ATLRetro

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.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

The Women in Horror Film Festival kills it at Crowne Plaza Atlanta SW – Peachtree City this Thursday-Sunday Sept. 21-24. A showcase of creative kickass female minds behind every aspect of the horrorific cinematic and filmmaking experience, contemporary and retro alike, the festival has much to offer all the horror cinephiles in your life. From slasher gore-fests to comedic catastrophes, here are 10 of our top reasons to get your spine tingled at the WIHFF!

1) ELM STREET GORE-GALS HEATHER LANGENKAMP & AMANDA WYSS. These ladies won our horror hearts with their portrayals of nightmare-filled teens Nancy Thompson (Langenkamp) and Tina Grey (Wyss) in Wes Craven’s ‘80s classic spawning its own hellacious franchise, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984).

2) LYNN LOWRY. From Kathy in George Romero’s THE CRAZIES (1973) and Ruthie in Paul Schrader’s CAT PEOPLE (1982), Lowry’s a swell scream queen who’s been killing it since the ‘70s, and is going strong as ever with at least ninety on-camera titles to her name (some current titles are announced or are in pre-production).

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) WIHFF CASKET OF TERROR. For all you gore-lovers and horror hounds, just purchasing a festival pass earns you the chance to win some pretty monsterific prizes in the Casket of Terror, which includes autographed memorabilia, DVDs and other horror goodies. Purchase a VIP Pass and you get 3 entries; a Weekend Pass earns you 2 entries; and a Day Pass will get you a single entry. Who doesn’t love terrifying treats?!

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 (Sept. 22) schedule includes a Thriller Shorts Block, a Features Block (SHORT CUT, dir. Prano Bailey-Bond; MURDER MADE EASY, dir. Dave Palamaro), a Non-Competition Showcase Block and a Comedy Shorts Block. Saturday (Sept. 23) terrifies with a Horror Shorts Block, a Features Block (MARCO POLO, dir. Chelsea Peters; DEADTHIRSTY, dir. Jason Winn), an International Shorts Block, and a bonus Features Block (I SHOULD HAVE RUN, dir. Gabriela Staniszewska; 3, dir. Lou Simon). And Sunday (Sept. 24) gets gory and kicks off the day with a Features Block (STITCHED, dir. Heather Taylor; BUZZARD HOLLOW BEEF, dir. Joshua Johnson), a Student Shorts Block, a Southeast Block, and a second bonus Features Block (THE CHUTE, dir. Stacy Sherman; RUIN ME, dir. Preston DeFrancis). So, come on out and discover some new terrifying talent!

6) WES CRAVEN’S NEW NIGHTMARE SCREENING. You won’t want to miss a special screening of WES CRAVEN’S NEW NIGHTMARE (1994), followed by the Nightmare Panel with panelists Heather Langenkamp, Amanda Wyss and Marianne Maddalena, Friday, Sept. 22 at 6:30pm.

7) TWISTED TWINS – THE SOSKA SISTERS. From DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK (2009) to AMERICAN MARY (2013), Jen and Sylvia Soska have soaked up the indie cult-classic limelight as writers, actors and directors, churning out homage after homage of grind-house filmmaking. Come on out and catch the twisted sisters during their panels “You Finished Your Film, Now What?” (Sept. 23, 3:45 pm); and “Whose Film is it Anyway?” with Amanda Wyss (Sept. 23, 8:30pm).

8) MANIACAL MAKE-UP. Nadine Al-Remaizan and Christine Ramirez of Ramirez FX demonstrate the madness that is monster make-up and SFX with their “Create Big Budget Looks on a Shoestring Budget” panel/demonstration (Sept. 23, 11am).

9) WARPED WRITERS. There wouldn’t be films without writers, and of so WIHFF offers up two highly acclaimed horror/thriller/suspense writers Mylo Carbia, a.k.a. Hollywood’s No. 1 horror film ghostwriter turned author (THE RAPING OF AVA DESANTIS / VIOLETS ARE RED) and Meg Hafdahl (“Dark Things” / TWISTED REVERIES: THIRTEEN TALES OF THE MACABRE series). Both will be selling and signing during the festival.

10) 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. Vendors will be selling/meeting guests from 12pm – 8pm daily during the festival.

