PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Now, it is time for the unexpected guest. After the costume contest (which I’ll be talking about shortly) I was standing outside the convention center when I saw a man approaching. I thought it was someone dressed in an excellent costume of this guest (I was going on two hours of sleep. Give me a break). As he passed by me I realized it wasn’t a costume: it was Ron Jeremy! Live in the flesh! I knew one of his movies was being screened in a few minutes, but I didn’t know he was going to be attending. Anyways, after the screening he was signing autographs and having pictures taken ($5 each, the best deal at the convention considering his legendary status). I was wearing my Porno Holocaust shirt. Jeremy had never heard of it. So I told him about it, putting special emphasis upon star Mark Shanon’s wart-ridden nutsack. Jeremy looked at me aghast – and even took a step back while saying “NO!” I smiled and said yes, reveling in the fact that I’d just shocked Ron Jeremy. This led to Jeremy talking about sexual hygiene, the do’s and don’t’s of the porn world. He also talked a little about shooting porn in Italy. Very smart and well-spoken man. All advice duly taken.
And here’s a bonus pic for all you Halloween lovers out there. On the left, we have Tony Moran who played
unmasked Michael in the original Halloween. On the right, Daeg Faerch who played young Michael in Rob Zombie’s Halloween. Just snapped a picture of them smoking and talking.
Events
Aside from guests, Days of the Dead features panels with actors, actresses, directors, and authors involved in the horror genre. These events at various times throughout the convention. There were panels with actors, actresses, horror film makers, EFX artists, authors, and so on, each running about an hour or so. The panels offer up a chance for the guest or guests to discuss the trials and tribulations of filmmaking, talk about how they got involved in the genre, relay fun/funny stories that happened on their sets, and answer questions put to them by attendees. I attended a couple of these.
The first one I dropped in on was the Indie Filmmakers panel with guests Bobby Easley, Billy Pon, Jerry Pyle, Jason Koch, and Stephen Biro. Jerami Cruise was also in attendance. I only caught the last part of this one, not realizing it was going on until I looked at the schedule. The filmmakers mostly discussed the trials and tribulations of filmmaking. Cruise offered up a story during the making of August Underground: Mordum in which the cops were called to the set because people nearby heard some screaming. Some of the others had similar stories as well.
Sid Haig had his own panel. Here, he discussed his work in films as well as his work as a hypnotist with soldiers suffering from PTSD. He offered up his services to anyone at the convention, free of charge, saying that he’d also point them in the direction of further help. Solid dude right there.
On Saturday, the Days of the Dead Costume Contest was held. First, second, and third place were offered. Winners received $200, $100, and $50. A crowd favorite was also offered with a cash reward of $50 dollars. All the contestants showed creativity 
and dedication in their costumes. Many of the costumes were well-made. Awarded first was crowd favorite. This was judged based on how loudly the crowd cheered for the contestant. It came down to three choices: Sam from Trick ‘r’ Treat, Freddy Kreuger, and a female variation of Captain Spaulding. Sam won. Then came the three winners. Third place was taken by Tiffany from Bride of Chucky. Second place: Deadite Doris from Evil Dead: The Musical. First place was awarded to crowd favorite, Sam. Rightfully so as the costume was a damn good one.
By far though, my favorite panel was the Women in Horror panel with guests Felissa Rose, Jennifer Banko, Leslie Easterbrook, and Camille Keaton. I don’t know about you, but I love an ass-kicking lady in a horror movie. Far too often, the ladies are reduced to little more than eye candy who flash a few bare parts before meeting the business end of a knife. In this panel, the ladies discussed their most iconic roles, how they became involved in the horror genre, and how the status of women in horror films has changed. Camille Keaton also disclosed a bit of news about Meir Zarchi’s official sequel to I Spit on Your Grave, entitled I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu. Being a fan of the film, I know I’m eagerly awaiting it’s release. (It is currently in post-production.)
