Panel & Screening Schedule at World Horror Convention

I'm stoked about guesting at the World Horror Convention 2009 in Winnipeg, MB. Looking forward to meeting some great local filmmakers & horror fans. The WHC runs from April 30 to May 3. I'll be there May 1-3.

In addition to wall to wall screenings of cool horror shorts & features - including past winners of the Tabloid Witch Awards - there will be a daily Filmmaker's Bloc.

The Filmmaker's Bloc will feature 3 horror films (1 feature plus 2 shorts) followed by a panel discussion with the filmmakers. Topics will include horror, filmmaking, distribution, and the festival circuit.

Expect a different discussion each time, as well as a vigorous Q&A session during each bloc. Winnipeg is, after all, a top filmmaking town in Canada. So bring it on!

See you there in the dark...

PANEL: Thomas M. Sipos, Los Angeles-based director of the Tabloid
Witch Awards horror film contest & festival, and actor in "The Ancient Law"; Kelly L. Young, Seattle-based writer of "H.P. Lovecraft's Strange Aeons"; and Miguel Gallego, Toronto-based writer/director of "The Crypt Club".

"H.P. LOVECRAFT'S STRANGE AEONS" A Miskatonic University professor combats an evil sorcerer trying to bring back the demonic "Old Ones"to Earth. Based on H.P. Lovecraft's "The Thing on the Doorstep." Directed by Eric Morgret. Written by K.L. Young. Cast: J.D. Lloyd, Erick J. Robertson, Angela M. Grillo, Jerry Lloyd, Peter Anthony Holden. (USA, 78 minutes)

"THE ANCIENT LAW" A magical, evil king kidnaps a young man's bride and child. Thus begins the man's quest. Dark fantasy. Directed/written by Erasmo Romero III. Cast: Jesus Guevara, Anthony Scavone, Jennifer Apon, Thomas M. Sipos, James Rollyson. (USA, 23 minutes)

"THE CRYPT CLUB" Three Goth girls desecrate a cemetery on a snowy night. An old-fashioned spook tale. Directed/written by: Miguel Gallego. Cast: Alison Pill ("Milk", "Pieces of April"), Jessica Greco ("Earth: Final Conflict", "Goosebumps"), Michele Duquet ("Earth: Final Conflict", "Kaw"), Kerry Segal. (Canada, 23 minutes)

The Filmmaker's Blocs are currently scheduled:
Fri. May 1 from 8 pm to 11 pm
Sat. May 2 from 4 pm to 7 pm
Sun. May 3 from 10 am to 1 pm

WHC LOCATION:
Marlborough Hotel
331 Smith Street (downtown)
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

LINKS:
World Horror Convention 2009
Tabloid Witch Awards
The Crypt Club

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Guess Who's Guesting at the World Horror Convention 2009?

Sure, the World Horror Convention was founded as a mostly literary event. Once a year the scribes who create horrifying works of literature gather together to celebrate with each other and with the fans. But, over the past couple of years, the cinematic contingent of the horror universe has slowly been creeping into the party.

Since last year in Salt Lake City, Thomas Sipos, of the Hollywood Investigator and the Tabloid Witch Awards, hosts the convention's screening room where he presents the best horror films from the Tabloid Witch awards, along with a few surprises. He's lined up more than a dozen hours of scary feature and short film programming for the 4 day event.

This year, since the WHC takes place in Winnipeg there's a special Canuck bias to Thomas' screaming screen's offerings. And justifiably so. Canadian's have been shocking the world since Fay Wray went on that blind date with that tall, hairy, royal guy.

Among the films featured will be my own film, "The Crypt Club", fresh from a fantastic sold out screening at NYC's Latin Horrorphiles 2 night.

Yep. Thomas invited me to attend the Convention as his guest, and I'm thrilled to say that I'll be attending the WHC from Friday May 1 to Sunday May 3. Between screenings we'll hold panel discussions and Q&As on horror films, our own films, and filmmaking. Should be some creepy good fun and (dare I say it?) informative.

I'll be traveling light, but I will have as much Crypt Club and "AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits" swag with me as my pack mule can haul. The tough part is getting the mule a coach seat on an Air Canada flight.

So there you have it. Come for the chills, stay for the thrills. Looking forward to meeting & greeting horror fans and filmmakers alike.

The World Horror Convention is an annual gathering of professionals in the horror industry; publishers, authors, artists, musicians, filmmakers, dealers and, of course, horror fans. WHC serves as both an industry insider's networking event and a chance for fans of the genre to get together, meet some of the creative talents in the field, and generally spend a weekend celebrating All Things Scary.

