Monday, November 2, 2009

Goodbye to the Great Pumpkin King

Was it good for you? I hope so, but ten popcorn balls says my Halloween was the best ever! It was actually life changing: I now officially heart New Jersey as it's home to Chiller Theater, a bat sanctuary, and fantastic people that have incredible weddings. 
As expected, our Clueful costumes were a hit. Dear friends/foes Erica and Lisa dazzled as those saucy sirens, Mrs. White and Ms. Scarlett. My Mrs. Peacock was simply divine in a gold lamme top (Burlington), horrendously mustardly flowered blouse (Filene's Basement), and shimmering A-line skirt brought to you by the Gap, Joanne’s Fabrics, Erica’s handiwork, and sticks of hot glue. It held up through gleeful Monster Mash-ing and uncoordinated Electric Sliding, plus countless queries by party guests about where our Colonel Mustard was.
Are we missing something? When did Martin Mull’s military murderer become the most beloved Clue character? Isn’t it more fun to say “Professor Plum?”
Anyway, that was my official Halloween. Sunday was spent at Chiller Theatre, a gigantic horror convention held in Parsippany, NJ, and perhaps the first one I’ve ever attended that was not being trolled by the scowl of Tom Savini. Fun was had, and my highlights are as follows:
-Buying a DVD of Frogenstein, a collection of a few Muppet meetups with horror icons such as Vincent Price
-Touching my cheek to Davy Jones for a photo op that made me swoon. He’s very tan, very sing songy, and still very damn adorable
-Narrowing my eyes at Richard Dreyfuss when he walked through the line I was waiting on without saying excuse me
-Chatting with the Brothers Hodder about disco, Davy Jones’ fans, and Hatchet 2. Apparently those are the kinds of questions I should have been asking at our “interview” last month
-hearing Louise Robey, the flame-haired lead on Friday the 13th: the Series, belt out a few notes to an adoring fan. It was weird.
-Having a very interesting conversation with artist Roger Kastel, the artist who designed such iconic posters as Jaws and The Empire Strikes Back. He had a wonderful attitude about his work and seemed to genuinely enjoy discussing his process
-Discovering that every single female that once posed nude has either the world's best stylish, plastic surgeon, or blood supply from virgins to maintain healthy glows. Also, most actresses that have ever appeared in genre films are so tiny, they make Dreyfuss look only slightly shorter than average height
We closed out the weekend of amazingness with an evening trip to see Saw VI, which I’ll review this week (hopefully) as soon as I find the power to harness any remaining energy bestowed upon me by discounted fun-size bars.
It’s been a beautiful October and I’m sadder than a fat kid with a dropped ice cream cone that it’s over. Dearest horror bloggers and readers, I pose this question: How can we make November a worthy, or mildly not-too-much-of-a-letdown followup?


There just aren’t enough films about killer turkeys, pilgrims, or the voting public. Deep sigh, silenced by an early round of stuffing laced with candy corn.

7 comments:

  1. Clue costumes are too much. Very cool!!!

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  2. I agree, I love Thanksgiving, but it could really use a horror boost. Sounds like you had a great time...I always heard the October Chillers were the best ones! And Robey doesn't just go by Robey anymore?!

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  3. Thanks for the ego-boosting boys.

    I was as shocked as you, Matt, that Robey has sought fit to reveal and use her first name. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that nobody was really clamoring for her autograph at her table, so she felt she needed more info. I have a soft spot for the F13 series, but I've yet to meet anybody with as much affection for it.

    One of the artists told us that the Saturday night Chiller experience is the best, so we'll naturally be there in April. I've been to Chiller twice before (once as a wee lass and again five years ago) and it's definitely the largest convention in this general area. Can't wait for the next one!

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  4. Has richard dreyfuus entered the realm of b-listers at the chiller theater convention? is he selling headshots with ihs autograph for 20 bucks now?

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  5. Apparently, yes and I think so, although the price was probably a little higher. It was quite odd, since Patrick Stewart had his own wing and was selling autographs for $100, although I think that price included your own personal & professional photo shoot. Dreyfuss was at a table, albeit one with the longest line. He seemed to enjoy himself and posed for pictures. Quite odd, since I believe most actors do these shows for the cash and you would assume Dreyfuss was doing okay. Maybe the recession is even worse than we feared.

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  6. Super cute costumes! Great work, it looks like you had a lot of fun.

    I too have a very soft spot for the F13 television series, Robey's wall of hair and the awful fashions of the time.

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  7. Thanks Mob!

    How I used to dream of having Irish princess red locks like Robey. It's lost some of its fire and bounce, but I'm still pretty damn envious.

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