Monster-Mania Aug. 2017

On August 19, 2017, my good friend, and one of the Master's Minions, Freddie and I, headed over to Cherry Hill for another edition of Monster-Mania!! This was an awesome experience, from start to finish, and, overall, ranks among my favorite con experiences, which is a lot!

The first celeb that I went up to was the beautiful Alison Lohman. I know her best from one of my favorite horror movies of the last couple of years, Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell. She played the lead in it and was great! You may also know her from White Oleander were she looked especially breathtaking as a goth chick, among other roles that she has done. She was so sweet and talkative in person, as she told us about how great it was working with Raimi, and the usage of, mostly, practical FX. She is also so naturally beautiful! Lohman signed my Blu-ray copy of Drag Me to Hell. I was so happy to meet her as she was one of the two that I most wanted to meet for the first time.

The other person I most wanted to meet the most was the still gorgeous Daphne Zuniga. Many will best know this talented stunner from Melrose Place or from the Mel Brooks comedy Spaceballs. But, my favorite role of hers in the oh so fun sequel The Fly II. I actually asked her about it, and she told me that she could talk more about it more at her panel later in the day. But, she did tell me that she was already friends with Eric Stolz before shooting the flick. She is very sweet and seemed to be having a lot of fun at the con, as she was all smiles. I got to get a pic with her.

And, so a little later we did attend her panel, where she talked about being cast in Melrose Place, and how great it was to work with Mel Brooks, how she improved the scene where the laser blast messes up her hair, and more. She also mentioned that John Candy was so nice in person. I asked her about The Fly II, of course, and she spoke of how she got the role, thanks to Brooks, as it was produced by him. She also told us about emoting as Eric Stolz turned into a fly monster, and of how good an actor Stolz is, even, under all that makeup. She mentioned how he liked it with makeup FX, having done Mask, a little before this one. This most also be the first time were she not only talked about those movies, but also the cult flicks The Dorm that Dripped Blood and The Initiation, since they came out, if not ever! But, she looked liked she had a great time answering all the questions and reminiscing about her career.

Later, I went up to Lloyd Kaufman, at the Troma booth. Uncle Lloyd is always such a blast in person! I got Troma's War, which I had finally upgraded to Blu-ray, which he signed. He also signed my copy of Return to Nuke 'Em High Vol. 1, which was already signed by much of the cast. I got pic with him, and, of course, Toxie!

I finally met PJ Soles! Best known for roles in classics like Halloween, Carrie, Rock N' Roll High School, and The Devil's Rejects, she is truly one of the sweetest celebs ever! She liked my Fright-Rags Jaws shirt, which is freaking, no make that ''totally'', awesome! Next, time that she is at a con, I gotta bring my Halloween Blu-ray with me, so that she can sign it.

There was also  more cosplay than I usually see at this con. Here are two of my favorites:

How fucking awesome is this The Shining family cosplay?! This has to be one of the greatest group cosplays ever! LOVE this!!

This Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom couple cosplay is EVERYTHING!

After a couple of years, it was great to see the Twisted Twins, Jen and Sylvia Soska, again! I got to interview them, and that will be posted when it is edited and ready. Until, then here is a pic of us, from this con.

Finally, I thought I would share with you guys the swag that I got:

Fright-Rags- Aliens socks

Blu-rays- Creepshow 2, Beyond the Darkness, Troma's War, and Burial Ground

Funko Pops- Stranger Things Eleven with Eggos and Masters of the Universe Trap-Jaw. 

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Monster-Mania March 2017

Yesterday, on March 11, 2017, my friend, and Master's Minion, Freddie and I hit Monster-Mania. It was unquestionably the most brutally cold MM, ever. Well, at least of the ones either of us have ever done. And, it should be noted that Freddie has done way more than me! It was also even more packed than usual thanks to John Cusack and the cast of Stranger Things. I didn't meet either or (although I am a HUGE Strangers  fan), but I did meet other celebs and do other fun stuff. Which resulted in us have one hell of a time!

