ATLRetro

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

Photo by Andrew Shearer of Gonzoriffic

Dayna Noffke, lover of all things retro, Jill of all trades and local filmmaker (ThrillRide Pictures), joins the gore-tastic ranks of the inaugural WOMEN IN HORROR FILM FESTIVAL (WIHFF) brought to you by Festival Directors Kool Kat Vanessa Ionta Wright (“Rainy Season”) and Samantha Kolesnik (“I Baked Him A Cake”). The festival invades Peachtree City promising a weekend filled to the bloody brim with kickass independent women filmmakers, creators and horror film enthusiasts. You won’t want to miss the horrorific lineup of shorts and feature-length films, panels, vendors and special guests including Heather Langenkamp (A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET), Amanda Wyss (A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET/BETTER OFF DEAD), Marianne Maddalena (SCREAM), Lynn Lowry (CAT PEOPLE/THE CRAZIES), Trina Parks (DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER) and more! Noffke has been given the excruciating task, yet a highly rewarding opportunity to get a sneak peek at the talent before it’s unleashed on the unsuspecting masses, as a WIHFF film judge. Competitor’s films for the film competition will screen throughout the festival weekend (Friday, September 22, 12:00 p.m. – 10:45 p.m.; Saturday, September 23, 12:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.; Sunday, September 24, 12:00 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.;  Crowne Plaza Atlanta SW – Peachtree City; Tickets $45 day pass ($55 at door) / $125 full fest pass ($140 at door); and $200 VIP Fest Pass (includes all speakers, workshops, films and special events including the Thursday night VIP party); Schedule for each screening block here; Tickets here)! Kick off this season of horror and make your way to the WIHFF, take a walk down the “Dead Carpet,” and experience a weekend full of killer cinema!

Noffke’s film career began in 2008 when she was cast as an extra in Rob Zombie’s HALLOWEEN II (2009). She’s been churning out what she calls “backyard no/low budget” short films ever since, while working part-time as a set dec-buyer/dresser (V/H/S VIRAL, THE VAULT) and working towards directing full-time, with no end in sight. Since 2009, Noffke’s made ten short films including “Safety First” (2009); “Mouse” (2012); “Picnic” (2012); “Recompense” (2014); “Under the Bed” (2015); with her latest being “Teaser,” which wrapped this past week. She’s also written three feature film scripts, which have done well in the screenplay contest circuit, prompting her to take the next step to produce a feature-length film in the near future. As a filmmaker who has had some pretty amazing life experiences (researched Mantled Howler monkeys in Nicaragua; took Gross Anatomy and dissected a human body, just to name a few), Noffke seems to be a perfect choice to judge some of the best independent horror films coming our way this year.

ATLRetro caught up with Dayna to chat about the Women in Horror Film Festival, what inspired her to dive head first into the film industry, her favorite horror movies as a kid, and rooting for kickass final girls. While you’re taking a stroll through our little Q&A, why not take a peek at a couple trailers for some of her short films here.

ATLRetro: How exciting to be a part of the inaugural WOMEN IN HORROR FILM FESTIVAL! Can you tell our readers how you got involved and a little about your role as film judge? ​

Dayna Noffke: It is exciting! We’re fortunate to have so many amazing film events in Atlanta and this is a wonderful addition. When I heard about the festival, I knew I wanted to be involved but I wasn’t certain that I would have a new film finished in time to submit for this year. I submitted to the organizers’ call for judges and before I knew it, I had a queue full of fantastic film work to review.

What’s it like to judge films of women who have dedicated their creativity and professional lives to the horror genre?

​It’s an honor to be entrusted with these films. I have been in the role of judge for a few different festivals now and I always take it very seriously. I know what it’s like to be on the other side — to have your work put out there for review, and I try to remember that and give each film my full attention and consideration. All of these filmmakers have my respect, because getting any film finished requires Herculean amounts of persistence and hard work. I greatly enjoyed judging, discovering new talents and seeing the evolution of those creators with whose work I am familiar.

We see that you’ve been involved in filmmaking since about 2008, when you were an extra in Rob Zombie’s HALLOWEEN II. What was it about that particular film production that made you want to make movies?

Photo by Andrew Shearer

​The experience of being an extra on that film gave me two things. First I was given the ability to see the filmmaking process and the roles on set, including watching a director who really enjoys his work. ​And secondly, I had a great freaking time on set. I felt very at home. It was a light bulb moment for me. All my life, I’d been struggling and bouncing through trying out different artistic disciplines with none of it ever “clicking.” Here it was. I got it. Prior to that experience, it wasn’t in my frame of reference to think of making films as something that I (and my friends) could do. Sure, I realized in an abstract sense that people were making them, but I hadn’t seen it up close and it was a separate world that I’d never experienced. Watching RZ direct that film changed my perspective, so yes – in a strange, roundabout way, Rob Zombie is responsible for my leap into the film world.

It was once thought that horror films were made by and generally made for a male audience. Of course we adamantly disagree, as horror is definitely right down our alley, especially pre-21^st century horror. Can you tell our readers what drew you to the genre and why it keeps drawing you in deeper and deeper, as your own filmmaking career continues to grow?

The million dollar question. Why? Why are we so drawn to this darkness? I am actually a pretty light-hearted person. I consider myself lucky to have a great life that’s full of adventure and joy – which makes it perhaps even more of a puzzle. For me, I guess it is twofold. First of all, there’s the thrill. There is nothing like that feeling of being at the top of the clicking roller coaster hill or just before the corner in the haunted house – the anticipation, wanting to scream and laugh and run all at the same time. Monsters are fun, they’re fantasy, but most importantly, they’re an escape. Second, I am fascinated with human beings and that translates into a desire to understand them. While I certainly don’t empathize with people who are able to do horrible things to other people, I want to ‘get it.’ I want to know what makes them tick. Why do these things happen? I want to find sense and make something out of the chaos. I love writing about the survivors. I’m in awe of kickass final girls.

You’ve been employed in several roles in the film industry, including set decorator-buyer, writer, director, producer, etc. Is there any particular role you prefer over the others and why?

One of my favorite things about film is the collaborative nature of the art form. Working in different departments has given me an appreciation for the importance of the different aspects of filmmaking and a better view of the process holistically. I’ve been working professionally, for the past four-something years, as a set decoration buyer. I enjoy the work and it’s helped to develop my design eye, which has translated into better visuals in my own filmmaking. But ultimately, I want to write and direct. I want to be out there telling stories. I’m currently working on making that jump from set dec to being full time on my own projects. As for producing, I have done a lot of that on my projects out of necessity and while it’s a good learning experience, it’s not where my talents lie. I had a great producer, Chris Ethridge, on my most recent short, “Teaser,” and he was a lifesaver. I’m glad to hand that part over to people who are better-suited to the task.

Who are your favorite female horror directors and why are they your favorite? Were there any female role models in the horror genre that particularly inspired you growing up?

“Teaser” Cast & Crew, Photo by Ed Selby

I wasn’t really a monster kid. I was a kid who loved just about everything having to do with stories and pretending – from dolls to Grease to Star Wars – and also happened to be into all kinds of movies. I did always love the final girls who made it to the end of the horror movies — Nancy and Alice and Laurie, particularly. My list of favorite female directors is a long one! Not only are there the big ones, like Mary Harron – whose AMERICAN PSYCHO is a vision of absolute, all-out abandon – but there’s a huge list of indie filmmakers who are making waves in both short and feature length formats. Jen and Sylvia Soska, Karen Kusama, Izzie Lee, Jill Sixx, Lynne Hansen, Tonjia Atomic — the list goes on and on. What they all have in common is guts. They’re all out there taking chances and getting their stories told however they can. Their art is gorgeous and brave. I’m also a huge fan of the actors who make directing such a great job. I have been honored to work with Madeline Brumby (FRANKENSTEIN CREATED BIKERS, SPRING BREAK ZOMBIE MASSACRE), Katherine English and burlesque star Lola LeSoleil among others.

What would you say was your gateway drug/film that enticed you into the land of horror films? ​

The first real horror film I remember seeing is SILENT SCREAM. I recall that shortly after, my brother and I went on a FRIDAY THE 13TH and JAWS watching spree. I’d set the alarm to get up and watch films on Cinemax in the middle of the night. MY BLOODY VALENTINE also figures prominently into my childhood. ​

Can you give us five things you’re into at the moment that we should be watching, reading or listening to right now— past or present, well-known or obscure? ​

Just five? I love reading, music and films, so I’m always on a tear. There are two books that I cannot recommend highly enough. DEVIL ALL THE TIME by Donald Ray Pollack is a jaw-droopingly dark and poetic trip into the Southern Gothic. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever read. I’m also reading THE WITCHES: SUSPICION, BETRAYAL AND HYSTERIA IN 1692 SALEM by Stacy Schiff. It’s full of great information but not particularly academic, a more human approach to the Salem Witch trials story. As for films, Karen Kusama‘s feature film, THE INVITATION, is incredible. I’ve re-watched it a few times. It’s got a very tight, effective story and a killer cast. I will also add to the list of people singing the endless praises of Jordan Peele‘s GET OUT. It’s just that good! Since it’s September, I’m in heavy rotation on monster bop/classic Halloween music. I’m enjoying my new birthday present – Waxwork‘s limited edition MY BLOODY VALENTINE LP with score and music from the film.

