ATLRetro

Days of the Dead returns to Sheraton Hotel Atlanta, Friday-Sunday Jan 25-27! Here are our Retro Reasons to catch this year’s chills indoors!

1) SUCH CENOBITES TO SHOW YOU! It’s been way too long since Clive Barker has been at an Atlanta con, and he’s never appeared here alongside Doug Bradley, Barbie Wilde, Nicholas Vince, and Simon Banford, who played cenobites and denizens of Midian in horror cinematic classics HELLRAISER (1987) and NIGHTBREED (1990).  And if that’s not enough Hell, HELLRAISER human cast members Ashley Lawrence and Andrew Robinson will also be there! The sinister Cenobites may be masters and mistresses of inflicting a puzzling kind of pain, but we’ve met Clive and actors who play them and can attest they are nastily nice. See the entire eerie ensemble together on one stage for the Cenobites Panel at 7 p.m. Friday, and signing and doing photo ops all weekend.

2) THE CANDYMAN CAN! Just when you thought that’s a helluva lot of Clive Barker, Tony Todd is in the hellhouse, too. Hear him tell talk about his own dip into the dark dreams of one’s of horror’s greatest authors Friday at 9 p.m.

3) SPIN ANOTHER ROUND OF FREEBIRD!  Not only are Sid Haig and Bill Moseley back, but they’re offering a dual in-costume photo-op in their iconic roles of Otis and Captain Spaulding (Rob Zombie’s HOUSE OF 1,000 CORPSES (2003) and THE DEVIL’S REJECTS (2005)! We can’t put into words how much we love these guys. Sid is one of those rare B-movie icons and character actors whose career spans the decades back to Jack Hill’s blaxploitation films of the 1970s. Quite frankly you scared the sh-t out of us and since we’re not easily scared, for that we salute you both! Experience Sid Haig’s High on the Hog Panel Sunday at noon and Bill’s panel Sunday at 2 p.m.

4) TRICK OR TREAT! John Carpenter’s original HALLOWEEN (1978) is the cult classic that really kickstarted the slasher oeuvre! Two Michael Myers, Jim Winburn and Tony Moran, will be stalking Days of the Dead this year, along with doomed victims Sandy Johnson, Nancy Loomis, and PJ Soles, whom we can’t love enough because she’s also Riff Randell, the punk rebel who put the rock into ROCK N ROLL HIGH SCHOOL (1979). The HALLOWEEN Panel is Saturday at Noon.

5) BREAK OUT THE SOUR BALLS! NIGHT OF THE DEMONS (1988) stars Amelia Kinkade and Linnea Quigley know more than a little about throwing a graveyard party! See them on stage at 8 p.m. Friday night!

6) KAIJU KRAZINESS!!! The Japanese created monsters and superheroes like no others, and we are ready to bow in gratitude when we meet two of the men inside these wacky wonderful costumes, Tsutomo Kitagawa (MILLENNIUM GODZILLA [2000]) and Bin Furuya (ULTRAMAN TV series [1966])! Catch them on the very first panel of the weekend at 6 p.m. Friday.

7) SO MANY RETRO CULT HORROR PEOPLE! If the line-up we listed already wasn’t enough to inspire you to get off your couch and get downtown, see double with two Jasons ATLRetro pal Kane Hodder (FRIDAY THE 13TH VII-X) and C.J. Graham (VI) Sunday at 1 pm, Edward Furlong rides in to talk about TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY (1991) Saturday at 2 pm, pose with Alex Vincent (CHILD’s PLAY [1988]) and the CULT OF CHUCKY (2018) puppet in the funnest photo op of the weekend, test your vocal capacity with SCREAM (1996) stars Skeet Ulrich and Roger Jackson (voice of Ghostface) (SCREAM panel SAT 1 pm), Plus Christine Romero (CREEPSHOW [1982]), John Amplas (George Romero’s MARTIN [1978]), Larry Zerner (FRIDAY THE 13TH PART III), guitar legend Vinnie Vincent (KISS), Kathy Najimy (Peg, KING OF THE HILL & HOCUS POCUS [1993]) and more!

8) BLACK AND BLUE GORE-IFIC PANELS! Look for celebrities on the Black Track. But bruises can also be Blue, so be sure to check the Blue Track for plenty more tricks or treats for the diehard horror fan, including a who’s who of Atlanta’s local horror talent. One highlight is the Women of Indie Horror panel Saturday at Noon, moderated by Lynne Hansen  and featuring Kool Kat Vanessa Wright, Brooklyn Ewing, Melissa Kunnar, Tiffany Warren and Viva T!

9) FRIGHTENING FILMS! The Independent Horror Film Fest features new indie horror you won’t see in theaters plus resurrects Retro cult classics. We always look forward to the Etheria Film Festival, spotlighting works by emerging women directors

10) SPOOKTACULAR SHOPPING. Horror cons are the perfect place to stock up on both macabre movie memorabilia, cult classics on DVD and creepy clothing, costumes and accessories!

