With Halloween almost upon us, we decided that it might be a good time to sit down with E. Spanto, the horrific host of “Bloodshot Theatre,” a locally produced horror-film showcase that airs on Time Warner Cable’s public access channel. His proclivity for digging up movies [Read it all...]]]>

Verrrrry scary: San Antonio horror host E. Spanto

With Halloween almost upon us, we decided that it might be a good time to sit down with E. Spanto, the horrific host of “Bloodshot Theatre,” a locally produced horror-film showcase that airs on Time Warner Cable’s public access channel. His proclivity for digging up movies with copious amounts of blood and shoestring budgets seems to owe an obvious debt to San Antonio’s late lamented “Project Terror.”

E. Spanto (think espanto, the Spanish word for “fright”) claims to be the ghost of J.R. Ghul, the program’s founder and the former singer of the heavy metal band Tortured Skull. If you’re confused by that, perhaps this animated short will clear it all up. Or you can read the interview below… if you dare.

MU: What time does your show run? When do people need to tune in if they want to have their eyes gouged with horror?

ES: First off, fangs a zombie-bunch for taking the time and consideration to conduct this interview! it is gravely appreciated! And you are very brave! Most victims… ahem… viewers, that is, seem to be too timid to drop me a line. Anyhowwwwl, the show is a 30-minute installment (of four episodes) of selected classic ‘70s-’80s bloodcurdlers. Howwwwlever, due to limited resources and broadcasting methods over at Time Warner PATV, only two episodes are shown twice a month. Unfortunately, that means you’ll have to wait an entire two months for a movie to reach its finale. In the past (beforeTime Warner’s transition to having public access become city owned), a new episode was shown every week, once a week, so you got to see the entire movie in one month IF you weren’t afraid to watch… heh heh! Victims… ahem… pardon me dearly, once again, my good man… viewers can tomb in every Thursday and Saturday night after midnight (12:30 a.m.) to Time Warner Digital PATV Channel 20. I have yet to acquire any knowledge of this, but it has been rumored “Bloodshot Theatre” is also haunting Grande and AT&T U-verse subscribers as well. As for having their eyes gouged with horror, this month for the presentation of “The Mask” in 3-D, viewers were given the opportunity to e-mail me for FREE 3-D glasses made especially for the show.

MU: If I understand correctly, you’ve been doing the program for seven years. What’s kept you at it so long?

ES: Seven years in March of 2011, to be exact. “Bloodshot Theatre’s” premier episode creeped onto television sets with part 1 of “The Pit” (1981). Horror business! It’s all horror business, and the show must go on!

MU: You seem to dig up a lot of fun and obscure horror films, including some from overseas. Why the focus on these lesser-known movies?

ES: Some of them have to be seen to be believed, as the ol’ saying goes. In particular, films with Paul Naschy and John Ashley are just some of my favorites. There is just a certain kind of essence I get from the (mostly cheap! heh heh!) production and atmosphere. To some, they’re just trash-cinema, but to me they’re AMAZING!!! No joke.

MU: You use a song by the Italian horror-rock band Goblin (from the soundtrack to Dario Argento’s “Deep Red”) as your theme song. Are you an Argento fan? Ever shown any of his films on the program?

ES: Yesss… Goblin. If there could ever be an “official” instrumental intro to the show, this would be it! Indeed I am a fan of Argento. I have just begun collecting tight black leather gloves for different occasions. I am an even bigger fan of his daughter! Yes, I enjoy quite a few of his movies: “Suspiria,” “The Church,” “Demons” and “Demons 2.”

MU: You claim to be the ghost of J.R. Ghul. Who exactly was J.R. Ghul?

ES: Hah! That punk was the lead vocalist of the little known punk-metal (if you will) band Tortured Skull. They played Tacoland quite a bit on Thursday nights, circa 2001. Upon the band’s breakup in mid 2004, J.R. mysteriously disappeared, after crashing his ’66 Ford Falcon somewhere in San Fernando Cemetery No. 2. Then, like a bat outta hell, he began hosting “Bloodshot Theatre,” until recently, when his time came up. That returned him to the netherworld and I stuck around as a ghost who walks… heh heh… in this case… hosts!

