There is a place where Horror lovers can go and feel like they're part of something. A wonderfully twisted family. A place where, finally, they're not the outcasts with weird tastes and they're not the freaks for loving gore. The people outside these walls who don't have the stomach to see someone's eye plucked out of their head are the freaks here. That place is Creation Entertainment's WEEKEND OF HORRORS.

This year's Mecca of Horror was at the Marriot at the Los Angeles Airport. All the little gore hounds flocked to multiple rooms of entertainment and spectacle like the Theater Room that featured many legendary Horror actors, actresses and filmmakers in discussion panels and Q&A's like the great John Carpenter, Tom Savini and Asia Argento as well as reunions of the cast and crew of such classic films as Demons and Nightmare on Elm Street.

Right next door was the Screening Room that featured screenings of such fan favorites as Day of the Dead, Night of the Demons 2 and Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon in which we were greeted before the film with a surprise appearance by the cast. Next door to that was a vendor room that was more than just sellers of rare Horror DVD's, collectibles and oddities.

This vendor room also featured aspiring filmmakers promoting their films and eager to talk with fans about their projects, stars walking among the common folk or at their own booths where you can get up close and personal.

Stars like Tom Savini, Danielle Harris, and Heather Langenkamp happily mingle with their public, pose for pictures and talk with fans about their upcoming projects. A Horror Hound's dream come true. I've only scratched the surface on what this event had to offer.

Added treats like a Zombie Walk, exclusive peeks at upcoming Horror releases, Tattoo Contest, Costume Contest, Auction and ghoulish Art Gallery made this an unforgettable event for Horror lovers. I was there as Press, but I was officially geeked out!

I began the weekend and spent all the free time in between with a walk through the expansive and multifaceted vendor room before heading into a discussion panel on the SUBSPECIES series of films. Director Ted Nicolaou and Actress Denice Duff discussed the films' scripts, how they achieved certain key effects and entertained questions from the audience.

They discussed how the evil Radu was inspired by Nosferatu and told stories like using a loaf of bread with a nose carved in it to achieve the effect of a head blowing apart. They tried to stay organic with the effects making them more practical to keep it from looking too cartoony. Things like standing on boxes with wheels to achieve the effect of the menacing shadows. They are 4 to 5 weeks away from finalizing the Blu-Ray versions of the films to be released soon thereafter.

Director Stuart Gordon himself came out to introduce a rousing musical number from Re-Animator: the Musical. A play that is now being performed live through the end of May at the Steve Allen Theater on Hollywood Blvd in Los Angeles.

The first 4 rows were declared a "Splash Zone" because of the blood flying everywhere during the performance. They performed a hilarious and energetic musical number to the scene where Herbert West (Graham Skipper) severs the head of Dr. Carl Hill (Jesse Merlin) and reanimates it on the table. At which time the severed head sings along to the fiendishly funny song. Very entertaining.

This panel discussion and Q&A was among the highlights of the weekend and one of the handful of times the audience got an inside look into the magic of Italian Horror cinema. The panel consisted of Director Lamberto Bava, Bobby Rhodes (Tony the Pimp), Geretta Geretta (Rosemary the prostitute), composer Claudio Simonetti and Special fx make-up artist Sergio Stivaletti. This was a fascinating and informative look into what made Demons a classic.

They discussed things like the state of Italian Horror indicating that there was a peak in it's popularity in the '70's and '80's, but it declined in the '90's because Italian filmmakers stopped making Horror films. The genre was no longer widely accepted in the Italy. The director and FX artist told of how Demons was very planned and storyboarded out meticulously. They took a year to study exactly what the demons were and how they would be portrayed. Actress Geretta Geretta spoke about the fact that just the nails and veins on her hands took 4 hours in make-up per day. They used carpet foam to make the demon masks so that when they inserted the cables for facial movements the skin would move realistically.

Composer Claudio Simonetti spoke of the musical score saying that he almost always composes a score while watching the finished film so he can be inspired by the scenes. On a side note; he said that while working with Dario Argento on Suspiria that he composed a musical score before production to inspire the actors and director on set. After seeing the finished product he conducted an entirely new musical score because the atmosphere turned out much different than what he got from the script. Clearly excited to be there; this was Bobby Rhodes first time in America ever and looked much the same as he did 25 years ago. A girl asked how he looked so good and he speculated that maybe it has something to do with the blood demon.

