd. Not a second of downtime and no question unanswered when he is up there. Mr Showman himself!!

Upstairs also featured a bunch of Tattoo companies and booths, many of them, if not all of them, had an artist on hand so people could remember this convention permanently. I stopped and talked to a few of them, checked out some of their work, and watched as some people got inked. I have to say most of them took that like it was just a walk in the park. I don’t have any tattoos, nor do I want any…. I’m just a wuss really. I hate pain, but for those that got do have them, more power to ya, you got more balls than I do!

Jon Kitley from Kitley’s Krypt was upstairs this year, and doing great as usual with his rare books, prints, and posters. Looks like Kitley will be having a regular column in Horror Hound Magazine now, congrats to you Jon!

Down the way a bit was Fango’s own James Zahn and his booth for the comics, and Death Walks the Streets. I stopped and chatted with him a bit about his booth, how he and the mag was doing this year, and various other stuff really. James is one of those guys that you can approach and practically speak with about anything. Death Walks is coming soon, and it looks great too. It was a pleasure to see him again, and thanks James for all you have done for me and the site!!

Off to the DUNGEON…..

Downstairs had many vendors, some big names, and some indie companies and shops, but this year the place was full. Looks like Creation and Fangoria had a good idea to get some of the bigger name people downstairs to draw some traffic to the room and give some of the indie vendors some people to chat with. I have to say, it was a great time talking with everyone, and the fact that is was small and compact made it like a big party! Fun time in the basement this year.

Moseley had his table down there with a bunch of head shots, movie stills, posters and more… great to talk with him about his new role in H2. Tom Savini, the special effects god, was right next to him. Signing and chatting with all of the guests, and he even did a card trick for some little kid. And hell, I watched the whole thing and never figured it out either kid!

Hack Movies was around the corner promoting their new flick Stiff Jobs (review coming soon). Kevin Strange and the crew were there talking about how he is wanting to make some more flicks this year along with looking for a distribution deal. Kevin informed me that he and Hack Movies will be featured in Gorezone soon, great job Kevin!

Next to Hack was Marv Blauvelt (from Sculpture and Beef) Justin Alvarez (Our Devil’s Night) and Alan Rowe Kelly (The Blood Shed and Sculpture… along with being a wonderful director). They were there promoting everything and selling all sorts of head shots, stills, and the Hot Hunks of Horror Calendar as well. Great group and a blast to hang out with. Along with all of them, Tony Wash (Its my Party and I’ll Die if I Want To), Brian K, and I all headed to the city for that Zombie contest and we had a great time. Marv got along with everyone at that bar, and made a good deal of picture sales as well!! :)

Joe Zaso and Raine Brown were right across the way signing and doing what they do for the new movie Beast, and some of the older ones like Barricade.

Dark Sky Films was there selling all sorts of good stuff, including giving away copies of the soundtrack to Carnivore, and promoting Jezebeth as well. I have to say meeting them for the first time was great and I do look forward to helping you out in the future with anything you need! Thanks for the support guys!

The Masters of Italian Horror were down there as well signing autographs, selling posters, and…. letting my friend Dan try on the original mask from Demons… and I have to say, he was like a little kid afterward. Shit I would be too. Dan was shaking and flushed with excitement at the fact that this is one of the best directors out there and for him to have a prop like that and let Dan wear it…… must have been a real treat. You see that is why I love these conventions so much. Where on earth would you ever get the chance to hang out and do things like that. Gotta love it!

So after all of that the time flew by and we missed out on some of the activities in the auditorium. But my wife and Kitty checked out the costume contest and grabbed a bunch of pictures so they will be up soon. Seeing some of the people wandering, it looks like it was a good one too.

Up next we grabbed some food, reloaded our energy as well as liquor, and headed to see a screening of Better Off Undead. Jon Pata and his crew are an absolute blast to hang with and they put together a nice hotel room screening of their film. Seeing it yet again, it is still funny as hell and for Jon having no training with anything film, he did a great job. It was a packed house, of sorts, and it seemed like everyone in the room loved the film as well. Dan Kiggins was on hand to give everyone a couple of scenes from his latest film The Landlord. That seemed to go over well too. After the screening came the whiskey, and after the whiskey (a few hours later) came the nudity in the halls, and the erotic hula hoop in the lobby… yep the Better Off Undead guys know how to party. That is all I can say about that really… check the gallery for the aftermath pictures..

We opted out of the celeb desert party in favor of the high priced drinks at the bar, and several hours later it was time for bed.

Sunday had the biggest names on the bill for the Q&A’s with Robert Kutzman, George Romero, Tom Savini, Jeffery Combs, the Texas Panel, and more!

