Horrorhound Report March 2k8

Horrorhound

So we went to the Horrorhound Weekend last Saturday, and I have to say, it was a fun, if somewhat underwhelming experience.

I've been to conventions before, so I know not to expect too much in some areas, but I've also been to The Dark Carnival, which in its first year was so awesome as to be mind-blowing. I think it's really a question of emphasis. DC is a film-festival, with two solid days of things to see, panels to attend, shows, etc. It's focused squarely on the enterainment.

More regular conventions like Horrorhound are, on the other hand, focused on merchandising. Autographs, photos, stuff to buy, and tons and tons of bootlegs.

Seriously. I don't think I saw one legitimate video sale booth, but I saw a buttload of bootleg cartoons and porn.

Well, the porn might not have been bootlegs.

Horrorhound had very little in the way of activities compared to DC. A few movies, a panel or two, and that's it (except for the costume contest, more on that below), over 3 days. The merchandise room was all right, for killing about an hour and spending a hundred bucks. Don't get me wrong; we picked up some cool stuff there.

We hit the Dark Carnival booth of course, and got some t-shirts, and a copy of Stupid Teenagers Must Die, which the roommate loved from the festival itself.














We also got some DVDs autographed by Tom Savini, which was awesome. I know it makes me a pagan, but I really love the 90s remake of Night of the Living Dead. It was one of the first zombie movies I ever saw, on late night tv, and it holds a special place in my heart. It's unrelentingly grim and close and confining, and doesn't go overboard on splash or effects, but keeps everything scary with a no-nonsense directorial approach, facilitated by Savini's brilliant effects, which hold up even today far better than the CG head-splodey you get in so many zombie films.



Savini himself is wonderfully laid back and friendly in person. I was honestly a bit shy around him. Most celebrities I don't feel that awed by, but something about bothering Savini for autographs, even on DVDs we purchased there, made me feel embarassed. He was incredibly nice about the whole thing, and had a policy that if you bought anything from him to sign, he'd sign your other stuff too. Thus we bought 2 dvds and he signed our home copy of Dawn of the Dead for free, which was great. Now I have Night and Dawn signed, and my brother in law Ted got Dawn to take home too.

Maybe I just feel more like he's an artist than most famous people. He created literal, physical art, after all; human sculptures designed to terrify. They work, too, and he is pretty much the undisputed king of his craft. He's the best Zombie Sculptor in the world. That's pretty impressive.

Finally, we picked up some nifty pub glasses that reference Shaun of the Dead rather shamelessly.



I was also able to score an autographed photo of Sammy Terry for my sister, who is a big fan. Terry takes the time to talk with each person, and they're willing to sign things for as little as a dollar, which is really something. The man clearly cares about the fans, coming out at his age to do conventions like this.

So you can definitely find some fun at a place like Horrohound...

But to entertain yourself at a convention like this, you need a lot of money.

A lot.

Dark Carnival was 35 bucks, I think, for 3 days of free screenings, a drive-in performance, and two solid days of the Festival. Horrorhound will cost you the same for 2 and a half days of wandering around in a room full of stuff to buy. There really is no comparison.

Of course, it's still a ton better than the Star Wars Celebration I went to, where there were several times too many people for the event and you couldn't get in to see anything at all. Plus it cost 70 bucks for 2 days.

I don't mean to bash Horrorhound too much though; there was definitely fun to be had. For example, there was a costume contest that the roommate and I crashed at the last minute in our Giant Leech costumes...


We tied for 1st Place in the 'Best Random Costume' contest, which was awesome.

Here are the prizes we got, which are pretty nifty. Except for Alien vs. Predator, of course.






Well, that about wraps it up for Horrorhound. I think we'll go again in August, but probably just for Saturday again. We can really hit all the stuff we want to hit in a day or so, and it helps to staunch the wallet bleed. Plus I'd really like to enter another costume contest; I have an idea for the next one that would be really special.