Horror-Rama 2022!

Horror-Rama was back this year and I had an absolute blast. You never know how these events are gonna go in these uncertain times, but the turnout was great and people looked thrilled to be mingling again. On the Friday night, there was an extra special 40th anniversary screening of a film you know is very near and dear to my heart.

This was the very same Deadly Eyes print that used to play at Trash Palace back in the day. It has changed hands, but it still looks as hairy as ever. However, THIS time I was tapped to moderate the Q&A with special guests Lisa Langlois and Lesleh Donaldson. I'd never done one before, but confidence in the fact I knew the movie inside and out helped combat the nerves.

It went really well. I was amazed and excited that so many in attendance hadn't seen it. I thought that with the Shout Factory Blu-ray, it might have got more eyeballs on it, but I've come to find that was only a small run and now out-of-print. 

For the Q&A, because it was a two-reel, one-projector affair, we did it in three parts - intro, intermission and audience questions at the end. We talked about how they both came to work on the film, the various Toronto locations and just how God damn cold it was that winter.

Lisa Langlois, Lesleh Donaldsen and some schmo.

 

Someone brought up the Imdb trivia (that I'm currently trying to get removed) about a dog suffocating in his rat suit. I'd been preparing for this eventuality and we all had a lengthy discussion about it. I believe it untrue for not only the fact that the dogs were trained for months in LA to wear the rat suits, the headpieces had the jaws cut out of them. Tell me how a dog suffocates when its mouth isn't covered...

Lisa has said on several occasions that someone on the crew told her a dog had a heart attack from the anxiety of wearing the suit, but others state the opposite. If you listen to Al Apone (the FX supervisor for the suits on set) on the Blu-ray supplemental, he maintains that apart from one dog getting hospitalized from something it ate at the kennel they were being kept, no harm came to any of them. I also contacted the film's production manager (whom I met many years ago at TIFF and also worked on The Brain) and he corroborated this story.

But anyway, the night was awesome and it was just the first day of three! Saturday, I was basically there the entire day. There was a bunch of great Q&A's and I got to see people I hadn't seen in ages like Stacey from the OG Trash Palace, Brad from Poster-Mortem and Chris from Little Ghosts.

The Q&A with Thom Matthews was great and thankfully went beyond just his work on Friday 6 and ROTLD. There were actually multiple questions about his many films with Albert Pyun and how his contracting business led him to renovate Ozzy Osbourne's house, much of it while there were shooting their reality show.

Thom Matthews

The big get was Caroline Munro, who was absolutely lovely, an English rose of the highest order. Super humble and eager to talk about her experiences working with likes of Christopher Lee, Roger Moore and Joe Spinnell. Both her Q&A and screening event at the end of the day were fantastic fun.

Throw in the Adventures in Canadian Cinema with Langlois, Donaldsen, Lynne Griffin and Sean Sullivan and you have yourself some CanCon overload. I also got to catch up with Kier-La Janisse who was in town for the event. 

Lesleh Donaldson, Sean Sullivan, Lynne Griffin & Lisa Langlois

In terms of loot, it is true that was wallet was rendered significantly lighter come Monday. Not only did I get my hands on Vinegar Syndrome's Thriller release (which had eluded me at Fantasia), but also this random Beta tape.

I mean it was in such good condition, I couldn't let the fact I don't have a player stop me. I also got a Deadly Eyes long print from the only one of TP's four screenings that I missed, as well as a piece of art I first saw online many years ago and always wanted to own.

It really was a terrific weekend and totally worth battling the horrendous traffic both days. Congrats to Chris, Ali & Luis for putting on such a great show.

Brain Fest!

As I mentioned yesterday, there was a special reason I sped to Horror-Rama last weekend. Those crazy cats put together a retrospective on one of my favourite Canadian horrors, Ed Hunt's 1988 flick The Brain.

If you've spent any time on here, you already know that I'm kind of obsessed with this movie, somewhat because (like Robert Clouse's Deadly Eyes) it was shot here so the locations are readily accessible. Anyhoo, the day began with a panel featuring actor George Buza, composer Paul Zaza and assistant art director Michael Borthwick.