What was your favorite horror film growing up? ​

As a child, JAWS all the way. My brother and I had a best friend who had a pool. We’d get the VHS and make a ‘movie theater’ with tickets, watch the film and then scare ourselves into a frenzy thinking that Jaws lived in the pool. I’ll also have to admit that we chased my brother around an awful lot as Jaws so… apologies on that front.  As a teenager, I really loved cheesy horror – things like MICROWAVE MASSACRE, TOOLBOX MURDERS and the like. ​I got hooked on RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, EVIL DEAD and TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE then, too, and that has definitely stuck. TCM is my favorite to this day.

As an independent female filmmaker working in the horror genre, what challenges have you personally faced that seem to be a common theme amongst women in the industry?

While I hesitate to speak for every woman in the industry, I’ve certainly heard enough stories and had enough experiences to see that there are definitely barriers to being heard as female filmmakers. I have been put in incredibly uncomfortable positions at cons and film festivals, where I wanted to be involved in the film conversation but was compelled to speak up and/or leave because of the incredibly casual misogynistic and ugly talk about other women. All I could think was, “If they are saying this while I am standing right here, what are they saying about us when I’m NOT here?” I’ve been followed to my hotel room at night by creepy guys and on and on. These types of harassment are barriers to all women – not just filmmakers – feeling comfortable attending and enjoying film events and that sucks. I’m heartened to see a lot of men starting to speak out about this and standing up beside us to put an end to this kind of behavior. There are other problems, of course. Sadly, it’s a long list.

Any advice for women filmmakers out there trying to get their foot in the door?

Show up. Help other filmmakers with their projects and support them in their successes and challenges. Make movies whenever you can – it’s the only way to learn. Community makes the indie filmmaking world go round. Be relentless. The first time funding fell through for my feature, I was crushed. But I quickly realized that it’s probably going to happen a few dozen more times before that film gets made. Keep moving forward. We want to hear what you have to say.

As a filmmaker, and a film judge for the WIHFF, how does the competition look? Anything spectacularly horrorific and exciting you can tell us without giving too much away before the festival? Any particular film we should definitely check out?

​Hmmm. I’m not sure what I’m allowed to give away so I’m going to plead the fifth on this one. But trust me, the competition is FIERCE. You’re really going to enjoy this festival – it’s got everything from fun over-the-top gore to horror comedy and creature films to beautifully realized horror poetry.

What are you looking forward to most about the festival? ​

I’m really looking forward to meeting the filmmakers! I love catching up with the ones who I know and seeing what’s up next for them but I’m also excited to meet the creators of the films that I judged. There is so much talent out there. ​

And last but not least, what are you up to next? You’ve indicated that in 2018 you’ll be working on a feature-length project based on a screenplay you wrote. Can you tell us a little about that, and any other projects you’re currently working on or will be in the near future?

“Teaser” still with Jim Stacy and Lola LeSoleil

I have several projects in the works right now. I’m forever writing screenplays – who knows where they will take you? I finally finished up my short film, “Under the Bed” last month. It’s a fun little creature film that stars my daughter and one of my best friends – so we had a great time making it. I’m busy entering it into festivals right now. We wrapped on my latest short, “Teaser” last weekend. It’s a very lush and poetic burlesque-themed short and my biggest production so far. We have a hard deadline for getting it through post, so you can expect to see it at festivals soon!​ I am slated to shoot another short film, “Shark: A Love Story” for a local production company sometime at the beginning of the year. That one has a lot of special FX — blood everywhere! It’s going to be crazy!

I also have three feature film scripts that have been bouncing around for a while but nothing solid on production yet. It’s my goal to shoot my psychological thriller, EIDOLON, in 2018. It’s a very sparse psychological/paranormal thriller — a re-imagining of the classic Victorian short horror story, “The Yellow Wallpaper.” My feature script, GET CHINO! is a comedy/grind-house hybrid about five fan girls who kidnap their favorite action star in a bid to get him to star in their film. The screenplay has been chosen as an official selection at Oaxaca Film Festival this year and I’m looking forward to hearing some feedback on that one as well and maybe roll on it in the next few years.

All photos courtesy of Dayna Noffke and used with permission.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

We at ATLRetro care about your health and well-being, so This Week we are bringing you our fourth installment of our Home-Edition, a week’s worth of old-school fun you can experience straight from your couch! Want to know how to support our local artists, vendors and businesses? Scroll to the end of the calendar for a listing of creatives and how to support!

Monday Madness, April 6

The Plaza Theatre is now offering streaming for some of their films. For more information, go here! The Criterion Channel provides a 14-day free trial, so why not get comfy with the Criterion Collection here! Get down with today’s Nuncheon Session featuring a live-stream concert with Caitlin Anne Webster! Catch Eddie’s Attic’s Live Streaming Open Mic here! Rock out and tune into Kool Kat Rev. Andy Hawley’s Psychobilly Freakout Radio broadcasting on Garage 71 at 8pm, every Monday! The Metropolitan Opera is offering a Nightly Opera Stream. Click here for more information, including weekly schedule.

Tune It Up Tuesday, April 7

Get your Americana fix with Jason Waller as he delivers a Virtual House Concert hosted by Waller’s Coffee Shop at 2pm! Get down with today’s Nuncheon Session featuring a live-stream concert with the Heart Hunters! Local H rocks out with new album LIFERS out April 10! Catch their video “Hold That Though” here! Check out Aurora Theatre’s Digital Series 2020 featuring crafting, art, games and more, starting today! Garage rock it up with Kool Kat Rod Hamdallah and check out his online store here! The music community launches a high-profile global #loverecordstores initiative in order to mobilize artist support and encourage customers to shop online with their favorite independent record stores. Find out more here! Get rocked as WYLDLIFE drops their new single “Automatic” inspired by The Jesus and Mary Chain with their new album YEAR OF THE SNAKE Out April 17! We know you need your swingin’ Joe Gransden fix, so why not visit his site and catch a video or two of his, including him and his band swingin’ it up at Café 290, here!

Way Back Wednesday, April 8

Get down with today’s Nuncheon Session featuring a live-stream concert with Mercy Bell! Atlanta alt-country/indie rock band Nikki & The Phantom Callers releases debut LP, EVERYBODY’S GOING TO HELL (BUT YOU AND ME) out now! Check out their “Fallen Angel” video here! Check out Emory’s Carlos Museum’s “Carlos at Home” virtual exhibition tours and more. This week you’ll get a chance to experience artwork related to the Indian epic Ramayana! Check out the Birmingham Arts Journal here featuring stories, poems and art! Get “Hot Wired” with Kool Kat Spike Fullerton and Ghost Riders Car Club! Or boogie down with Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt & The Psycho DeVilles and their new album, RUMBLE ROAD now available for download and purchase!

Throwback Thursday, April 9

Atlanta Contemporary presents their exhibit “The Life and Death of Charles Williams” which can be virtually toured here. Get down with today’s Nuncheon Session featuring a live-stream concert with The Good Graces! Get the Chicago/Delta blues with The Breeze Kings and purchase their tunes and merchandise here! Celebrate Roger Corman’s birthday with a free viewing of Ballyhoo Motion Pictures’ (Kool Kat Daniel Griffith) short documentary, “Counter-Culture Corman” here! Check out the Kennedy Center’s YouTube channel/digital stage here featuring concerts from Gladys Knight, Queen Latifah and more! The National Theatre is streaming a production a week, every Thursday, here, with tonight’s feature being JANE EYRE.

Fiercely Weird ‘n’ Fun Friday, April 10

Donita Sparks of L7 launches weekly “The Hi-Low Show with Donita Sparks” every Friday @ 3pm PT via “We Are Hear: On The Air” streaming network. MusiCares donations encouraged. Join the dynamic duo of Michelle Malone and Trish Land while they sing upbeat songs, crack bad jokes, and cook something up in their kitchen here at 7:30pm. Its “Pay what you can” with suggested donation of $20. Get musical with Andrew Lloyd Webber as he streams his musicals free online, every Friday, via his The Shows Must Go On YouTube channel here!  Wiretap Records has announced a month-long live stream series, The Wiretap Records Family Vacation Live Stream Series, that will span over the month April 10 – May 1.  Get down with today’s Nuncheon Session featuring a live-stream concert with Nathan Kalish! Jeff Beam releases new single, “Think Twice, It’s Not Alright,” from self-titled LP out April 17th. Also, check out the first tune on the album, “Stephen King!” Or garage rock it up with The Bobby Lees’ Bo Diddley cover of “I’m a Man” here while waiting for their new album SKIN SUIT to be released in May 2020, produced by legendary Jon Spencer! The Center for Puppetry Arts is live-streaming performances and providing workshops on line via their website for free here! Hey parents! Check out the Children’s Museum of Atlanta’s virtual learning program #CMAatHome, featuring story time, singing and more!

Spooktastic Saturday, April 11

ELZIG, The Demon Elvis rocks your face, so why not get hellacious with him here! Hey all you home-bound horror fans! The Winchester Mystery House is offering virtual tours here! Horror punk it up with Kool Kats, The Casket Creatures and check out their official video for “The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb!” Check it out here! Creature Feature it up and stream Merian C. Cooper’s KING KONG (1933) on Amazon Prime! Check out local independent horror filmmakers, Kool Kat Dayna Noffke and Kool Kat Vanessa Ionta Wright!

Sci-Fi ‘n’ more Sunday, April 12

Sword & Soul it up by supporting Sorghum & Spear and catch an interview with the one and only Nichelle Nichols here! Check out the ‘80s progressive-esque, The Buttertones’ JAZZHOUND out now, with single “Phantom Eyes” and video “Fade Away Gently” available to stream! Get space rocked with Big Black Delta’s new music video “Summoner” here!

