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HORROR 101: THE A-LIST OF HORROR FILMS AND MONSTER MOVIES VOL 1

March 30th - April 1st, 2007

After 10 shows, and 10 reports, Wasteland guru Ken Kish is always giving me crap from basically saying the same thing over and over. That we always have a great time and it's the show that we have the most fun at. So this time, I thought I'd do something a little different. Not only are you going to get my same old review, but during the show we asked a few people that were attending their thoughts about the Wasteland show. And much to everyone's surprise, they pretty much said the same thing I have been saying for the last 8 years. But let's hear what they had to say.

"I’m Brian and my girlfriend and I drove in from Toronto. This is my second Wasteland show. Absolutely love the show. Love the people here. It’s a really friendly vibe. And I really like that the focus is really strictly on horror and not just on mainstream horror, but it’s sort of more aimed towards people that are into obscure horror. So way to go, guys. Great job. Looking forward to the next one."

"I’m Christine and I’m from Ohio. I’ve been going to Cinema Wasteland almost every show. I always have a good time. I like the different collection of guests that he has. It’s not a really expensive show compared to some of the ones run across the country. I think the best shows he ran were the TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE reunion and the follow up reunion the next year."

"This is Joe Johnson from Franklin, PA. We’ve only missed one show. Ken’s show is not as anal as other convention. Anything goes. There’s no one particular genre he’s pays attention to. He’s keeps the drive-in level going with the types of films he shows and the musical entertainment. And he encourages everyone to have the best time possible."

"My name is Allan, and I'm from Fort Knox, Kentucky. It's about a 5 1/2 hour drive from here. It's about my 4th or 5th one in a row. Interesting show because of the variety of people as well as stuff that you'd find here. Usually at a show like this, if you don't find at least one item, then you're not a real collector. Because you have to find something of interest, at least one item. But I've always enjoyed these shows, especially meeting the celebrities. They're real down-to-earth people, just like your next door neighbor. They're some of the friendliest people you'll meet. I've always liked these shows."

"Hi, I'm Dave and I'm from Ohio. Cinema Wasteland first timer. Compared to the other conventions that I've been to this one is certainly excellent. Lot of dealers and the events and stars are great. Come on down, it's a good time."

So that just goes to show you that it's not just us that feel this way about the Wasteland show. If you're of a fan of the obscure/drive-in style of films, then you really will fit in with this show. Next one coming up is in October. So start making your plans now.

Our main draw for this show was the LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS guests. Being a huge fan of Roger Corman's work, it was great to get the chance to meet Jonathan Haze, Jackie Joseph, and especially Charles B. Griffith. Griffith was responsible for a lot of Corman's earlier work. I ran into their Q&A to get some quick photos and ended up standing in the back for most of it. Tons of great stories of working with Corman, and also just the trials and hardships of low budget filmmaking. But even with that, they all pointed out that they had a lot of fun.

They also had a reunion for Russ Meyer's FASTER PUSSYCAT KILL....KILL! Tura Satana & Haji were there, along with Dennis Busch, who starred as "the vegetable". Need to see the movie to understand that. But they also had some great stories as well. We're not a huge fan of that movie, only because it's not horror, but for exploitation fans, you can't go wrong with that one. Sure would be nice to see an official DVD release over here in the states.

Another guest present was the lovely Caroline Munro. We've seen here a few times before at other shows, but she is just a sweetheart, and is a pleasure to meet each time. Still looking amazing, she always has wonderful stories on the many genre films that she's worked on. Plus the fact that she has worked with many genre icons from Paul Naschy to Jess Franco to a couple of the Hammer films.

There was also a HELTER SKELTER reunion with Marilyn Burns, Eileen Dietz, and Charlie himself, Steve Railsback. Once again, they all had some good stories from the making of the film and dealing with the subject matter. Of course, Burns was also in some movie about a chainsaw maniac in Texas, and Railsback was in too many genre movies to even name.

And speaking of TCM, John Dugan was there. Dugan played Grandpa in the original TCM. So it was nice for me and a lot of other fans to add his signature to our TCM merchandise. He was a great guy and very friendly.

Camille Keaton, star of the cult classic I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE was there. She's another real sweetheart and very, very friendly to her fans. She actually had some original posters with the original title DAY OF THE WOMAN. These are extremely rare, since only a few were printed and even fewer distributed.

We also were happy to see our two favorite zombies, Clayton Hill and Sharon Ceccatti, from DAWN OF THE DEAD. They are always chatting up with their fans and always have some great stories. Two of the nicest zombies you'll ever meet. And speaking of zombies, Bill Hinzman from the original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD was there as well. It's always a treat to see him in costume and make-up for the fans. Another great guy.

And of course, there was the Wasteland's adopted child, Tom Sullivan and his traveling world of the EVIL DEAD. Looking at those original props never gets old. It's amazing to see these relics from that classic movie. And of course, just ask Mr. Sullivan about how fun low budget filmmaking is and you'll get some great stories.

Of course, the other draw for us personally besides the great guests is the other dealers and fans. Each year we make new friends and see old ones. I especially want to give a huge thanks to Frank Franco and Steve Bejma. We met them a couple of years ago at the Wasteland and were so impressed with the quality of their shirts, we had them print up some of our shirts. And the difference was night and day. These shirts looked like they were suppose to, with our logo damn near jumping off the shirt. If you're looking to get some professional shirts done, these are the guys. You can contact them at their website HERE. Make sure you tell them we sent you.

And then there's the rest of the usual suspects that we're are usually seen with. Like Don & Nina from Slaughtered Lamb Studio, Buzz and Justin from Buzz-Works, Jill & company from Lix, and Aaron & Nathan from HorrorHound. Hope I'm not forgetting anyone. Of course, we can't leave out the usual crew of Dave Kosanke from Liquid Cheese, Eric Ott from Headsville Roll and the man they call Stone. Making his first trip out to the Wasteland this time out with the Kryptic krew was the unbelievable talented artist Putrid. Not only does this youngster have a huge knowledge of the low budgeted horror films of the 70's & 80's, and a huge collector of those big box videos, but he is also one amazingly talented artist. If you're a fan of the styles of Bernie Wrightson and the artwork from the Creepy and Eerie magazines, then you will enjoy his stuff. Check out his official site HERE.

So once again, we had an awesome time at the Cinema Wasteland show. If you still haven't made it out to one, don't you think it's about time? Hope to see you there in October!

FASSY PUSSYCAT...KILL! KILL! REUNION
TURA SATANA, HAJI, DENNIS BUSCH