FAN EXPO COVERAGE: Day #2-- Interview with Carlos Henriques (The Butcher Shop and the Hamilton Horror Show)

INTERVIEW with

CARLOS HENRIQUES

As a member of Horror in the Hammer, I am always eager to meet Hamiltonians working in the movie or art fields and are creating and promoting horror events in this city. That's why it was entirely my pleasure to meet Carlos Henriques, a special effects makeup artist born and raised in Hamilton. Carlos belongs to The Butcher Shop, which sells professionally crafted horror masks, props, busts, and body parts. Carlos has also worked on films such as Silent but Deadly, Left for Dead, Resident Evil 2, Bottom Feeder, Vs. The Dead and the upcoming Resident Evil 4. He's parlaying his talents into creating a brand new haunted attraction in Hamilton for this Halloween season. I met up with Carlos at the Rue Morgue Festival of Fear and he took time off from selling brains so I could pick his about the development of his upcoming Hamilton Horror Show.

Zed Word: Carlos, is the work you do with The Butcher Shop your main job or something you do on the side? 

Carlos Henriques: It's something I do on the side but I incorporate it into my regular life also because I am a special effects makeup artist in feature films and things like that also.

ZW: You have a very intriguing event coming up in Hamilton called the Horror Show. Can you tell my readers a bit more about that?

CH: Yeah, it's going to be Hamilton's scariest haunted house, actually. It's going to be based on top of the Corktown pub, a very famous location there in Hamilton, and it's going to be a wild ride. It's going to be pretty scary. We're trying to shoot for the last three weekends of October, and it's going to lead up to a big Halloween bash on the Saturday.

An example of The Butcher Shop's wares. Note the Fight Club Soap

 ZW: So why are you creating the Horror Show in Hamilton?

CH: Well, growing up in Hamilton, I've just noticed that there aren't many horror-based places to go to, whether it be like a haunted house or just products, things like special effects supplies, all those things are lacking in Hamilton and just trying to find things I generally travel to Toronto to find them. And I just think that Hamilton is big enough where we could support something like that, so I'm thinking maybe a haunted house is the way to go. I've worked with a couple of guys like Chris Harrison and Phil Pattison working on horror films there in Hamilton and we're just trying to get Hamilton to become more of a horror-based place, I guess, something a little bit closer to Toronto. 

Brains, guts, and limbs are always fresh at The Butcher Shop

So look out for the Hamilton Horror Show at the Corktown pub in October. For more information, contact Carlos Henriques at deadite@sympatico.ca

FAN EXPO COVERAGE: Day #2-- Bruce Campbell Q and A

Only Bruce Campbell can abuse his audience with insult humour and still manage to be charming enough to pack a large convention hall full of fans who waited in line more  than an hour and a half to see him.

• [Audio currently unavailable] Download the full audio of the hilarious Bruce Campbell Q and A from Fan Expo 2009 (57:20)

 While I saw a lot and did / produced a lot of interviews today (all of which I will post soon), the ultimate moment of the afternoon was the Festival of Fear's Q and A with Bruce Campbell.

Bruce Campbell riffs for almost an hour off a bevy of random audience questions -- some funny, some stupid, and some just plain weird -- while taking shots at Hollywood and his worst movies (Congo gets torn a new one). He even manages to make me look the fool by dancing around my question about the viral marketing campaign for White on Rice.

Audio can be downloaded from link above. I managed to capture most of the audience questions too, if you listen closely. The only thing you won't get is some of the visual humour.

It's the next best thing to being there!

FAN EXPO COVERAGE: Day #1-- Modern Literary Monsters, Zombies, Midnight Monster Hop

The highlight of my night was attending the Modern Literary Monsters panel featuring Max Brooks (World War Z), Kim Paffenroth (Dying to Live: Life Sentence), and Kelly Armstrong (Bitten). Each panelist discussed his or her own work and monsters in general and how our perception of monsters (especially zombies) have changed throughout history. It was a lively, funny, and insightful panel in which the audience contributed thoughtful and fun questions. Rather than butcher the panelists' ideas, the panelists were gracious enough to give The Zed Word permission to record the panel. I will be offering the recording for download soon!

