Fango's East Coast Con

My friends and I are going on Saturday, which is usually the best day for attending panels.

The guest list is okay, as I've seen a few of them before at past Chiller, Horrorfind & Monstermania shows, and I don't have much interest in Grudge 2 or the new TCM, but I am curious to see who will be at this year's MoH panel. And I have to hit the dealer's area, of course.

I wonder if this year will be more crowded than last year's woefully under-attended show, especially when compared to other horror-centric cons.

Haven't been to Fangoria, but since I moved to Orlando from the Tri-State area, I've missed my bi-annual dose of Chiller (I actually used to work at a video game developer in the Little Falls/Paterson/Clifton area of NJ).

Orlando's getting Screamfest (weekend of the 13th): http://www.spookyempire.com/ (atleast $10 more a day than Chiller prices! ugh)

Yeah, I wa sorely disappointed in this year's con (although last year's wasn't that amazing either); there will have to be a fantastic line-up for next year's show for my friends & I to consider going.

Some high points:
Hatchet panel - Adam Green was very friendly and personable, and the scenes that were shown, while there's no chance for an 'R' in current form, are wet & fun and take me back to the 80s-style of slasher gore. Talked to him after his presentation, and while he could not go into details such as who is distr., Hatchet will go into wide release in January. CAN NOT wait to see it.

Chainsaw prequel - R. Lee Ermey was fun, of course, but the 2 scenes shown didn't do a whole lot for me, although that could be a matter of being seen out of context. I'll reserve judgement on Fri.

Low points:
dealer room was woefully awful. The back wall was reserved for Fangoria & Fangoria TV only, and New Line, Anchor Bay & Loinsgate. Sponsors should have been in the main lobby, and used the open space for more dealers. Fango's not known for great dealer's rooms (Chiller take those honors).

Guests - a few big names cancelled (Carpenter & Combs - neither I was concerned about), but I wish some of the minor-panel gusts were around all 3 days. I know the big names associated w/ panels will only be there for a short time, but someone like Ed Lee, whose books I've just started getting into, was only there for one panel on Fri. There was the entire second floor available for hosting guests all weekend, but it was empty with the exception of the photo-op room. I'm sure I wasn't the only person to go to the con and find out the person you wanted to meet was there yesterday without any notice from the con presenters.

Oh well, it's not too bad - Chiller is in less than a month.

I went and had a good time with it. I was pleasantly surprised with the screening of the movie Rest Stop. Surprised because it has all the elements that really make a film for me without being contrived or overly complicated. There's http://www.rawfeed.com check out the trailers. I think a lot of horror fans are going to be talking about this film in the following months.

Yeah, I don't expect much when it comes to dealers at a Fango con, and I'm sure most dealer realize that there isn't much money to be made at one of their shows, since a majority of the attendees are in the ballroom for the panels or waiting in line for autographs.

Oh well, maybe I'll get to meet him another time. I just discovered his work myself, and I was hoping he would have some books with him for purchase (like Bighead). He's done other shows, so there's always another chance down the line.