I was happy that they were able to steer me in the right direction of the last few filming locations I've been searching for. Once I have a bunch lined up, you can expect another post.

Ahead of the fest, Horror-Rama announced that Michael was putting up his Brain prop for silent auction at the convention.

I, of course, was ALL OVER THAT. And after jockeying with a few other takers, I won! It is now proudly mounted on my wall. 

I was even able to get him to part with his original concept art sketch, as well. 

This was truly the bestest Brain fan experience ever. Thanks to Horror-Rama and Michael for making it happen. 

Horror-Rama 2019

The sixth annual Horror-Rama took place last weekend in Toronto.

The usual fun was had by all, but this year was particularly significant because the HR gang was able to bring out living legend Lamberto Bava. I mean, this guy was at ground zero during one of horror's most significant eras. At his panel - interpreted by actress Geretta Geretta - he recalled tales of working in Italian cinema, how his seminal film Demons came into being and what he's been doing since. It was pretty surreal having him there to be honest.

Director Lamberto Bava & actress/interpreter Geretta Geretta

I caught up with the usual familiar faces behind the vendor booths and of course picked out some choice cuts.

I was also glad to catch up with Schwartzy, as well as effects artists Steve Kostanski and Jeff Derushie, the latter pair of which were esteemed guests at the convention.

Director/FX artist Steve Kostanski (left) & Jeff Derushie.

Now, the main reason I was there was a retrospective on one of my favourite cult Canadian horror films and IT DID NOT disappoint. But more on that tomorrow...

Horror-Rama Haul!

Hey all. Last weekend was Horror-Rama and it was a blast, as always. In addition to sharing air with genre celebrities such as Linnea Quigley, Lynn Lowry and Dee Wallace, I also came away with a pretty sweet haul.

And since it was staring me in the face all weekend, I finally broke and picked up Matthew Therrien gorgeous Suspiria print.

I'm afraid I don't have the faculties to go into depth as much as I usually would, but I can assure you that if you can make it out next year, you will not be disappointed.

Horror-Rama 2017

The fourth edition of Horror-Rama took place last weekend and I, of course, was there to take in the festivities. 

This year saw the convention move to another venue, an arts & culture space in the Annex. While the last two years at the Hyatt certainly allowed the con to expand, it felt a little constrictive to the vibe that organizers Luis Ceriz and Chris Alexander were trying to create. Spread out over a half-dozen rooms, the venue this year recaptured the essence of year one.

Also, unlike the previous two years when it fell during Toronto After Dark, I was actually able to fully enjoy Horror-Rama, as I was not running back and forth between venues all weekend. As is tradition with horror conventions, I also got to hang with my buddy Schwartz. Our continued failure to keep each other from spending money on horror merch was upheld I can assure you.

All the usual suspects were in attendance, but I felt there was an especially strong showing of VHS & Blu-ray vendors this year, from Arrow to Vinegar Syndrome to Suspect Video. It is always great to catch up with Brad at Poster-Mortem and Rob from the Canadian Cult & Horror Community, as well.

Clowning around with CanMake Productions' Justin Decloux & Emily Milling
and artist Andrew Barr.

I did quite well this year acquiring some interesting VHS titles.

I've never heard of Where Are The Children? but Jack Sholder and a cool cover was worth a two-fifty gamble. I'd been looking Playroom & Pulse for some time, and well, Dream Lover is self explanatory.

On the Blu-ray side, Vinegar Syndrome sold me on a couple of titles. First, was Demon Wind with its recreation of the original lenticular VHS...

The other was one I didn't even know had been released on Blu-ray in Gorman Bechard's Psychos In Love. That had me with its terrific cover art.

I also couldn't resist picking up this little guy either.

Like last year at Horror-Rama, the Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival took the opportunity to announce their 2017 line-up at the show.

It looks like a good line-up this year with several colleagues of mine having projects premiering here. I am particularly looking forward to Jeff Sinasac's Red Spring, just because I know how long he's been working on it. I know a handful of people who worked on Ryan M. Andrew's Art of Obsession, so that'll be cool to see, as well.