Help support our local businesses and artists (A-Z Listing)

 *Check out 7 Stages’ YouTube channel here to live stream, and while you’re at it, purchase a gift certificate or two to help now and see art later here!
*A Cappella Books – Join their VIP discount and membership club (A Cappella Choir), which provides a 10% discount and priority seating at author events and more. Members who would like to purchase anything online can do so by sending them your list via email or by phone order at (404) 681-5128. All choir members are eligible for free home delivery! Find out more and join here.
*Get monsterific and check out Monsterama’s Kool Kat Anthony Taylor’s Etsy page, Pop Kulture Vulture!
*Atlanta Science-Fiction & Fantasy Expo 2020 had to cancel/postpone (we’ll post their new dates when they announce) but you can still support their authors, artists & vendors at their Virtual Market!
*Browse and purchase your favorite books and more at Atlanta Vintage Books!
*Why not check out our Kool Kat Derek Yaniger’s art and creator of our ATLRetro logo!
*Dirk Hays, purveyor of all that is monstrous and weird, makes art, so why not check out Art by Dirk!
*Geek it up and check out Dr. No’s Comics & Games Superstore (online store here) in Marietta offering gift certificates which can be purchased over the phone for later use and curbside pick-up!
*The Earl Smith Strand Theatre – Help support them here.
*Help support the staff at Eddie’s Attic by contributing to their GoFundMe here.
*Jonathan Chaffin’s Horror in Clay, offers tiki mugs filling your every monster madness need!
*Check out Jeanne the Maskmaker’s Etsy page here!
*Get your vintage jewelry fix with Jezebel Blue and your retro style fix with 2the9s Retro!
*Kyle Yaklin gets creaturific with his creature masks and more!
*Landmark’s Midtown Art Theatre – Support by purchasing gift cards for future use here.
*Support the employees of the Masquerade via their GoFundMe here!
*The Plaza Theatre – Support by either purchasing vouchers for future events here, or by supporting their Go Fund Me here, or you can donate or become a member of The Plaza Theatre Foundation.
*Kool Kat Shane Morton,  and Silver Scream FX Lab offers one hellacious merch store with monster masks, art and more!

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

We at ATLRetro care about your health and well-being, so This Week we are bringing you our third installment of our Home-Edition, a week’s worth of old-school fun you can experience straight from your couch!

Monday Madness, March 30

Join A Cappella Books’ VIP discount and membership club, the A Cappella Choir, which provides a 10% discount, plus you will receive priority seating at author events and regularly extend exclusive invitations to author meet & greets. Members who would like to purchase anything you see online can do so by sending them your list via email or by phone order at (404) 681-5128. All choir members are eligible for free home delivery! Find out more and join here. You can support The Plaza Theatre by either purchasing vouchers for future events here, or by supporting their Go Fund Me here, or you can donate or become a member of The Plaza Theatre Foundation! Help support The Earl Smith Strand Theatre in Marietta here. Or you can support Landmark’s Midtown Art Theatre by purchasing gift cards for future use here. The Criterion Channel provides a 14-day free trial, so why not get comfy with the Criterion Collection here! Rock out and tune into Kool Kat Rev. Andy Hawley’s Psychobilly Freakout Radio broadcasting on Garage 71 at 8pm, every Monday!

Tune It Up Tuesday, March 31

Garage rock it up with Kool Kat Rod Hamdallah and check out his online store here! The music community launches a high-profile global #loverecordstores initiative in order to mobilize artist support and encourage customers to shop online with their favorite independent record stores. Find out more here! Zachery Allan Starkey and New Order’s Bernard Sumner deliver “Force” online here! His new LP FEAR CITY featuring collaborations with Sumner will be out April 30! Garage rock it up with Glasgow’s Catholic Action who are releasing their new album CELEBRATED BY STRANGERS (order here) on Palo Santo Records. Check out their dynamic album single “I’m No Artist.” Get rocked as WYLDLIFE drops their new single “Automatic” inspired by The Jesus and Mary Chain with their new album YEAR OF THE SNAKE Out April 17! We know you need your swingin’ Joe Gransden fix, so why not visit his site and catch a video or two of his, including him and his band swingin’ it up at Café 290, here! Get rocked with Static Cycle’s new music video “Wolf” here!

Way Back Wednesday, April 1

Check out Emory’s Carlos Museum’s “Carlos at Home” virtual exhibition tours and more. This week you’ll get a chance to experience artwork related to the Indian epic Ramayana! Browse and purchase your favorite books and more at Atlanta Vintage Books! Check out the Birmingham Arts Journal here featuring stories, poems and art! Get “Hot Wired” with Kool Kat Spike Fullerton and Ghost Riders Car Club! Or boogie down with Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt & The Psycho DeVilles and their new album, RUMBLE ROAD now available for download and purchase!

Throwback Thursday, April 2

Get psychedelic with ‘60s garage rock’esque High Waisted’s new LP coming to your ears May 22 and catch their single “Drive” while you wait! Atlanta Contemporary presents their exhibit “The Life and Death of Charles Williams” which can be virtually toured here. Get your ‘80s fix as The Story Changes unveils their new animated music video for their song “Golden Age” here. Mark Lanegan, a.k.a. Kid Eastwood, shares his new track “Bleed All Over” from his new album STRAIGHT SONGS OF SORROW due out in May 2020! Check outGeek it up and check out Dr. No’s Comics & Games Superstore (online store here) in Marietta offering gift certificates which can be purchased over the phone for later use and curbside pick-up! Help support the staff at Eddie’s Attic by contributing to their GoFundMe here. Get the Chicago/Delta blues with The Breeze Kings and purchase their tunes and merchandise here!

Fiercely Weird ‘n’ Fun Friday, April 3

Jeff Beam releases new single, “Think Twice, It’s Not Alright,” from self-titled LP out April 17th. Also, check out the first tune on the album, “Stephen King!” Skank it up with Ska/Pop/Punk band Bite Me Bambi, featuring members Save Ferris, Starpool and more! Check out their music video to “Hot Lava” here! Or garage rock it up with The Bobby Lees’ Bo Diddley cover of “I’m a Man” here while waiting for their new album SKIN SUIT to be released in May 2020, produced by legendary Jon Spencer! The Center for Puppetry Arts is live-streaming performances and providing workshops on line via their website for free here! Hey parents! Check out the Children’s Museum of Atlanta’s virtual learning program #CMAatHome, featuring story time, singing and more! Check out 7 Stages’ YouTube channel here to live stream, and while you’re at it, purchase a gift certificate or two to help now and see art later here!

Spooktastic Saturday, April 4

ELZIG, The Demon Elvis rocks your face, so why not get hellacious with him here! Hey all you home-bound horror fans! The Winchester Mystery House is offering virtual tours here! Kool Kat Shane Morton,  and Silver Scream FX Lab offers one hellacious merch store with monster masks, art and more! Horror punk it up with Kool Kats, The Casket Creatures and check out their official video for “The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb!” Check it out here! Kyle Yaklin gets creaturific with his creature masks and more! Or check out Jonathan Chaffin’s Horror in Clay, offering tiki mugs filling your every monster madness need! Creature Feature it up and stream Merian C. Cooper’s KING KONG (1933) on Amazon Prime! Check out local independent horror filmmakers, Kool Kat Dayna Noffke and Kool Kat Vanessa Ionta Wright!

Sci-Fi, Shoppin’ ‘n’ more Sunday, April 5

Atlanta Science-Fiction & Fantasy Expo 2020 had to cancel/postpone (we’ll post their new dates when they announce) but you can still support their authors, artists & vendors at their Virtual Market! Get space rocked with Big Black Delta’s new music video “Summoner” here! Dirk Hays, purveyor of all that is monstrous and weird, makes art, so why not check out Art by Dirk! Or get monsterific and check out Monsterama’s Kool Kat Anthony Taylor’s Etsy page, Pop Kulture Vulture! Get your vintage jewelry with Jezebel Blue and your retro style fix with 2the9s Retro! Why not check out our Kool Kat Derek Yaniger, and creator of our ATLRetro logo! Or make your way to Jeanne the Maskmaker’s Etsy page here!

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

We at ATLRetro care about your heath and well-being, so This Week we are bringing you our second installment of our Home-Edition, a week’s worth of retro-tastic fun you can experience straight from your couch!

Movie Madness Monday & More, March 23

Kool Kat James Bickert is sharing the exploitation love as he streams FRANKENSTEIN CREATED BIKERS (2016) for FREE here! Help support our local theatres! You can support The Plaza Theatre by either purchasing vouchers for future events here, or by supporting their Go Fund Me here, or you can donate or become a member of The Plaza Theatre Foundation! Help support The Earl Smith Strand Theatre in Marietta here. Or you can support Landmark’s Midtown Art Theatre by purchasing gift cards for future use here. The Criterion Channel provides a 14-day free trial, so why not get comfy with the Criterion Collection here! Experience the mystical arts of Tibet during the Green Tara Mandala Sand Painting Livestream, through March 27! Get your Americana fix and live stream Eddie’s Attic’s Chris Knight show here! Find out who the real monster is in Jack Smight’s FRANKENSTEIN: THE TRUE STORY (1973) streaming on Amazon Prime! Rock out and tune into Kool Kat Rev. Andy Hawley’s Psychobilly Freakout Radio broadcasting on Garage 71 at 8pm, every Monday! Or horror punk it up with Kool Kats, The Casket Creatures and check out their official video for “The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb!” Dirk Hays, purveyor of all this is monstrous and weird, makes art, so why not check out Art by Dirk!