MU: I sense that you were influenced by “Project Terror,” the horror showcase that aired on KENS-TV during the ’70s. Can you talk about how it affected your decision to become a horror host?

ES: I will probe into the mind and memories of J.R. Ghul for this question….

J.R. Ghul: I was actually introduced to the film “Twisted Brain” (1974) at a very young age. It may have been a film showcased on the “Project Terror” tv series or perhaps on the ill-fated KENS 2-TV one Friday or Saturday night. But as time progressed, staying up all night to watch KRRT-TV’s “Saturday Night Shockers” became ritual. I got hooked… heh heh… on watching late night horror movies. I became a teenage zombie! I think delving into a lot of the monster mags — Famous Monsters, Fangoria and more particularly Scary Monsters — goaded my decision to become a horror host. I thought, “Hey, I can do this, and I can air movies like ‘Twisted Brain” and other horrors no longer being aired or just plain forgotten about. Also, there hadn’t been a late night spook show like “Project Terror” or “Saturday Night Shockers” in a verrrry long time. I thought it had to be done!

MU: Are there any recordings of Tortured Skull?

ES: Yes, a four song demo was released in… hmmmmm…. 2003 maybe? They were given away at some shows and to friends. Whether anyone has or would wanna keep a copy to this day is beyond my knowledge. Hearing it again would be interesting, though, as I don’t have a copy myself.

MU: Tell us about the animated films describing E. Spanto’s origins. Did you make those yourself, or does someone else get to take the credit?

ES: J.R. gets the credit on all those. They were kinda like his last will. Hahahahaha! He may have a few more in the works, that is, if he returns from the netherworld!

MU: I also noticed in doing some research on you that there are other  new-generation horror hosts popping up in other cities. Is there currently a mini-revival of horror hosts and TV horror showcases taking place around the country?

ES: Yes, I would think so. When J.R. began hosting, I think the horror-hosting biz was just getting brought back to life again, so I think he jumped in at the right time. Websites such as Horror Host Underground and Horror Host Graveyard were already in development and dead-icated to current and past horror hosts. There was a documentary released not too long ago called “American Scary,” which focuses on the whole horror host revival.

MU: And finally, what are your five favorite horror films and your five favorite horror comics?

ES: Bah! Again i will probe into the mind and thoughts of J.R. Ghul.

J.R. Ghul: Man, that’s really tough. I’ve got soooo many! I’ll try to narrow it down as best i can, and in no particular order…

1. “Demons” (1985)
2. “Curse of the Werewolf” (1961)
3. “The Abominable Dr. Phibes” (1971)
4. “Beast of the Yellow Night” (1971)
5. “Curse of Devil” (1973)

As for comics, I like a lot of the old ‘70s-’80s stuff. Marvel had a few titles I’d pick up at shows, like Dead of Night and Tales of the Zombie. On the DC side, Tales of the Unexpected and House of Mysterious Secrets. Of course, also all the EC Comics, Eerie and Vampirella mags. Oh, yeah, and of course Batman!

This year’s Bram Stoker Awards Preliminary Ballot was released last week, celebrating the best of 2009 in horror literature as recognized by the Horror Writers Association. Congrats to San Antonio’s own Joe McKinney who has two of his works on the list. QUARANTINED is a preliminary selection in the category of Superior [Read it all...]]]>

Joe McKinney

This year’s Bram Stoker Awards Preliminary Ballot was released last week, celebrating the best of 2009 in horror literature as recognized by the Horror Writers Association. Congrats to San Antonio’s own Joe McKinney who has two of his works on the list. QUARANTINED is a preliminary selection in the category of Superior Achievement in a Novel and his story “Plague Dogs” is a preliminary selection in the category of Superior Achievement in Short Fiction. According to the Horror Writers Association’s website, its members “will vote to choose final nominees from this list, and then vote again to determine winners. Winning titles will be announced at the World Horror Convention, March 25-28 2010, in Brighton, England.” Note that the Preliminary Ballot is NOT an official Stoker nomination, but merely the preliminary round before nomination, sometimes known as a “long list”. McKinney says, “I couldn’t be happier. There’s some stout competition this year, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”