The first person that I went up to was Amy Dumas, AKA Lita. The lovely WWE Hall of Famer was pretty cool and laid back in person. I got the autograph for my friend Alan, while I got the pic with her for myself.

The main autograph room was packed as fuck with fans, so we waited till later in the day to meet the rest of celebs. In that room, I first went up to Adam Green. He is the director of films like the Hatchet I & II, Frozen, and others. Adam is one of the nicest guys ever! He posed for pics for free and signed whatever you brought with you for free. I paid cause I bought season two of the awesome and terribly underrated Holliston, on Bluray, from off his table.

He talked to Freddie and me for a little bit and even told us about the horrors of shooting Hatchet III in a real swamp (bugs! bugs in butts! mosquito bites!)! I told him that I recently mentioned the amazing Hatchet II as one of the The 10 Best Slasher Movies You (Probably) Haven’t Seen. He was gracious about that, and is really, an all around awesome dude.

Kristy Swanson was really at the top of my list to must meet this weekend. Her line moved slow and she had to leave to do a photo-op. However, the wait to meet her was worth it! She is so sweet and nice in person, as well as drop-dead gorgeous! She still looks AMAZING! I was dorky enough to tell her that when I was a kid and saw Deadly Friend, that I totally got a major crush on her. She said, "Aww!"

Kristy signed my Deadly Friend DVD cover. She asked if I had the disc with me, but I had only bought the cover. I guess she would have signed the actual disc too? Don't know, but I am so happy to have met her!

 Now, let's look at some of the awesome cosplay that I saw in that room:

 I get killed by Jason, a lot, don't I?

 

Later in the day, I stopped by Troma and got a pic with Lloyd Kaufman and the Troma team! As usual there were some beautiful Tromettes on hand at the con.

I am most happy about the fact that I got to run into my friend, adult performer and horror actress, the drop-dead gorgeous and hot as fucking hell Nadia White! I was a little worried that I would miss her, but that obviously didn't happen. Nadia is so fun, sexy, and bubbly in person, that she really always brightens the mood where ever is at. So, that despite the fact that by this point I was exhausted, I was very feeling joyful, all of a sudden. She had a mold of her butt-hole with, which is pretty fucking hot, needless to say. She told me about all the porn stuff she has lined up. All I will say is that she is one busy, hard working, and naughty babe! You gotta love her!

As I said earlier, we had a fucking blast. It was a great time, that was, for me, quite frankly needed. Great to meet celebs and run into friends. Including, among them was one that I had been friends with forever on Facebook, Elizabeth who runs Archivists Bet on Sexy Witches and The Halloween Horror Movie Marathon Madness over on FB. 

I also picked up some cool swag, of course: 
A Funko Pop Predator (which is apparently getting harder to find)
Blu-rays of: the aforementioned autographed Holliston season two
Turkey Shoot (AKA Escape 2000) from Severin
and, I FINALLY own Shout Factory Death Wish II Special Edition which features the long unavailable (in the US) unrated cut of it, which I bought of off the Diabolik DVD booth.
And, finally from Fright-Rags I got a tee of my favorite movie of all time, Re-Animator and a air of Frankenberry socks!

Did of you guys go to Monster-Mania? Who did you meet and what did you buy? Let me know in the comments, below.

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(Video) Ben Scrivens of Fright-Rags Talks to Us at Monster-Mania Aug. 2016

I am a HUGE fan of horror T-shirt company Fright-Rags and own many of their shirts (like the Predator tank-top that I am wearing in this video). At this past Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016, at Monster-Mania, I got to interview the owner and founder of the company, Ben Scrivens. We talked about a couple of subjects related to the company and their shirts, including some very cool upcoming releases.

