Monster-Mania 23 weekend recap!

Monster-Mania 23 weekend recap!

Well, chalk up another Monster-Mania in the books...and what a weekend it was! On Friday morning, Kim and I load up the car for Hunt Valley, MD and start our yearly trip to be amongst the fellow horror fanatics. This Monster-Mania had some level of nerves built in for me, unlike those before it.

Promoter Dave Hagan, my partner on the Monster-Mania Radio show, pulled me aside a few days before and said "I think you should dress as Mumbles for the con." Mumbles is the character from our film "No Clowning Around" and is already developing a life of his own (he even has a Twitter nowhttp://www.twitter.com/mumblesclown). Our purpose, Matthew Burd (co-director) and I, was to get a feel for the films trailer. We figure, we'll show it, hopefully it will go well and we can unleash it to everyone else right after. Here is where the nerves kick in...imagine this, I'm dressing as a clown that no one knows, promoting a movie that no one knows and I'm just hoping people come to my table. Talk about a possible punch to your confidence level!



Jamie Kennedy & Mumbles



Kim and I get to the hotel and I head downstairs to search out Dave and find out where our table is. We see we are next to Jeremy London and Jamie Kennedy. I figure Kennedy will have a good line, so I'm excited. Plus, I'm a big Jamie Kennedy fan...so this makes the nerd in me; Happy!

We go back upstairs to the room and I start with the "Mumbles Transformation. When I started doing the clown paint, it took me about an hour and 15 minutes, now, I'm down to about 45 minutes. Kim was right there to help; I can't apply the eye liners, so that's all her job. I get finished and head down stairs about 4:45, with doors opening at 5pm.

I think it's odd that I seem normal to be dressed as a clown in a sea of people, yet no one really notices or cares...haha...only sat Monster-Mania. I instantly start to mess with people I know, yet they don't know me. I start to take pictures as con goers are "curious". Matt gets there with the trailer and we start to show it.......now, I'm really nervous. I feel very exposed and hopeful. As more and more people start to watch, I start to feel really good. A lot of positives and people anticipating the release (December by the way).



Life of the Party



After we have a very successful night of promoting, we head to the VIP Party. The VIP Party was poppin!! Heather Langenkamp and Amanda Wyss are tearing up the dance floor, and having a total blast. I hadn't eaten all day, so if you listen to Monster-Mania Radio, you know I was at the all you can eat Ice Cream bar. Regardless of what people think, clown shoes are no joke. My feet were dead, so Kim and I head upstairs and get some rest...or so we thought.

The bed vs. Me = the bed wins!! I just couldn't sleep at all..I struggled, even breaking into several swearing outbursts!!

Anyways, back to Monster-Mania in the morning...no more clown, just me. Kim and I run across the street to Wegman's and get some breakfast and get to the table. Kim stops to buy me a 9' Frankenstein from Mezco and the NECA Battle Damaged Jason figures for me...she knows me too well. She grabs a small Leatherface for her desk at work. Thanks to Amok Time Toys!!

As people are wandering around, it makes me happy to see people wearing "Mumbles the Clown" t-shirts and more are coming to the table to see the trailer. It's getting close to 2pm and I'm scheduled to host the Q7A's, a job that I absolutely love. My first Q&A is Jeremy London and I'm a HUGE Mallrats fan, so we are ready to roll!!



Gunnar, Marylin Burns & Me



When hosting the Q&A's...I always try to keep it together. I write notes so I can cover for the dreaded "No Question" dead periods when the audience has nothing to ask. I always get nervous, since the worst thing to happen is being 10 minutes into the session and then we have nothing but silence.

John Kassir, was awesome to sit with. When you're sitting on stage with the Crypt Keeper, how can you NOT be happy? Watching him for years and meeting him was great. He shared a lot of stories and did a lot of voices. I think he could have spoken for 2 hours and no one would have complained.

Next was an odd pairing of Traci Lords, Patricia Tallman and Camille Keaton, but they were all fantastic. I made sure I fit in my Roseanne question to Traci Lords...haha. Camille Keaton appreciated that I mentioned her work in the ToeTag Pictures film, Sella Turcica. Plus, I shared a quiet moment with Patricia Tallman where I explained how I truly feel that the 1990 Night of the Living Dead remake is the greatest remake of all time. Patricia Tallman was someone I've always wanted to meet, so doing so just completed my weekend.