It was only a matter of time before I read this one. I work at a popular San Antonio bookstore, and I try to shelve the sci-fi and fantasy books whenever I can. It was the cover of The Devil’s Alphabet that initially drew my attention with its gloriously creepy upside-down eyes staring back at me every [Read it all...]]]>

It was only a matter of time before I read this one. I work at a popular San Antonio bookstore, and I try to shelve the sci-fi and fantasy books whenever I can. It was the cover of The Devil’s Alphabet that initially drew my attention with its gloriously creepy upside-down eyes staring back at me every time I walked by. The synopsis proved interesting enough to suck me in, and Daryl Gregory’s unique combination of science fiction, horror and small-town secrets kept me hooked.

It’s been fifteen years since Paxton Martin left the small town of Switchcreek, Tennessee, and he’s done his best to put his past behind him. Now he has returned to his hometown to attend the funeral of an old friend—her death ruled a suicide. However, Paxton has his doubts concerning the events of that night, and a few questions and some snooping around prove that there just may be more to Jo Lynn’s death than originally thought. This in itself provides the backdrop for a pretty standard, run-of-the-mill mystery; but Gregory doesn’t stop there.

Switchcreek, Tennessee, is the place where the changes happened.

Before Paxton left town, a mysterious, unidentifiable disease wiped out a third of the population and transformed most of the rest into one of three different types of beings. Argos are painfully stretched into hunched, chalk-skinned, twelve foot tall humanoids of immense strength and speed. Betas are a hairless, wine-skinned people whose women conceive children without intercourse. Charlies, like Paxton’s preacher father, are bloated and obese, the elder males of which produce blisters which leak a drug-like substance known as “the vintage.” Only a few residents, Paxton among them, are spared the pains of the transformation.

The town has moved on during Paxton’s absence, its people adapting to their new lives. The different clades have found ways to fit in, and their representatives strive to meet their new needs as citizens. The betas have grown into a cult-like people, living on a compound and revelling in their natural births. The charlies have also found a way to fit in, harvesting the vintage for an unknown purpose. Paxton finds himself having to learn to live in a new society, one that has evolved around its new inhabitants.

Gregory definitely has fun with the story. Not to be content with a mere estranged father/son reunion tale, Gregory’s Paxton is a chemically dependent slacker whose motivations may be based less on love than on the hallucinogenic side-effects that his vintage provides. Likewise, his take on local politics involves a bit more as well as now we have the different clades jockeying for more dollars to suit their new needs. It’s nice to see what he can do to small town life just by throwing in a little sci-fi weirdness.

Gregory does play with the fantastic, but like in real life, not all of his questions are answered. While the questions surrounding Jo Lynn’s death are resolved, I was left with quite a few “what-ifs” to kick around. But that’s not neccessarily a bad thing. Just as his take on small town life has enough true-to-life flavor to feel real, so does a story that only answers a few of the questions it poses. One question I do know the answer to:  I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more stories from Daryl Gregory, upside-down eyes or not.

For twenty years now, there’s been one address for Halloween horror in San Antonio — 201 East Grayson Street. Not that you need to be told, if you live in this town, but that’s the home of Nightmare on Grayson, San Antonio’s longest-running, and still the best, haunted house. Director of Operations [Read it all...]]]>

Nightmare on Grayson's Gordon Wise...and friends

For twenty years now, there’s been one address for Halloween horror in San Antonio — 201 East Grayson Street. Not that you need to be told, if you live in this town, but that’s the home of Nightmare on Grayson, San Antonio’s longest-running, and still the best, haunted house. Director of Operations Gordon Wise gave us the inside dope on what’s inside your favorite Nightmare.

Missions Unknown: What has made Nightmare on Grayson the best for so long?

Gordon Wise: The employees make it the best. Unlike some haunted houses across the country, Nightmare on Grayson is an actor- and theatrical-driven experience. You won’t find any animatronics or high-tech scares here, we rely on an actor’s skill and timing to terrify you. Nothing beats the timing of a real, live actor.