(L-R: moderator Monica S. Kuebler, Kim Paffenroth, Kelly Armstrong, Max Brooks)

Leaving the panel, I purchased a ticket to attend the premiere screening of George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead on September 12th as part of the Toronto International Film Festival's MIDNIGHT MADNESS program. Fittingly, after getting my Romero ticket, I encountered the first zombie of the convention -- patient zero, if you will -- shambling through the crowds, no doubt infecting others.

(Zombie Mark Foncesca smells my brain and makes a rush for my skull)

I fled behind a large black hearse until it was safe to come out. The hearse just so happened to be owned by one Gravely MacCabre (aka Ricky Dick), host of the Midnight Monster Hop and creator of haunted attractions. The Midnight Monster Hope airs, among other places, on the Retro Television Network and is helping to keep the dying genre of horror host creature features alive. We fell into a conversation about the show and his work in creating interactive Halloween adventure tours.

• [Audio currently unavailable] Download my conversation with Gravely MacCabre (7:38)
  

So ends Day #1 of Fan Expo and the Festival of Fear. Day #2, Saturday, August 29th, is when the real hectic stuff begins. I'm going to try and get as many interviews as I can and help produce some videos for Horror in the Hammer.

Stay tuned for more coverage of Fan Expo 2009. You never know who I'll meet.

FAN EXPO COVERAGE: Day #1-- Max Fantastic and The Devil's Latex

One of the first booths to attract my attention when I finally arrived at the Fan Expo on Friday, August 28th was the booth for Max Fantastic and The Devil's Latex. Surrounding their booth were several detailed latex masks representing Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th. I was attracted by the number of intriguing Jason hockey mask replicas on display, so I borrowed some of their time to talk about their work.

• [Audio currently unavailable] Download my interview with Max Fantastic and Steve Bellamy from The Devil's Latex (4:49)
  

Max Fantastic calls himself the Blood King of Toronto and he certainly lives up to his name. He makes masks, but specializes in blood and blood art (seen left).

Partnered with Max Fantastic is Steve Bellamy of The Devil's Latex. Steve specializes in latex monster and slasher villain masks as well as reproduction Friday the 13th hockey masks that painstakingly and lovingly capture the unique look of each iconic mask from the films

Here I am modeling my favorite mask: The Devil's Latex's "Dream Sequence" mask

A face only a slap shot could love 

FAN EXPO COVERAGE: Day #1-- False Starts

 FAN EXPO: DAY #1 

AUG 28th, 2009-- 2:49pm

I am writing this on the bus not to Toronto for Fan Expo but on a bus leaving Toronto after spending only a few hours in the city until I was forced to leave mere hours before Fan Expo started. Why? Because I forgot my digital audio recorder at home.

As I upacked after getting into Toronto early, I could not find the digitial audio recorder I need for my interviews. I hopped on the subway from the place I was staying and got off at a Futureshop in the area. I planned to just buy another recorder, but they were all sold out. Son of a ...

Now, Toronto is only about an hour and a half from where I live, but this means I have to take the bus home during rush hour with the forecast calling for significant rain. Then I have to hope I can find my digital recorder at home, walk back to the bus station, and take another hour and a half trip back into the city plus however long it takes for me to get to the convention and obtain my press pass.

This may mean I will miss the 7pm Max Brooks, Kim Paffenroth, and Kelly Armstrong panel on Modern Literary Monsters.

Son of a ....