Women in Horror Film Festival main con hours are Fri. Sept. 22 from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m.; Sat. Sept. 23 from 11 a.m. to 12 a.m.; and Sun. Sept. 24 from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m.For more info, visit the Women in Horror Film Festival official website here.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

Stan Bowman, a.k.a. “Stan the Zombie”, has become a local legend within Atlanta’s homegrown bloody fangtastic horror scene, staggering his way through cons and events donning rotting flesh while reeking of the undead. He’s been dressing up in bloody-gore-filled costumes since he was a teen and has made dining on the flesh of locals his go-to thing. So much so, that in 2010, he trade-marked “Stan the Zombie” and has been cast as such in several film and television productions, including his first taste of the biz, Giles Shepherd’s ACE THE ZOMBIE: THE MOTION PICTURE (2012). “Stan the Zombie” has also made appearances on the talk-show SCARY TIMES in 2014, and has had roles in AJ Caruso’s horror short, Z.14.12 (2014); a comedy TV series, ZOMBIE SOCKS in 2014; Jason Lumberjack Johnson’s video short, SUPERMANN TREE SERVICE (2015) and more! “Stan the Zombie” will even have his own stand-alone film, STAN THE ZOMBIE: THE MOVIE, which is currently in pre-production and will take viewers down his deep dark path of his hellishly undead past. For a sneak peek teaser and fleshy taste of the upcoming film, grab a copy of the comic book, STAN THE ZOMBIE!

Although Bowman is largely known as one of Atlanta’s favorite reanimated human corpses, he’s been busy working on non-zombie productions as a professionally trained actor as well. Presently, he’s playing a role in Keith Bailey’s TEST GROUP, which is currently filming. He’s also played “Dr. Acula” in Giles Shepherd’s comedy-horror film ATLANTA VAMPIRE MOVIE (post-production); “Mastermind” in the fan web-series UNCANNY X-MEN in 2012; and plays the role of “Detective Mike Jordan” in Naz Pankey’s action-horror film I THOUGHT YOU WERE A NICE MAN (post-production). So, if you haven’t had the chance to experience “Stan the Zombie” and/or Stan Bowman the actor, you’ll want to haunt on down to one of Atlanta’s many conventions and horror events for a fleshy taste of the undead!

ATLRetro caught up with Stan Bowman for a quick interview about the history of “Stan the Zombie”; George Romero; his immersion into Atlanta’ horror film scene; and his current film shenanigans! And while you’re takin’ a peek at our little Q&A with Bowman, listen to his interview with Project IRadio’s “Nerdvana” here, as well as an interview with “Stan the Zombie” and John Farris of Dead, Buried and Back at Comic Con 2013 here.

ATLRetro: “Stan the Zombie” causes quite a rotting ruckus across Atlanta! Can you tell our readers a little bit about your undead back story?

Stan Bowman: Well, I’ve been a zombie fan since I was a kid, a big George Romero fan. I started dressing up like a zombie when I was teenager for

Project IRadio

Halloween. Then in 2007, a friend brought me to Dragon Con. I saw a lot of people dressed up in costume, so I came back the next day in zombie, and was a hit! Every year I would try something and work on making it better. In 2010 I decided to coin the name “Stan the Zombie.”

What brought you to the deep dark underbelly of Atlanta’s monstrous film community and what keeps you coming back for more?

Pure luck? Nah, just going out there and doing my thing with one thing leading to another. After being discovered at Dragon Con for ACE THE ZOMBIE, some SCAD students tracked me down and asked me to be in a short movie with them. It just kept growing from there.

We’ve read that your “Stan the Zombie” character is highly inspired by George Romero films. Which would you say had the most influence and why?

Yes, like I mentioned, George Romero inspired me. It was the original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, the black and white one. My sister and I used to beg our parents to let us stay up late and watch it. I can’t count how many times I’ve watched it!

Can you tell our readers a little about your first film, 2010’s ACE THE ZOMBIE, directed by Giles Shepherd, and how you landed the role? Any behind-the-scenes shenanigans you’d like to share?

Well, the cameraman approached me at Dragon Con and asked if I wanted to be in a movie. Of course, I agreed. When I showed up on set in Milledgeville GA, no one recognized me without makeup. So they cast me as a ZCF Doctor. The second time I was on set, the AD asked me to come in my zombie makeup. When I showed up, everyone recognized me. Ha! It was a fun crew to work with, but with long days and nights on set. We had to be a little crazy to make it though. Ha!

