by Dr. Abner Mality
Except for the cozy confines of my laboratory or the headbanging mayhem of a metal concert, there's nowhere else the Good Doctor would rather be than a really swingin' sci-fi/horror convention. There I get to rub elbows with freaks and misfits like myself while basking in the glow of superstar creatures and fiends. It's a time not only of bloody good fun but also fellowship and camaraderie.
Such an event was the Flashback Weekend Horror Convention, held on Aug. 2,3, and 4 at the posh Chicago Marriott O'hare. This monstrous get-together featured none other than the hero of the "Evil Dead" films, Bruce "Ash" Campbell, along with virtually the entire cast of that pioneering horror flick. This alone would insure a healthy turnout but the convention was also graced by the "Godfather of Gore", the venerable Herschell Gordon Lewis who directed early splatter-pieces like "2000 Maniacs" and "Bloodfeast"; the towering Richard Kiel, who tormented James Bond as the steel-toothed assassin "Jaws"; Ben Chapman, who donned fins and gills to portray the original "Creature From the Black Lagoon"; and menacing Robert Z'Dar, who essayed the title role in the "Maniac Cop" movies amongst many other low-budget classics. Plus there were other guests ranging from Ed Wood pal Conrad Brooks to gorgeous "Sleepaway Camp" alumni Felissa Rose to maverick horror director J.R. Bookwalter. All in all, there was plenty to attract the seasoned horror fan's interest.
I want to stop right here and thank my long-time personal friend and co-editor of Femme Fatale magazine Lisa "Pumpkin Queen" Coduto, along with Jason Collum, Lisa Tomczak-Walkington and all the other FF/Cinemafantastique personnel for graciously getting not only me, but Wormwood scribe Johnny Gremlin and girlfriend Carrie "Blood-soaked Prom Queen" Dahlby into the Flashback Weekend. Without them, this article would not have been written.
The Good Doctor and Johnny Gremlin felt right at home in this atmosphere. Almost as comforting as a morgue slab!
I was most fascinated by a panel discussion on independent films. The panel featured Bruce Campbell, H.G. Lewis, J.R. Bookwalter and Psychotronic.com mainman Michael Flores and was moderated by a guy named Dan Gire. Some panel discussions are about as lively as a curling match but this wasn't one of them. Every single panelist condemned the term "independent film", saying that has been co-opted by Hollywood to describe their small scale movies. Flores preferred the term "underground" or "Guerilla" film instead. He mentioned if an "independent" film boasts name stars, it's not independent at all, no matter how off the wall it is.
Bruce Campbell showed himself to be every bit as clever as I heard he was. He was quick with some witty remarks and had some very sharp opinions on film today. He said "Evil Dead" probably could not have even been released in the current climate and that it was one of the last great gasps of true underground film-making. He also decried the onslaught of CGI special effects in movies today, saying that characters drive a movie and if nobody cares whether they live or die, no amount of FX will save the film. On this I agree with him completely.
Bookwalter said that movies now have one weekend at the box office to make their impact and if they miss that first weekend, they are likely done. To which Flores responded that the internet may be a valuable alternative for the true independent film-maker to market his wares. Lewis, who has seen many a change in the film industry, said that there was no standing still in today's film market and that he was trying to get on top of the internet as much as anybody.
Lewis is a real legend in the exploitation film market. He pioneered true gore in films with such sickening epics as "Color Me Blood Red" and "Wizard of Gore"... films which shock people even in this hard-bitten day and age. I had the pleasure of talking to H.G. during a quiet period and found this drive-in pioneer to be thoughtful, well-spoken and a credit to his profession. I mentioned that one of the his films, "Wizard of Gore", was shot right here in Rockford at the old Channel 13 and he immediately lit up. Well, at least our town is on the map for something besides Cheap Trick! Whether you like his extreme films or not, you can help but be impressed with H.G. Check out my interview with him elsewhere!
Another intimidating figure is Richard Kiel. Christ, is this guy HUGE! I saw him walk into the convention area early and he is easily bigger than other titans I have met like Andre the Giant and the Big Show of wrestling fame. He makes Colossal Dave look like Billy Barty! This familiar actor was not only "Jaws" in the James Bond movies, but was seen in "The Twilight Zone", "Happy Gilmore", "Kolchak: The Night Stalker", "The Monkees" and "The Wild, Wild West", amongst many others. He didn't have an awful lot to say but he was kind enough to nearly rip off Gremlin's head playfully, which I'm sure made Johnny very happy!
I checked out the 3-D showing of "Creature of the Black Lagoon", which I also saw at our own Storefront Cinema a while back. But this time, the movie was introduced by the Creature himself, Ben Chapman! Ben played the Creature in all of the "out of water" sequences in that classic flick. He revealed to me that he did indeed do the sequence where the Creature catches on fire and dives into the water but that a stuntman also did the same scene. The stuntman's version was deemed superior and that's what you see in the movie. Ben was a super nice guy but not so nice that I would pay an outrageous $25 for his autograph! The movie itself was as entertaining as always but some moron snored through most of it. Go and play with yourself in the lavatory, dickhead!
I liked the very all-encompassing "Evil Dead Museum" run by Tom Sullivan, which contained a rich motherlode of props from the movie including original versions of the evil book. Sullivan himself, an excellent artist, was a great guy who revealed a funny story about the original version of "Evil Dead", "Cry of Cthulhu", which was the victim of some underhanded book-keeping reminiscent of Enron. This is a very interesting exhibit highly recommended to all "Evil Dead" fans.
The rest of the pleasant afternoon was spent rummaging through the stalls of horror and SF memorabilia and checking out other guests and visitors. One thing's for sure, there's no lack of hot little honeys in horror, as a look at some of these pics will prove. Lilith Stabs would be the ULTIMATE Necro-Girl and Felissa Rose of "Sleepaway Camp" also looked to be a real sweetheart who seems to have recovered well from having her throat slit all those years ago. We also noticed that Robert Z'dar was tanked to the gills on tequila the whole time he was there.
Johnny and Carrie had to return to Hell (i.e., Rockford) and I lingered only a little longer to chat with the two Lisas, Jason, and Bruce Campbell. Bruce once again proved how swell he is by complimenting me on my "Blacula" T-shirt. There were plenty of other cool people there, especially the guy who was selling 80's WWF tapes and a handsome young fellow whose name I didn't catch but who seemed to be an exceptionally talented make-up artist and actor.
What's great about conventions like Flashback is that it gives us a chance to not only relive the fun parts of our past but to discover that we are not alone in our liking of the strange and the bizarre. Yes, indeed, it's a mighty fraternity of freaks that shares in this bond of friendship. And that brings you humanoids right here to Wormwood Chronicles again!
Thanks to everybody at the Con and hope to see you all again soon!
To contact the writer of this article, send your email to: drmality@wormwoodchronicles.com.