MU: When did Nightmare on Grayson start?

GW: We’ve been in San Antonio under this name for around 20 years. Not a lot of people know, but it actually started out in 1989 as Nightmare on 6th Street, in Austin. The partners who ran that went their separate ways, and one came to San Antonio and Grayson Street. I’ve been a part of it for fifteen years. I was driving from Savannah to San Diego and happened to stop in San Antonio in October. They needed a security guard and now I’m a partner.

MU: How do you keep people coming back year after year?

GW: Nightmare on Grayson has become a staple. Ask a San Antonio twelve-year-old what Halloween means to them, and Nightmare on Grayson will be one of the top three things listed. We do this by marketing every year like it’s the first year. We are always working to get the word out and remind people of the event. It is all due to the hard work of the dedicated staff and employees.

We have children on our staff whose parents worked at Nightmare. And there are people who bring in their kids, whose parents had brought them in years before. We’re on our third generation of customers, and a second generation of staff.

Each year we change about thirty percent of the attraction, usually a little at the beginning and little at the end, changes designed to give maximum impact. The interior of the facility is about a third size of a football field, and we work year-round to maintain it and improve it. We all have to take second jobs to support ourselves off-season, but we’re still working here all the time.

MU: Who designs the creatures and costumes?

GW: Me and Oscar Martinez, full-time. Others come in for short stints to help out. Off-season there’s never more than three or five, but come showtime, we have close to 100 employees, fifty or sixty of them actors. The rest handle tickets, support the staff and crew, sew costumes, handle money…we’ve got runners and people handing out water (it gets hot in there). Virtually any position you can imagine in a movie theater, we have that position in the haunted house. We’ve gotten more and more elaborate over the years, due to the exceptional artists coming through. I learn a lot from every year’s staff, very talented people.

MU: What can people expect to see while waiting in the line to get in?

GW: We don’t have lines anymore. Used to be we’d have a line four city-blocks long, but we’ve got online ticketing now, people get in fast. Very streamlined, when it’s your turn, you just show your ticket and you get in. But we do have some character monsters outside who will give you a scare if you get there early. And there’s card readers and vendors and face painters, we still have that carnival atmosphere.

MU: Is there an age limit? Do you turn anyone away? How do you deal with the faint-hearted?

GW: The show really is not recommended for children under 10, but I’ve seen all ages inside. Some kids can handle it, some can’t, just depends on your willful suspension of disbelief. We even get senior citizens in there. There’s always some who just can’t handle it. Someone will cry, wet their pants or throw up every night, but only a small percentage, probably about the same as for any scary movie. We escort them out and try to make it as dignified as possible, but it’s obvious they’re upset.

MU: What are everyone’s favorites?

GW: For some reason, everyone freaks out on puppets and dolls. Oh, and clowns. Not sure why. I think it might be because of the painted face, and parents force them to get close when they’re young. And anyone’s creepy when they’re always happy.

The Spurs Coyote and Freddy Krueger

MU: Spurs Coyote vs Freddy Krueger: who wins?

GW: Funny you should mention the Coyote. He came out this year and put on the Freddy outfit, still dressed as the Coyote. It’ll show on the screen at the Spurs game Halloween night. If you see it there, come out and visit the haunted house afterward, we’re open until at least midnight.

MU: How have people in the area reacted to Nightmare on Grayson becoming such a fixture?

GW: When we first got here, the neighborhood was derelict, really a disaster area. We’ve been cleaning and fixing the area for twenty years, cutting grass and removing graffiti. Now our new neighbor, the Pearl Brewery, has moved in, and they’ve really done a lot to upgrade the area. We’re trying to update our façade to match. People are really surprised to see the place now, it looks very nice.

MU: What are your favorite sci-fi and horror movies?

