by Dot Cannon
“I DID IT!” the woman yelled, in the middle of the Pasadena Convention Center floor. “I SURVIVED THE ZOMBIES!”
Nearby ScareLA attendees, on Sunday’s Day 2 of the Halloween convention, smiled, laughed or simply went on checking out the demons, goblins, and assorted horror-related exhibits.
“This is the only ‘con’ where I can yell at the top of my lungs and no one pays any attention,” the woman commented. “I love this one!”
So do we! As do a few thousand–or so–other enthusiastic Southern California “monsters”.
Sunday’s closing day of ScareLA 2015 showed just how much the L.A. area enjoys Halloween–in August and thereafter.
New additions to this year’s third edition of ScareLA included the “live zombie infection” game in question: Apocalypse, just released at ScareLA.
Players received a “Z-tag”, according to creator Quan Gan. “Z-tags” would interact with other ones nearby–on the zombies, roaming the ScareLA convention floor, or on the “healers”–and could affect a player’s “health” accordingly.
“The story of ‘Apocalypse’ is that everybody in this area is already infected,” Quan explained, “and you have two hours to find the antidote.” Ingredients for that antidote, he said, were in the various exhibitors’ booths, as checkpoints.
But, if an antidote isn’t found in two hours? Sorry–the player in question becomes a zombie, as well.
“Apocalypse” was just one of a number of highlights of the wrap-up of ScareLA.
Some convention-floor favorites included Crumpkin’s Pumpkins (even if we can’t get that song out of our heads now!). They’re crowdfunding a new film!
We also loved “Krampus”, and the related retro horror art of Bill Rude, of 7 Hells. The warm, reminiscent tone of his creations evoke Halloween nights in costume and favorite Saturday horror matinees.
Creative talent abounded, on this show floor. Artist Renee Harper explores “the creepy side of cute” with her handcrafted creations offered through her small business, Sweet Midnight.
Imagination plus a lot of Halloween “spirit” added up to fun and “the only Halloween decoration you’ll need”, by artist Andy Alexander, of The Grim Wreather.
Another favorite? Wicked Lit, the immersive-horror-theatre branch of Unbound Productions. They produce dramatizations of classic horror films in (what else?) a local graveyard and mausoleum. They say their 2015 program is now set–and they sold out really early, last year! (Their 2015 performance dates: October 2 through November 14th.)
Meanwhile, Larry Bones’ “Angels and Demons” exhibit kept producing authentic-looking denizens of both the nether world and the heavenly one. (Larry Bones, of Bone Yard Effects, is the makeup professional responsible for many a scare at Universal Studios, during the Halloween season!)
Equally fun was Tanya Cyr, who said she had just started painting about a year ago. Only a year to produce work like this? Some people are so talented, they’re–well, scary.
In the “What a great idea!” category was Nicholas Doan and Gwendolyn Dreyer’s exhibit. “Monster Elementary” is the winner of the 2015 Independent Publisher Book Award for “Best Humor Graphic Novel”. “Monster Elementary” manages to evoke the “feel”, along with the more “chilling” aspects, of early school days for anyone who’s “different”.
What “monster” in his or her right insanity could resist Dapper Cadaver? “Mad inventor” BJ Winslow says he builds many of these Halloween-related props himself.
And awwww–it’s a baby werewolf! This one comes from Sinister Pointe Productions.
But ScareLA wasn’t just about admiring the creativity of other “scaries”. Both days included a “graveload” of hands-on classes and workshops–as well as a chance for kids to be creative mini-ghosts and goblins!
A show favorite, in some unexpected ways, was Urban Death. Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre Group offered ten-minute performances throughout both days of ScareLA 2015. No “spoilers” here–let’s just say that they go beyond normal theatrical expectations, exploring themes of love and death in some surreal, dreamlike scenes. The fun comes from not knowing where they’ll go next!
Of course, no Halloween convention is complete without haunts.
This year’s included “escape rooms” where attendees had to figure out puzzles to get out!
Our favorite, of the mini-haunts, was this one. Watch out for that alligator!
And we prided ourselves on staying cool and not screaming, until…
“WHEEAAAAGHHHH!!!!” we vocalized, with admirable projection, at one point. (It wouldn’t be very “ghostly” of us to tell you why! You’ll just have to experience Spooky Hollows.)
Sunday’s panel presentations included an exciting preview–as eleven directors appeared onstage to discuss their work in a brand-new upcoming Halloween anthology film.
Actor Adam Green served as moderator and talked with directors including Axelle Carolyn and Ryan Schifrin about their work. Each director had had between seven and ten minutes to tell a story with the shared theme of Halloween night in an American suburb.
“Tales of Halloween” is set for an October 16th release, and will include ten Halloween stories–including one featuring a main character who can’t get enough Halloween treats, and another starring a pumpkin set on revenge!
Then, there was the Decayed Brigade Slider Show.
A definite highlight of this ScareLA as well as past ones, they had people wanting to “do the ‘Time Warp’ again”, a la Rocky Horror Show, right along with them.
Their grand finale, though, at 5:00 on Sunday, was–well, to die for.
Congratulations to Lora Ivanova, David Markham and their ScareLA team on yet another scarily-successful start to Southern California’s Halloween season, in August! We hope this one was as much of a “treat” for you as it was for us.