Which other films, directors or actors have inspired you the most? If you could choose your favorite old-school director (besides Romero), who would it be and why?

If you’re referring to horror and zombie films, I would say Wes Craven, John Carpenter, Sam Raimi and Alfred Hitchcock. My favorite would be Wes Craven, because I’m also a big fan of THE NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET movies.

Atlanta’s independent horror film scene seems to be thriving!  What do you think draws the crowds to the lower budget independent films? And why?

Stan Bowman – The man behind the rotting flesh.

I guess I would have to say the original stories, the hard work everyone puts in. And THE WALKING DEAD being filmed here doesn’t hurt. Atlanta has a lot of horror film fans. We took over being the zombie capital of the US from Seattle several years ago.

You’ve recently branched out beyond the rotting undead and have played some non-zombie roles, including comedy-horror flick, ATLANTA VAMPIRE MOVIE, also directed by Giles Shepherd, where you play “Dr. Acula.” Without giving too much away, what can you tell us about this production, which is set to release in October 2015?

It’s basically a spoof of BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA, but it’s very original in its own right. Everyone put a lot of time and energy into it, and we had an excellent writer. As far as a release date? Not sure, it’s still in post-production right now.

We hear there’s a STAN THE ZOMBIE: THE MOVIE in the making. Can you tell us a little about that and the comic which came out in May 2014?

Well, a Hollywood producer recommended that I come out with a comic book to add more legitimacy to my character. So I contacted a friend of mine, Zak Vaudo, and we began working on it. Zak was already half-way through the script for the movie, so we just borrowed scenes from it for the book. And Alison Cundiff did the illustrations for the comic.

You do a lot of guest appearances at horror events across town. Can you tell us a little about those? Which is your favorite annual event and why?

That’s a tough one, because I like them all; Dragon Con and Walker Stalker, of course. But the smaller ones like Days of the Dead, Twisted Fears and now Wizard World are nice, too. My favorite is still Dragon Con. It’s crowded, but that’s where STZ got his start.

Your first speaking role without makeup was in the web-series, the UNCANNY X-MEN in 2012, where you played “Mastermind.” How did that experience differ from your usual zombified performances?

It was a little unnerving. When you’re in makeup, it’s like a mask. But, without it and having to hear your own voice, well, that’s why I started working with a coach afterwards. Ha! But I liked it. It was a challenge and I look forward to more. It’s fun! But I’ll keep doing zombie as long has my body holds out. Ha!

You’ve also played a few detective roles, including “Detective Mike Jordan” in I THOUGHT YOU WERE A NICE MAN, which is in post-production. Can you fill our readers in a bit on this role?

Well, I’m under a nondisclosure agreement, so I can’t say too much. I play a homicide detective protecting his fiancé’s daughter. Sadly, can’t say more. But, you’ll have to see it when it comes out!

If you could put together a monster movie with all your favorite actors/actresses (alive or not), who would you choose and why?

Hmm. Arnold Schwarzenegger (Having “The Terminator” is always cool!), Kevin Spacey (I love his acting and dry sense of humor.), Kathy Bates (A great actress and she can play the creepy roles.), Jennifer Love Hewitt (Because she’s hot!), Debby Ryan (Because she’s hot and I met her..lol), Sid Haig (He can scare you too death. Ha!). I can go on and on, but those are some who come to mind.

So, what’s next for Stan Bowman? For “Stan the Zombie”?

Well, we are presently in the budget/script editing/shot list phase of STAN THE ZOMBIE: THE MOVIE. Putting together a feature isn’t as easy as people think. It’s a lot of work. We are hoping to start shooting before the end of the year, but that’s a long shot. You never know. In the mean time, I have more non-zombie roles on the docket, and hope to show that I’m more than just another pretty zombie. Ha!

Can you tell our readers something you’d like folks to know that they don’t know already?

Let’s see, I have always been a big time apocalyptic movie fan, and post-civilization (PLANET OF THE APES, OMEGA MAN, etc). I’m a big history buff and love to explore other cultures. And, I’m actually a pretty private person when I’m not doing conventions or on set.

What question do you wish somebody would ask you and what’s the answer?

Ok, I’ve been asked most through the years, but no one asked me if I could live anywhere I wanted, where would it be? Answer: In the country with three big dogs, off the grid and completely self-sufficient. Can you tell I’m an apocalyptic movie fan? Ha!

