By the time I returned to the table, the fans and patrons had swarmed in. Thank god for the chair or I wouldn’t have been able to clear a path. And hitting fanboys with chairs is jolly good fun! (I’m kidding… it’s actually very hard work.)
While Friday and Sunday are pretty crowded, they don’t hold candles to Saturday. On Saturdays, the dealers’ rooms can resemble packed cattle cars. You can only make your way through by inching your way crab-style through the crowded aisles. The toughest part is not allowing yourself to get distracted by the – let’s face it, we’re all geeks here – tables filled with really amazingly cool s**t. Even the baddest, hardest-core con-hopper can get easily overwhelmed by the array of must-have time-wasters that cover the endless sea of tabletops. From bootleg DVDs to handmade Cookie Monster or Cenobite clocks. Imported movie posters, ultra-rare paperbacks. The guy who makes those really nifty clay caricatures of horror movie villains. (Yeah, I’ve just described every other con held across the world, but it just feels neater at Chiller.)
And while this was our first time setting up, we’d been attending this show for a couple of years now. So if you do enough of these things, you tend to make friends with the dealers and some of the other guests. While Amy was pretty much trapped behind the table, I was free to move about and hang with good folks like my old friend Justin Wingenfeld at EI (writer and director of the upcoming “Skin Crawl”), who was sitting next to the vivacious and classy Rachael Robbins (“The Screaming Dead”). Just around the corner from EI was Troma – admittedly somewhat hidden in an ante room across from a company offering “Spooky Massages” – with the grand Vizier Lloyd Kaufman in grand form. Never one to pass up a surreal event, Lloyd introduced me to legendary producer Sam Sherman and the neat-to-just-look-at Enigma. And we got to meet a true hero of ours: Patricia Quinn from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”, who had reportedly canceled and then uncanceled at the last minute. Later, after having returned home, I was suddenly chilled to learn that Pat, who will always be “Magenta” to me, is actually “Lady Stephens”, the widow of Lord Robert Stephens. I shook hands with someone very close to royalty! (No, I never dressed like her at RHPS.)
At one point, upon my return to the table (I’m often ordered away, actually, so that the more timid fanboys will approach and buy Amy’s sexier pictures) I was greeted by Eric Stanze and Jeremy Wallace (the masterminds behind, respectively, “Scrapbook” and “The Undertow”). I’ve long been a fan of these two and it was a real honor to finally meet them. My only regret was that with the show as crowded and fast-paced, we didn’t have a lot of time to talk. We were also joined by filmmaker Eric Thornett (“Shockheaded”) and composer Jason Russler. Unfortunately, we did have time to talk. (You ever try talking to Eric? It’s weird. And I’m told he eats bugs.)
The post-show Saturday night festivities are often the highlight for many Chiller-goers. In addition to the always-entertaining costume contest (where folks really go all out), there were also live performances by The Ubangis and The Dead Elvi. This was the first chance I had to check these bands out and I was greatly entertained (and deafened. And drunk).
By Sunday, at most shows, I’m more than ready to go home. This time… okay, I won’t lie, I was exhausted. We had a six hour drive ahead of us and we weren’t looking forward to it. We’d been steadily harassing Tom Savini the whole weekend and it had begun to lose its charm. And since he’d begun ignoring us late Friday night, it was hard to retain the spirit. But at the same time, we were a bit reluctant to leave. Sorry if this turned into a cheerleader piece, but we really did have a great time. It’s hard to spend all weekend as a more-or-less celebrity then go back to day-to-day life and Clark Kent it again. And I just can’t over-emphasize it—Kevin Clement not only throws a great party, but really treats you like you’re someone special. Even me. And for that reason alone, I would recommend Chiller to anyone and everyone. So take a deep breath—and a book, for those long waits—and dive right in.
____________________________________________________________
Mike Watt attempts to explore all the things that make Geek culture great, as well as pointing out all the things that make Geeks genetically superior to all other humans. During the course of this exploration, he may undoubtedly have to reveal horrid truths about Hollywood and Mainstream Cinema, as they compare to the riches of independent filmmaking. Ultimately, he hopes to bring higher awareness of and respect to Geek Culture, as well as secure a hefty book deal and the accolades of his (richer) peers. Feel free to lavish him with affection (or bitch at him) at hollywoodisburning@hotmail.com.