Me, Dave Hagan & the Nightmare Girls 



The next Q&A was the Texas Chainsaw Panel with Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface) and Marylin Burns (Sally the survivor) and this might have been the panel I was looking forward too the most. Gunnar is probably one of the nicest guys to ever meet, plus, Marylin is so sweet. I was so happy to share an hour with them. I think the biggest benefit of hosting the panels is being able to be a fan for a minute and ask a few questions. It really means so much, I can never thank Dave enough for giving me the opportunity, it's just incredible. Anyways, Gunnar and Marylin share how hard it was for them and the amount of embarrassment that came with this film. Closing in on 40 years old, they now realize how important the film is too us fans. They were so awesome.

Up next, Dave stopped in and asked if I wanted to host a panel together. I always say I would love too...I probably pester him about it..haha. I just think he's a great host and it was special to me to share that with him. The good flow seems to stop...as a Lady brings in 3 kids into this panel and they weren't real happy. It puts the convention in a bad spot, at least in my opinion. You want everyone who pays to be able to enjoy the panels, but they were disruptive...it happens and was handled great. The Nightmare Girls were Tuesday Knight, Lisa Wilcox, Amanda Wyss and Heather LangenKamp. They were fantastic to say the least..they all shared their memories and had everyone smiling.

Dimension & Jamie Kennedy

Dave allows me to close out Monster-Mania with hosting the panel with Jamie Kennedy and I really was looking forward too it.

I'm a big fan of Jamie Kennedy for a different reason than Scream or other film roles, I wanted to talk about Heckler! Heckler is a documentray Kennedy did that discusses heckling in comedy but more importantly, he confronts people that talk shit online. I applaud that...seriously.

He was a true professional and was perfectly comfortable talking about everything. He talked good and bad things, he experiences and was a riot. I can't thank him enough for being so great. If you didn't stay for this one...you really missed some great stuff. Jamie Kennedy made me a fan for life after watching him all weekend with every fan and how he handled everything. Nothing but positives.

In closing, thank you to everyone who stopped by our table. Thank you to everyone who supports Monster-Mania, behind the scenes, it means more to people than you'll ever know. I'm already looking forward to March 8-10th in Cherry Hill, NJ as it's Dave and companies 10th Anniversary! Thanks again guys, you made this a weekend to remember!!

It's a Ranting Pig - Shootin' from the Hip!! Pigamortis says "Like what you do!"

Here is an idea... LIKE what you do!

So normally i know this spot is usually reserved for my elementary ramblings that are guised as movie reviews. This time however, i am sitting in the Pigamortis compound, I happen to have "A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Inside Story pt.1" 

Now I've always been a fan of the "behind the scenes" stuff for movies i loved.

Let me start off by saying, I dig Freddy Krueger. Robert Englund played a character and made it his own and changed the landscape for movie baddies ever since. That being said, the Nightmare franchise less than thrills me. Sure, I own all seven movies and have seen them more each more than a few times each. Are they my favorites? Not even close. If i had something else to watch, would i? Absolutely. They kind of bite (barring Dream Warriors). After watching this behind the scenes thing, its clear why. Starting from Nightmare2: Freddy's Revenge, Wes Craven was bumped/quit writing responsibilities because A) he never wanted Freddy to be a franchise (oh you high fallutin artists) B) He didn't think Freddy should be brought to the outside world and it was steering away from the original idea. 

I admire Wes Craven for this sort of artistic integrity, but New Line could care less. Instead they went with hack writer, David Chaskin. I know you're saying "BUT PIG, DAVID CHASKIN!"
C'moooon piglets you know, he's the genius who wrote 1987's "The CURSE" and 1992's "Midnight's Child"... yeah I never heard of him either. Can't imagine why. Then New Line tapped one of thier guys, Jack Sholder who was fresh off "Alone in the Dark" (another classic, blech) So, they have this clown on this biography,and I hear him say "I wasnt a fan of the first Nightmare film... so i had no compulsion to stick to the original..." 