Tune It Up Tuesday, March 24

Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer has released a new EP PARTIALISMS which can be purchased here. Rock with The Ramones and stream Allan Arkush/Joe Dante’s ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL (1979) via Hulu, Vudu, Amazon Prime and more, or purchase the 40th Anniversary edition here which includes a documentary [CLASS OF ’79: 40 YEARS OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL] by Atlanta’s Kool Kat Daniel Griffith of Ballyhoo Motion Pictures! Get rocked with Lucky Boys Confusion’s 1998 debut album GROWING OUT OF IT as it is rereleased on vinyl on April 10 and is available for pre-order here. Experience the mystical arts of Tibet during the Green Tara Mandala Sand Painting Livestream, through March 27! The Once & Future Band rocks out with their new album DELETED SCENES out April 10! Catch their album teaser here. Get down as Shamir releases a new album, CATACLYSM streaming on Bandcamp now, here! We know you need your swingin’ Joe Gransden fix, so why not visit his site and catch a video or two of his, including him and his band swingin’ it up at Café 290, here! Check out our Retro Review of The Beatles’ A HARD DAYS’ NIGHT (1964), also streaming on Amazon Prime, Vudu, YouTube and more!

Way Back Wednesday, March 25

Get down with Robyn Hitchcock as he delivers a free (donations requested) quarantine concert live streaming at 5pm here! Browse and purchase your favorite books and more at Atlanta Vintage Books! Experience the mystical arts of Tibet during the Green Tara Mandala Sand Painting Livestream, through March 27! Every episode of THE FRENCH CHEF with Julia Child is streaming on Amazon Prime and PBS! Check out some foot-stompin’ in-home entertainment! Get “Hot Wired” with Kool Kat Spike Fullerton and Ghost Riders Car Club! Or boogie down with Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt & The Psycho DeVilles and their new album, RUMBLE ROAD now available for download and purchase!

Throwback Thursday, March 26

Geek it up and check out Dr. No’s Comics & Games Superstore (online store here) in Marietta offering gift certificates which can be purchased over the phone for later use and curbside pick-up! Check out Kool Kat Michael Stark and Terrell Garret’s second issue of WOLVERTON: THIEF OF IMPOSSIBLE OBJECTS via their shoppe here! Help support the staff at Eddie’s Attic by contributing to their GoFundMe here. Experience the mystical arts of Tibet during the Green Tara Mandala Sand Painting Livestream, through March 27! Get the Chicago/Delta blues with The Breeze Kings and purchase their tunes and merchandise here! Experience the mystical arts of Tibet during the Green Tara Mandala Sand Painting Livestream, through March 27!

Fiercely Weird ‘n’ Fun Friday, March 27

The Center for Puppetry Arts is live-streaming performances and providing workshops on line via their website for free here! Hey parents! Check out the Children’s Museum of Atlanta’s virtual learning program #CMAatHome, featuring story time, singing and more! Check out 7 Stages’ YouTube channel here to live stream, and while you’re at it, purchase a gift certificate or two to help now and see art later here! It’s your last chance to experience the mystical arts of Tibet during the Green Tara Mandala Sand Painting Livestream!

Spooktastic Saturday, March 28

Hey all you home-bound horror fans! The Winchester Mystery House is offering virtual tours here! Kool Kat Shane Morton,  and Silver Scream FX Lab offers one hellacious merch store with monster masks, art and more! Check it out here! Kyle Yaklin gets creaturific with his creature masks and more! Or check out Jonathan Chaffin’s Horror in Clay, offering tiki mugs filling your every monster madness need! Creature Feature it up and stream Merian C. Cooper’s KING KONG (1933) on Amazon Prime! Check out local independent horror filmmakers, Kool Kat Dayna Noffke and Kool Kat Vanessa Ionta Wright!

Sci-Fi, Shoppin’ ‘n’ more Sunday, March 29

Atlanta Science-Fiction & Fantasy Expo 2020 had to cancel/postpone (we’ll post their new dates when they announce) but you can still support their authors, artists & vendors at their Virtual Market! Or get monsterific and check out Monsterama’s Kool Kat Anthony Taylor’s Etsy page, Pop Kulture Vulture! Get your vintage jewelry with Jezebel Blue and your retro style fix with 2the9s Retro! Why not check out our Kool Kat Derek Yaniger, and creator of our ATLRetro logo! Or make your way to Jeanne the Maskmaker’s Etsy page here!

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

We at ATLRetro care about your heath and well-being, so This Week we are bringing you our special Home-Edition celebrating our own local artists, musicians, filmmakers and more – a week’s worth of retro-tastic fun you can experience straight from your couch!

Monster Madness Monday, March 16

Find out who the real monster is in Jack Smight’s FRANKENSTEIN: THE TRUE STORY (1973) streaming on Amazon Prime! Or get monsterific and check out Monsterama’s Kool Kat Anthony Taylor’s Etsy page, Pop Kulture Vulture! Rock out and tune into Kool Kat Rev. Andy Hawley’s Psychobilly Freakout Radio broadcasting on Garage 71 at 8pm, every Monday! Or horror punk it up with Kool Kats, The Casket Creatures and check out their official video for “The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb!” Dirk Hays, purveyor of all this is monstrous and weird, makes art, so why not check out Art by Dirk!

Tune It Up Tuesday, March 17

Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer has released a new EP PARTIALISMS which can be purchased here. In honor of Genesis P-Orridge, check out Throbbing Gristle, or their great live performance of “Hamburger Lady!” We know you need your swingin’ Joe Gransden fix, so why not visit his site and catch a video or two of his, including him and his band swingin’ it up at Café 290, here! Check out our Retro Review of The Beatles’ A HARD DAYS’ NIGHT (1964), also streaming on Amazon Prime, Vudu, YouTube and more!

Way Back Wednesday, March 18

Check out some foot-stompin’ in-home entertainment! Get “Hot Wired” with Kool Kat Spike Fullerton and Ghost Riders Car Club! Or boogie down with Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt & The Psycho DeVilles and their new album, RUMBLE ROAD now available for download and purchase! Like old-school film? Why not check out the AV Club’s cool article on 20th Century Flicks! While Emory Cinematheque had to cancel their African-Americans in American Film Series screening of Julie Dash’s DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST (1991), you can catch it streaming on Amazon Prime!

Throwback Thursday, March 19

Alice Bag announces new album, SISTER DYNAMITE due out April 24 on In The Red Records /Video! Check out rule-bending, award-winning author and Kool Kat Nancy A. Collins and purchase her books here! Alt-country it up with Drive-By Truckers’ new LP THE UNRAVELING which arrived via ATO Records and released Friday, January 31! Watch “ARMAGEDDON’S BACK IN TOWN!” Get the Chicago/Delta blues with The Breeze Kings and purchase their tunes and merchandise here! Or check out the ‘80s progressive-esque, The Buttertones’ JAZZHOUND!

Fiercely Weird ‘n’ Vintage Friday, March 20

Check out 7 Stages’ YouTube channel here to live stream, and while you’re at it, purchase a gift certificate or two to help now and see art later here! Get your vintage jewelry with Jezebel Blue and your retro style fix with 2the9s Retro! Check out our Retro Review of Dario Argento’s DEEP RED (1975), and stream it on Amazon Prime! Want some cool vintage art? Why not check out our Kool Kat Derek Yaniger, and creator of our ATLRetro logo! Or for some Weird words, check out author and Kool Kat Michael Wehunt! Check out our Retro Review of Frank Pavich’s JODOROWSKY’S DUNE (2013), and stream it at Amazon Prime, Vudu, YouTube and more! Or check out Kool Kat Daniel Griffith’s Ballyhoo Motion Pictures for his long list of DVD/Blu-ray extras and documentaries!

Spooktastic Saturday, March 21

Shane Morton – Silver Scream FX Lab

Kool Kat Shane Morton,  and Silver Scream FX Lab offers one hellacious merch store with monster masks, art and more! Check it out here! Kyle Yaklin gets creaturific with his creature masks and more! Or check out Jonathan Chaffin’s Horror in Clay, offering tiki mugs filling your every monster madness need! Creature Feature it up and stream Merian C. Cooper’s KING KONG (1933) on Amazon Prime! Check out Lynne Hansen’s art featuring book covers for horror writers and more! Or take a gander at our Retro Review of Michael J. Paradise’s THE VISITOR (1979), filmed in Atlanta, and streaming at Amazon Prime, Vudu and more! Check out local independent horror filmmakers, Kool Kat Dayna Noffke and Kool Kat Vanessa Ionta Wright!

Sci-Fi, Shoppin’ ‘n’ more Sunday, March 22

Sci-fi it up this Sunday and check out our RETRO REVIEW of Robert Wise’s THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951), stream available at Amazon Prime! Looking for some rare spooky jewelry and more? Why not check out Kool Kat Aileen Loy’s Lovely Hoodoo, or Rebecca Perry’s DeathKiss Designs, or Crystal Chambers’ Bleeding Heart Curio! Hiromi Kanda, Japanese vocalist Who Keeps Alive the Great American Songbook, releases SEVEN ELEGANT BALLADS!

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

Shake a tail feather and come see what we’ve dug up for you This Week in ATLRetro!