AUG 28th, 2009-- 6:00pm

Thank God, I've made it. God bless that crazy bus driver who ran our bus like a madman on the Lakeshore. Now, I'm ready for the Fan Expo FESTIVAL OF FEAR

FAN EXPO COVERAGE: Fan Expo Begins / Tom Savini Cancels

Stormtroopers. Zombies. Superheroes. Klingons. Cat girls. All are irresistably drawn to the geek magnet that is Hobbystar's FAN EXPO CANADA

All under one roof (the massive roof of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre) the Fan Expo offers five separate genre conventions -- comics, sci-fi, horror, anime, and gaming -- that blend together seamlessly on the convention floor into Canada's biggest fan event. It's a playpen for every genre fan imaginable. Admission grants you access to all five genre-themed expos while each expo has its own schedule of activities and events.

Within this smorgasbord of fan-culture, the horror expo is unique. Called the Festival of Fear, it is sponsored by Rue Morgue magazine. This year, Bruce Campbell will be appearing as guest of honour, joining other fantastic horror-genre guests such as Max Brooks, Roger Corman, Barbara Steele, Udo Kier, Kim Paffenroth and several cast members of the movies Laid to Rest and Stan Helsing. Unfortunately, although scheduled to appear, Tom Savini has CANCELLED his appearance at the last moment. I was really looking forward to seeing him speak and asking him questions about is involvement in the mysterious new nazi zombie film The Fourth Reich.


The Festival of Fear is the event to which I most look forward each summer (besides TFCon, but that's a different pop-culture obsession of mine). I missed 2008's Festival of Fear, but I did attended in 2007 and got to fulfill a life goal of mine: meeting George A. Romero and having him sign my copy of Day of the Dead

 Meeting George Romero more than made up for later seeing Diary of the Dead

This year I'll be covering all three days of Fan Expo Canada right here on THE ZED WORD zombie blog as well as producing written and video content for Horror in the Hammer. You can expect daily updates and reports as well as posts concerning any news I happen to snag. 

Internet connectivity and WI-FI permitting, I may also be able to bring you LIVE coverage of event from the floor and the various panels I attend.

So peel those eyes and keep them glued on THE ZED WORD all weekend for my coverage of THE FESTIVAL of FEAR and FAN EXPO CANADA!

Democratic Zombies: Olberman and Brooks bring zombies to MSNBC

Keith Olberman and Max Brooks (Zombie Survival Guide) take shots at Republican rhetoric by making zombies the focus of a segment on MSNBC

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Brain Picking: Inverview with Thea Munster (PART 2)

INTERVIEW with THEA MUNSTER (Part 2)
(organizer: Toronto Zombie Walk)

Click here for Part One of this interview

Thea Munster (pictured right) is the lead organizer of the seventh annual Toronto Zombie Walk (happening Oct 24, 2009). For September, however, she's helped organize the Toronto Zombie Walk: Special Director's Cut Edition (Sept 12)-- a zombie walk in honour and celebration of George A. Romero, featuring an appearance by the man himself to coincide with the premiere of his new film: Survival of the Dead.

In Part Two of my interview with Thea, we talk about her experiences on the set of George A. Romero's newest film and we cover my favorite subject: why zombies are awesome.

The Zed Word (ZW): So, you got to visit the set of Diary of the Dead because of your zombie walk connections to Romero's people, but your connection to Romero didn't end there. You were actually cast as a zombie extra for his latest film, Survival of the Dead, which filmed nearby in Port Dover. How did that come about?

Thea Munster (TM): I just wrote casting and told them about the TZW [Toronto Zombie Walk] and sent a picture of me in Zombie makeup. I was on set in Port Dover for 3 nights. I have been the hugest Romero fan since I was 12 and saw Night of the Living Dead, so it was truly one of the highlights of my life.

ZW: Were you made-up as a background zombie or a feature shot zombie?

TM: I was a background zombie. There was around 12 of us on the nights I was there, but they still spent over an hour on my makeup. I had bright orange hair at the time. They gave me a bouffant and a brown waitress costume.

