Overall, I had a lot of fun at this convention. The most memorable event was a special advance screening of James Gunn’s directorial debut, Slither. Gunn got his start with Troma Entertainment, where he wrote and produced Tromeo & Juliet. He eventually left Troma and worked his way up the horror film food-chain by writing the screenplay for the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead. Slither turned out to be an impressive first effort by Gunn in the director’s chair, and his dynamic blend of horror and comedy was well-received by the audience.
While my experience at the convention was generally a good one, I had one major problem with it. On Saturday night, there was an exclusive celebrity dessert party that was limited to gold package attendees only. The only way to attend this dessert party was to pay around $160.00 (I can’t remember the exact price). And for the rest of us convention attendees who couldn’t afford $160.00, no alternative night-time entertainment was provided. Unlike other conventions I have attended, there weren’t even any late-night movies being shown.
For years I have been going to conventions, and this was the first time I was expected to pay some exorbitant amount to socialize with the celebrity guests. What I had been doing for years for free, I was now going to be charged some ridiculous price.
Part of the problem, I suspect, is that the Fangoria convention is not privately sponsored. Rather, it is organized through a company called Creation Entertainment. This company sponsors several other “theme” conventions including The Lord of the Rings, and several TV shows such as Lost, Xena, Farscape, and of course, Star Trek.
It seems to me that when any kind of event becomes big-business, more emphasis is placed on the profit margins. The high price of the celebrity dessert party at the Fango convention reminded me of the Woodstock fiasco of 1999, affectionately known as “Profit”stock. Somewhere in its development, the organizers of Woodstock 1999 forgot the true meaning of the historic musical festival, and it became all about making money. Tickets for the event cost $150.00, and people were being charged excessive amounts for food and water. Rather than a weekend of peace and love, it ended in violence and letdown.
Well, I was not about to pay $160.00 for admission, but I wanted to see what the “other half” was getting for their money. So, my friend and I decided to crash the party. Long ago, someone once gave me some words of advice about being someplace you aren’t supposed to be. He said, “Look like you belong, and no one will bother you.” So that’s what we did.
For the high price of admission, I was expecting great music, spirited dancing, and a festive atmosphere. But when I entered the “party”, I found nothing but a bunch of people sitting at their tables looking genuinely bored. There was a fairly nice dessert spread, and we got our picture taken with director, George Romero. But we quickly became bored ourselves and left after about ten minutes. Boy I’m glad I didn’t spend $160.00 for that.
Fortunately the hotel had a lounge, with a bar and pool tables. We had a lot of fun just shooting pool, listening to the jukebox, and socializing with the other convention attendees who were unable, or unwilling, to pay the unconscionable cost of a gold wristband.
The real irony of the situation was that at the end of the exclusive dessert party, a few of the celebrity guests ended up at the hotel lounge anyways. My friend and I shot a few games of pool with Erin “Misty Mundae” Brown, and it only cost us a few dollars worth of quarters.
Despite the problems I had with the night-life provided by the convention organizers, it turned out to be an enjoyable weekend. I bought a few hard to find movies. I got to meet and get my photo taken with many of the celebrity guests. And I got to socialize with other horror fanatics like myself. For me, there’s no better experience than to surround myself with hundreds of people who share my passion for horror and the macabre.
Click here to view my photo gallery of the
2006 Fangoria Weekend of Horrors, Chicago.
