News
MegaCon Orlando Brings Horror and Geekdom Together!
I have attended many, many conventions all over the East Coast, and as a new resident to sunny Florida I just had to check out the notorious MegaCon Orlando at the Orange County Convention Center. To say the least, I was not disappointed from what this convention had to offer.
Enthusiasm and passion kept everyone in good spirits, even as they stood in the long lines to see celebrity guests such as James Marsters, Eliza Dushku, and Nicholas Brendon who were celebrating their 20 years of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame that launched them all into the Whedonverse hall of fame. Equally long lines snaked their way to the autograph tables to see Rocky Horror Picture Show veterans Patricia Quinn, Barry Bostwick, Nell Campbell, and Meatloaf and of course the infamous Tim Curry in his private photo op!
Cosplayers made up almost half of the attendees, and many of them were nearly screen accurate! While many of the cosplayers were super hero related you can’t keep the horror fans down! Fans of the macabre came out to support their favorite genre characters as well. Jasons, and Michaels, and Freddys, oh my! There were also many cosplayers paying tribute to their favorite Walking Dead characters, with an overwhelming proportion of them as the infamous baseball bat wielding Negan.
However, one cosplayer in particular made my blood run cold; Samara from The Ring. This cosplayer fully committed to her character. Not only did she look the part with her entire body fully airbrushed in a shade of corpse white, but she also conducted terrifying poses. This girl contortioned her entire body into the ungodly positions as Samara did crawling out of the television screen! It still gives me chills just thinking about it!
Professional cosplayers Cecil Grimes and Richard Dixon took the act of cosplaying to a new level. In an experience affectionately called ‘set play’ cosplay actors Grimes and Dixon invited you into their zombie infested world inside a ‘Mega Con Safe Zone’ fort surrounded by barbed wire and completed with a lookout tower where you can take preparations to fend off the walkers. Once inside you choose your weapon to join Rick and Daryl as you fight off the zombies who broke through their safe zone in your photo!
This year for the first time Sinners and Saints, a horror film festival which began as a staple in Tampa in 2002, partnered up with MegaCon Orlando to show this year’s movies. Panels hosted by the independent filmmakers were showcased alongside their films. Fear Film Studio Fest also screened independent horror films as well as shorts over the course of the weekend and gave fans the opportunity to meet with the people behind the movies.
While horror merchandise was in short supply in the vendor room, it is a mostly a comic convention after all, the dedicated could find some fantastic discoveries! Local 13x Studios owner Rick Styczynski had his booth in its full glory, showcasing masks from the comic book world as well as the horror genre! Drop Dead Bizarre showcased a beautiful cabinet filled with hand painted machetes featuring who else but Jason Voorhees. I
f you were looking for something a little more cute and cuddly, Horror Show Jack’s booth had some adorably twisted stuffed bears in the likenesses of Sam from Trick ‘R Treat and Chucky from Child’s Play.
As a first time attendee of MegaCon Orlando I was not disappointed, and I will surely be returning next year! In the meantime the convention is gearing up for their next convention; MegaCon Tampa September 29 – October 1! It has already been announced Kevin Smith of Tusk and Red State will be in attendance. Check out MegaCon Tampa’s website here as their guest list grows for their September show!
Be sure to follow iHorror for upcoming news on horror guests at their next show, and keep up with our Twitter here and Instagram here to see our pictures as we attend the shows in real time!
Read more about MegaCon Orlando horror vendor Rick Styczynski in iHorror’s interview with him here!
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News
Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role
Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.
Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.
“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”
Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.
While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?
The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.
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Editorial
7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch
The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.
The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.
We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.
Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?
Scream Live (2023)
Ghostface (2021)
Ghost Face (2023)
Don’t Scream (2022)
Scream: A Fan Film (2023)
The Scream (2023)
A Scream Fan Film (2023)
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Movies
Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month
Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.
Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.
According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.
Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.
Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.
Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.
While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.
According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”
The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.
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