Fangoria rolls into New York with Masters of Italian Horror panel

Famke Janssen in the Eric Red horror film 100 FeetFangoria’s back in town, and this year is working up to be a showcase for cult horror fans, and retro-revivals. Same as the past few years, the festivities are taking place at the Crowne Plaza Meadowlands in Secaucus, New Jersey, about 10 minutes from the Lincoln Tunnel.

Some of the highlights of the weekend include:

  • A panel with actor Tom Noonan, whose best known as Frankenstein’s creature in The Monster Squad, and playing the Tooth Fairy killer in Michael Mann’s Manhunter.
  • Producer R.A. Thorburn and stars Charlee Danielson and Anthony Sneed give an audience panel scoop on director Frank Henenlotter’s (Basket Case) outrageous comeback film Bad Biology.
  • A panel with Steve Gonsalves of the show Ghost Hunters.
  • Angus Scrimm, the Tall Man of the Phantasm films makes an appearance.
  • A Masters of Italian Horror panel, featuring Ruggero Deodato (Cannibal Holocaust, Cut and Run, House on the Edge of the Park), Lamberto Bava (Demons 1-2, Ghost Son, Macabro) and special effects artist Sergio Stivaletti (Wax Mask, Dellamorte Dellamore). The panel is hosted by Paolo Zelati and actress Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni.
  • Festival and Con favorite Ken Foree, from the original Dawn of the Dead, From Beyond and The Devil’s Rejects, will be signing autographs.
  • As usual, there will be previews of indie horror art house films, including panels with cast/crew from upcoming films Beast, Gutterballs, Albino Farm, Zone of the Dead, Scareflix, the slasher flick Methodic, and the mockumentary of the living dead American Zombie.
  • There’s also a Night of the Living Dead reunion with George A. Romero, John Russo, Judith O’Dea, Kyra Schon, Russ Streiner, Bill Hinzman, Charles Craig (TV news anchor) and George “You gotta shot’em in the head” Kosana (the Sheriff). That panel will be hosted by Scream Queen Debbie Rochon.

But the two events this writer is really excited about are the Q & A panel with filmmaker Eric Red, who wrote and directed two of my favorite under the radar horror thrillers, The Hitcher (original) and Near Dark. He’ll be discussing one of his new projects, called 100 Feet, which stars Famke Janssen (seen in the accompanying photo), Bobby Cannavale, and Michael Paré.

The other is a screening of the Asian grindhouse flick Machine Girl, which follows a vengeance-seeking Japanese high-school girl wielding a high-caliber machine-gun arm, that goes after gangsters and ninjas. That just sounds like brutal fun.

So genre and comic fans, that’s the event, if you can make it. The tix are on sale at the website, where you can also find a complete preview of events, days and times, at www.creationent.com/cal/fangocon/fangonj.htm.