All photos courtesy of Stan Bowman and used with permission.

DON’T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT (1974); Dir: S.F. Brownrigg; Starring Rosie Holotik, Bill McGhee, Annabelle Weenick; Fri. Apr. 12-Thurs. Apr. 18; The Plaza Theatre; Trailer here.

By Andrew Kemp
Contributing Writer

It feels like I’ve been writing a lot about the Plaza Theatre lately, but there’s a damn good reason for that. When ownership at the Plaza recently changed hands, the new owners’ first act was to remove the old 35mm film projectors in favor of a crisp, clean but decidedly digital presentation. For cine-junkies like me, this was supposed to be the kiss off, but the Plaza, as it turns out, knows their market. While the face of the Plaza changes, the heart of the old girl still beats the same, maybe even stronger, as the theatre has gone absolutely nuts with its programming, booking all kinds of rare gems and oddities to its screens and convincing the film nerds to withhold judgment just a little longer. With recent full runs for THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM, REEFER MADNESS, RE-ANIMATOR, and FLESH GORDON, The Plaza is now the best spot in Atlanta to catch a vintage film pretty much any night of the week.

Joining the roster of “holy shit” this week at the Plaza is DON’T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT (1973), otherwise known to horror fans by the way-less-awesome title of THE FORGOTTEN. Filmed in Texas in that same sweltering, gritty grindhouse style that THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974) would make infamous one year later, DON’T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT concerns a young nurse named Charlotte (Rosie Holotik) who starts a new job at a mental asylum, only to learn that the head doctor has been murdered by the patients. The new doctor in charge, Dr. Masters (Annabelle Weenick), tries to help Charlotte settle in, but the unruly, batshit patients begin to target and harass their new nurse. There’s plenty of blood, a dark secret or two, and an absolutely ludicrous third act twist. The filmmaking is less than impressive, but the overall effect is enough to rake you over the coals a bit, if that’s what you’re into. There’s a reason this movie still gets play 40 years after its release.

DON’T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT is a grinding little workhorse of a horror film, made all the more famous by its associations with other horror classics. One year earlier, Wes Craven’s grimy THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (1972) dropped a nuke on the horror scene with its near-snuff approach to tale of rape and revenge. That movie had one of the most famous taglines in film history, and well-earned: “Just keep repeating to yourself; ‘it’s only a movie, it’s only a movie, it’s only a movie…” The next year, distributors tried to pass DON’T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT off as being from the same batch of people by showing it on a double bill with LAST HOUSE, but the films have no real connection. Instead, DON’T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT comes from the mind of S.F. Brownrigg, a journeyman of the Texas horror circuit who had a flair for amazing titles, like DON’T OPEN THE DOOR! (1975) and KEEP MY GRAVE OPEN (1976). He also had a role in creating THE EYE CREATURES (1965), later made infamous by MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATRE 3000.

DON’T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT is not a film that comes to screens very often, and when it does, maybe it plays more for the devoted than for the unconverted. But that’s what’s been so impressive about the new scheduling at the Plaza. There are plenty of catalog titles that could draw in the mainstream, but the Plaza is in the middle of an all-out bid for the cultists and movie fetishists, and the theatre is working hard to plant themselves at the center of Atlanta’s developing film culture. I, for one, hope there’s more like this in the basement.

Andrew Kemp is a screenwriter and game writer who started talking about movies in 1984 and got stuck that way. He writes at www.thehollywoodprojects.com and hosts a bimonthly screening series of classic films at theaters around Atlanta.

What are we doing this weekend?! We’re heading down to the Sheraton Hotel Atlanta, one of the most Retro of downtown hotels, to hang out with thousands of horror fans at the second annual Days of the Dead. Last year, we drove all the way to the golf-cart-riding Stepford Wife wonderland of Peachtree City, but was it worth the hour-long commute. Hell, yeah, if only to hang with super-friendly and nice Kate Rambo of ROCK N ROLL HIGH SCHOOL, aka Dey Young, and have her sign a photo to us “I have never done detention in my entire life”! Alas Dey won’t be there this year, but if anything, there is a larger rogues’ gallery of monster, scream queens and heroes! OK, money’s tight, but where are you going to spend it? The Mall? And besides you have to worry about real zombies there.

