Connect with us

News

Southern California Celebrates Halloween Early, At ScareLA!

Published

on

IMG_0008

ScareLA 2015 Entrance. Pasadena Convention Center.

For most of us October cannot come quick enough. ScareLA returned last week (August 8th & 9th) to celebrate Halloween at the Pasadena Convention Center in sunny California. ScareLA offered so much for everyone it is impossible not find something to vest your time and energy.

“Yeah, if you get bored at ScareLA there is something that you are doing horribly wrong! We have so many things going on, it is meant to cater to so many tastes. We get everybody; we get people that bring their one-month-old babies to the show floor, and we get people that are eighty years old that have been fans of all things Scary. They come from such wide backgrounds from casual, to semi-professional, all the way to having a professional background that love Halloween and horror movies. We really try and program accordingly so that everyone can be engaged and ultimately find something at ScareLA.” – Lora Ivanova: Co-Founder of ScareLA & Executive Producer.

Premiering back in 2013, this weekend-long event has since become the hottest Halloween season teaser to haunt Southern California. Exclusive attractions, panels, screenings, workshops, vendors, and live haunts will give any Halloween hound a run for their money.

IMG_0074

ScareLA 2015

ScareLA 2015

ScareLA 2015

IMG_0065

ScareLA 2015

ScareLA was such a wonderful experience and had something to offer everyone. The program was jammed pack with events such as Disembodied Spirits: Voice-Over Experts, Simpsons Treehouse Of Horror Retrospective and Making Monsters: The Art Of Terror. Making Monsters featured the talent behind Six Flags Fright Fest, Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor, Knott’s Scary Farm, and Halloween Horror Nights. A very popular event was Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights Panel that was located on the main stage. Creative duo John Murdy and Chris Williams broadcasted on social media that a major announcement was going to be made. Roughly a thousand people from all walks of life filed into the main stage room eagerly awaiting the news. It was a surreal experience basking in the ambiance of hundreds of people who enjoy Halloween as much as I do.

“If you have been following us on social media and on Twitter, we have a big announcement to make today! Are you guys ready for this announcement? {Audience cheers} Alright, why don’t we roll video.” – John Murdy

The lights dimmed, and an image of the Myers House from John Carpenter’s Halloween appeared on the screen. The audience went nuts, cheering, yelling, and jumping up and down! It was chaos! Halloween producer Malek Akkad was introduced to the audience, and the three spoke about the all-new Michael Myers maze and the origins of John Carpenter’s Halloween.  Much of the original Halloween film was filmed in Pasadena where ScareLA was held, so John Murdy and Chris Williams believed that it was the perfect opportunity to make such an announcement.

IMG_0082

{Left} Halloween Horror Nights Creative Director & Executive Producer John Murdy. {Center} Halloween Producer Malek Akkad {Right} Halloween Horror Nights Art Director & Production Designer Chris Williams talk Halloween: Michael Myers Comes Home.

IMG_0085

John Murdy, Malek Akkad, & Chris Williams

IMG_0086

The Trio Explain To The Audience “The Origins Of Halloween.”

IMG_0091

Halloween Horror Night’s Halloween: Michael Myers Comes Home Will Start In The Myers House And End In The Myers House.

After the Halloween Horror Nights Panel had concluded I did not believe it could get better; I was terribly mistaken. Executive Producer and Co-Founder of ScareLA Lora Ivanova appeared on stage with an important and fun announcement. All of us were about to make history with something special ScareLA had been preparing. ScareLA and Sticky made history by breaking the Guinness World Records for the most Halloween candy being unwrapped at the same time. A free bag of custom ScareLA candy from Sticky and Sweet in Hollywood was passed out to everyone in attendance, 1,000 people.

IMG_0096

ScareLA 2015 About To Make History!

ScareLA has proven to be a success and I am sure will continue to grow each year. I am looking forward to next year to experience everything that I could not fit into my schedule plus everything else new that ScareLA will bring us.

Thank you, Lora, for allowing all of us to let our “inner monster out to play!”

IMG_0098

Ryan Cusick of iHorror.com & Lora Ivanova Executive Producer & Co-Founder ScareLA

iHorror Exclusive Interview With ScareLA Lora Ivanova

ScareLA on Facebook

ScareLA on Twitter

Official ScareLA Website

Check Out ScareLA2015 Galantis ‘Peanut Butter Jelly’ Cosplay Music Video by Nerd Reactor 

 

Ryan Cusick is a writer for ihorror.com and very much enjoys conversation and writing about anything within the horror genre. Horror first sparked his interest after watching the original, The Amityville Horror when he was the tender age of three. Ryan lives in California with his wife and ten-year old daughter, who is also expressing interest in the horror genre. Ryan recently received his Master’s Degree in Psychology and hopes to some day write a novel. Ryan can be followed on twitter @Nytmare112

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

News

Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

Published

on

Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

Published

on

The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

Published

on

Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading