In 2019, I had the good fortune to meet Clive Barker at Monster-Mania 43 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He had his own room, replete with artwork, books, and more. It was a veritable museum celebrating the artistry of Clive Barker. Watch the video below I recorded showcasing the entire room and what was contained within.
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On August 19, 2019, Clive Barker reunited with several members of the cast of the Hellraiser series, including Doug Bradley, for a panel discussion at Monster-Mania 43 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. I was lucky enough to attend the show and met Clive that weekend. Below is the full panel discussion. Enjoy!
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Over the past week or so, I’ve revisited and reviewed all of the Saw movies. I even saw Spiral, the ninth film in the Saw franchise, on opening night and reviewed it as well. For your convenience, below are links to all of these reviews, as well as a link to a post I wrote about meeting Tobin Bell and Costas Mandylor at Monster-Mania a few years back. I even got to interview Costas Mandylor for that piece! I hope you enjoy all of the time and work that went into these articles, and remember: the game is never truly over.
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On August 18, I met one of my horror idols: Clive Barker. A multi-talented artist who has mastered numerous mediums, Clive is a playwright, an author, a director, and a painter. He created, wrote and directed Hellraiser, his most famous work, and he’s also known for Candyman and Nightbreed, as well as more than 20 novels, hundreds of incredible paintings, and so much more. Stephen King once said, “I’ve seen the future of horror, and his name is Clive Barker.” That’s the highest praise one can get in this genre, and Clive lived up to that prophecy and then some.
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Meeting Tobin Bell at Monster-Mania 30.
Last Saturday I attended Monster-Mania. This biannual event features notable actors and actresses from the horror, action, comedy, and science fiction genres, as well as professional wrestlers. For the thousands that attend, this is an opportunity to meet their idols, get autographs, participate in photo-ops, watch Q&A panels, browse through aisles of cool merchandise, and enjoy hours upon hours of movies.
Meeting Freddy Krueger himself, Robert Englund.
This past weekend I went to Monster-Mania 27, a horror convention in Cherry Hill, NJ. This was my second Monster-Mania and I had a good time. My main reason for going was to meet Robert Englund, a terrific actor best known for playing Freddy Krueger in seven Nightmare on Elm Street films and Freddy vs. Jason. While it took six hours for me to meet Englund, I was able to check out the rest of the convention during this time because of a virtual queue the organizers put in place. They did this to prevent people from having to waiting in line all day. As long as you had your ticket – they limited it to 400 people – you were set. I found this to be an efficient way to deal with the demand to meet this horror icon.
During my time waiting to meet Robert Englund I looked at all of the merchandise available – everything from masks to t-shirts, to paintings, to movie posters. Then I walked through the autograph room where the majority of the stars were stationed, including Ernie Hudson from Ghostbusters and Tony Todd from Candyman, as well as various cast members of The Walking Dead. I abstained from spending money on anything other than Robert Englund and food because I’m heading to WrestleMania XXX in a few weeks, so I’d rather spend my money there.
Spending time with a Freddy look-a-like before meeting the real deal.
When it was my turn to go upstairs to meet Robert Englund, I headed up the stairs to the second floor of the hotel and was told to wait in a room with approximately 50 people. Then one of the convention volunteers told us that Robert Englund’s agent wouldn’t allow people to take a photo with him – we could only take photos of him, which to me was extremely disappointing because that was my whole reason for going. When I was led into the room with Robert Englund, there were about 100 people sitting in chairs and he was on the far end of the room against the wall. Row by row, people were ushered to the front where they turned in their tickets and paid $40 for an autograph. There were photos available for Robert to sign or you could have an item that you brought with you signed. I opted to have him sign the sleeve of my Nightmare on Elm Street Blu-ray collection.
Despite being told I couldn’t get a photo with Robert, I had the girl in front of me take of photo of him and I with my phone. I couldn’t go around the table for the photo because a bodyguard was there, but I made the most of it and I think the photo turned out quite nice. When we were posing for the photo, Robert said, “Tell me when to look up” as he was autographing my item. The girl taking the photo said, “Look up” and Robert jokingly said in his Freddy Krueger voice, “Take the picture, biotch!” When we left she was on cloud nine that he spoke to her in his Freddy voice and we both laughed hysterically about what a cool moment it was.
Robert Englund speaking with fans after his Q&A.
I closed out the night by watching the 1994 film The Crow, one of many movies being shown throughout the day. I hadn’t seen it since the mid-1990s, and I’m glad I stuck around for it because it’s a great movie. From the cinematography to the impressive acting, it’s clear why this film still resonates with people 20 years after it hit theaters.
If you’re a horror fan in the South Jersey area, I highly recommend you check out Monster-Mania. It’s a well-run convention that’s well worth the price of admission. You can learn more details by visiting the official Monster-Mania website.
Me being attacked by Freddy & Jason.
For nearly 10 years, Dave Hagan has been hosting a semi-annual horror film and memorabilia convention in Cherry Hill, NJ and Hunt Valley, MD. It’s called Monster-Mania, and yesterday was my first time attending. I met Doug Bradley, Nancy Allen, Claire Higgins, and Craig Sheffer, among others. I even ran into Freddy and Jason. In addition to meeting horror icons and getting autographs, I got to enjoy horror films I’d never seen before: Dressed to Kill, Night of the Living Dead and Nightbreed: The Cabal Cut. Needless to say, I had a blast and plan on attending future shows. Below are additional photos from my fabulous time at this stellar convention.
Me and the lovely Nancy Allen, whose starred in such films as Robocop, Dressed to Kill, Carrie, and Blow Out.
Meeting my favorite star from Hellraiser, Claire Higgins (Julia). She’s a tremendous actress and has a delightful personality too.
Meeting the incomparable Doug Bradley, best known for his role as Pinhead in the Hellraiser franchise.
Hanging out with Craig Sheffer following a screening of Nightbreed: The Cabal Cut.
