Greetings from Tromaville! (and Cherry Hill) (Report by Phil Fasso)

I know people who swear by the twice yearly Monstermania convention in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Some call it their favorite convention, and I know others who attend only one convention, and this is the one. Look it up on the internet and you’ll find a whole message board of devotees who were licking their lips as MM 12 approached.

And then there’s me.

I’ve always enjoyed the Chiller shows in Jersey much more than the Monstermania's. Chiller offers a much larger guest list, and even as it veered toward more mainstream celebrities the past few shows (a trend it’s thankfully eschewing for the upcoming April show), I’ve always found horror stars to appreciate there. Monstermania does, however, have a few things I dig. The con always runs theme shows, and does a good job at getting large clusters of celebrities from various horror franchises. It also manages to get one or two stars every show that are rarities on the circuit. This show was no different. It offered a huge selection of victims from Friday the 13th, with a smattering of Jason's, as well as a small Phantasm reunion, minus Tall Man Angus Scrimm. As Tobe Hooper had bailed out, the show also brought in Lance Henriksen at the 11th hour. (The other headliner was Alice Cooper and his original band; I can’t comment on Cooper at all, because I made no attempt to meet him, and don’t even know where his line was.)

That was all good. But even with its unique flavor, Monstermania was an awfully quiet show. Attendance seemed sparse, perhaps because of the recession we’re all suffering through, perhaps because this is the second Friday the 13th reunion it had run. It also may be that the main problem with focusing on one or two themes is that it alienates attendees who aren’t fans of those themes. Even those outside the Jason films didn’t seem to be doing booming business, though. Henriksen’s line paled in comparison to last year’s Malcolm McDowell (yet return guest Betsy Palmer’s line was robust all weekend). My biggest problem was that with a much smaller guest list than the past few MM’s I’ve been to, I had little to do once I got the few autographs I really wanted. Sure, the dealer’s room was large, but most of the vendors are the same I see at Chiller.

I did get some joy out of MM 12. I finally got to meet Don Coscarelli, and discuss with him how the Phantasm films are really not American horror films, so much as they’re really European art films (he was flattered). I got to have long conversations with the guys who produced His Name Was Jason, Tony Masi and Thommy Hutson. They’re great guys who started off as fans, just like you and me. They have interesting stories to tell , and give hope to every fan out there who’d like to be part of the industry someday. I also got to see just how grateful Derek Mears is to is fans; stopping to pose for pictures in the bar on Saturday night, on his own free time without charging, is a rarity, and a pleasant one. And Kristina Klebe had a few 8x10’s of her and Kerry King from Slayer, which just about made the convention a success for me on its own (Slayer and Icons of Fright will always go hand in hand for me, as they should for you too).





And then there was my encounter with Lloyd Kaufman. For 10 minutes, one corner of Cherry Hill became Tromaville for me. My buddy X and I have been discussing writing a screenplay for over a year now. Last month, we actually sat down and did so. Deadtention, our final product, could only be made as a Troma film, so it was too sweet that I was able to hand deliver it to the studio’s head. Uncle Lloyd was gracious enough to sign a bunch of my stuff for free, although he was more obsessed with my friend Nicole’s ample chest than me when it came time to take a picture.


The best thing I can say about MM 12 is that it gave me the opportunity to catch up with old friend, and to make some new ones. I hadn’t seen Nicole in years, and the con gave me a full weekend of her. I got the chance to catch up with my friend Dom, who I’m always promising to say hello to, as we attend the same cons. Getting to meet Nicole’s friend Jonathan was nice too, as I found another Mary Tyler Moore Show fan. I shared a drink with Rob G and Mike C from Icons, and met some really cool board members from the MM site, especially Renee. If the actual con was a little underwhelming, the weekend was one to remember because of the friends I got to spend time with.

Monstermania will always be the apple of some convention goers’ eyes. For them, I’m sure MM12 was a great success, and that they’ll continue to attend no matter who is on the guest list. As for me, I’ll continue to check the guest list before I buy my ticket. Perhaps some of those rare guests will draw me back to Cherry Hill, where my sweet friend Nicole will surely be waiting with a ticket of her own.

--Phil Fasso







MONSTER MANIA 12 Video by FRIGHT friend Dave Neabore!