Monday, February 24

Swing on by the Georgia Ensemble Theatre & Conservatory for Joe Gransden’s Big Band Concert Series! Don’t forget to catch the tail end of the 20th Annual Atlanta Jewish Film Festival running through Feb. 27 at venues across Atlanta! Get funky and groove on down to Café 290 every second and fourth Monday of the month for a taste of Bumpin the Mango, ‘The groove that makes you want to move!” Rock out and tune into Kool Kat Rev. Andy Hawley’s Psychobilly Freakout Radio broadcasting on Garage 71 at 8pm, every Monday! Get your vinyl fix at Little 5 Points Corner Tavern’s Records of Mass Destruction, every Monday! Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam! And blues on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a side of Dry White Toast and a plate full ‘o finger lickin’ BBQ!

Tuesday, February 25

Make your way to Landmark Midtown Art Cinema as they continue another killer Classics Series with a screening of Bob Rafelson’s FIVE EASY PIECES (1970) at 7pm! Get your party on at Blind Willie’s at their Mardi Gras Party featuring The Atlanta Crawdaddy’s! It’s Mardi Gras Madness at The Vista Room with Funk Cake & Fermentable Friends featuring The Black Sheep Ensemble, Tray Dahl (Jugtime Ragband) and more! Get rocked with the Mikey Erg Band, The Slow Death and more at The Earl! Get the rockin’ blues with the Crosstown Allstars at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Venkman’s! Hula on down to Waller’s Coffee Shop for a Ukulele Jam! And as always, groove on down with Swami Gone Bananas at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, February 26

Get rocked at 529 with Wildstreet, Voltage, JONNY D and Heretica! Make your way to the Carter Center for a night with Erik Larson (THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY) discussing his newest book, THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE! Get down with the Francisco Vidal Band and Daniel Toole at Eddie’s Attic! Get psychedelic with Howlin’ Rain, Sunwatchers and A Tower to the Stars at The Earl! Get criminal and catch a screening of Francis Ford Coppola’s THE GODFATHER (1972) at theatres across Atlanta [Northlake Festival Movie Tavern (Tucker); GTC Merchant’s Walk Cinemas (Marietta); Movie Tavern at Horizon Village (Suwannee); and The Springs Cinema & Taphouse (Sandy Springs)! Emory Cinematheque continues their African-Americans in American Film Series with a screening of Taylor Hackford’s AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN (1982) at 7:30pm in White Hall 208! The Highlander rocks out with their Punk/Metal/New Wave Karaoke Night, every Wednesday! Get jazzy at the Red Light Café with The Gordon Vernick Quartet! Funk it up with the Mike Veal Band at Tin Roof Cantina! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern for a rockin’ night of blues with the Tyler Neal Band! Get the blues with Frankie’s Blues Mission at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! And as always, it’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd.

Thursday, February 27

Take a walk down the “Dead Carpet” for the 4th annual Women in Horror Film Festival founded by Festival Directors Kool Kat Vanessa Ionta Wright (RAINY SEASON) and Samantha Kolesnik, killing it through Feb 29 at the The Earl Smith Strand Theater in Marietta. You won’t want to miss a horrorific lineup of shorts and feature-length films, vendors and special guests including Heather Langenkamp (A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET), Amanda Wyss (A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET), Adam Marcus (JASON GOES TO HELL), Marianne Maddalena (SCREAM; THE HILLS HAVE EYES) and more! Stomp on down to The Earl for a night with the Country Westerns, Teddy & The Rough Riders and Sunset Pig! Or Beer & Lounge it up at the Clermont Lounge with Chrome Castle and Metal McDonald! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! Get your boogie on at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, as Chickenshack delivers some honky-tonk blues! And as always, boogie down at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.

Friday, February 28

It’s Day 2 of the Women in Horror Film Festival, so come on down and get your horror fix with a helluva line-up of killer films! Haunt on down to The Highlander for a night with El Capitan, Kool Kats The Casket Creatures, Captain  & Maybelle and more! Get rocked at The Earl during their Winter Weekender ATL through March 1! Make your way to the Out Front Theatre Company for In Vibrant Color: Celebrating Queer Black Cinema featuring a screening of Dee Rees’ BESSIE (2015), which explores the life of Bessie Smith, and more! Rock out at The Vista Room with The Spirit of Rush and Pink Zeppelin! Get the rockin’ blues with Joe Bonamassa at The Fox Theatre! Get on down to Buteco for FLASHBACK FRIDAY featuring a night of global 80s, 90s and 2o00s videos! Rockabilly it up with Slim & The Gems at Motorheads! Get funky with The Motet at Terminal West! Time-Warp it up at The Plaza Theater as they continue their tradition of screening THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Saturday, February 29

It’s your last chance to get terror-fied at the Women in Horror Film Festival, so come on out and get horrorfied with screenings of Stacey Palmer’s “Toothache,” Viva Tolar’s “Killer Kids,” (Kool Kat Dayna Noffke’s daughter) and more! Get rocked at The Earl during night 2 of Winter Weekender ATL through March 1! Just Roxie (formerly Roxie Watson) gets down at Eddie’s Attic! Get the rockin’ blues with Joe Bonamassa for a second night at The Fox Theatre! The Vista Room celebrates Capricorn Records with their Capricorn Record Revue featuring Chris Hicks (Marshall Tucker Band), Tommy Talton (Greg Allman Band), Bill Stewart (Greg Allman Band), Mike Veal and more! Get funky with The Motet for a second night at Terminal West! Boogie down to The Highlander for Destination Unknown – ‘80s New Wave Dance Party! Get adventurous and catch a matinee of Randal Kleiser’s BIG TOP PEE WEE (1988) at The Plaza Theater at 1pm! Blues rock it up with The Trouble Tones at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! And as always, DJ Romeo Cologne and DJ Kwasi Mandisco transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night.

Sunday, March 1

Get thrilled with a screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) at theatres across Atlanta [Northlake Festival Movie Tavern (Tucker); GTC Merchant’s Walk Cinemas (Marietta); Movie Tavern at Horizon Village (Suwannee); and The Springs Cinema & Taphouse (Sandy Springs)! Beyond the Yellow Brick Road pays tribute to Elton John at The Vista Room! Get rocked at The Earl during day 3 of Winter Weekender ATL! Get the blues with Jet Black at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Funk it up with Risky Biscuit at Tin Roof Cantina! Get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar!

Ongoing

The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival celebrates its 20th Anniversary and kicks off tonight, running through Feb. 27 at venues across Atlanta! (LAST CHANCE!)

The Children’s Museum of Atlanta presents their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Secrets of the Sewer exhibit, kicking tail through May 10!

New-Wave it up with Kool Kat VJ Anthony during an 80s New Wave Music Video Dance Party every 2nd Saturday of the month at Amsterdam Atlanta!

Have a deadly good time during Kool Kat VJ Anthony’s COFFIN CLASSICS: Goth Industrial Dance every 4th Saturday at Amsterdam Atlanta!

Geek it up as NerdLanta presents their Back to the ‘80s Movie Night, every third Thursday of the month, at Mother Bar+Kitchen!

ATL CRAFT presents a magical occult Movie Night every second Friday of every month!

My Parents’ Basement goes old-school with their monthly Pinball Tournament, every first Wednesday of the month!

Geek it up and get to bowlin’ at The Comet Pub & Lanes’ Comet Cosplay, getting nerdy the first Monday of every month!

Dad’s Garage’s Big Boozy Nerdy Game Night brings out the kid in you, every first Monday of the month at 7pm! 

Union EAV rocks out with their Punk Rock Karaoke ATL, and every last Tuesday of the month!

The Highlander rocks out with their Punk/Metal/New Wave Karaoke Night, every Wednesday!

Get your vinyl fix during Little 5 Points Corner Tavern’s Records of Mass Destruction! event, every Monday!

Geek it up at My Parents’ Basement with their weekly Tuesday night Nerd Trivia at 8pm!

Nerd Film Mafia screenings at the Diesel Filling Station following NerdCore Trivia, every last Tuesday of the month!

The Plaza Theater Time-Warps it up as they screen, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Get your reggae fix with Rub-A-Dub gettin’ down at WildPitch Music Hall, every second Sunday of the month!

Every first and third Mondays are Big Band Nights at Café 290, featuring Joe Gransden and his amazing 16-piece orchestra playing jazz and swing standards in the tradition of The Glen Miller Orchestra and other legendary groups.  Second and fourth Mondays are Bumpin the Mango, ‘The groove that makes you want to move!’

Every first Wednesday is the Graveyard Tavern’s Graveyard Swing Night, featuring the swingin’ jazz and boogie-woogie sounds of the Savoy Kings!

If you have a suggestion for a future event that should be included in This Week in Retro Atlanta or see something we missed, please email us at atlretro@gmail.com.

By Rebecca Perry
Contributing Writer

Get traumatized and HORRORfied this weekend as the Days of the Dead Convention kills it at the Sheraton Atlanta hotel for three days of ghastly gore-filled events, running February 7-9, 2020! Here are our Top 10 Terrifying Retro Reasons not to miss this years’ spooky shindig:

1) THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON! Don’t miss one helluva opportunity to meet the last surviving Universal Monsters icon – Ricou Browning! Ricou portrayed the title character in 1954’s THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, THE RETURN OF THE CREATURE and THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US. In addition to photo-ops and autograph signings, you can hear Ricou talk about his Creature days on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

2) TELEVISION’S ADAMS FAMILY ALUM! Get spooky with Lisa Loring, television’s Wednesday Adams! You won’t want to miss The Adams Family Panel featuring Lisa with Felix Silla, a.k.a. Cousin Itt, Friday night at 7pm!