11) MACABRE MAKE-UP, CREEPY COSTUMES AND PHANTAMAGORIC PARTIES!! Check the schedule for make-up demonstrations and competitions, , tattoo contest and more!  Friday Night Frights include Scareoke at 11 pm! On Saturday, scare up your best costume and make-up and win prizes in the Chaostume Costume Contest (3 p.m.), followed by That Damn Tattoo Contest (4:30 p.m.), FX Makeup Showdown (6 p.m.), VIP party (9 pm; open to VIP ticketed attendees only), and a horrorific late night party (10 pm) with Kool Kats The Casket Creatures and ELZIG!

Days of the Dead main con hours are Fri. Jan. 25 from 5 to 11 p.m.; Sat. Jan. 26 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Sun. Jan. 27 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with parties going late into the night on Friday and Saturday. VIP badges get daily early access (4:30 pm & 10:30 pm) and preferred seating. For more info, visit https://www.daysofthedead.net/atlanta/

Days of the Dead will be celebrating its sixth spooktacular year at Sheraton Hotel Atlanta this Friday-Sunday Feb. 3-5. Our favorite part as always about this horror media convention is that it celebrates not just contemporary cinema but retro classics. In other words, there’s plenty to please both the gore-fan and the Famous Monsters Kid. Here are 10 of our top things to do this year.

1) LINDA BLAIR. Duck and cover before she spits pea soup on you. Seriously, though, the star of THE EXORCIST (1973), SAVAGE STREETS (1984) and ROLLER BOOGIE (1979) deserves our utmost Retroexploitation respect, and we hear she’s sweet as pumpkin pie.

2) STRANGER THINGS. Look for a quartet of young stars from this spooky sci-fi back-to-the-‘80s hit Netflix drama including Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo and Finn Wolfhard.  Get your photos signed and catch them onstage for a panel at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

3) SID HAIG AND BILL MOSELEY. Returning once more are two of the sweetest sinister guys in show businesses. Sid Haig, one of those rare B-movie icons and character actors whose career spans the decades from Jack Hill’s blaxploitation films of the 1970s to the chaotic, creepy Captain Spaulding. Hear his reflections on an amazing career Sunday at noon. Quite frankly you and Bill Moseley scared the sh-t out of us in THE DEVIL’s REJECTS (2005), and since we’re not easily scared, for that we salute you both!

4) DOUG BRADLEY. The one and only real Pinhead returns to show you such sights, interpret your dreams and tempt you with autographs.  Hear his tales of terror on the set during an hour onstage Saturday at 2 p.m.

5) PJ SOLES & LYNN LOWRY. Forget their remake replacements. These ladies won our horror hearts as two of 70s/80s swellest scream queens for their turns in the original HALLOWEEN (1978) and THE CRAZIES (1973), but to us, PJ will always be Riff Randell eating pizza with the Ramones and toppling Principal Togar in one of our favorite cult movies ever, Roger Corman‘s unparalleled ROCK N ROLL HIGH SCHOOL (1979).

6) JOHN RUSSO wrote the screenplay for THE NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968) and appeared in it as a zombie. Need we say more?! An undead living legend.

7) THREE FACES OF JASON. Kane Hodder, Steve Dash and C.J. Graham all donned the legendary hockey mask. Hear them recall their times of terror Friday at 8 p.m. and catch them all weekend in the autograph area. Seriously though, these are some sweet dudes and you don’t have to be afraid if they blow you a kiss. Well, maybe.

8) PROFESSOR MORTE, JAMES BICKERT, MADELINE BRUMBY & THE CASKET CREATURES. Another swell thing about Days of the Dead is how it’s embraced Atlanta’s local horror talent including four of our favorite ATLRetro Kool Kats of all time. Catch punk/horror local favorites the Casket Creatures in concert Friday night at 11 pm (Kool Kat interview here). Infamous director James Bickert (Kool Kat here) leads a panel on the making of FRANKENSTEIN CREATED BIKERS (2016) with cast and crew members including Atlanta’s favorite hold-no-prisoners fightin’ Scream Queen Madeline Brumby (Kool Kat here) Saturday at 4 p.m., and the movie screens at Midnight. The Silver Scream Spookshow’s Ghost Host with the Most Professor Morte, aka ATLHorror Renaissance man Shane Morton (Kool Kat here), will be scaring it up in the exhibit area with creepy creations for sale and at The Days of the Dead ‘80s Slasher Prom Saturday night at 11 p.m.

9) SCARE-TASTIC SHOPPING.  Horror cons are the perfect place to stock up on both macabre movie memorabilia, cult classics on DVD and creepy clothing, costumes and accessories.

10) FRIGHTENING FILMS & MORE! The nonstop action includes a 48-hour film festival featuring new and classic indie horror shorts (both US and international), animation, features and con exclusives. Plus costume contests, SFX how-to panels, Haunt Acting 101, and much more!

Days of the Dead main con hours are Fri. Feb. 3 from 5 to 11 p.m.; Sat. Feb. 4 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Sun. Feb. 7 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with parties and films going late into the night on Friday and Saturday. Kids under 10 and military free. For more info, click visit the Days of the Dead Atlanta official website here.