13 Hot Takes from HorrorHound Weekend 2016

Bleary-eyed and soaked in chlorine, cheap pizza, joy, fulfillment, and margaritas, some of the BGH team comes to you with a list of 13 Hot Takes from this year’s Horror Hound Weekend Indianapolis (HHW). Twice a year the folks at HorrorHound Magazine muster the forces of darkness to orchestrate a dizzying menagerie of horror-centric talent, merchandise, film, television, and on and on. What’s more, the weekend also hosts the annual “Mask Fest” featuring some of the greats in horror’s FX. Though maybe not our qualitatively “best” memories of the weekend (those are private, *shush*) this collection of sensory sundries offers a taste of HorrorHound Weekend pleasures.

“We have such sights to show you!”

• David Arquette & Jamie Kennedy can own a room: Ignoring the fact the percentage of actual Scream talk on the Scream panel hovered around 40% the two thespians, comedians, and filmmakers offered a slate of engaging and hilarious stories. I was admittedly uncertain how interested I was going to be in this. But the discussion turned out being an exemplary distillation of what makes HHW such a wonderful experience for sharing fandom. From Kennedy regaling the audience with his experience auditioning in front of Tom Hanks and a coconut for Band of Brothers to Arquette’s brief synopsis of The Tripper 2, the panel was a trove of juicy trivia and hilarious storytelling. I also learned their is a group of folks who collect different variants of the Ghost Face mask...the more you know, huh?
• Horror has a sweet side (but you already knew that): Besides those genuinely funny moments, the Scream panel also offered a brief glimpse of HHW’s strides toward inclusivity. Honestly I don’t know if this was provided in years past but the presence of an ASL interpreter was a welcome gesture. After taking a question from a fan in the crowd, Arquette called attention to the man’s young son who was obsessed with something called Jake and the Neverland Pirates (first time for you, too? Cool.) Arquette promptly broke into the voice of his character from the show. A small moment that never the less probably filled that kid’s heart with some joy.
• Stumbling into a movie can be great: As militant as I am about preserving the integrity of the movie-going experience I was completely okay with accidentally wandering into the last 15 minutes of Plank Face. While I can’t in good conscience give the film a proper review the final moments were emotionally resonant, weird, creepy, and straight up goofy enough to inspire me to watch the rest of the feature as soon as I am able (minus the kind of disturbing crowd heckling toward the end).

• Clowns are still scary. Even in cookie jar form: Justin Harding’s short film Kookie preceded Friday evening’s midnight showing of Night of Something Strange. The short's mood offers an interesting contrast between insular melancholy and over the top goofiness resulting in a balancing act that effectively draws laughter and shrieks of terror. In it’s brisk, 13-minute runtime the film dives into heady issues of childhood autonomy and consequence. All this is peppered with some really spooky stuff, made all the more evident by the woman behind us yelling “Hell no!” every few moments.
• Apocalypse is Now! Maybe: Powell Robinson’s short film Born Again offers a pitch-perfect skewering of satanic fertility horror stories resulting in one of the most hilarious and bloody finales from the HHW film festival.
• Compelled by Good TV: It's safe to say the pilot for The Exorcist television show exceded expectations. The first episode offered just enough fan service, accompanied by applause and cheers from the audience, while also staking it's claim in the horror genre. Series creator Jeremy Slater was present for a brief Q&A following the screening. His answers further accentuated the series's intent to, "not fuck it up", borrowing a phrase from Slater. Be on the look out for a full write up from our High Priestess of Books and Witchy Stuff, CC.
• There was Beers: Local brewery Scarlet Lane Brewing made a beer called “Horrorhound Ale”. It was appropriately delicious and available cold or warm. These were consumed.
• Found Footage thrives in short form: I had a chance to talk with Rory Abel and Theo Copeland, the director and actor/producer respectively, of the short film Happy Birthday, Brenda. The short’s careful perspective transition and slow unraveling of the characters’ Freudian motivations is a stark and intimate look at a relationship gone awry. Check out our friends at Night of the Living Podcast for that interview.

Next up we have thoughts from Sophie, representative of the the BGH New Class (I still prefer New Blood)

• Give Summer the Finger: HorrorHound is the perfect way to kick off Fall and get pumped for the approach of spooky season! This was only my second year but since both have corresponded with the start of another year of graduate school, it feels like a perfect transition into Fall.

• #GetADaughter: Children at HorrorHound make me feel a whole range of the feels. Some of them look like they really don’t want to be there and/or aren’t old enough to understand all of the kooky fans in costumes elaborate zombie makeup, while others are super into it and seem to have have a keen understanding of the craziness. If and when I have kids, I don’t know how I’ll introduce them to horror, but a part of me hopes that when I #GetADaughter, she is half as cool as the little girl dressed in a homemade Taryn costume from Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.

• Strangers with Candy: Never accept jello shots from strangers. And keep Joe off of Twitter once he has taken said “jello shits.”

• Motel Hotel: The Indianapolis Marriott East has a lovely pool and sauna set up.

Lastly, some parting thoughts from everyone’s favorite BGH Beer Expert, Joe:

• Halloween People: For me the highlight of HorrorHound Weekend is getting to meet up with our friends and fans that we usually only get to see once a year. I went to my first one 6 years ago and some of the guys have been going for longer so we’ve met a lot of people over the years. There are the random run-ins with the celebrity guest too that are always fun. Hanging out with Jason Lively for a little bit was pretty high on the list of highlights for me this year. Really what I’m getting at here is walking the floor is cool but getting tipsy and watching all the Halloween people do their Halloween people thing at night is something I look forward to every year.

There you have it horror fans! Be sure to come out next year and look for the people in the BGH shirts! Or whoever is in the pool…that’s the second most likely spot.