1) BUTCH PATRICK! Yes, the original Eddie Wolfgang Munster from THE MUNSTERS, one of our two favorite Retro horror-sitcom TV shows. Sure, he’s more than all grown up now, but we can’t wait to hear any memories he might be willing to share about growing up at 1313 Mockingbird Lane.

2) RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD REUNION! OK, who didn’t want to party with a spikey red-headed Linnea Quigley getting drunk and dancing in a graveyard in this quintessential ’80s zombie black comedy. Days of the Dead has gathered Linnea and seven other starts of the cult classic which spawned four sequels. See everyone on stage at a noon panel. Don’t eat people, we say! Brains!

3) RIFF RANDELL! We’re still fantasizing of hanging with the Ramones and blowing up our high school, even after all these years, so we can’t think of anything more awesome than to meet and get the autographs of P.J. Soles who played Joey’s biggest fan in cult classic ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL (1979). In case you’re too young to know this cult classic, get yourself educated by readingMark Arson’s Retro Review here. Oh, yeah, P.J. was in a few other obscure horror movies like CARRIE and HALLOWEEN.

4) HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES/DEVIL’S REJECTS Reunions! Rob Zombie’s two best movies aren’t actually Retro but they sure look that way, being tributes to the over-the-top exploitation flicks of the 1960s and 1970s. DAYS OF THE DEAD has rangled 13, by our count, of the cast, but we have to admit we’re most excited about Mr. Machete himself Danny Trejo, Michael Berryman, who also gave us the willies in Wes Craven‘s THE HILLS HAVE EYES (1966)and 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. Quite frankly you scared the sh-t out of us and since we’re not easily scared, for that we salute you, Sid, as a true master of horror. A reunion panel is Saturday at 1 p.m.

5) PATTY MULLEN! Get ready for Splatter Cinema’s Tues. Feb. 12 screening of Frank Henenlotter‘s FRANKENHOOKER (1990) at The Plaza Theatre by meeting the actual Frankenhooker!

6) DICK MILLER! Poor Murray Futterman can’t escape our favorite feel-good holiday movie monsters GREMLINS (1984) even on vacation. We promise we’ll be polite to the consummate character actor and won’t bring our Stripe along to ruin his con. We also haven’t forgotten that he was in the original Roger Corman-directed LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1960) and played the police chief in ROCK N ROLL HIGH SCHOOL.

7) GUNNAR HANSEN! Leatherface in the original TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974). He’ll even be on a panel with Marilyn Burns, the only survivor of the original rampage, on Sun. at 1 p.m.  Nuff said.

8. COMICS ARTISTS! Hopefully by now you’ve read our exclusive interview with James O’Barr, creator of THE CROW, who will be bringing along  pages from his new THE CROW: THE ENGINES OF DESPAIR series. If not, check it out here. Also at Days, look for two of our favorite Atlanta-based artists, Chris Hamer, a master of the quirky creature and bonafide Kool Kat, and Jason Flowers, who recently completed work on THE NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD trading card series for U.K. sketch card company, Unstoppable Cards. All three will be bringing con-exclusive prints and new works, so be sure and seek out their tables.

9) SPOOKTACULAR SHOPPING! Horror cons are the perfect place to stock up on both macabre memorabilia and creepy clothing, costumes and accessories. One booth we’ll definitely be stopping by is that of Athens, GA-based artist Jeanne the Maskmaker, who crafts one of a kind visages worthy of the Red Death’s Masquerade Ball.

10) PHANTAMAGORIC PARTIES! On Friday night, wear your craziest, creepiest costume to the Monsters Ball at 11 p.m. followed by karaoke at half past the witching hour. Then on Saturday at 10 p.m., Atlanta’s own most extreme Halloween attraction Chambers of Horror presents a concert by Fiend Without A Face  featuring Brent Hinds of Mastodon, followed by the MurderBall and Side Show Party, featuring Captain Stabb-Tuggo and Maybelle’s Sideshow, a Chamber-of-Horror-themed burlesque show, a costume contest, prizes and the Wheel of Torture.

Days of the Dead main con hours are Fri. Feb. 1 from 5 to 11 p.m.; Sat. Feb. 2 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Sun. Feb. 3 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Door prices are $55 for  a weekend pass and $25 for a day pass. Park at the hotel for only $5 with validation from front desk (valet parking exempted). For more info, visit https://www.daysofthedead.net/atlanta/.