He took a break from the business to raise children and has just recently returned to acting. Thanks in huge part to Facebook where overwhelming fan support brought him back. When asked about the inspiration for his role he quipped that some of it came natural and said that he had several chances to become a pimp in real life, but decided to act instead. He also told a great story about the demons having to put green yogurt into their mouths and puke it out on top of him and it went right into his mouth. Bava then said playfully that the actors thought it was yogurt but in reality it was something much worse.

During the Q&A, a fan dream discussion ensued about the possibility of making Demons 3 in which director Lamberto Bava exclaimed that they talk about making Demons 3 a lot. They would not say that they're not doing it and the discussions are still in their early stages, but they definitely want to. To finish the discussion; Geretta explained the much discussed ending of Demons. She asked fans to remember that early in the film when the punks entered the theater that a demon slips out. Said demon starts infecting the rest of the world. The helicopter pilot at the end is infected and crashes into the theater. This little gem alone was almost worth the price of the admission.

Ah yes. The slasher to end all slasher films, Halloween, was discussed here followed by a witty, high energy and mind-blowing discussion with John Carpenter himself about Halloween and many of his other legendary films. The Halloween Panel consisted of John Carpenter, Co-star Nancy Loomis (Annie Brackett), Charles Cyphers (Sheriff Brackett), Brian Andrews (Tommy Doyle), and Ty Mitchell (the kid Gary Halloween II), Halloween was filmed in 22 days with a young cast and crew who had no idea they were making Horror movie history. They just wanted to create characters that everyone could relate to and scare the crap out of people without having to gore them out.

The film featured ordinary people just like the ones we all know subjected to extraordinary conditions. The actors spoke about what it was like working with Carpenter siting the biggest challenge as being too few takes. Carpenter would normally do no more than 3 takes at a time and move on and especially Nancy Loomis thought she needed much more. Soon the great John Carpenter took the stage alone to field questions from the moderator as well as the audience in one of the most captivating Q&A's I've ever witnessed.

Carpenter spoke with such candor that there seemed to be absolutely no barrier between him and the capacity crowd. He let us have it and told us exactly what he thought of the fact that his movies are always met with criticism and lack of success only to be praised years later. He even told the moderator to stop asking him about each of his films because he would just give the same response every time. He worked his ass off on them and they tanked. He had the crowd in stitches.

Carpenter said the first thing he had to learn was that the experience of making films is completely different than watching them. A concept he could never get his head around. He also spoke about creating the music for his films. He improvises to the images and lays down the music like a carpet installer laying down carpet constructing a foundation for the film. Carpenter did tell a few enlightening stories behind a few of his most memorable films.

He filmed The Fog and, after completing it and viewing it, absolutely hated it. He thought it was crap. He rewrote and re-shot a lot before it was finally released. He then spoke of The Thing as a film that was more like an assignment he was paid to do and hesitated to make at first because he loved the original. It was extremely tough to make and, much like the rest of his films, it tanked. The critics and fans hated it.

Carpenter said you would have thought that he raped people's daughters or something the way he was criticized. This is when he really started opening up and saying things like all special effects make-up artists are late and slow and that this, among other things, made the making of The Thing so difficult that he compared it to a Colonoscopy without the anesthetic. By this time he was asking the moderator if he could just cut to the end because he had to go meet his drug dealer. The jilted moderator then turned the questioning over to the audience. One audience member asked if he had watched all the sequels. The renowned director said that he watched them, but he felt that there was no story there saying that the story was over after the first one. He admitted that Halloween was an idea of the distributor and he just wrote a script to match that idea.

When asked about his opinion of the Rob Zombie remakes he replied, "No comment". He spoke about his obvious frustration with the movie business. A few years ago around 2001 he was burned out and needed a long vacation. Doing the Masters of Horror projects Cigarette Burns and Pro-Life in 2005 and 2006 brought back his desire to direct. Good thing for us.

Another good thing for us is that he started feeling a little frisky and gave a little tease on an interesting project he's developing. A Gothic Western called The Benders. It's a true story from the late 1800's about the bloody Bender family who were the first recorded serial killers in U.S. History who set up an inn where they would brutally kill passing travelers and take their belongings. The script needs some work, but it's in development.

John Carpenter ended his engaging discussion with some words of wisdom for up-and-coming filmmakers. He said there are no rules when making a good film. Just have a good story and a good script. "This is your generation" he exclaimed. "It's easy now with computers and video technology so take advantage and film a good story. Take criticism and failure and move on". Wise words from an inspiring director and prolific artist.