3) GHOULISH GUESTS! This year’s DotD is playing host to a monsterific guest list! Richard Dreyfuss (JAWS, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND), Kathleen Turner (SERIAL MOM, WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT?), John Cusack (THE RAVEN, BETTER OFF DEAD), Tony Todd (CANDYMAN, WISHMASTER), Michael Biehn (THE TERMINATOR, ALIENS), Doug Jones (HELLBOY, PAN’S LABYRINTH, THE SHAPE OF WATER) and Linda Blair (THE EXORCIST) are just a few of the stars you can expect to see this weekend.

4) RETRO REUNIONS! Not only are we getting a SLEEPAWAY CAMP franchise reunion featuring cast members Jarret Beal, Heather Binton, Kendall Bran, Carol Chambers, Amy Fields, Kyle Holman, Mark Oliver and Jill Terashita, but we’re ALSO getting a NIGHT OF THE DEMONS reunion featuring director Kevin Tenney, Amelia Kinkade, Linnea Quigley, Hal Havins, Jill Terashita and Lance Fenton. PLUS Rob Zombie‘s HALLOWEEN reunion featuring Tyler Mane, Danielle Harris, Kristina Klebe and Scout Taylor Compton!

5) EVIL EVENTS! Besides all the great guests this weekend, there are a lot of evil events to enjoy, including a Friday Fright Night pre-party featuring SKARYOKEE!, a Makeup Challenge, That Damn Tattoo Contest, Hell Night Prom After Party dance party and the Chaostume Contest. Check the DotD schedule here for a full listing of events.

6) HOUSE OF INDIE HORROR! There’s a full schedule of panels focusing on the ins and outs of movie making; everything from screenwriting to monster makeup! Catch Kool Kat and exploitation extraordinaire, James Bickert (DEAR GOD NO!, FRANKENSTEIN CREATED BIKERS) and more on the Independent Filmmaker Panel, Saturday at 2:30pm! And you won’t want to miss killer women in horror, Kool Kats Dayna Noffke (“Under the Bed,” “Teaser”) with co-founder of the Women in Horror Film Festival, Vanessa Ionta Wright (“Rainy Season”) amongst others, on the How to Make Your First Horror Movie panel on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.!

7) Reels of the Dead Film Festival! Not only can you learn how to make your own horror flick, you can spend the weekend watching some great spooky cinema. Support Independent Horror, including the Etheria Film Night with Stacy Pippi, celebrating the best women directed genre films!

8) DotD Pre-party! Kick off things early with a rockin’ pre-party at the Clermont Lounge featuring Captain & Maybelle and Beitthemeans, on Thursday, Feb. 6!

9) Spooktacular Shopping! The dealers room is a great place to support independent artists and pick up something creepy cool. Art, jewelry, clothing, DVDs and anything else your monstrous little heart could desire!

10) In-Costume Photo-Ops! Where else could you get a photo with CANDYMAN Tony Todd or HALLOWEEN‘s Danielle Harris wearing their iconic costumes? Book ahead of time as these do tend to sell out fast.

For tickets, hotel information, and more please check out the Days of the Dead Atlanta website. Be there or be scared!

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

This haunted holiday season is alive and kicking as the Buried Alive Film Festival (BAFF) kills it with another year! BAFF is brought to you by Festival Director, Kool Kat Blake Myers and Event Director, Kool Kat Luke Godfrey and a helluva team of mad scientists working behind the scenes. Gore it up with five blood-filled days (November 14-18) of film terror, including 7 features, 59 short independent horror films from around the globe, and four extra special events, bringing its sinister shenanigans for a third year to 7 Stages Theatre in Little Five Points.

BAFF kicks off Wed. Nov. 14, at 8pm, with the ever-popular BAFF Sinema Challenge, giving local filmmakers the opportunity to bring to life a horror film in 13 days. Production starts on November 1 and films are screened on the festival’s opening night. The contest is judged by co-creator and exclusive programmer for Turner Classic Movies (TCM) weekly late-night cult movie showcase TCM Underground, Kool Kat Millie De Chirico and “Archer” animation director and Atlanta-based filmmaker, Marcus Rosentrater.

Thursday night kicks off with Shorts Program 1: For the Love of the Undertaker, which includes Kool Kat Dayna Noffke’s TEASER (USA) where death is a dance; Tyler Macri’s creaturific short WHAT COMES FROM A SWAMP (USA); Ilja Rautsi’s horror comedy where a woman must survive a horde of men’s frail egos in HELSINKI MAINSPLAINING MASSACRE (Finland); Daniel Stankler’s SHOULD YOU MEET A LADY IN A DARKENED WOOD (UK) and so many more! The Opening Night Feature is Joe Baden’s psychological weirdness, THE GOD INSIDE MY EAR (2017) featuring our Kool Kat of the Week William Tokarsky (interview coming soon) screening at 9pm, preceded by the short film BAGHEAD (UK), directed by Alberto Corredor Marina.

Tricks ‘n’ treats abound as Friday brings you Shorts Program 2: Bury Me with My Favorite Films, which includes Lorene Yavo’s animated supernatural short COUNT YOUR CURSES (Belgium); Kate Dolen’s cheap thrill(er) CATCALLS (Ireland); Joshua Long’s award-winning POST MORTEM MARY (Australia) and more!  Stick around for the 8pm Feature, Jason Trost’s THE FP2: BEATS OF RAGE (USA) for a bloody good time! And of course no respectable horror film festival would be complete without screening a few horror classics, and ATLRetro loves all the special events chosen this year, including a special screening of Carl Boese and Paul Wegener’s THE GOLEM (1920) with a live soundtrack by Atlanta-based jazz group Samadha, followed by a special midnight grind-house screening of Kool Kat James Bickert’s AMAZON HOT BOX (USA), preceded by Jill Gevargizian’s sinister short, 42 COUNTS (USA).

The heads just keep rolling as Saturday brings you Shorts Program 3: It’s Never Too Early to Start Digging Graves including Marinah Janello’s ENTROPIA (USA), a search for beauty at all costs; WIHFF co-director Sam Kolesnik’s award-winning MAMA’S BOY (USA); Fredrik S. Hanna’s crime-laden ROSALINA (Norway) and more followed by a 4pm Feature, Marc Martinez Jordan’s twisted film FRAMED (Spain), preceded by Guillem Dols’ short PSYCHO KINO (Spain). At 6pm, BAFF gets wickedly weird as they team up with The Eyeslicer, featuring shorts by Kool Kat Brian Lonano (CROW HAND (2014)/GWILLIAM’S TIPS FOR TURNING TRICKS INTO TREATS) and more! At 8pm get ready for another hellacious Feature with Ujicha’s torturous VIOLENCE VOYAGER (Japan), preceded by Laura Sparks’ short MADDER ISLE! And to top off the evening, BAFF offers a special treat with a screening of Joel Schumacher’s cult classic, THE LOST BOYS (1987), hosted by Atlanta’s award-winning Blast Off Burlesque, who will stage one of their signature TabooLaLa events including a performance inspired by the film before the screening! Last but not least is a midnight screening of local Tony Reams’ (et al) DEAD BY MIDNIGHT (USA).

For those early birds, Sunday kicks off with an encore presentation of Carl Boese and Paul Wegener’s THE GOLEM (1920) with a live soundtrack by Atlanta-based jazz group Samadha, followed by a 2pm Feature documentary, SURVIVAL OF THE FILM FREAKS (USA), where Directors Bill Fulkerson and Kyle Kuchta explore the phenomenon of cult film and film fanatics, preceded by Anthony Cousins’ short THE BLOODY BALLAD OF SQUIRT REYNOLDS (USA). Shorts Program 4: Why Bury Good Meat?! Vampires, Zombies and Cannibals. Humans Taste So Good! promises a monstrous good time with screenings of Dayna Noffke’s GENTLEWOMAN’S GUIDE TO DOMESTICITY (USA); Felipe M. Guerra’s MRS. OLDINA GOES SHOPPING (Brazil); Pete Tompkies’ ONCE BITTEN (UK); Sam Kolesnik’s FRIENDSGIVING (USA) and more! And last but not least, BAFF presents the World Premiere of Todd Sheets’ CLOWNADO (USA) at 6pm as the Closing Feature, preceded by Brian Lonano’s BFF GIRLS (USA)!

The 7 Stages Theatre is located at 1105 Euclid Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30307. Individual program block tickets are $12, and five-day festival passes are just $120.

For more information and the complete Buried Alive Film Festival schedule, visit the website here. And view the official BAFF bumper here.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

Kick off the holiday season with ATLRetro! Come see all the shakin’ shenanigans we’ve found for you!

