Institute of Horror Wrap-up

Saturday, March 24, was the fifth annual gathering of the Institute of Horror, Fantasy, and Science Fiction, presented by Blood Moon Rising magazine and held at the main branch of the Queens Public Library, in Flushing—smack in the middle of the borough’s own Chinatown. My brother, Frank, helped me haul The ’Warp’s wares to and from the show and became official photographer for the day. (Hey, at least I paid for parking!)

After being warmly greeted by the show’s host, Blood Moon Rising publisher AL J. Vermette, and BMR editor D. W. Jones (who gave Blood Feud a stellar review in BMR #47), Frank and I set up shop in the back of the library’s conference room that was being used for the panels and waited for the crowd to file in. The festivities soon got under way with a pair of psychics, who explained their backgrounds and their beliefs, and then gave demonstrations—one using her ability to see angels and colors around one audience member, the other doing a tarot card reading of D.W.

Then it was time for the writers’ panel, where I joined musician Soda, who wrote the fantasy novel The Wizard of Odd, and up-and-coming teen writer Nicolette DeSanto, whose young adult paranormal romance is currently making the rounds of publishers. Soda read a Halloween-themed, Ray Bradbury–esque short story that’s soon to see print; Nicolette, who’s a major fan of Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series, read an excerpt from her own novel—and both writers are very talented. As for me, I chose a sample of the Pan and Javier “trash monkey” chase scene from Blood Feud. Then we fielded question from the audience, which skewed quite a bit older than I’d expected—but that’s because the teens in attendance had left to go get their tarot cards read! D’oh!

During the course of the event, makeup effects artist Jennifer Jaksic had been working on one of her models, transforming him into a demon, and now it was time to show off her finished work. She gave an overview of her methods and prior work, and fielded questions on such subjects as working with models’ potential allergies to the chemicals in the makeup she uses. Go check out her online portfolio, there are a whole slew of great effects makeup in the gallery.

Up next was a presentation of Zombie Hunters: City of the Dead, a TV series that got its start on Queens Public Access, but in recent years has grown beyond its basic-cable roots. (In fact, the second volume of episodes has just been released on DVD.) Episode 7 was shown to the audience, followed by a Q&A with director, series creator, and star Patrick Devaney, and costar Christopher J. Murphy.

A pleasant surprise came after the presentation, when Frank realized that he’d gone to high school with Murphy, who then invited him to become a zombie extra for one of their upcoming episodes! As they say on cable news, more details on that story as it continues to develop…

The final panel showcased director Dave Rodriguez, who presented a short movie—done especially to premiere at the Institute—about two demon hunters cleaning house in a Bronx, NY apartment building. Some of the digital effects were a little rough, but considering the film had been completed only days before the show, it turned out pretty well—and it was funny, too!

The gathering was scheduled to end with a showing of episodes from Land of the Lost (the 1970s kids’ TV show on which that god-awful Will Ferrell movie was based) and the 1954 TV version of Flash Gordon (starring the late Steve Holland, Bob Larkin’s old Doc Savage model), but at that point I figured it was time to pack up and get some dinner. So, just before they turned out the lights, Soda and I had time for one more picture—and then it was time for Taco Bell!

Thanks go out to AL J. Vermette and D. W. Jones for inviting Frank and me to the show. Hopefully we’ll be able to do it again next year!