Svengoolie at Flashback Weekend 2021!

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I hadn’t seen Svengoolie in person since December 2019 when he was dressed as his holiday alter ego, Sventa Claus, at the Mystic Market in Lyons. It was a fun occasion and, in the spirit of giving, I brought him an animatronic Creature from the Black Lagoon figure I’d purchased from Days of the Dead. I recall it ending with my friends and I toasting another successful year of Sven-chasing since, for us, attending his appearances was not unlike following a favorite band on tour. In this regard, the Mystic Market was something of a finale’ – though we could never have known at the time just how final that would be. We took for granted the tradition would continue on into the coming year not knowing a Pandemic was lurking just around the corner. So, with 2020 a wash, we looked at the summer of 2021 as a bastion of hope.

By July, Chicago had lifted its indoor mask mandate and, further cementing a feeling of normalcy, Svengoolie signed on for his first public appearance in over a year. Unfortunately, the closer Flashback Weekend loomed, the more news of the virus’ Delta variant started making headlines. Suddenly, what should have been a joyous occasion had a giant black cloud hanging over it. I was excited to join the Svengoolie crew and see my favorite horror host again but with a fair share of trepidation.

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Finally Looking Back at Flashback Weekend

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Deadpool Freddy Krueger costume at 2021 Flashback Weekend

For all intents and purposes, this past Flashback Weekend should have been an amazing experience. Like most annual events, the convention was canceled last year due to Covid leaving horror fans even more anxious to commune in 2021. I’d reserved my room at the Hyatt Regency in Rosemont, Illinois months in advance and even took the whole week after off for vacation. I’d saved plenty of cash and had a detailed list of all the guests I wanted to meet and items I wanted to have signed. Unfortunately, not an hour after the doors opened I got word that a family member using my car for the weekend crashed it. This situation resulted in my spending the bulk of my Friday night in my room and on the phone. Saturday was my day to work with the Svengoolie crew and, with my car out of commission, I had to arrange for someone else to pick me up from the hotel on Sunday. They could only get me at 10 am a.k.a. an hour before the convention opened that day. I had little time to accomplish my goals and the singer, Meatloaf, would end up stealing half of it. In the end, After failing to reach the majority of my Flashback Weekend objectives, it’s no wonder I’ve spent the last four months trying to forget it. In fact, it wasn’t until a few weeks ago when Svengoolie’s producer, Jim Roche, reached out about sharing my pictures with them that I realized they were still unloaded on my camera.

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Vault of Horror: Lost Physical Media Collection Worth Revisiting!

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It’s been almost exactly two years since Mark Spangler contributed to this site with his illuminating expose of The Ninth Gate. Today, he’s putting the spotlight on an old physical media release worth revisiting. Welcome back, Mark! – Dave

“Vault of Horror”
Brentwood Home Video 2001
SCREAM OF THE WOLF, WOLF MAN, MOON OF THE WOLF, SNOWBEAST, SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT, DON’T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT, JACK THE RIPPER, SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA, HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.

Back in  2001, Brentwood Home Video released a ten-film set of genre films entitled “Vault of Horror”. You may have seen this collection lying in wait, like the proverbial evil monkey’s paw, amidst other compilation releases of questionable origin. Brentwood is noted for its bootleg DVD and Blu Ray releases, but don’t let that stop you from picking up this nifty little package if you get the chance. As is to be expected, the transfers on these discs aren’t the best… audio is uneven at times and the “extras” are laughable, but the stories, acting, and directing in some of these movies more than makes up for these deficiencies, provided one can overlook the fade-to-black annoyances that scream “movie of the week” on some of the selections.  The early-to-mid ’70s saw the production of some notable TV movie horror (“Night Stalker”, “Trilogy of Terror”) and while the TV fare in this set isn’t that good, there is stuff here you may have overlooked that’s worth seeing.

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Chicago Days of the Dead 2021 – Slasher Signatures Saturday!

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 (Continued from the last post) The next morning, I headed downstairs to pick up breakfast from the hotel. Due to Covid, the Crowne Plaza restaurant was closed for dining. Instead, you’d pay for breakfast at the check-in desk (or have it charged to your room) and bring the ticket to the cooks. The food would be given in a to-go box and actually wasn’t bad. Jason naturally opted to take my car to his beloved McDonald’s but made it back in time for the Days of the Dead convention doors to open. I was armed and ready with my Friday 13th poster from Scream Factory’s Rondo Award-winning box set. Despite physical media sales “in decline,” 2020 was a banner year for boutique labels such as Scream Factory, providing some of the most amazing releases to date; with this one arguably the best. Most bonus Scream Factory posters take up a corner of my bedroom closet while this 24×36 gem gets a frame. Aside from the gorgeous artwork (the same featured on the box), it provides plenty of negative space for autographs. In other words, it’s practically begging to be signed and displayed!

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Days of the Dead Chicago 2021 – Time to Leave the Bunker

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Jason and I arrived at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rosemont around 2 PM that Friday afternoon. He’d flown in from Rhode Island the day before and my local friends, Ron and Angie, were already waiting in the lobby. Everyone had their vaccines (this blog brought to you by the good people at Pfizer!) and were looking forward to a gathering. I did have some trepidation about doing this show but it was less about catching the virus than it was my being inside too long. My job became a permanent ‘work from home’ position last June and, with respect to one brutal Chicago winter, there’d literally be entire weeks I’d spend inside my apartment. Apparently, the longer you stay in, the harder it is to rejoin society. Seeing the happy, albeit masked, faces of my friends immediately signaled I’d made the right choice. The only person missing today was the hotel’s gregarious Don Johnston. His palpable absence made the entire weekend seem “off” as the once familiar Crowne Plaza suddenly didn’t seem itself anymore. Likewise, Days of the Dead didn’t seem like Days of the Dead either with so many of its missing familiar faces.

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