Last weekend, Secaucus was greeted by a number of ghouls and ghosts from across the country at the “Weekend of Horrors Fangoria Convention,” at the Crowne Plaza in Secaucus, sponsored by Fangoria magazine.
The convention, which lasted three days, hosted lectures from various horror masters, premiers of future films, and a multitude of people who just like a good scare.
Featured speakers included New Jersey’s own Brian O’Halloran (Clerks, Clerks II) promoting his latest horror/comedy “Brutal Massacre,” and Harry Manfredini, who composed the music for “Wishmaster” and “Jason X.”
Fans far and near got to meet the men and women behind the massacres.
She loved too much
Betsy Palmer, who starred as Jason’s mom, the original killer in the “Friday the 13th,” spoke to the crowd about the role of Mrs. Voorhees. It is a role that, though shot 27 years ago, she still receives fan letters for.
“People really love this character,” she said.
Palmer said that despite the gruesome bloodshed of “Friday the 13th,” she was still very much a method actor and took the role of Mrs. Voorhees to heart. She said much of the character’s influence came from a story she remembered about a classmate of hers when she was in high school.
“I thought, this poor woman,” she said. By recalling the sentiments of how unwed mothers were treated in the fifties, and using the events that happened to her classmate, she was able to rationalize the actions of the maniacal camp slaughterer and truly represent an undying love for the future star of the series, Jason.
But the speakers weren’t just limited to those of the horror world. Rick Yune (The Fast and the Furious, Die Another Day) also was on hand to talk about his upcoming feature, “The Fifth Commandment.”
New to the convention
One of the purposes for the convention itself is for people within the horror industry to network and get to know each other. This year, several people on the exhibition floor were new to the convention.
“We work Fright Fest every year at Great Adventure,” said Jessica Swarer of Anatomy FX.
While many of the other artists in the exhibit hall had tables with displays of their work, Anatomy FX took a different path to getting their name out. Anatomy hired two models to walk around the convention as a vampire and slash-victim. They also applied the model’s make-up there so that potential producers could see the time, care and diligence given to the actors who would be asked to wear it.
Nathan Wrann, of Dalton Group Productions, was there promoting his latest gore flick with wife, and co-producer and writer Kimberly Dalton.
Wrann said that originally, they had written a script that did not appear feasible or within their grasp in terms of budget and actors. After realizing this, Wrann and Dalton came up with the idea for “Hunting Season.” “Why don’t we get something on DVD that shows what we can do, and we’ll write it to our resources,” Wrann explained as the motivation behind shooting the film. “We have a patch of land, we have some friends and we can make some fake blood.”
Wrann also said that his movie represents homage to the horror movies of old. He said that the primary focus of “Hunting Season” isn’t the gore or the violence, but the characters that undergo gruesome scenarios.
Among the moviemakers and vendors, another newcomer to convention stood out without having ever set foot on a movie set. Brian DuBois was at the convention to promote his latest book, “Last Ditch Effort.”
“I don’t really consider myself a horror writer, because I don’t deal with the supernatural,” he said. “If it’s in my book, they’ll hunt it, kick it, kill it, and eat it, but there are no ghosts or vampires involved.”
DuBois is a resident of Cherry Hill and an English teacher for Cherry Hill High School. So far, his books have been with a print on demand company and his latest was self published. He said that as far as major publishers are concerned, he doesn’t care.
“I have a job. I do this because it makes me happy,” said DuBois.
Scares online
Also at the convention were cast and crew from War of the Dead. This online show premiered last month with its first “webisode.”
“It’s a world where zombies exist. People know that they exist, but there are occasional outbreaks of them,” said Lynne Mastio Rice, who plays Dr. Orchid in the series.
Although there currently are only two episodes, the writers of “War” have already created plotlines for many episodes to come and will follow the adventures of the human resistance against the zombies throughout random years in the future.
The nature of horror
With such a focus on up-and-coming members of the horror industry, there were still some members of the silver age of the genre.
These included George Kosana, the sheriff from the original 1968 Night of the Living Dead.
“I’m real pleased that the film has stood the test of time and is accepted by the new generations, and I hope that continues,” he said. “I expected a number of spin-offs resulting out of the original, but I had no idea that it would nurture what it has become today.”
The only people who seemed to be more into the experience than the contributors of the convention were the fans. Some of them volunteered to work security for the event through the convention’s marketing firm, Creation Entertainment.
“It’s not a sub-culture. It’s a culture,” said one volunteer security staff member known only as “Freak.” “You got guys from Canada up there that can barely speak English, and I don’t speak French, but you put on a scary movie, and we all know what’s going on.”
Meanwhile, prepare for more freaks this weekend. An animation convention will be taking place at the Meadowlands Exposition Center.