By: Jenny Robinson
Halloween in August?
Count me in!!!
We were found wondering the Pasadena Convention Center over the weekend of August 6-7th. This was our first time at ScareLA which started back in 2013 as the “first fan convention dedicated to celebrating Halloween”.
The convention floor was packed with interesting hair-raising paraphernalia of all sorts. You had Zombie Apocalypse Shooting galleries, horror make up vendors, haunted house organization and artists of all sorts. If you needed prosthetics, motorized demon clowns or an obscure painting of Nosferatu holding party balloons (couldn’t pass that one up), then you were in luck.
The convention did a great job of packing the floor, appearances, panels and screenings with all sorts horror related themes. We will not go into detail on every one on the impressive list but we can highlight some of our favorites…
ScareLA was hosted by the one-and-only Elvira - Mistress of the Dark herself. We missed the opportunity to speak directly with her but enjoyed watching the excitement of the fans on Saturday. The lines were consistent and long but that did not take away from the enthusiasm. The line had a great community sense where everyone whether stranger or friend were talking to each other sharing their fondest Elvira stories. She is such a staple in the Horror/Macabre class that it was a horror to have her in gathering.
Personally speaking, Bat In Your Belfry was right up my alley with the whimsical yet creepy art. Michelle Prebich’s art caught my eye quickly when I walked onto the show floor (it’s that amazing Nosferatu Balloon piece I mentioned above!). The collection had Edgar Allen Poe, Corpse Cowboys, Edward Scissorhand and more, all in a very unique style. You can check out some of the prints that were at the convention at their Etsy store!
The Hollywood Horror Museum welcomed you at the front door with their “Scooby and his Mystery Machine”. Once inside there as a room dedicated to some of the museum pieces. With sculpture mannequins of Lon Chaney’s Wolfman, Schwarzenegger’s Terminator and the original zombie from Michael Jackson’s thriller, it provided epic photo opportunities. The detail that goes into these pieces are remarkable and it is great seeing an organization like Hollywood Horror Museum preserving some of the genre’s history. While walking around and looking at the exhibit, it is hard not to feel inspired to create some amazingly creepy things yourself and admire those who do it so well already. http://www.hollywoodhorror.org/
We had the opportunity to briefly talk with actor John Paul Medrano about his short that he was at the convention promoting. It was great hearing his behind-the-scene reaction and expectation of being cast as a creepy character. You can watch the film “Las Vampirass” on YouTube and find out more about the actor on his IMDB page.
John Paul Medrano with Jenny
Universal Halloween Horror Nights was in attendance on Sunday with John Murdy (creative director) and Chris Williams (art director). Their panel gave fans of the theme park haunted mazes a sneak peak of the new additions for 2016 HHN. The crowd was very excited to hear about the creation of the new “Krampus” maze and left completely intrigued about what to expect from the long awaited “Exorcist”. Those who have been to HHN can agree that the detail and realistic appearance of all of these crazy mazes (The Purge, Walking Dead, Nightmare on Elm Street, etc) are some of the best to be found (if not THE BEST). Murdy and Williams are the captain of that terrifying ship we love.
John Murdy and Chris Williams
SyFy pulled out no stops in promoting “Dead 7” with Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick. The NSYNC duo participated in a panel and hosted the Witching Hour Party at The Rose on Saturday night with the Spazmatics. In talking with them, you can tell they enjoyed the campy silliness of the movie as it was intended. (Check out the trailer for Dead 7 here!)
Although I did not participate, I loved that the Alone Experience had strategically placed QR codes around the convention (both inside and out) that would lead you to fully immersive experience. Participants were blindfolded, lead around (so you had no bearing of where you were at) while listening to an audio. It was explained that it felt like you were in a very demented dream-like trance and in watching you could tell anticipation had some candidates feeling a wanted uneasiness.
My biggest regret was missing out on the Serial Killer Speed Dating. Basically, it is simply speed dating. You have 5 minutes to talk with the potential date on the other side of the table. The fun comes in with the random hidden actors who have a little more gruesome expectation for your meeting.
Huge honorable mention to the cosplayers. WOW! There were some top-notch costumes walking the halls that weekend. With all the conventions I have been to over the years, this was the first time that I got chased in circles by an insane clown in a motorized chair. Seriously! It was like Pennywise came to life and was going to kill me (but SUPER fun!). Halloween is the essence of cosplay and it was innovative and inspiring to see the work and craftsmanship that went into some of the costumes.
We can’t forget to give a shout out to the team that brought us such an amusing and entertaining convention. Lora Ivanova (founder and executive producer) truly has a dream job in the eyes of many here at Atomic Geekdom. Along with her team, they brought together an event that both adults and kids alike found fun. The convention taking place in August was perfectly placed. October no longer feels so far way and my costume planing, haunt schedule and horror props ideas are in full swing now. We can not wait to see what is in store next year!
Lora Ivanova with Jenny
Check out the rest of our pics from ScareLA in the gallery below!