PUMP THE FRELLIN BRAKES NELLY! Does anyone else find something inherantly WRONG with this???

"I wasnt a fan of the first one..." THEN DON'T DO A BLOODY SEQUEL FOR IT! Find someone who ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT THE FRELLIN MOVIE! I'm sure there is a BUSLOAD of people who would give thier firstborn to direct a Nightmare on Elm Street movie that would do a shit-ton better than you! WTF?! I don't understand why people who don't have passion for what they are doing are given these seats of power over things which other people love. I mean I know I'm picking on Elm Street but this applies to Movies, comics, books, tv shows.

Perfect example, I know alot of people have issues with Rob Zombie's Halloween. (Save your whining, i like Zombies' stuff) A BIG reason I'm a fan of his stuff is because he is a legit fan and you can TELL! (ok, maybe not so much with Halloween2, what was with the horse?) ANYWAY, the point is if you don't have real passion for what you do, then step back and DON'T DO IT! You're the new writer for the HULK comic but never read a Hulk comic before? PASS!

You're doing the sequel to the new Hellraiser and never heard of Clive Barker? PASS
Oh you're doing an update on the tv show X-Files and you never saw an episode or are even a fan of Sci-fi?

PASS

We don't need your take on it. As a matter of fact, your opinion means less than nothing. You're in it for a paycheck and i understand that people need to make livings, etc. So save any bullshit arguments about "Sell out way the Hell out!" 

You can "sell out" and still have passion for what you do! Thats all i'm saying. Sorry, rant over. You're dismissed.

Movie Review - My Soul to Take 3-D

My Soul to Take 3D 

reviewed by : Michael K. Snyder

After reading countless reviews on how terrible Wes Craven’s newest vision was, I decided I needed to see it for myself. Now, let me start this off by stating that I hate 3D, and the only other 3D film I’ve seen in theaters was Piranha 3D, which I loved.  But, since I’m such a devout fan of Mr.Craven, I decided to give his 3D vision a shot. 

The film is old-school Craven, and his genius shines through in every frame. Everyone whose review states how terrible the acting was in this film should be tied up and barbecued in their backyards. This is a cast of mainly young actors and actresses who are portraying high school students, and their dialogue represents their state of mind. Of course they aren’t going to be quoting some great English scholars, the main character is only 16! They speak to each other like teenagers, they act like teenagers, and Wes Craven obviously has a lot of experience working with young actors.  

Each frame in this film was textbook film-making; foreground, middle ground and background. Wes clearly shows his worth in these shots because each looks like it was crafted for hours. I felt like I was watching something from one of my film classes about framing the perfect shot.  

The story of My Soul to Take isn’t very straightforward and that may turn some viewers off. Craven doesn’t just hand you the plot and treat you like an idiot, but instead he releases key points ever so often to keep the viewer guessing. Maybe his film is just too smart for the average moviegoer? I wouldn’t doubt it. Wes uses his psychology background and great storytelling skills to craft a masterpiece that is just too intricate and thought provoking for the usual horror film viewer. 

The violence in My Soul to Take isn’t quite as intense as something like Hatchet, or many old school 80s slashers fueled by Savini’s genius. It is, however, effective for the type of film Wes was trying to make. He was trying to make an intelligent horror film, nothing over the top. Actually, many of the scenes and situations portrayed in the film made me feel like this would have been A Nightmare on Elm Street had Wes remade it. There is even a scene, which features red lights, a boiler room like environment and multiple Freddy moments. As a huge fan of Freddy, these little scenes made me smile.   

Overall, I think moviegoers should give Craven’s latest venture a shot, but ONLY if they are old enough to use their minds while watching a horror film.  I feel like if Wes hadn’t made this film and it was made in a foreign market, people would be praising it for its smart storytelling and great cinematography. Maybe I just look too deep into things, but to me this film was smart, scary and fun.

 

Michael K. Snyder is a student filmmaker in Winter Park, Florida. When he's not in class he is working on screenplays, short films, working with Rob and the Late Night Crew and anything film related to keep him busy. He is always looking for work and is currently seeking an agent or any form of representation. If you are interested in working with Michael please email him at mksnyder1990@gmail.com