As a special bonus, Archie Liberace showed up for a few moments. Don’t know who he is? You saw his junk at the end of Sleepaway Camp. Yup, Liberace was the man who portrayed Naked Angela during the film’s iconic conclusion.
There were many other panels as well, but these were the ones I attended. The others were: The Bizarro Invasion (a Bizarro authors panel), a Tony Todd and Bernard Rose panel, a Bill Mosely panel, an Etheria Films panel, a P.J. Soles and Tony Moran panel, a Martin Kove and Billy Zabka panel, “The Ultimate Guide to Slashers” panel with author Ronnie Angel, and a Tobin Bell panel.
Screenings
Days of the Dead also offered a 48 Hour Independent Film Fest. Here, fans were offered a chance to view new horror films that hadn’t been released yet. The entire fest ran from 5:00 p.m. on Friday until 5 p.m. on Sunday with a couple hours here and there for breaks. Straight up, I wasn’t here to watch movies, so none of the screenings were on my
To-Do list. Also, I didn’t want to ditch my friend to go sit and watch flicks. However, after talking with Stephen Biro for a bit (he and I were often outside the convention center smoking, so conversation was an inevitability) he mentioned that the sequel to his American Guinea Pig: Bouquet of Guts and Gore was playing Saturday at midnight, entitled American Guinea Pig: Bloodshock. I decided that I’d go ahead and check it out. The Japanese Guinea Pig films have always been on my radar, but I’ve yet to see them. So screw it: I’d initiate myself with the sequel to the American series. During our conversation Biro let me in on a little secret concerning the first film. He flat-out told me that he doesn’t disclose this fact unless people ask the right question, which I apparently did. Am I going to tell you? Nope. You’ll have to ask him yourself if you ever meet him.
The screening took place at midnight. I took leave of my friend and headed for the screening room. There were about ten people in attendance (most others preferred to stay at the Days of the Dead after party). While waiting for Biro to come and talk to us about the film we discovered that the showing of The Bunny Game the previous night had been shut down by the hotel staff. Apparently, the screaming was too much for them. But to hell with that: they were gonna show the film again afterwards. I would have loved to stay, but I was going on about two hours of sleep and my bed was calling me.
Anyways, Biro came in and talked to us about the film a little bit. One interesting fact he disclosed was that the film contained (I believe he said) “biomedically engineered sound” which was utilized for the purpose of getting physical reactions from the audience. He said that people have begun crying or becoming angry or feeling extreme repulsion during screenings because of the sound. He said that some people even had to leave during the screening because the sound became too much. Interesting. Well, I thought, here’s to hoping I don’t start crying.
The film starts. Since the screening I’ve had the chance to view the first American Guinea Pig film. And I can say the films are radically different. Whereas the first one is straight up snuff done in a cinema verite style, Bloodshock actually has a bit more story: two people are locked up in an asylum while a doctor performs grizzly experiments on them. The two strike up a relationship, slipping each other notes through the pads in their cells. The film is deliberately paced using minimal sets and performers, all of which is captured in beautiful black and white cinematography – until the gruesome and fucked-up full color finale that’s guaranteed to have you glued to the screen. The minimalist set-pieces lend the film a very dreamlike quality – so much so that I actually thought the film could have been called American Guinea Pig: Torture Dreams (this also could have just been the result of my sleep-deprived mind). The film contains much less gore than the previous entry, but what it does contain will certainly make you squirm.
In regards to the “biomedically engineered sound,” it did have a bit of an effect on me. At one point I felt a very strange tingling sensation in my face that bothered me a bit. During some of the torture scenes I felt genuine remorse for the characters, almost as if I were witnessing these atrocities in the flesh.
After the film, Biro and the few people who’d stuck around to finish it discussed the film and interpretations of it. Biro mentioned that the next installment is in the works, entitled American Guinea Pig: Malevolent Possession. American Guinea Pig: Bloodshock is set to drop in September or October. Keep an eye out for it. I know I will.
(continued on next page)