The vendor room was the constant of the entire weekend. A place that was always teaming with dark, twisted energy. It was hard to tear myself away from all the great discussions and screenings of the convention, but this room had me checking my watch carefully so I could spend all the time I could there before rushing to the next event. Some of the highlights include the absolutely stunning Danielle Harris promoting her new film Chromeskull: Laid to Rest 2. She was at one of the first tables giving away posters.

Right next to her was accomplished actor Lance Henriksen promoting his new autobiography Not Bad for a Human. Other stars in the vendor room and very accessible were Tom Savini promoting the upcoming release of Theater Bizarre (which looks amazing), Heather Langenkamp (Nancy from Nightmare on Elm Street) promoting her new documentary I Am Nancy, the cast of Demons selling autographed photos and many other treats across both days. Among the most interesting of the up-and-coming filmmakers promoting their films were actress Ginger Pullman and Writer/Director Kenneth Chan promoting their no CGI giant bug feature MILLENIUM BUG. They displayed a life-size model of the giant bug from the movie that drew a lot of attention.

I was intrigued by these young filmmakers that were passionate about their movie and giving away stickers that said "NO CGI" and letting people take pictures in front of their amazing bug and amazing looking actress. I'm sure to be covering their film soon here at MoreHorror. Another notably interesting group were the guys from the super-short Horror/Comedy web-series about a gated community of survivors after a Zombie apocalypse. A campy, but well shot and very funny series with episodes only running around one minute. Check it out at www.zombiewoodpines.com.

I can't very well discuss every vendor that was there because there were many selling everything from rare Horror DVD's, to collectibles to rotting corpse statues, but I absolutely have to mention Horror Fronts and Décor. Artist and construction worker Shawn Sharp constructs the most amazing and life-like displays of houses from all the great horror movies. They had scale models of the Amityville House, Psycho house, the Freddy house, Crystal Lake cabin, Michael Myers house and others. They are custom made in any size with high attention to pain-staking detail down to grass, lawn decorations and damages to the houses to fit the movies exactly. One of many delights in the Vendor Room.

This interesting and engaging panel consisted of Writer/Director Scott Glosserman, co-writer David Stieve, Leslie Vernon himself Nathan Baesel, Angela Goethals (Taylor Gentry), Bridgett Newton (Jamie), Kate Lang Johnson (Kelly the final girl), Ben Pace (Doug), and Britain Spelllings (Todd). In this brilliant mockumentary the filmmakers set out to make something very grounded with dry humor and mix it with outrageous elements to bring it to a level of absurdity that is both original and entertaining.

The writers proclaimed that when their main actor Nathan Baesel stepped in to the role of Leslie Vernon it brought the film to another level and in turn gave all the other characters more depth and layers. When asked what was next for the Leslie Vernon the entire panel was more than eager to show their interest and explain their dilemma for making the sequel already titled BEFORE THE MASK: THE RETURN OF LESLIE VERNON.

David wrote a great script, they have all the locations and all the actors have agreed to come back, but they have yet to get financing. They are starting a grass roots campaign on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BeforeTheMask where they are re-selling the original on DVD and pre-selling merchandise for the sequel. Supporters will not be charged for Before the Mask merchandise until the film gets a green light. I, for one, am getting behind these guys because this is one sequel I would love to see. Especially after the funny teaser that the guys showed during their panel.

Finally; the infamous actor, director and world renowned special effects make-up artist Tom Savini took the stage. He wasted no time in launching into story after story about his many successful years as a staple in the horror genre and graciously answering the many questions from all the star-struck fans in the audience.

Savini spoke of his beginnings shining shoes to buy make-up and practicing on all his friends whose parents would no longer allow them to hang out with him. He attributed his success to being in the right place at the right time with a portfolio and advised other aspiring make-up artists to do the same. George Romero came to his high school to recruit actors for a film that never happened. Tom was one of those actors. He took his portfolio to Romero when he was developing Night of the Living Dead and he loved it, but Tom was sent to Vietnam as a combat photographer before the film went into production. Therefore, he didn't work with Romero until the film Martin in 1977 then Dawn of the Dead in 1978 which solidified his place in horror and changed his life forever.

Savini volunteered to do stunts in that film and ended up doing about 20 stunts and quipped that nearly every time a zombie is killed in that film it's him in a wig. Day of the Dead was his best zombies and the ones he is most proud of. Mostly because of the variety. He did extensive research on how each zombie died and took into consideration their age and ethnicity among other things and had extensive meetings with coroners. He told a morbidly amusing story about the actor from the film MANIAC where he done some of his best gore effects work. He gave the film's star, Joe Spinell, a severed head from the film which he kept on top of his television for years.