All the make-up artists were amazing; the fellow who did my make up was Patrick Baxter. My whole face arms and legs were done up in air-brushed makeup, but I heard rumor that George had wanted to do grease paint makeup on zombies in the classic zombie tradition, but the idea was ixnayed.

ZW: Any interesting stories from the set?

Oh, so much! Most of the zombies in the foreground and the ones who get to be shot are stunt artists. They were missing a couple zombies, so a couple of people from our Background group got to be shot or blown up...that was really cool to watch! I always love watching how they pull off the special FX.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that a lot of the blood spray effects used classic effect strategies with tubes, pumps and squibs, instead of digital blood in post production.

ZW: I'm very pleased to hear that. I have a strong aversion to CGI blood. It never looks right. What was the experience like shooting at the Port Dover location?

TM: First of all, the whole experience was very eerie. Everything was shot in the middle of the night. It was just starting to feel like Fall, and the nights were very long. By the end of my 3 days, I was hallucinating from tiredness, but it just went with the mood and helped me stay in character.

One morning, my friend and I were driving home from set and this woman kept cutting us off. My friend's car has tinted windows, so the other woman couldn't see in. When we pulled up at a stop light, my friend got out, ran up to the woman's car and started yelling at her through the window. The woman was terrified!!! I doubt she ever cut anyone else off again.

ZW: Ha! I've reported stories about roadsigns that warn motorists of zombies on the road, but angry zombies confronting motorists? That's a whole new danger. Do you think you'll make it into the finished film?

TM: The whole time I couldn't help feeling that my hair may have stood out a bit too much. I kept seeing the laser pointer flash on my orange bouffant, and the DOP [Director of Photography] kept referring to me as the girl with the hair..haha. So, hopefully, I'm not cut out. . . . Even if I'm not cut out, I'm sure I'll just be a speck in the background, but it was well worth every moment.

ZW: Even if you are reduced to a speck in the zombie horde, did you at least have occasion to take direction from George Romero?

TM: No. Most of the shots were very wide shots, George Romero was at least 50 feet away. He'd tell the Assistant Director what he wanted and the AD would come and tell us.

That's why I am very grateful for the time I spent on Diary of the Dead as well. For that one, I got to stand right behind him and watch him direct. And I can honestly say he is a man with a vision. He is also an incredibly nice guy who treats everyone with respect and often says "thank you" after "cut".

ZW: You already mentioned how Night of the Living Dead inspired you as a young girl, but what is it about zombies that has kept your interest?

TM: I have always been attracted to monsters in a traditional sense. In the classic stories, they were outcasts who couldn't fit in with society. This always resonated with me. When I first saw zombies, in Night of the Living Dead, I loved that they were all different, but their strength is in their numbers. They are all individually terrifying, but walk together as a pack, in death, to eat humankind. To me, it's a really punk rock idea.

-----------------

Thea Munster is the lead organizer of the Toronto Zombie Walk. Also, she is Assistant Editor on Ghostly Encounters and occasional performer for Carnival Diablo

Don't miss the very special Toronto Zombie Walk: Special Director's Cut Edition on September 12th!

VISIT torontozombiewalk.ca for route information and start times!

Brain Picking: Inverview with Thea Munster (PART 1)

INTERVIEW with THEA MUNSTER (Part 1)
(organizer: Toronto Zombie Walk)

She is a zombie fanatic who keeps her DVDs and movies in a casket. Occasionally, she performs for Carnival Diablo by walking on broken glass or lying on a bed of nails while a cinder block is broken on her stomach. I think it's safe to say that Thea Munster is not the sort of woman you meet everyday. And good thing too because she's been able to focus that unique energy into not only being the lead organizer of the The Toronto Zombie Walk (Oct 24, 2009) but also in bringing another very exciting and special event for zombie fans to Toronto in September. I am, of course, referring to the Toronto Zombie Walk: Special Director's Cut Edition (Sept 12)-- a zombie walk in honour and celebration of George A. Romero featuring an appearance by the man himself to coincide with the premiere of his new film: Survival of the Dead.