Monday, November 12

The Plaza Theater giallos it up with screenings of Dario Argento’s DEEP RED (1976) through Nov. 13, or catch a screening of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) at 9:15p! Peter Bogdanovich’s documentary THE GREAT BUSTER: A CELEBRATION (2018) screens at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, through Nov. 15! Get the blues with Shemekia Copeland at City Winery! Rock out with The Mercury Program and Dove Legs at The Earl! Get revved and tune into Kool Kat Rev. Andy Hawley’s Psychobilly Freakout Radio broadcasting on Garage 71 at 8pm! Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski’s BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM (1993) at theatres across Atlanta at 2pm/7pm [AMC Barrett Commons 24 (Kennesaw); Hollywood Stadium 24 (Chamblee); Avalon Stadium 12 (Alpharetta); Perimeter Pointe 10; Regal McDonough Stadium 16 (McDonough); Georgian Stadium 14 (Newnan); Cinemark Tinseltown 17 (Fayetteville); AMC Southlake Pavilion 24 (Morrow); AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18 (Lawrenceville); Regal Mall of Georgia Stadium (Buford)]; Regal Atlantic Station Stadium 18; and AMC Avenue Forsyth (Cumming)]! Get down with Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra at the Variety Playhouse! Get your vinyl fix during Little 5 Points Corner Tavern’s Records of Mass Destruction event every Monday Get funky and groove on down to Café 290 every second and fourth Monday of the month for a taste of Bumpin the Mango, ‘The groove that makes you want to move!” Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam! And blues on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a side of Dry White Toast and a plate full ‘o finger lickin’ BBQ!

Tuesday, November 13

Get monstrous as ATLRetro’s very own “Chilleress in Charge”, Anya Martin kills it with her SLEEPING WITH THE MONSTER Book Launch Party at Eagle Eye Book Shop at 7pm! Videodrome and The Plaza Theater head into the shadows with a NOIRVEMBER screening of Otto Preminger’s LAURA (1944) at 7pm! Get your Americana fix at City Winery with Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Milton! Make your way to Eddie’s Attic for American Troubadours in the Round featuring Wyatt Espalin, Barb Carbon, and Hannah Thomas! Get your old-school electronica fix with The Orb at Terminal West! The Center for Puppetry Arts brings back a holiday favorite classic, RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, through Dec. 30! AJFF Connects brings you a screening of Barbara Streisand’s YENTL (1983) at The Phillip Rush Center at 6pm! Spend the night with Bogart and Hepburn at the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema as they continue their new Classics Series with a screening of John Huston’s THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1951) at 7pm! Feast your eyes on Kool Kat Katherine Lashe and her burly-Q gals of Syrens of the South during Tease Tuesday Burlesque: Stripsgiving at the Red Light Café! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Venkman’s every Tuesday! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with DJ Quasi Mandisco’s Little 5 Points Dance Party featuring retro-soul, funk, ‘80s, ‘90s and more! Blues it up with the Crosstown Allstars at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! And as always, groove on down with Swami Gone Bananas at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, November 14

Kick off the wickedly weird and bone-chilling adventure that is the 13th Annual Buried Alive Film Festival (BAFF), Atlanta’s premiere independent horror film festival presented by Kool Kats Blake Myers and Luke Godfrey and more, with screenings at 8pm of the 2018 Sinema Challenge, a thirteen day filmmaking competition, judged by Kool Kat Millie De Chirico and Marcus Rosentrater, at 7 Stages! Emory Cinematheque kills it with their “Hitchcock/Hitchcockian” series with a screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s PSYCHO (1960) at 7:30pm! Catch a screening of Penny Marshall’s A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN (1992) presented by WUSSY MAG at The Plaza Theater at 7pm! LeVar Burton Reads Live at the Variety Playhouse! Make your way to the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s Flashback Cinema series screening of Franklin J. Schaffner’s PATTON (1970) at 2:30pm/7:30pm, or catch a screening at The Springs Cinema & Taphouse at 2pm/8:10pm! TCM Big Screen Classics presents a 30th Anniversary screening of John McTiernan’s DIE HARD (1988) at theaters across Atlanta at 2pm/7pm [AMC Barrett Commons 24 (Kennesaw); Hollywood Stadium 24 (Chamblee); Avalon Stadium 12 (Alpharetta); Perimeter Pointe 10; Regal McDonough Stadium 16 (McDonough); Georgian Stadium 14 (Newnan); Cinemark Tinseltown 17 (Fayetteville); AMC Southlake Pavilion 24 (Morrow); AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18 (Lawrenceville); Studio Movie Grill (Alpharetta/ Duluth/Marietta); Regal Atlantic Station Stadium 18; and AMC Avenue Forsyth (Cumming)]! Funk it up with the Magic City Hippies at Aisle 5! Make your way to Eddie’s Attic for a night with Gabe Dixon! Funk it up with the Mike Veal Band at Tin Roof Cantina! It’s a night of Honky-Tonk Karaoke with Andrea Colburn & Mud Moseley at The Star Bar! Get jazzy at the Red Light Café with The Gordon Vernick Quartet! Fat Matt’s Rib Shack gets down with Frankie’s Blues Mission! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern for a rockin’ night of blues with the Tyler Neal Band! St. James Live! delivers their Hump Days Blues night, getting classic blues-style every Wednesday! And as always, it’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd.

Thursday, November 15

The 13th Annual Buried Alive Film Festival officially begins tonight, horrifying through Nov. 18, and begins at 7pm, and you won’t want to miss Kool Kat Dayna Noffke’s short TEASER during the For the Love of the Undertaker program block, and our Kool Kat of the Week William Tokarsky (interview coming soon) in the Opening Night Feature, Joe Baden’s THE GOD INSIDE MY EAR (2017) at 9pm! Make your way to the Fox Theatre for IN DREAMS: ROY ORBISON HOLOGRAM TOUR, backed by The Georgia Symphony Orchestra! PlazaDrome presents a screening of James William Guercio’s ELECTRA GLIDE IN BLUE (1973) at The Plaza Theater at 9:30pm! Spend the night with Kevin Griffin (Better than Ezra) at City Winery! Get folksy with Alex Guthrie at Madlife State & Studios! Get down with the BadAsh Allstar Team at the Red Light Café! Parker Gispert (The Whigs) and Billy Stonecipher rock out at Smith’s Olde Bar! Bluegrass it up with Billy Strings at Terminal West! Get your ‘80s pop-esque fix with The Stolen at the Masquerade! The Aurora Theatre kicks off their Christmas Canteen, through Dec. 23! Disco it up at Venkman’s with the O4W Disco Boogie Band during Thursday Night Fever! It’s Mai Tai Thursday at Trader Vic’s so hula on down for a night of rockin’ island tunes and some killer island cocktails! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! Get your boogie on at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, as Chickenshack featuring Eddie Tigner, delivers some honky-tonk blues! And as always, boogie down at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.

Friday, November 16

Get your terrified tail down to the 13th Annual Buried Alive Film Festival for a helluva lot of monstrous goodness beginning at 6pm, including a special screening of Carl Boese and Paul Wegener’s THE GOLEM (1920) at 10pm, with a live soundtrack by Samadha, and get exploited with a midnight grind-house screening of Kool Kat James Bickert’s AMAZON HOT BOX (2018)! Jangle on down to The Star Bar for a night with Tiger! Tiger!, Anna Kramer & The Lost Cause and The Wheel Knockers! Get the rockin’ blues with the Freddy Jones Band at Venkman’s! Get bewitched during CONJuration through Nov. 18, at the Hilton Atlanta Airport! Horizon Theatre stages world premiere of WAFFLE PALACE CHRISTMAS, through Dec. 30! Folk it up with Iron & Wine at the Buckhead Theatre! Spend the night with Rik Emmett and Dave Dunlop at City Winery! Garage rock it up with Ron Gallo, Ian Ferguson and Twen at The Earl! Head to Heaven at the Masquerade for a night with Blue October and Knox Hamilton! Funk it up with the Mike Veal Band at The Vista Room! Eighties it up with Kool Kat Becky Cormier Finch with Denim Arcade at The Wing in Marietta! Groove on down to Jimmy’s Tequila & Carnes in Doraville for a night with Yacht Rock Schooner! Spend the night with Mo Lowda & The Humble at Vinyl! Get countrified with Boxcar Radio and Jackson County Line at Avondale Towne Cinema! Fat Matt’s Rib Shack gets the blues with Art Holliday! Stoney Brooks and Andrew Black get the blues at the Northside Tavern! Time-Warp it up at The Plaza Theater as they continue their tradition of screening THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Saturday, November 17

The 13th Annual Buried Alive Film Festival kicks off at 2pm! Today’s goodies include a special presentation from The Eyeslicer, featuring shorts by Kool Kat Brian Lonano (CROW HAND (2014)/GWILLIAM’S TIPS FOR TURNING TRICKS INTO TREATS) and more! And experience a blood-sucking good time with Blast-Off Burlesque’s film series TABOOLALA, featuring a live pre-screening performance, paying homage to Joel Schumacher’s cult classic, THE LOST BOYS (1987), followed by a screening of the film at 10pm! It’s Prohibition pandemonium at Venkman’s with Kool Kat Blair Crimmins & The Hookers! War funks it up at Center Stage! Eddie’s Attic delivers the “Acoustic Ninja” Trace Bundy! Jazz it up with Kamasi Washington at the Buckhead Theatre! Get to Venkman’s early for a screening of Disney’s THE LION KING (1994) at 10am, followed by an early show with The Coonhounds paying tribute to Tom Petty! Get your holiday shopping off to a good start at My Parents’ Basement during I Remember That! Vintage Toys, Comics and Video Game Market! Or make your way to the Georgia Railroad Freight Depot for the 14th Annual Indie Craft Experience Holiday Shopping Spectacular! Psyche rock it up with Desert Noises and Morning Teleportation at the Masquerade! Rock out at Avondale Towne Cinema during The Who Jam! O.D.D. rocks The Star Bar with Bigfoot and Blowdown! Get rocked Viking-style at The Highlander with VALKYRIE with Kool Kat Shane Morton, and Degradations! Catch a screening of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) at The Plaza Theater at 9:45pm, through Nov. 18! Charlie Hunter gets down at the Red Light Café! Get the blues during Mr. Chapman’s Quarterly Revue at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Get down with Sammy Blue and Bill Sheffield at the Northside Tavern! St. James Live! delivers their Tribute to the Legends night every Saturday night! And as always, DJ Romeo Cologne and DJ Kwasi Mandisco transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night.