LINKS:
World Horror Convention 2009 site
World Horror Convention main site
Tabloid Witch Awards site

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Did you win our Grand Prize Draw?

During our Festival of Fear appearance we promised a prize package to one lucky person who visited our booth and entered our draw. Hundreds of folks filled in their ballot and said a little prayer as they handed the delicate slip of paper - representing their fondest dream of winning cool stuff to watch & wear - to our friend Jill, who gently took the paper from their hopeful fingers and mashed it into the ballot bowl with all the others.

After the convention, we put these hundreds of entries into a black sack - along with some broken glass and discarded medical sharps to enhance our enjoyment of the selection process.

After much blind digging and yelping, our shredded mitts pulled out the entry belonging to our grand prize winner. Fortunately for us (and the draw contestants), we used blood-proof ink in the pens for the draw ballot and we were able to read the winner's name, e-mail, and T-shirt size.

Kong-gratulations to Brendan Rowe! Shortly, he'll be receiving a hefty package containing T-shirts, DVDs, and assorted swag (including the notorious K-W syringe pen) from AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits, The Pit and the Pendulum, and Killer-works.com. Enjoy them all in good health.

Who says dreams can't come true?

And now we're off to the ER and then a manicure. Giving hurts so good.

Wrapping up our first FOF

Well, it was a hell of a weekend. We beat standing for hours on the concrete floors and didn't once reach for the back pills! The three days flew by thanks to the parade of fine, funky folk strutting their stuff as they stalked the aisles searching for their fetish trophy.

Reception was awesome for our new DVD, still-smoking-from-the-duplicator [that would be the 'AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits, Volume 1' DVD for the chronically inattentive]. Seems lots of people want to know more about the great indie short horror films that slip under their radar and disappear beyond the horizon. Thanks to everyone who bought a copy as we made our convention debut.

The brand new discs will be available in September through our web site & shortly from other fine retailers.

You know, you don't get through one of these conventions without a helping hand from many folks. If you'll indulge me I'd like to thank some unsung folks for their kindness, good humour, encouragement, and generosity. They include my stalwart boothmates, Marc Lougee and Jill Cooper, who kept the cool banter & hot coffee flowing. There are my immediate neighbours, Alexia Anastasio (Salome) [pictured] & Kevin Sean Michaels (Vampira the Movie) who couldn't have been sweeter or funnier respectively. I hope the cheetah found a place to stay.

Thanks also to the carnivorous folks from The Butcher Shop across the aisle who must have heard our growling stomachs over the din and crossed the aisle to share a box of Tim Bits on two separate occasions. Good on ya, mates! The Rue Morgue & convention staff were super cordial and helpful, especially Lisa Russell at Showtech.

Louis at Merch Guy pulled our chestnuts out of the fire and delivered some wicked looking Cryptwear shirts. Thanks for the technical assist and perseverance. That's the artwork for the back of the work shirt that I'm wearing in the photos. We're debating whether to offer the shirts for sale on-line or keep them as a personal appearance exclusive for conventions and festivals. Whatcha think? Let us know via e-mail.

Then there's Paula Watters at The Source Shop for busting her hump sourcing [get it?] our swag items for us. The Crypt Club key chains are on their way to becoming coveted collectors items for discerning drivers & key keepers.

Thea, Adam, and Rory from the Toronto Zombie Walk offered us some brains [don't you go there] and handed out fliers for us as they ambled about sizing up people's cranial capacity. March on you crazy, hungry, undead-type people.

And I'd really be in the dog house if I didn't mention my childhood friends Daryl & Derek Pullen, who dropped by to say "Hi" and stayed to anchor our load out from the bowels of the convention centre. Thanks a million.

One of the weekend's more pleasant moments was a visit from Kevin Greutert, who's back in Toronto working on the mix for SAW 5. He's edited all of the SAW films and his short film, 'Old Friends' is on our new DVD. It's the film he showed the producers of the SAW films to land the directing job on SAW 6 next year. Guess he's just checking up on how the new disc is doing. I'd better not piss him off or I'll end up on the cutting room floor - literally.

All in all, the FOF was a great debut for AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits, Volume 1. We'll be back at the FOF next year, so watch for volume two by then...

AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits store

Working the FOF booth

Friday at the Festival of Fear. First day jitters quickly pass as the crowds stream in and saunter up and down the merch-laden aisles. It's a typically slow day for vendors as many multi-day pass holders are just browsing, getting the lay of the land so they can raid their ATM's on Saturday or Sunday and swoop by on a buying run.

Even so, we got a lot of interest in the new AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits, volume 1 DVD. Sales were made, postcards handed out, the patter was perfected as the afternoon passed. And hanging out and chatting with my boothmates (Marc Lougee & Jill Cooper) fills in the gap in the ebb and flow of the crowd. Hey, simply people watching with all the colorful costumes is a full time job here. Good first day.

