Halloween Comes Early this Summer with Los Angeles' ScareLA Convention

Whoa, the coolest news ever was announced recently...in August, LA will host its first ever Halloween convention! It is being organized by the cool cats over at CreepyLA and promises lots of Halloween and horror themed panels, booths, speakers, workshops, screenings, and so on!

Here is a little bit of what to expect, courtesy of ScareLA's site:

ScareLA premieres on August 10 & 11, 2013 as the first Los Angeles convention dedicated to celebrating Halloween. Situated in the entertainment capital of the world it will combine the city’s top talent and unique cultural setting with a twist! Drawing fans and haunt entertainment professionals, the event will feature top attraction designers and operators, manufacturers, artists, filmmakers and more. The weekend-long Halloween season teaser will celebrate California’s hottest scary faire with attraction unveils, workshops and classes, top industry panels, haunt tours, screenings and activities. Share, inspire, play – ScareLA.

Sounds pretty awesome, right?!

Tickets are set to go on sale this month...I can't wait to buy mine!!

Read more on ScareLA's website!

Everybody Dies Horror Film Festival in Orange County this October!

Orange County is finally getting their very own horror film festival!

The awesome folks behind the horror-comedy cult hit Stupid Teenagers Must Die! are putting together an indie horror film festival right in my backyard this October and it sounds like it is going to be killer! Check out the press release below, which unveils the fest's first two short film screenings!

Just in time for Halloween, a brand new horror film festival is coming to one of the most terrifying places in the world: Orange County, California! Friday, October 21 - Saturday, October 22, the Brea Plaza Cinema will host the Everybody Dies Horror Film Festival.

The fest will present a variety of independent short and feature films displaying everything from brain-chompin' zombies to knife-wieldin' crazy killers. The weekend will be presided over by the festival's mistress of ceremony, the super sexy psychopath: Machete Betty.

This week, the festival is unveiling it's frightening line-up and the first two short films have been announced:

NOWHERE ROAD, directed by Benjamin Dynice and written by Ryan Parrott, is a horror thriller set in the outskirts of lonely highway. This live action short was shot over four days in Canyon Country putting it’s untrustworthy characters into the worst of situations. Cinematographer Michael Roy shot the film starring Jen Nikolaus, Mallory McGill, and Jacob Motsinger as the three hapless college kids. Matt Lasky and Sean Naughton fill the role of the hillbillies that stop to pick up the trio on their way back from hunting mountain lion. NOWHERE ROAD is produced by Benjamin Dynice and Austin O’Brien.

HORROR MOVIES SUCK is the story of George, a horror movie geek, who attempts to school his easily frightened roommate, Sam, on the ways of horror by showing him a rare underground film from the late 70's called 'Evil Comes to Soggy Bottom.' The scares onscreen ignite our viewers fear as the legend of this film literally comes to life. Director John Mark Triplett says "the concept originated from a conversation with a roommate who just didn't understand the appeal of horror movies. As a horror movie fan, I'm well aware of the cliches and short-comings of this genre and wanted to highlight those moments from a comedic perspective. The film plays out like a roller coaster, with the ups and downs reflected in the switching of perspectives from the guys watching the movie to the movie itself. Making this film was an all-out blast and one of the best experiences of my career."

Tickets are now on sale at the festival's web site: http://www.EverybodyDiesFilmFest.com

Celebrate Women in Horror with Viscera and Bleedfest Film Festivals This Weekend

If you are in LA, do yourself a favor and check out these two awesome film festivals focused on women in horror!

On Saturday, July 17th, 2010 you've got the first annual Viscera Film Festival (first reported HERE). Viscera has been celebrating women in horror for years (check out our reviews of their short film selections HERE and HERE), but this is the first time they are holding a physical film festival. The festival will be held at the Downtown Independent located at 251 South Main Street, Los Angeles, California starting at 4 PM with a Bloody Carpet Event followed by six hours of horror films by women, including Q & A's with special guests and an awards ceremony. Following the festival will be a KILLER afterparty where you can mingle (and mangle) with the hosts, special guests and fans. You won't want to miss it!!

This year's Viscera Film Festival is being hosted by The Chainsaw Mafia's Shannon Lark (interview) and Pretty-Scary.com's Heidi Martinuzzi (interview). Among the attendees are many women in horror that we interviewed for our amazing Women in Horror Month!

Tickets are only $15 and available now online. Show support for the event by joining Viscera’s Facebook page, making a donation, and purchasing the newly released 2008-2009 Viscera DVD.

The second film fest in honor of women is Bleedfest, hosted by indie filmmaker Lis Fies (interview), director of The Commune (review). Bleedfest is scheduled for Sunday, July 18th, 2010 at the Two Roads Theatre located at 4348 Tujunga Avenue in Studio City, California and will boast three feature-length films from women as well as short films and Q & A's with the filmmakers!

See the schedule below:

Noon-5:30pm

$10 for all day admission. There will be DVD giveaways as well as opportunities to buy the filmmakers' movies.

12 pm In Memorium
1:20 pm Jenine Mayring's short Simone
1:30 Q&A with Mayring
1:45 The Soskas' Dead Hooker in a Trunk (review)
3:15 Q&A with The Soskas
3:45 Lis Fies' The Commune (review)
5:15 Q&A with Fies
5:30 Mingle (and mangle) with fans and filmmakers over drinks and dinner next door at Aroma!

If you are in the Southern California area, you really don't want to miss either of these great film festivals celebrating the talents of the biggest and brightest women filmmakers!

For more information visit Viscera Film Festival's official site and Bleedfest's Facebook page!