Sunday, November 18

It’s your last chance to gore it up at the 13th Annual Buried Alive Film Festival, so come on out for some fangtastic films beginning at 12pm, including an encore special screening of Carl Boese and Paul Wegener’s THE GOLEM (1920), with a live soundtrack by Samadha! The Plaza Theater hosts a crazy little thing called love with their Freddie Mercury Tribute Pub Crawl through Virginia Highland ending up at the theatre with a special screening of QUEEN: A NIGHT IN BOHEMIA, from 3pm – 9pm! Make your way to The Earl Smith Strand Theatre for Kool Kat Ron Carter and Organ Friends Pops Music Show! Hot Jazz it up at Venkman’s with the 9th Street Stompers and Kool Kat Caleb & the Gents! Get the fever at the Masquerade with Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band’s CD Release Show! Make your way to the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s Flashback Cinema series screening of Chris Columbus’ holiday classic, HOME ALONE (1990) at 2:30pm/7:30pm! GKIDS Presents a Studio Ghibli Fest screening of Hayao Miyazaki’s CASTLE IN THE SKY (1989) at theatres across Atlanta at 12:55pm [AMC Barrett Commons 24 (Kennesaw); Hollywood Stadium 24 (Chamblee); Avalon Stadium 12 (Alpharetta); Perimeter Pointe 10; Regal McDonough Stadium 16 (McDonough); Georgian Stadium 14 (Newnan); Cinemark Tinseltown 17 (Fayetteville); AMC Southlake Pavilion 24 (Morrow); and AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18 (Lawrenceville)]! Spend the night with Glenn Jones at City Winery! Get the blues with Garrett Collins at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Or funk it up with Risky Biscuit at Tin Roof Cantina! Get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar with Eddie Tigner!

Ongoing

The Michael C. Carlos Museum exhibits Chimera: Andy Warhol through the 1980s, through Nov. 25!

The Aurora Theatre delivers their Christmas Canteen, through Dec. 23!

The Center for Puppetry Arts presents a holiday favorite classic, RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, through Dec. 30!

Horizon Theatre stages world premiere of WAFFLE PALACE CHRISTMAS, through Dec. 30!

Get revved and tune into Kool Kat Rev. Andy Hawley’s Psychobilly Freakout Radio broadcasting on Garage 71 at 8pm, every Monday through Dec. 31!

ATL CRAFT presents a magical occult Movie Night every second Friday of every month!

My Parents’ Basement goes old-school with their monthly Pinball Tournament, every first Wednesday of the month!

Geek it up and get to bowlin’ at The Comet Pub & Lanes’ Comet Cosplay, getting nerdy the first Monday of every month!

Dad’s Garage’s Big Boozy Nerdy Game Night brings out the kid in you, every first Monday of the month at 7pm! 

Union EAV rocks out with their Punk Rock Karaoke ATL, and every last Tuesday of the month!

The Highlander rocks out with their Punk/Metal/New Wave Karaoke Night, every Wednesday!

Get your vinyl fix during Little 5 Points Corner Tavern’s Records of Mass Destruction! event, every Monday!

Geek it up at My Parents’ Basement with their weekly Tuesday night Nerd Trivia at 8pm!

Nerd Film Mafia screenings at the Diesel Filling Station following NerdCore Trivia, every last Tuesday of the month!

The Plaza Theater Time-Warps it up as they screen, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Get your reggae fix with Rub-A-Dub gettin’ down at WildPitch Music Hall, every second Sunday of the month!

Every first and third Mondays are Big Band Nights at Café 290, featuring Joe Gransden and his amazing 16-piece orchestra playing jazz and swing standards in the tradition of The Glen Miller Orchestra and other legendary groups.  Second and fourth Mondays are Bumpin the Mango, ‘The groove that makes you want to move!’

Every first Wednesday is the Graveyard Tavern’s Graveyard Swing Night, featuring the swingin’ jazz and boogie-woogie sounds of the Savoy Kings!

If you have a suggestion for a future event that should be included in This Week in Retro Atlanta or see something we missed, please email us at atlretro@gmail.com.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

The Women in Horror Film Festival kills it at Crowne Plaza Atlanta & Conference Center – Peachtree City this Thursday-Sunday Oct. 4-7. Festival creators Kool Kat Vanessa Ionta Wright and Samantha Kolesnik showcase one helluva line-up of creative kickass female minds in every aspect of the horrorific cinematic and filmmaking experience, contemporary and retro alike, with over 70 short films to whet your most nightmarish appetities!. The festival has much to offer all the genre cinephiles in your life, from slasher gore-fests to comedic catastrophes, check out our top reasons to get your spine tingled at the WIHFF!

1) BOOGIE DOWN AND BRING OUT THE DEAD. The gals of WIHFF throw some hellacious parties! So guys and ghouls, why not VIP it up and make your way to the fest on Thursday night, get your photos taken on the Dead Carpet and get hell-bent at the VIP Party (Oct. 4/7:30pm (photos); 8pm (party)). Or get horrorfied on Friday at the After Party, hosted by HorrorPack (Oct. 5/11:00pm). And the rest of the fest wouldn’t be the same without after parties on Saturday (Oct. 6/10:30pm) and Sunday (Oct. 7/9:00pm), so why not monster mash it up with the best of ‘em!

2) MARIANNE MADDALENA. One killer genre Producer, Marianne Maddalena has produced 26 plus films and television series including THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS (1991), WES CRAVEN’S NEW NIGHTMARE (1994), SCREAM (1996), DRACULA 2000 (2000), THE HILLS HAVE EYES (2006) and more!

3) TRINA PARKS. Best known for her role as Thumper in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971), Parks’ career spanned the ‘70s with appearances in an episode of Rod Serling’s NIGHT GALLERY (“The Phantom Farmhouse” – 1971); DARKTOWN STRUTTERS (1975); THE MUTHERS (1976) and more. She came back deadlier than ever in David DeCoteau’s IMMORTAL KISS: QUEEN OF THE NIGHT (2012).

4) ELM STREET GORE-GAL, HEATHER LANGENKAMP. Langenkamp won our horror hearts with her portrayal of nightmare-filled teen Nancy Thompson in Wes Craven’s ‘80s classic spawning its own hellacious franchise, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984).

5) FRIGHTENING FILMS! The WIHFF has heads rolling with three days of non-stop action filled to the bloody brim with films galore! Friday’s (Oct. 5) schedule includes an Experimental Horror Block, a Horror Comedy Shorts Block, a Features Screening (SHE WAS SO PRETTY: BE GOOD FOR GOODNESS SAKE, dir. Brooklyn Ewing), a Sci-Fi Shorts Block, an International Shorts Block, a second Feature Screening & World Premiere (BUGS: A TRILOGY, dir. Simone Kisiel), and a Macabre Thrills Block! Saturday (Oct. 6) terrifies with a Psychological Shorts Block, a Thriller Shorts Block, and a Feature Screening (ECHOES OF FEAR, dir. Brian and Laurence Avenet-Bradley)! And Sunday (Oct. 7) gets gory and kicks off the day with a Feature Screening (ALL THE CREATURES WERE STIRRING, dir. Rebekah and David Ian McKendry), a Regional Horror Shorts Block (including Kool Kat Dayna Noffke’s 2018 “Teaser”), an Animation Horror Shorts Block, a Feature Screening (RELICT: A MESOPOTAMIC TALE, dir. Laura Sanchez Acosta), a Student Horror Shorts Block and a Body Horror Shorts Block! So, come on out and discover some new terrifying talent!

6) KILLER PANELS. WIHFF offers several killer panels including “From Indie to Studio – Making the Leap” featuring one helluva line-up with Gillian Albinski (THE WALKING DEAD; THE STRANGERS), Mark Simon (ONE MISSED CALL; NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET III), and Marianne Maddelena (Oct. 6/12:30pm). Or catch the Diversity & Visibility panel featuring Trina Parks and horror author Mylo Carbia (Oct. 6/4pm).

7) WARPED WRITERS. There wouldn’t be films without writers, and of so WIHFF offers up highly acclaimed horror/thriller/suspense writer Mylo Carbia, a.k.a. Hollywood’s No. 1 horror film ghostwriter turned author (THE RAPING OF AVA DESANTIS / VIOLETS ARE RED). Carbia will be selling and signing during the festival.

8) SCARE-TASTIC SHOPPING.  You won’t want to miss out on the horrorific wares the festival vendors have to offer, from handmade horrors, to gothic gifts. During your stay, why not stock up on macabre movie memorabilia, cult classics and creepy clothing, costumes, accessories and more. Keep your eyes peeled for our fiend and horror filmmaker, Lynne Hanson and her spooky horror art! Vendors will be selling/meeting guests from daily during the festival.

Women in Horror Film Festival main festival hours are Fri. Oct.5  from 11 a.m. – 12 a.m.; Sat. Oct. 6 from 11 a.m. to 12 a.m.; and Sun. Oct. 7 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. For more info, visit the Women in Horror Film Festival official website here.