In Part One of my interview with Thea, we talk about zombie walks and getting George A. Romero to appear at the Toronto Zombie Walk: Special Director's Cut Edition

The Zed Word (ZW): Since there is no rest for the undead, I want to thank you very much for taking some time to talk to The Zed Word about your two upcoming Toronto Zombie Walks.

Where did the idea come from for the SPECIAL DIRECTOR'S CUT EDITION event in September featuring George A. Romero?

Thea Munster (TM): We were asked by Colin Geddes of Midnight Madness at TIFF [Toronto International Film Festival] if we would help him celebrate the Survival of the Dead release as well as George's recent Canadian Citizenship. It wasn't a tough decision. We didn't want to move the regular Toronto Zombie Walk, which will happen on October 24th; instead, we decided to hold The Toronto Zombie Walk: Special Director's Cut Edition as a bonus walk and treat for the living dead.

ZW: Calling it "a treat," I think, is putting it lightly. I know a lot of zombie fans in the area that would give four arms and a leg and a spinal column to come out and celebrate the man who invented the modern zombie genre we love. Even more special is that Romero now has Canadian citizenship and will make an appearance at the end of the walk to speak to the zombie walkers. Can you comment on what you consider to be Romero's special connection to Canada and / or Toronto?

TM: Well, Romero has been working out of Canada and Toronto for quite a while now. And I know Canadian zombies have been extremely receptive to what he's doing. But as for why Toronto? I have ideas, but I am hoping he will address this on September 12th when he greets and is greeted by the zombies at Yonge and Dundas Square.

ZW: Is here something unique about Toronto, then, that is well-suited for an assembly of the undead?

TM: As for Toronto being a zombie Mecca, I think it works. If we look at traditional film theory and Dawn of the Dead, where zombies represent those wrapped up in consumer culture, Toronto is definitely the center of Canadian Consumerism.

For me, I see it as being more about Community. Toronto has always been a city that has a strong sense of community. It's a city that takes pride in its many different cultures. Zombies represent a disjointed, unique group of communities that work together (ok sure, maybe it's to destroy the world)

ZW: Was it easy to solicit Romero's involvement for the September 12th Zombie Walk in Toronto?

TM: We didn't have to solicit anyone. It was all Colin Geddes' doing, really. Now it's just up to us to bring the walking dead.

The Toronto Zombie Walk has been in contact with Romero's people before. On the Toronto Zombie Walk's 4th year, Michael Felsher, who films the behind the scenes for Romero's Diary of the Dead came out to the TZW [Toronto Zombie Walk] and interviewed a few people. As a thank you, my boyfriend and I were invited to the set to watch Romero direct. It was amazing!

To my surprise, when the film was released, Colin Geddes of Midnight Madness invited me to bring 50 zombies to the Diary of the Dead Premiere at TIFF. We walked the red carpet with George and I tell you, that carpet ran blood red!!

ZW: How long have you been organizing the regular Toronto Zombie Walk?

TM: This is the 7th year I have been organizing it. The first one, in 2003, consisted of me and 6 other people. One girl who attended the first zombie walk, Heather McDermitt, moved to Vancouver and started one there. Since then, it has spread like the plague. In Toronto, the zombie walk didn't start getting mass numbers of zombies until the 3rd and 4th year, while other cities were getting hundreds of zombies in their first year.

ZW: I hope this year brings you even more people on October 24th. Also, I'll be seeing you at the Toronto Zombie Walk: Special Director's Cut. I wouldn't miss that event for the world (or the end of it).
TM: As well as celebrating the release of [Romero's] new movie, I think it's going to be an amazingly fun, and deadly time! It's also an opportunity for zombies to give thanks to the king of the modern zombie, George Romero, as well as welcome him to Canada. It would be wicked to see hundreds of zombies carrying welcome signs. What a sight for sore and missing eyes!!

