A Weekend of Memories

For the second time in the last decade, Creation Entertainment and Fangoria Magazine have parted ways, and this time it looks like the divorce is final. I’m not sure if that is a good or bad thing, but relocating the con from the scattered, airport sized locale of the Los Angeles Convention Center to the cozy confines of the LAX Marriott was a slam dunk in my opinion. Some of the same problems still linger from past shows though: disorganization, little to no free swag, and a skimpy selection in the dealers room.

But honestly, that is not why I go to these events. I go to meet horror stars from the past and present who have inspired and nudged me into the position I am in now on this very website. If you would have told me when I was a kid that someday I would not only meet Dario Argento, but I’d actually get a chance to hang out with him at a bar, I would have said you have lost your mind. I need to put this in perspective to show you why this is such a big deal for me. My parents and grandparents grew up on the cinema of Alfred Hitchcock, a man who is considered to be the finest director ever. Dario is the closest we will ever get to a modern Hitchcock, and he is an inspiration to me and legions of horrors fans around the world. Argento was once a film critic and has gone on to write, direct, and produce some of the most violent, stylish, and baroque cinema of the last forty years.

Adam Green is one of us. He really is. I first met him a few years back at a screening of Hatchet at the Arclight in Hollywood. He was a complete gentleman and didn’t walk around like his farts didn’t stink like some people in La La land. After taking the stage to preview Hatchet II and holding the audience in the palm of his hand the whole way through, I briefly conversed with Adam afterwards and found out fame hasn’t changed him a bit. You would think it would have, right? I mean he has directed Halloween shorts that are fan favorites, produced Grace, co-directed Spiral, won critical acclaim with Frozen, and directed a modern favorite called Hatchet - the sequel will be coming out later this year. Let’s not forget the mock commercial he made called Saber, where two hotties bust out lightsabers and fight over some ‘Average Joe’ at a bar. This bad boy got fanboys sprung in their pants big time, and at this moment it has over one million hits on You Tube. Thank for keeping it real buddy.

One word of advice that I can give fans at these gatherings is to stay busy. Walk around and don’t get stuck in one area too long because you never know who you might miss. Stomping the floors were people like Stuart Gordon, Robert Englund, Kevin Tenney, Jeffrey Combs, George Wendt, Sean Cunningham, Bill Lustig, Jeff Lieberman and many more.

I had an amazing time meeting up with old friends and new ones and I look forward to the Weekend of Horrors returning to L.A. this October.