Camera work by Freddie Loguidice
Video editing by BAS Photography & Design  

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MonsterMania- July 13, 2016

After a more than two year absence I was back at Monster-Mania yesterday, Aug. 13, 2016. My friend Freddie (and latest addition to the Master's Minions!) and I headed out to Cherry Hill, NJ early. Now, I should mention that this day was the hottest day of the year, feeling like 108 degrees, at least. It's part of an oppressive and ongoing, brutal heatwave. But, we were determined to go and enjoy ourselves. Which we fully did, despite the nasty heat that even the guests would end up feeling.

I was there mostly to meet the cast members of the sixth Halloween installment, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. The sequel has long been one of debate among fans due to the cuts of the film, theatrical and producer's, with the later rightfully being considered the better version of the two, by most.

I took my copy of the film, from Scream Factory's superaltive Halloween: The Complete Collection box-set to get signed. The first person I met was the absolutely stunning J.C. Brandy who took over for Danielle Harris in the role of Jamie Lloyd in the film. I asked her which version she preferred. She replied that she liked both, mentioning that she preferred the FX of the theatrical cut. But, disliked the flat look of the reshoots on it, which I agree with. I also asked her which version of her death she preferred she said she didn't care for either mentioning that while the FX looked great in the theatrical cut, it was shot "too flat". And, that no one gets killed via a gunshot as was her fate in the producer's cut. Brandy looked breathtakingly beautiful and was extremely sweet and talkative. Freddie and I were blown away by her beauty in person.

Sitting to her left was the beautiful Mariah O'Brien who played the victim Beth in the same film. She was very friendly and talkative as well. I was pleasantly surprised that she was not only that character but the cover model on Alice In Chains classic release Dirt! Plus, she was also the sexy cover model on Spinal Tap's Bitch School maxi single. She told cool stories about shooting both album covers. And, when asked who her favorite act was she said it was Led Zeppelin. She also told us that she would love to have been part of Jimi Hendrix's entourage!

I would end up telling her that I had a little bit of crush on her after seeing her in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. She seemed very flattered. O'Brien was really fun to talk to, even though we could see that the heat was killing her as it was killing us. I also want to say that she has such stunning and beautiful eyes! Wow, just wow!

The last person I went up to was Marianne Hagan, who played Kara Strode, the beautiful final girl of the movie. She was cool and fun to talk to. Turns out that she is a fellow New Yorker, as we discussed the shitty heat of the day, and how even us NYers just ain't used to it. We mean it gets bad, but not like this bad! I asked her what cut she preferred, she said the producer's but thinks that the original script was so much better. She said it made so much more sense, even more sense than said superior cut. She said that due to time constraints, the director would rip out parts of the script. I liked her fun attitude and she made us laugh with what she said. Hagan is awesome, in fact everyone from the film was, as Freddie got autographs from the above and the rest of the film's cast that was there.

This is what my autographed blu-ray looked like after it was signed by these three lovely ladies:

I may have been there for a Michael Myer's flick but Jason Voorhees and Friday the 13th were well represented, too. C.J. Graham, who played Jason in the best sequel in the franchise, Friday the 13th, Pt VI: Jason Lives, had this kick ass banner next to his table.

There were a couple of cosplayers. Props must be given to them for toughing it out in this heat. I would never have done my Punisher cosplay (which I started doing at a friend's Marvel wedding, recently) that day, so this take's some balls or at least some level of insanity! Anyways, I only got to snap pics of one, this cool as fuck Jason inspired from the 8th film, Jason Takes Manhattan.

I also got some cool swag, of course. Including another Fright-Rags shirt (and interviewed the owner and founder, that's coming soon!) and bought two blu-rays, Bloodsucking Freaks (from Troma) and Sorority Babes in the Slimeball O-Rama (from Full Moon):

In all, this was a fun, though nightmarishly hot, time. Hopefully, there will not be as big a time span between this and my next MonsterMania, as there was last time. Oh and hopefully, it's never this hot at a con, again!

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