“Dawn of the Dead” cast dishes on Zombies, Short People, & George Romero!

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The Days of the Dead horror convention opened back up for business at 11 am that Saturday. We arrived shortly after the doors opened and noticed immediately that there were at least twice as many conventioneers as the night before. The Dawn of the Dead panel was slated to feature Ken Foree, David Emge, Gaylen Ross, and Scott H. Reiniger but Emge canceled his appearance Thursday, leaving the other three to answer questions concerning their roles and working with Romero himself. Sadly, Romero, who was slated to attend this event also cancelled due to poor health. The following was transcribed from audio of that panel…

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Not one, but TWO Godzillas Stomp “Days of the Dead” Indianapolis!

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How do I love thee, Godzilla? Let me count the ways…

For a monster-loving kid like me growing up in the ‘70s, giant Japanese monsters represented the pinnacle of entertainment. Those glorious films were just about the only thing worth staying inside for back at a time when kids actually wanted to be outdoors. Of all the notable behemoths to have ever graced the silver screen, there were none I revered more than the “King of Monsters” himself, Godzilla. The moment his iconic roar filled my living room I’d be transfixed, especially if he was up against my second favorite kaiju, King Ghidorah (sorry, Gamera, but you were a distant third). Back then it never occurred to me that I was cheering on a guy in a costume as I’d fully embraced the idea of giant monsters roaming the earth and Japan just happening to be the only ones “lucky” enough to see them. Adolescence ushered in the grim reality about “men in rubber suits” and it wouldn’t be until years later that I’d gain a true appreciation for them. The reality is, these folks gave rubber-suited monsters an edge in the personality department that many of the stop-motion ones lacked. This was especially true for those played by the quintessential suit actor himself, Harou Nakajima. Nakajima has the distinction of playing the original Rodan, one of the Gargantuas (which I did a retro piece on last year), and Godzilla from 1954-1972 among others. Needless to say, when I learned that the eighty-eight-year-old legend would be attending Days of the Dead’s 2017 Indianapolis show, I knew I had to be there!

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The Night of the Virgin at Days of the Dead!

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Terror from Beyond the Daves welcomes our friend and Cinemaphile, Jason Schoolcraft…

The Night of the Virgin (La noche del virgen) is a 2016 Spanish film I’d read about but didn’t get to finally see until this past weekend’s Days of the Dead convention in Indianapolis. The movie was scheduled to screen on that opening Friday night and, after checking out some of their amazing vendor’s (see Dave’s last post), I eagerly made my way to their make-shift theater to see this. Although there was so much going on at Days of the Dead, I was happily surprised to see a small crowd would be joining me for this show. Originally the director was supposed to introduce the film but didn’t make it. I should also mention that shortly after it began we noticed there were no subtitles and, despite repeated attempts from the organizers, we’d all be seeing the film entirely in Spanish. It wasn’t their fault as the director had gotten stuck in transit and this was the only video file he’d sent them. Although a couple of people understandably walked out, most of us stayed and I was glad to be one of them.

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“Days of the Dead” Celebrates its 20th Weekend!

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I know it’s not exactly great form here, but I’ve decided to take a break from my Bridgewater Triangle series and dive straight into a new one. I really wanted to wrap that one up before the Indianapolis Days of the Dead convention this past weekend but a broken laptop would dictate otherwise. I’ll definitely continue on with the New England stuff at some point but, to be honest, am eager to put that all behind me and move on to something new. There will, however, be one common thread from that series, my friend Jason Schoolcraft!

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Hanging with Svengoolie & Crew at C2E2!

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As soon as I arrived for Day Two of the Chicago Comics & Entertainment Expo (C2E2), I made a mad dash to the autograph section while dodging hundreds of attendees. National MeTV horror host, Svengoolie, was signing at Table #25 and, per his producer/assistant Jim Roche, I was to meet the crew just prior to his 11 am appearance. Seconds after reaching the spot, I got swept up by the host’s television crew who’d been right behind me. For the last five years, I’ve been one of the luckiest Svengoolie fans around. Despite his growing popularity and adding a bevy of celebrity admirers to his fan base each year, he and his talented team have always been very gracious to us Daves and allowing close access to many of his key appearances. I get to play Jimmy Olsen to his Superman while offering some assistance whenever needed. C2E2 is one of those “all hands on deck” type of events where this often comes into play. Svengoolie always commands a huge line of fans but, at this convention, it would continuously grow the entire weekend if given the chance. While his Director, Chris Faulkner, and assistant director, Kevin Reisberg, are out gathering footage for the show, Jim has the arduous task of maintaining the crowd without being distracted. So it’s the perfect trade-off, I offer an extra set of hands and, in turn, get front row coverage of the host. It probably also helps that I’m built like a bar bouncer and can offer an air of “protection” should things get rowdy though, thankfully, that’s never happened at any of the Svengoolie appearances I’ve ever attended (and, for the record, this one was #76).

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