GW: I’m kind of embarrassed to admit them, because they’re mostly so silly. One was a drive-in movie I saw as a little kid, The Gruesome Twosome, about a woman who takes in girls to board in her house and gives them to her afflicted son in the basement to scalp with an electric carving knife. That really stuck with me. Another is Trilogy of Terror, with Karen Black being chased around the house by a voodoo doll, that scared the crap out of me! I didn’t see The Texas Chain Saw Massacre until I was an adult, and anyone who pooh-poohs that movie doesn’t know what they’re talking about, it’s great. Can’t stand the remake, though, I love Gunnar Hansen. I far prefer the happy-go-lucky fat guy with a chainsaw to the angry guy with the chainsaw.

Alien is great, hit me at just the right time. And I’ll probably catch some heat from my friends, but The Blair Witch Project really disturbed me. I think it might’ve been the camera-work, though, I was nauseous walking out of the theater.

No one will believe me, but it’s the gods-honest truth — I love big musicals and Bollywood — Grease, Rocky Horror, Hair, anything where people break into dance numbers.

HANK SCHWAEBLE, a Houston-based thriller writer and attorney, recently passed through San Antonio to promote his debut novel, DAMNABLE. Hank’s Berkley/Jove book walks the line between thriller and horror story, exploring the seductive nature of evil. Its protagonist, Jake Hatcher, is a morally ambiguous former military [Read it all...]]]>

DAMNABLE author Hank Schwaeble. Photo by Sanford Allen.

HANK SCHWAEBLE, a Houston-based thriller writer and attorney, recently passed through San Antonio to promote his debut novel, DAMNABLE. Hank’s Berkley/Jove book walks the line between thriller and horror story, exploring the seductive nature of evil. Its protagonist, Jake Hatcher, is a morally ambiguous former military interrogator forced into a struggle to save humanity from eternal damnation.

A graduate of the University of Florida and Vanderbilt Law School, Hank is a former Air Force officer and a special agent for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. He’s also a Bram Stoker Award winner for the anthology Five Strokes to Midnight, which he co-edited.

This new Missions Unknown feature will feature conversations with sf/f/h professionals who are visiting San Antonio. Hank sat down to talk with us prior to his signing at The Twig Book Shop.

There seem to be some parallels between the central character and yourself — mainly the military background. Was that intentional or were you just writing what you know?

Well, a little bit of writing what I know and more of writing what interests me. I felt like I could lend some authenticity to the character by drawing on my background. I certainly wouldn’t claim to be as physically tough as Jake Hatcher, but I had a good feel for the military. I felt like I could bring some feel of realism to the character. In any good fiction you don’t necessarily want to recreate reality, you want to capture the essence of reality. That’s what readers relate to — just enough detail to orient them, just enough detail to give them a sense that this is similar to real life.

You described Valentine, the antagonist who wants to damn humanity to Hell, as being “ultra evil.” How do you create such a character and make him believable, not just a Snidely Whiplash sort of cliché?

Most bad guys don’t think of themselves as evil. They probably think of themselves as realists or being able to take advantage of things other people are unwilling to or as people who see things as they really are. They’re the stars in their own movies, their own stories, so you have to put yourself in their shoes. Not so much identifying with them as it is imagining what a character like this would think, what their thought process would be like, what motivates them. Having dealt with investigations and having interrogated lots of criminals, you get a sense as to how they think — some of them, anyway — and reading up on serial killers and sociopaths, you find certain commonalities. They’re usually very intelligent and they’re usually guided by a logic that you can recreate. It’s a very self-centered kind of logic that throws empathy out the window. Mostly what you do is come up with internal drives that readers will find intriguing. Valentine has a strong motivation, something you can kind of relate to, something readers might understand as being unsettling — his parents being in hell. But he takes it to an extreme and he comes up with a way to thwart God’s plan. He’s so ego-driven and powerful that he can do it.

Hank Schwaeble's Damnable.

The underground labyrinths beneath New York are a big player in the book. Did you do a lot of research on that, or is what we see straight from your imagination?

I did research into the early subway systems, into who designed them, what they were like. Details that would explain why this certain tunnel was where it was. One of the things that’s interesting about the New York City subway system is no one really knows where those old tunnels are. It’s fascinating to me that you can have something like that and then not have a reliable record of it. It’s not something that hasn’t been explored before, but I was intrigued enough to make it part of the book. It certainly allowed me to get out of the densely populated settings of New York into someplace more creepy and threatening and isolated.