Saturday is the iron man event. The show runs from 10 am to 7 pm. Nine solid hours of pitching & promoting while standing on a solid concrete floor. Yay! I hear the chiropractor's convention is here next week. Maybe I can book an advance session.

AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits - Links Page

Hangin' at the Festival of Fear

Well, the load in yesterday went better than expected. Being new to the whole convention thang it's interesting watching how the pros load in. It's a military operation. Stuff comes in and goes directly to it's spot. No fumphering about with decisions. Trial and error has taught them where to put thing for maximum efficiency & impact. Very cool.

Seeing some friends new and old setting up. There's Thomas Gofton & his crew from the Sharp Cuts Indie Film & Music Festival in Guelph, and Scott Lefebvre working with Fearwerx just down the aisle. Should be a fun time if we get the Nerf football sailing over people's heads as they browse the merch laden aisles.

Of course, I'm sharing the booth with my buddies, Mad Marc Lougee (The Pit and the Pendulum) and Thrill Kill Jill Cooper (killer-works.com) so you know it's going to be non-stop blah bjavascript:void(0)lah on curious topics.

If you're coming to the show head to Booth 1216 and say "Hi. Pleased to meet you. May I have my complimentary Crypt Club sticker?". To which I'll say, "Likewise. Of course." Just like civilized horror fans. then you can check out the newly arrived AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits, volume 1 DVDs. They still have that new car smell. We're just up the aisle from the Rue Morgue set up.

If you're not coming to the show, WHY? (We'll only accept signed notes from a certified health practitioner.)

See you there this Friday to Sunday at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building, Booth 1216. Stay scary.

AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits

AAAAAH!! DVD Pre-release Debut at Toronto's Festival of Fear

Before it hits the mean streets our new DVD "AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits, volume 1" will be available at our Crypt Club Productions Inc. booth (#1216) at the Rue Morgue Festival of Fear National Horror Expo, August 22-24 at the Metro Convention Centre in Terror-onto.

This is the largest Horror Event in Canada. If you're not there you're nowhere.

Drop, crawl, or hop by to say "hi" and pick up a DVD, some stylish Cryptwear(tm), and other goodies. And remember that all of our Lurch Merch makes a truly thoughtful Halloween gift for your boo-loved. When you scare enough to send the very best.

We're sharing a big booth (did I mention it's #1216?) with our friends Marc Lougee (The Pit and the Pendulum) and Jill Cooper (www.Killer-Works.com). Talk about a trio of terror. We promise not to bite - unless there's a financial incentive.

Still need more reasons to visit? Okay. The three of us are pooling a bunch of cool stuff (shirts, DVDs, posters & more...) into a basket for a REALLY BIG SWAG DRAW.

And, you never know who else might be paying our booth a visit. See you there.

AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits
Crypt Club Productions Inc.

Denver HorrorFest Highlights

First, I must send a gargantuan "muchas gracias" to the staff at HF for treating us with such grace and hospitality. Kathy, Brad, Kristin, Lisa, Debbie, Carol and her daughter (frankly, I'm super embarrassed that I don't remember her moniker) you all rocked my Casbah!

When I wasn't gawking at the constant parade of super heroes, storm troopers, and assorted aliens I got a chance to hang out with some pretty cool filmmakers such as the Minnesota monster magnates from Not For The Squeamish Productions, the fearsome foursome from Random Creatureface Films, the Tromatized team from Bizjack /Flemco Productions, and my travel buddy Marc Lougee, whose film - The Pit and the Pendulum - wowed the fans.

Also present were scads of actors. It's pretty cool to hang out in the green room and see Star Trek's Nichelle Nichols and Nana Visitor. But the real action was on the convention floor with soon to be famous actors like December 2007 Tromette of the Month Scarlet Salem, and the multi-faceted Jed Rowen.

Plenty of horror film fans (in & out of costume) stopped by too, like Harry Marlow, Jarred Efird and Justin Marlow. And then there were the just plain curious folks who stumbled into the indie horror film dungeon only to spin on their heel and head back to the safety of a sci-fi costume party.

A bonus treat for me was finally meeting the finely coiffed gentleman in the photo, Zachary from the Denver Hearse Association. He made time from his busy schedule planning the second annual Denver Hearse Con (May 9-11) to say hi and introduce me to some of his fellow hearse aficionados. When I get my hearse on the road I plan to point its chrome cormorant hood ornament in the direction of a future Hearse Con.

All in all a packed weekend of meeting and greeting and getting the word out about the upcoming release of AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits on DVD.