Rewind: Crypticon
Was way too much fun! This year I had the rare opportunity to both paticipate in and enjoy the convention.
The best part: I got to meet some people I've wanted to meet for years. Thom Carnell, co-creator of "Carpe Noctem" magazine and walking horror movie encyclopedia, is a sweet, funny, and very smart dude. I really enjoyed hanging out with him. Nick Mamatas, aka nihilistic_kid , not only has the funniest blog on LJ, but he's a great guy. You wouldn't guess from the high acid content of his book and movie reviews, but he's very friendly and easy to talk with. And it doesn't hurt that he's a stone cutie. (Sorry if I just harassed you, Nick.) Got to meet John Skipp, one of my writer idols, and his writing partner Cody Goodfellow. Again, great folks.
I love love love horror movies, but I don't usually come to Crypticon for the media guests. I mean, sure, it's incredibly cool to meet somebody like Doug Jones, fabulous actor and generally sweetest guy on the planet. But I never know what to say to movie actors. I guess they intimidate me a little. But I'm getting over that. Last year I met Doug J and Michael Berryman. Both awesome. Doug was back this year (yay!) and I got to meet Heather Langenkamp from Nightmare on Elm Street, Kane Hodder, aka Jason (dang that dude is big) and Ernie Hudson! Squee! Ernie Hudson! I think I took him by surprise when I told him I'd just seen him in "Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror," and his segment was the best. He seemed to like it, though!
The most entertaining celeb this year was Felissa Rose, the lead actress from 1983's "Sleepaway Camp." If you've never seen it, it's one of the funniest, most awesomely corny slashers to come out of the early 80's. Felissa was just 13 when she made the movie. Well, they had a screening of "Sleepaway," with Felissa giving live commentary! OMG was that hilarious. All the goofy stuff that happened behind the scenes, who was sleeping with who, and general smartass comments abounded. The lady rocks. (Plus she had her incredibly cute baby with her. Babiez rawk.)
My dear friend Erik Tavares won the Crypticon writing contest with a kickass short story about marital strife and lake monsters. Angel Leigh McCoy came in second with a fine Southern Gothic piece.
I went to a lot of readings. That's one of my favorite things about conventions. If you ever get to hear John Skipp and Cody Goodfellow read from their book "The Day Before," jump at the chance. And go buy it right nooooow!
I saw some really fun movies, too. My favorite of the weekend was an utterly demented flick called "Someone's Knocking at the Door." This is some sick and twisted stuff--18+, I'd say. But it's also brilliant. Well written, well acted, and the sound design was astonishing. I loved it so much I bought it.
And if you haven't seen it, "The Hill Run Red" is delightful, in a clever but splattery kind of way. (Bought that one too.) It's very, VERY dark humor about a guy who is obsessed with finding the lost horror film "The Hills Run Red," which is supposed to be the most gruesome flick ever made. Huge fun, loads of gore. Bonus: William Sadler! Love that guy.
I also saw some great short films from MIFF. Seattle locals, support this festival! It's awesome!
Zombies everywhere at the convention. They attacked Denny's at one point. That was pretty sweet.
Crypticon is shaping up to be a really, really fine convention. I hope to stay involved with it in years to come. And I'm DEFINITELY attending!
Happy 4th of July weekend, everybody!
The best part: I got to meet some people I've wanted to meet for years. Thom Carnell, co-creator of "Carpe Noctem" magazine and walking horror movie encyclopedia, is a sweet, funny, and very smart dude. I really enjoyed hanging out with him. Nick Mamatas, aka nihilistic_kid , not only has the funniest blog on LJ, but he's a great guy. You wouldn't guess from the high acid content of his book and movie reviews, but he's very friendly and easy to talk with. And it doesn't hurt that he's a stone cutie. (Sorry if I just harassed you, Nick.) Got to meet John Skipp, one of my writer idols, and his writing partner Cody Goodfellow. Again, great folks.
I love love love horror movies, but I don't usually come to Crypticon for the media guests. I mean, sure, it's incredibly cool to meet somebody like Doug Jones, fabulous actor and generally sweetest guy on the planet. But I never know what to say to movie actors. I guess they intimidate me a little. But I'm getting over that. Last year I met Doug J and Michael Berryman. Both awesome. Doug was back this year (yay!) and I got to meet Heather Langenkamp from Nightmare on Elm Street, Kane Hodder, aka Jason (dang that dude is big) and Ernie Hudson! Squee! Ernie Hudson! I think I took him by surprise when I told him I'd just seen him in "Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror," and his segment was the best. He seemed to like it, though!
The most entertaining celeb this year was Felissa Rose, the lead actress from 1983's "Sleepaway Camp." If you've never seen it, it's one of the funniest, most awesomely corny slashers to come out of the early 80's. Felissa was just 13 when she made the movie. Well, they had a screening of "Sleepaway," with Felissa giving live commentary! OMG was that hilarious. All the goofy stuff that happened behind the scenes, who was sleeping with who, and general smartass comments abounded. The lady rocks. (Plus she had her incredibly cute baby with her. Babiez rawk.)
My dear friend Erik Tavares won the Crypticon writing contest with a kickass short story about marital strife and lake monsters. Angel Leigh McCoy came in second with a fine Southern Gothic piece.
I went to a lot of readings. That's one of my favorite things about conventions. If you ever get to hear John Skipp and Cody Goodfellow read from their book "The Day Before," jump at the chance. And go buy it right nooooow!
I saw some really fun movies, too. My favorite of the weekend was an utterly demented flick called "Someone's Knocking at the Door." This is some sick and twisted stuff--18+, I'd say. But it's also brilliant. Well written, well acted, and the sound design was astonishing. I loved it so much I bought it.
And if you haven't seen it, "The Hill Run Red" is delightful, in a clever but splattery kind of way. (Bought that one too.) It's very, VERY dark humor about a guy who is obsessed with finding the lost horror film "The Hills Run Red," which is supposed to be the most gruesome flick ever made. Huge fun, loads of gore. Bonus: William Sadler! Love that guy.
I also saw some great short films from MIFF. Seattle locals, support this festival! It's awesome!
Zombies everywhere at the convention. They attacked Denny's at one point. That was pretty sweet.
Crypticon is shaping up to be a really, really fine convention. I hope to stay involved with it in years to come. And I'm DEFINITELY attending!
Happy 4th of July weekend, everybody!