A lot of the themes you explore seem like they could be used in a thriller, in a horror book or in an urban fantasy. When you were writing the book, did you have any sense which way it would be marketed?

That’s something the publisher decides. There’s two types of genre classifications. There’s one that involves conventions and motifs and certain types of plots – things that identify it from a critical perspective as being part of a certain genre. And then there’s marketing, which is what publishers care about. Because genre, to a publisher, is just shorthand for “this is something this group of readers will read.” When I sat down to write Damnable, I wanted to market it as a supernatural thriller because I thought that would be more palatable to the industry, where horror had kind of a bad name at the time. I sold it in the first round of submissions, and what did (the publisher) do but stamp “Horror” right on the spine? They thought that was the best way to market it. I didn’t sense it at the time, but horror is making a comeback. Right up until the time I sold the book, it didn’t have a very good reputation and didn’t sell very well. That’s not apparently the case right now, which was good. Actually what I wanted to do was mix a hard-boiled noir novel with horror. I thought that would be a natural marriage, and I hadn’t seen it done very often. I like hard-boiled detective stories and I like horror, I like thrillers. It seemed like the dark sides of humanity explored in noir novels lend themselves very much to a horror theme.

How far back do you go on the noir stuff? Hammett, Chandler, Spillane and all those guys?

Oh, yeah. Certainly. You can’t really mention noir without mentioning the Maltese Falcon. There’s some really good noir out there. It just doesn’t seem to cross-pollinate with horror that much. And I never understood that. Modern horror seems to focus a lot more on the surreal, on this fantasy aspect, which isn’t what I’m all that interested in. I’m more interested in the gritty realism of a noir novel. That would seem to be more creepy, more scary – something that sticks with you longer. I think the hardest part for a novel-length horror story is maintaining that tension. The more fantastic it is, the further it is outside the realms of normality, the harder it seems that would be – to maintain tension.

Are there some other folks working in the business right now that do a good job of blending horror and noir?

Supernatural, yes. Horror, hard to say. Certainly Tom Piccirilli, although he often tends to go a little more to the surreal. Dan Vining has written some supernatural noir. Is it horror? It’s close. They’re supernatural detective stories. But I don’t think it’s common right now. Hopefully it’s something that will catch on, because I’d like to write more of books like this one.

You’re working on a second book right now, but from what I understand it’s not a sequel to Damnable.

It’s a straight mainstream thriller called the Suicide Tourist. Then after that I’m going to start on the sequel to Damnable.

Do you see Damnable becoming a trilogy or a franchise, or do you think it’s something that should end after the second book?

I certainly see it as a trilogy. I guess it depends on how popular it becomes as to where it goes from there. I envisioned it either being a standalone or part of a trilogy. I knew if I did a sequel it would end up being a trilogy. Where it goes from there, the market’s going to dictate. But, sure, I’d love for it to become a series if there’s reader interest.

Did it help you sell the book that you had a background in military law enforcement?

It certainly didn’t hurt. I think it depends a lot more on what you’re writing as to what your background is. In non-fiction, it’s almost essential. Three or four years ago everybody wanted to know what your “platform” was – what’s your source of authority for writing about your subject? I think that’s died down considerably, but I still think it can help, especially when you’re finding an agent. I suppose it does lend some street cred, having a military background and writing about a military character. Being a lawyer, I’m not so sure. There are a ton of lawyers who write books.

Your blog has one of the coolest names of any author blogs I’ve encountered: These Boots are Made for Violence. How’d that come about?

I was working to get my website together and was using AuthorBytes, who do websites for a lot of other writers. I got a photographer to do a shoot so I could have some pictures to put on my website. As I was leaving for the shoot, I grabbed some clothes so I could try a few different looks. I had a pair of tennis shoes on, and on my way out the door I saw my (snakeskin cowboy) boots and said, “I may as well take these. Maybe the photographer will like them.” I showed the shoes and boots to the photographer and asked which I should wear. He immediately said, “The boots.” The people from AuthorBytes just loved the boots, thought they looked great in the photos. When the AuthorBytes people asked me to come up with a blog title, I sent them about 15, and we’d narrowed it down. I think one of the ones we both liked was something with “violence” in the title. They said, “But you’ve got to mention the boots in the title.” I was just joking and suggested “These Boots are Made for Violence.” They said, “That’s it. Perfect.”