Some other titles that intrigued me are the faux-doc Fake Blood, Buckout Road and the It's Alive vibe of The Child Remains. I also haven't seen a good chunk of the shorts programme, so I'm always keen to add stuff to my Little Terrors wish list.

Sunday, my only real goal was to talk with visiting Canuxploitation royalty Lesleh Donaldson & Lisa Langlois. I'm not usually one for autographs, but I had to get my Deadly Eyes VHS signed because this seemed like a rare opportunity. Ms. Donaldson is such a nice lady, and I made sure to tell her that I found the theatre used in the movie thanks to her input three years ago. 

I also never usually bother people for photos, but she was so friendly...

Lesleh Donaldson & I.

This was a happy day. The pair's ensuing Q&A was also very informative. They talked about when they met on Happy Birthday to Me and being surprised that any of these old movies have endured. They also brought up how many of those pictures were involved with some shady characters that to this day have still not paid what was owed. I was shocked to learn that Langlois had made more on residuals from a guest spot on one episode of Murder She Wrote than she did on all of her Canuxploitation work combined.

Actresses Lisa Langlois (left) & Lesleh Donaldson.

Mainly, the talk was a clinic on navigating the film business then and now, touching on everything from the actresses they were always in competition with, to the differences between working in Canada & the US and all the ugliness that is just finally coming to light now. Langlois compared this level of upheaval to when women burned their bras in the sixties, and with a new name seemingly being outed every week, who can argue?

And that was a wrap on Horror-Rama 2017. It definitely felt like a return to the first year and its intimate setting and I'm all for it.

Horror-Rama 2016

This past weekend saw the third edition of Horror-Rama descend on the Big Smoke.

The organizers Chris Alexander & Luis Ceriz have prided themselves on delivering a convention that celebrates horror media in all forms. Horror-Rama is designed to be a more intimate experience, where attendees can mingle with their favourite icons and hangout with fellow cinephiles and collectors.

Familiar faces like Sam for instance.

And once again, they have delivered. Switching to the showroom across the hall within the Hyatt downtown, Horror-Rama this year was home to almost fourty vendors and several celebrity guests that included Bill Lustig (Maniac), Jeff Lieberman (Squirm), Geretta Geretta (Demons) and Dyanne Thorne (The Ilsa series).

I unfortunately didn't get to spend as much time there as I would have liked, as I had double duty with Toronto After Dark on the Saturday, and killer fucking traffic on the Sunday, but I did get some time on the floor.

There was even a dedicated booth for the classic eighties horror flick The Gate featuring not only Joe Hart's impressive collection of memorabilia, but also two actors involved with the production, Linda Goranson and Jonathan Lyr were in attendance.

Gate Fest pics courtesy of Michael Schwartz.

Though there was a conspicuous lack of poster vendors this year (Suspiria was the only one I recall), VHS was still about in full force. I picked up these beauties below fairly early on.

One of the things I was looking forward to was the line-up announcement for this year's Blood In The Snow Canadian Film Festival.

Now in its fifth year, I am pretty stoked about some of the titles which include the much anticipated 24 x 36 poster documentary, Black Fawn's new thriller Sublet, and Jason Armstrong's Inspiration starring Emily Alatalo. For more info on the fest, click here.

Even more awesome was the unveiling of a joint venture between Black Fawn and BITS called Bloody Bits, a collection of eight fan favourite shorts from the past four years, including - wait for it - my short film Lively!

I'm so glad I can finally talk about this. Looking at that poster is almost surreal. I believe they are hoping to have the DVD ready in time for BITS.

But, enough about me. I was super stoked that Lustig & Lieberman, basically two of the most important figures in independent American horror, were there. I usually don't get autographs, but I couldn't resist getting Lieberman's. 

The guy's just such a straight shooter, yet incredibly affable. I've always maintained that he has one of the most pure and original voices in horror. This leads me to the panel where Lustig, Leiberman, David Decouteau (Puppet Master III, Creepozoids) and Chad Archibald (Bite, The Drownsman) talked about surviving the film business. Check it out below.

So, it was another great year at Horror-Rama. Hopefully next year, I'll be able to spend a little more time there. There's always an embarrassment of genre riches in October. Anyway, check back tomorrow for my continuing Toronto After Dark coverage.