F\o7 angoria's Weekend of Horrors returns to Los Angeles for the 16th year this weekend with some of the top horror talent in film and television speaking during the two-day event.
Celebrity guests include director John Carpenter, who will discuss his latest film, "Ghosts of Mars"; James Marsters, who plays Spike on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"; Oscar-winning special-effects artist Stan Winston; Cassandra Peterson, who\f7 will \o7 talk about her new movie, "Elvira's Haunted Hills"; and Kane Hodder, who has played killer Jason Voorhees in the last four "Friday the 13th" movies.
Among the panel discussions will be one on the original "Planet of the Apes" movies and TV series.
Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors is co-produced by Fangoria magazine, a popular horror publication. The magazine began in 1979 and has a circulation of 250,000.
Tony Timpone, editor of Fangoria since 1986, discussed what's in store at the Weekend of Horrors.\f7
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Question: Are horror films really date movies?
Answer: Absolutely. I think for a guy out on a first date, there is no quicker way to a woman's heart than a horror movie. She's usually screaming and clutching him the whole time, so I think horror films are great date movies. I always used them as date movies. I met my wife on Halloween. We have gone to plenty of horror films. She's not into the more modern kind; she's more into the old-fashioned "Dracula"-type stuff.
Q: I agree with your wife. It seems that contemporary horror films are becoming progressively gorier.
A: They were for a while, but I think Hollywood realizes that in order to have a mainstream, crossover appeal, they can't go for over-the-top blood and guts. That is why films like "The Blair Witch Project" and even "The Sixth Sense" were successful, because they left a lot to the imagination. The scares were more simple.
The well-rounded fans are into all kinds of horror movies--the traditional Universal monsters, the Hammer horror films of the '50s and '60s. I think the age of the slasher movie [is over]. I think when they started satirizing it in the "Scream" movies, they didn't have any place to take it after that. I think that's why films like "Valentine" and "Urban Legend: Final Cut" weren't successful because the whole slasher thing has been played out now.
Q: Have you loved horror movies since you were a kid?
