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Quaranween Con; Are Virtual Cons the Future?

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Quaranween Con is an example of a virtual convention created out of urgency by and for horror fans. However, these online events are still in their infancy.

Above all, they abide by the social distancing rules put in place during the COVID -19 pandemic.

Geeks, nerds, and horror fans alike feel the need to gather and share their love of fandom, but due to the recent pandemic large gatherings have been put on hold.

Personal protection measures have greatly influenced daily life, making mass gatherings unsafe. This is exactly what motivated Quaranween Con producer Billy Carr to be pragmatic in creating his own virtual convention.

Quaranween Con marks the halfway point until Halloween 2020.  And being the fan Carr is, he is excited to bring this event to the public. On his Facebook event page he proudly promotes Quaranween, a horror con “by the fans for the fans.”

A separate Facebook page lays out the schedule over the course of Friday May 22 – Sunday May 24.

The panels will be connected to a link from the host shortly before they begin. You can find the weekend schedule here. All of the times noted are in Eastern Standard Time.

Quaranween Con is an attempt to “lift spirits,” Carr says, and this couldn’t have come at a more perfect time than on Memorial Day Weekend.

‘Jaws’ 1975

During a time when we are used to going to the beach, having BBQs, large family gatherings and pool parties, COVID has seriously limited our options on events and where we spend the holiday weekend. Carr has made it clear that this might be a prescription to help cure cabin fever.

I wanted to create an event where people could come and promote themselves, come see some entertainment while we are all home bored,” Carr told iHorror. “I simply started putting it together using my phone and laptop. I talked to vendors, actors, entertainers and more…

…some cons are worried how to turn it into something profitable, and I am just simply doing it for the people in general.

…with great support from from great folks like you and my volunteers, it’s already shaping up a lot better then I could have imagined.”

One of the highlighted panels is Friday night’s Bad Moon FX Demo at 9 pm. The panel focuses on pouring, reinforcing, and detailing jaw-dropping props and masks. You may have seen some of their previous work and have not even known it!

Literally one of their largest pieces is the Elivra Funko Pop which won the costume contest at Spooky Empire in 2018; Florida’s largest horror convention.

Elvira Pop cosplay by Bad Moon FX

Another amazing set of cosplays fabricated by Bad Moon FX is a set of head traps from the famous Saw series. These props truly appear screen worthy and movie ready.

‘Saw’ headtraps by Bad Moon FX

Some of the highly anticipated Saturday panels include pumpkin speed carving at 2 pm by the convention organizer himself! If that doesn’t get you into the Halloween spirit, perhaps this next panel will: At 5 pm on Saturday be sure to tune into the Haunt Scene panel which focuses on professional haunts.

Sunday of Quaranween Con is closed out by a fire show by M.A.D. Flames featuring Lady Darjuxena aka Dj Palumbo.

M.A.D. Flame performer

In conclusion, Carr has included an interactive costume contest for the fans! You can submit a picture of yourself in costume to their Facebook thread, just please keep them PG-13!

The picture can either be recent or from the past. Fans will then vote by “liking” their favorite costume, and the costume with the most “likes” by June 20. The winner will receive a free custom made hand carved artificial pumpkin made by Carr.

Many of us feel like conventions are our home among like-minded fans. Seeing these conventions canceled over the past three months has been a very disheartening experience. It has been very difficult for many of us who have waited year-round for these events; making hotel reservations, saving money for the vendor rooms, and meticulously planning our cosplays. As we are still testing the waters of virtual conventions, Quaranween Con will help reveal the reception fans will have for this new platform of virtual gathering for those who share the same passion for horror.

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Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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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.

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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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