It's also a chance to see a screening of Night of the Living Dead outside as well as in the heart of the the city, surrounded by a slew of gore splattered, flesh munching zombies. Forget popcorn! Who brought the intestines?

I am sure there will never be another night quite like it!
-----------------

VISIT torontozombiewalk.ca for route information and start times!

CONTINUE for Part Two of this interview in which Thea will share some stories about being cast as a zombie extra for George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead.

Trailer Tuesday: Z.E.O. (Zombie Executive Officer)

Solving the Zombie Food Crisis: A Photo Essay

Hunger.

It is the common bond we share with the zombies. While we flock to the drive-thru and all-you-can-eat buffets to stuff our greasy faces with burgers and fries and macaroni salad, the undead flock to our homes to stuff their rotting faces with our brains and intestines. The difference, however, is that while we are at least attempting to maintain a sustainable food source, the zombies are not. They will eat until nothing is left, but they'll never starve and die out as we would. Therefore, the zombie food crisis is a threat to us all.

However, I may have finally solved the zombie food crisis after an eventful trip to the local dollar store. BEHOLD



GROWING BODY PARTS. A growing brain to be precise. Could it be true? Could such a brain grow 600% its original size? If so, we could have the potential to manufacture synthetic brains and feed 600% more zombies with every organ. The premise sounds unbelievable, so I decided to put the package's claims to the test. First, we must examine the original brain size via highly unscientific methods.


FIRST OBSERVATIONS

The brain is obviously a prototype as it is not human-sized. The brain, before treatment, is roughly palm-sized and incredibly hard. Since I don't have any zombie test subjects and we are trying to solve the zombie food crisis, it is imperative we test the taste of the brain before and after treatment.



You know, it looks kind of tasty.



Oh wait. What's this?



Good advice. Okay. First rule of science: read directions.
Now, where did I put that brain. HEY!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Frigging house zombies! I just had the kitchen fumigated too. House zombies are just about as annoying as their human-sized relatives. Thankfully, they eat all the roaches and mice and are quite easy to dispose of.




At least we know the brain in its untreated state is appetizing to the zombie. Now we move on to the test!

THE APPARATUS

According to the directions, all that is required is a bucket and some water (that's H20 for you scientists out there).



In the spirit of scientific exploration and going where no brain has gone before, I've decided to use my commemorative laboratory-certified Star Trek bucket for this experiment. I do not predict it will have any effect on the results except brain water that may smell faintly of theatre popcorn butter.



THE TREATMENT

The instructions warn not to expect immediate results. In fact, the diagram explains full growth won't be achieved for at least 72 hours. Also, it is important to keep the water below 32 degrees Celsius. Since it was quite hot on the first day, I kept the brain bucket in the fridge for the first day. For the rest of the experiment, I left the brain bucket on the kitchen counter.



THE TIME LAPSE

Now we play the waiting game.


Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
THE RESULTS -- 72 hours later

Let's see what science has wrought.

EUREKA!

It worked! While the claims of 600% may be an exaggeration, the brain has clearly expanded well beyond its original size. It almost fills up the whole circumference of the bucket.



Soggy and having lost some of its colour, the brain is nevertheless substantially larger. QUESTION #1: Will the Brain Expand? Yes! This is confirmed. We now have a working model for an expanding brain. But how does it taste? QUESTION #2: Will Zombies Eat it?

Well, before I had the chance to take measurements, the brain was quickly devoured on the counter top by a small horde of house zombies. I was only able to take the quick snapshot before they scuttled away greedily with hands and mouths full of expanded brain matter.


FUTURE PREDICTIONS

If we can commission this company to mass produce more growing brains and secure a stable and penetrating distribution system, we will have an easy-to-use and accessible means of solving the zombie food crisis once and for all.

Now, just tell me where to pick up my Nobel Prize.

Eat up, zombies! There's plenty to go around.