If someone asked me to sum up the Saturday experience at TFW, I could do it in two words: absolute insanity.

Truckers back in the day may have described the scene as “wall to wall and treetop tall” and they would have been right. Horror fans packed into the Sheraton Grand to see their favorites: Robert Englund, Sid Haig, Sean Patrick Flannery, Norman Reedus, Malcolm McDowell, Doug Bradley and many more. The zombie walk – hosted by Moxley Manor – kicked things off this morning and while the undead shambled in, hearses filled the parking lot for the annual hearse show.

However, for a night owl like me, morning came a lot later in the day so, when not writing, I spent time trolling the vendor hall.

Oh, the things I heard.

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Time flies when you’re having fun.

Day one here at TFW was supposed to officially start at 4PM. At least that’s what I thought at first. Instead, things kicked for me right around ten-thirty when networking started with local bloggers and assorted horror types. It rapidly spun into a whirlwind of activity culminating in the opening red carpet ceremony filled with some of horror’s biggest names and rising stars. True to form with most horror gatherings, the stars are generally accessible and truly happy to meet fans. From the red carpet, festivities spilled over into the dealers’ room, which was packed with vendors, filmmakers, artists and fans.

Following an evening of screenings and “Helldriver” karaoke, the evening ended in raucous conversation and generously flowing beverages.

Chris (Sean Bridger) and Belle (Angela Bettis) and their "perfect" life before "The Woman".

In the beginning, as some people like to say, god created… well pretty much everything. But, it was kinda like throwing a party and nobody showing up, so god created guests: it solved the immediate problem and saved him on the cost of invitations. It wasn’t too long, though, before there was drama. God created man first and then pulled woman from an extra body part: so they were created together but not equally. Man was to be the boss of the woman. And while woman sought knowledge, man, by proxy for god, found that to be evil, they were cast out of paradise and woman was made to bear the burdens for her transgressions.

At least that’s what some people say.

Some people might say that man, in his natural state, prefers the balance found in a matriarchal belief system. Others still might say that man was created as a result of biological happenstance and natural selection. One thing that could be agreed upon is that Lucky McKee’s “the Woman” is a potent movie.

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Checked into the Sheraton Grand this afternoon. TWF attendees were trickling in as those attending a business conference were checking out. This evening, though, the excitement isn’t taking place at the hotel but at the Studio Movie Grill in Lewisville where Lucky McKee is getting the red carpet treatment for his controversial latest film, “The Woman”. It premiered at Sundance where it angered some members of the audience who felt it was too disturbing. Tonight, TFW goers will experience how disturbing McGee’s vision for ourselves.

Screening before “The Woman” is “Offspring”, Andrew van den Houte’s 2009 offering about a clan of cannibals eating through a small community.

Genre legend Robert Englund will be appearing this weekend at TFW 2011

In addition to being a genre legend, Texas Frightmare Weekend guest Robert Englund is a man of irrepressible energy and took time out from his schedule to sit down with us to talk about coming back to Dallas, rednecks and just what exactly he tweets about.

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There are three words that get a horror fan’s blood pumping even more than “Platinum Dunes Remake” and in a positive way: Texas Frightmare Weekend.

The southwest’s premiere horror event starts this Friday, April 29th at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Irving, TX. In the days leading up to TFW, we’ll highlight the events, guests and unbridled mayhem that that’ll you’ll want to see and be a part of.

And if the TerrorScribe site is too scary or dubious sounding to send your friends to, we’ll also be partaking in a little cross pollination with our more elephantine cousin, Red Carpet Crash.

So, stick around as we bring you the most news from Texas Frightmare.

The stars align for a Lovecraft Film Festival in Dallas

Everything, with rare exception, is better with tentacles.

With that in mind, it pleases me to no end to announce that the fine folks at DOA Bloodbath, who already host three great genre film festivals (Pretty Scary, Fears for Queers and the namesake Bloodbath) here in Dallas, have added another one to their schedule and yes, this one comes with tentacles.

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The local horror film festival season kicks off when the Pretty Scary film festival opens at the Texas Theater February 26th.

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For any local horror fans who missed out on this – quite simply – you missed a lot. Blood Bath 2 featured roughly 16 hours of horror goodness. Opening the program was a set of shorts from the Splatterfest Film festival. For those of you not in the know – as I was – Houston’s Splatterfest Film Festival features shorts from teams of filmmakers who have two days to write, shoot and edit their film. To add an element of “horror improv” to it, the teams are assigned a murder weapon, a character to include and a line of dialogue that each short must have. It made for some very interesting and creative films. Of that first set, “Award-Winning Masterpiece” was particularly memorable as perhaps the funniest and most twisted take on exorcisms that I have ever seen.

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Indie horror fans rejoice! Blood Bath 2: The Film Festival is coming to the Texas Theater, November 13-14. The festival, called “a celebration of independent horror cinema” will feature numerous shorts from around the world and will showcase six films, including two made here in Texas.

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