We got there in time to check out Bart Mastronardi talking about his new film Vindication and got to hear some great questions as well as a teaser for the film. Clive Barker is saying that this is a masterpiece and well done, so I can’t wait for that one as well. Brian K. checked it out on Sunday night and said the same. Great film, great guy, and it was nice to see a film that strays a bit from the mainstream roles. On hand was Alan Rowe Kelly talking about his new film, A Far Cry from Home, which we checked out on Sunday night as well. Great new take on the slasher film and brutal effects along with a brutal storyline. Certainly one to check out as well if you ever get the chance.

Up next was Robert Kurtzman taking about his work on Bump, The Rage, some of his films and projects that he is working on including one called HISS. We got to take a look at the trailer for that one and all I have to say is, Holy Shit! That looks great. Its a cross between Bollywood and American horror with great special effects and from the look of the trailer, some great cinematography as well. He talked a bit about working in India and the fact that he was there just a few days before the terror attacks in Mumbai. Luckily he got out of there and finished up before anything went down. Hiss looks like a great film! Cant wait!

We grabbed some lunch after that so we missed out on the Fangoria Entertainment Panel, sorry guys, but we had to fill our bellies and soak up some more alshohol from the night before. Nature calls.. in a sense I guess.

We did get back in time to hear the master of all things Zombie, George Romero talk about his work past and present, giving us all some insight on his latest film “? of the Dead” Yep, the title is still up in the air, and a few of the audience members were giving out suggestions throughout the talk. George talked about his favorite music, the fact that this new movie is another socially aware film, and he may have plans for a few more after “?”. All depends upon how his new one does in the theaters. But from your previous track record George, I’m sure it will be another winner and we all can’t wait to see what is coming up next from you. He gave us a little 10 minute behind the scenes for his latest with all of the actors talking about working with George, how the movie is, and the fact that this is another one that will not only make you think about what is going on, but give you some real blood and gore with it as well. In the documentary, you get to see Steve Barton (Dread Central) talking about how George is the man, and if you get the chance to be a zombie in any of his films (as he was) stop everything that you are doing and get your ass out there. Its Romero for Christ sake… you will never had a chance like this again, he is the man and all others before him doing these zombie films will never do it like George! Nice to see Steve may actually be in the film and munching on some flesh as well!

Tom Savini was up next (I guess he doesn’t like the new Friday the 13th remake!) and we got to hear a little from him, but we had to leave soon to check out A Far Cry From Home, and show our support to our friends Alan, Marv, and Bart!! Like I said earlier, if you ever get the chance to see that film, go and see it. Its great.

After that screening, I checked out some more stuff from the vendors, bought a few things, and took a bunch of pictures as well. Check out the gallery to see all of them.

During the screening, we missed out on Jeffery Combs, but we got to see him and speak with him a bit afterward. It was a great to see him in person. We also missed out on the Texas Chainsaw Panel as well, but caught the last couple of minutes. Nice to see everyone on the stage together for that one as well. John Dugan was always a blast at his table, and Caroline Williams is such a sweetheart too!

I also got to partake in a video interview by Rich Peterson (Madison Horror Film Fest, and The Bordello of Horror) thanks Rich for the chance to be interviewed!!

Finally it was time for Chicago’s own Wildclaw Theater to talk about their new play The Revenants, and discuss what exactly it is they do. Not many on hand for this panel, since I’m sure most people are flat out exhausted from the weekend, but the HS crew was there to show support for our local horror fiends. Wild Claw does live horror theater and having been to a couple of their show, it is just as full of terror, blood and gore as some of the movies. Almost more since you are there and you get to feel the vibrations from the music, hear the actors in person, and you really get a sense and feel for the suspense. I’ve never really been to any plays at all, but I’m hooked now. Its great… oh Zombie Bowling on Saturday.. check the link.

So that just about wraps up this weekends activities at Fangoria Weekend of Horrors in Chicago. I had a great time and I’m sure that most everyone there can say the same. This year was a blast, despite the economy and the hardships this country is having, people were buying stuff like crazy and getting the chance to meet the people they either grew up with or are growing up with now.

That is really what all of these conventions are for. It’s your chance to see the stars of these movies that we all love, and to hear them talk about their work in person. They are all just regular people and for the most part they all love to hang out with you and just talk it up about anything. Some people have been complaining about the high tickets prices, or the lack of celebs or some shit with these cons, but Creation is a leader when it comes to the conventions here in the US, and I think they did a great job this year. Going to these and hanging out with your friends is what its all about. Where else can you get together and talk all the horror you want to with all the horror freaks and geeks throughout the country. On top of it all you  have the chance and opportunity to meet others just like you. Its just a big party… its great. Yeah there are some ups and downs, but the fact that Creation and Fangoria keep coming back year after year to bring you these guest and get these vendors together is wonderful. Tony and Adam have a great thing going for them with these conventions, and I would hate to see it go bad. With that said, it looks like they are coming back with a new bigger and better venue next year for Chicago, so I’m sure we will all welcome them with open arms, and bloody stubs!!