The troubled actor bled to death in his apartment (rumored to be accidental from a self-inflicted wound from being a hemophiliac). Cops walked in to find him lying in a pool of blood with a severed head on the television and thought the worst. After many more great stories he concluded by playing the amazing trailer for the upcoming horror anthology THE THEATRE BIZARRE. A collection of 6 disturbing and "bizarre" horror shorts. One of which he directed.

This eagerly anticipated reunion panel consisted of the one and only Nancy, Heather Langenkamp, Ken Sagoes (Roland Kincaid from Nightmare 3 & 4), Kim Meyers (Lisa the girlfriend from Nightmare 2), Lisa Wilcox (Alice from Nightmare 4 & 5), Rodney Eastman (Joey from Nightmare 3 & 4) and Toy Newkirk (Sheila from Nightmare 4). The actors talked about the Nightmare phenomenon and horror icon Freddy being named alongside great monsters in cinema history like Frankenstein and Dracula.

The mythology and legend just continues to grow bigger and bigger. All of their lives were changed by being a part of this legend and it opened up many doors for them. The reality didn't set in for Heather until Nightmare 3 where she really seen the impact that the film was having on fans worldwide and it has grown ever since. Some actors on the panel had never been invited to one of these conventions until recent years and they never even knew they existed. Proof that the legacy grows stronger. No one on the panel had any desire to see the remake. Heather spoke about seeing the trailer and seeing a piece of the infamous bathtub scene. As soon as she seen that the simplicity was taken away and there was product placement in the background she knew she would never watch it.

Heather told a great story about cutting her foot badly on the set of Nightmare and needing stitches. She was so afraid to tell the crew that she was hurt because she didn't want to hold up production. She tried to continue with a bloody foot which was a testament to what this film meant to her and the rest of the cast and crew. She thought she had ruined the day and felt personally responsible.

Heather screened about 20 minutes of her documentary I AM NANCY that centers around the Nancy character and what she means to fans and the world of Horror.

Besides the dazzlingly sexy and absolutely gorgeous Asia Argento; the panel consisted of visual effects master Sergio Stivaletti (also on the Demons panel) and 2nd Unit Director Luigi Cozzi. The crowd was clearly more interested in Asia with her deep, robust voice, blunt honesty and compelling stories of working with her father Dario Argento. Stendhal Syndrome is her favorite film she done with him. She loves it because it's "such a fucked up movie. So dreamy and the character was so unexpected". It is the most inspired work that she and her father ever worked on together.

Asia then discussed a very popular topic of a lot of her interviews which is her performing in graphic sex scenes in her father's films. Since the age of 16 she would cry when she knew she had to do a sex scene in front of her father. It was terribly embarrassing, but she had to do what she had to do for the film. Her level of dedication to cinema would not allow her to refuse. She told one of many captivating and funny stories about a rift between her and Dario when she turned down the starring role in The Card Player. She was filming Scarlet Diva at the time and thought that it was more important. He wouldn't speak to her for 2 years because he blamed her for messing up his movie. She chuckled when she spoke about the fact that she has never been killed in one of her father's movies. He had killed off her mother and sister several times, but never her.

That is all about to change in the upcoming release of Dracula 3D starring Asia and directed by her father Dario which will be based on the Bram Stoker novel. She will be killed in a Dario film for the first time, but will be resurrected as a vampire. One of the highlights of her darkly hilarious stories was the story about kissing a Rottweiler on the set of Abel Ferrara's Go-Go Tales.

She was extremely frightened by the dog, but was supposed to appear to be flirting with it during a stripper performance. She stuck out her tongue and the dog did the same. Their tongues touched and they appeared to be making out. They completely freaked out in Italy and it caused a huge scandal. Not the first time she has caused scandal in her homeland and probably not the last time. She's also working on many other projects. 7 just this year and most of them, according to her, aren't good enough to mention. She spoke of her love for film and always being an observer and hungry to learn.

She is an aspiring director, but says that she could never come close to the work of her father because he is the maestro. She expressed interest in writing and directing a film about Scarlet Diva 10 years later stating that at age 35 she is just now feeling the strong urge to direct. This girl is one of a kind and seems to get off on pushing boundaries. Her advise for aspiring actresses was something her father taught her. "Don't follow the camera. Let the camera follow you".

*Photos courtesy of Michael Pickle