Queue up, horror fans. Houston writer and attorney HANK SCHWAEBLE will be signing copies of his first novel, DAMNABLE, at THE TWIG BOOK SHOP on Saturday, Sept. 26.

Hank will be at the store from 2-4 p.m. promoting the new Penguin/Putnam paperback. Damnable is the story of a disgraced special military [Read it all...]]]>

Hank Schwaeble's Damnable.

Queue up, horror fans. Houston writer and attorney HANK SCHWAEBLE will be signing copies of his first novel, DAMNABLE, at THE TWIG BOOK SHOP on Saturday, Sept. 26.

Hank will be at the store from 2-4 p.m. promoting the new Penguin/Putnam paperback. Damnable is the story of a disgraced special military operative who stumbles onto a secret battle on the streets of New York that may doom humanity to an unspeakable fate.

Look for a feature on Hank and the book soon on Missions Unknown. We just have to take an interest in any horror writer who names his blog THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR VIOLENCE.

Over the course of the festival (August 27-30) you will have the opportunity to see countless films, meet horror film celebrities and check out the wares from an array [Read it all...]]]> It’s time for the second annual SAN ANTONIO HORRIFIC FILM FEST, your chance to see a great sampling of scary movies from San Antonio and beyond!

Over the course of the festival (August 27-30) you will have the opportunity to see countless films, meet horror film celebrities and check out the wares from an array of vendors on hand. This year the HFF brings together three horror film legends: Leatherface, Jason and Michael Meyers…or at least the actors who played them. Bill Johnson (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), Ari Lehman (the original Friday the 13th) and Tony Moran (the original Halloween) will all be in attendance.

Horrific Film Fest 2009 Teaser from The Darkness on Vimeo.

The fest kicks off with the Zombie Walk Thursday, August 27th at 6:00 pm in the Alamo Drafthouse Westlakes parking lot. Don your most gruesome zombie makeup and attire (or just show up if you’re a zombie already) and prepare to do the zombie shuffle.

Zombies (and the living) will then proceed to the Horrific Trailer Party at the Drafthouse. The $3.00 admission gets you into the party to see emcee Ari Lehman present movie trailers from around the world competing for a cash prize, door prizes and three horror rock bands: Cursor, Ashley Ford and Saturday Night Shockers.

Friday night, the celebrities walk the black carpet at 6:00. Ticket prices are $10. VIP Passes are available and include a T-shirt, a Hat, a walk the black carpet, VIP seats in the screening rooms, breakfast with the celebrities and a 4-day pass for the event. Movies will be showing from noon until midnight Friday and Saturday and until 5:00 on Sunday. Bill Johnson will be conducting an acting class on Sunday, August 30. Check the Horrific Film Fest web site for details.

The Horrific Film Fest was established as a way to present new opportunities and exposure to independent filmmakers around the world who are working in the horror, horror comedy, thriller, and suspense genres. Filmmaker George L. Ortiz (The House Of The Demon) and Sergio Guerra conceived of the event in 2007 and the festival is now owned and run by Ortiz Entertainment and The Darkness.

This year you can expect to see San Antonio films like Dr. S Battles the Sex Crazed Reefer Zombies, The House of the Demon, Echo and Zombie Movie. Other flicks on tap are Friday the 13th Part 1, Livestock, The Box, Vampress, Fright Flick, The Stitcher, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, The Eternus, Maniac Bloodbath, Slime Creatures Invade Austin, Reel Zombies, No Exit, Psycho Killer Attack, Bikini Girls on Ice, The Path of Torment, The Inherited, Orlok the Vampire 3D, A Trailer Park Haunting and more.

The festival isn’t just about enjoying the movies, it’s also a competition for independent horror filmmakers. Awards will be presented for Best Short, Best Feature, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Special FX. The winner of the Best Feature will get distribution with Celebrity Video Distribution.