Pulling up to a convention center and seeing several hearses parked out front, one might think that someone has died. To the horror world, it’s just the beginning of The Days of the Dead Los Angeles Horror Convention at the Burbank Marriot Convention Center. Being the huge horror nuts we are, the All Hallows’ Haunts team had to to and check things out.
Like most conventions, you have a series of vendors specializing in certain goods that cater to the fan base. Obviously with this being a horror convention, there was a mass collection of horror collectibles, replicas, movies and clothes. We felt like children with A.D.D. with so much awesomeness to look at. We didn’t know what to look at first. May we just say that the horror art work was elaborate, impressive, and gorgeous.
What would any convention be without special guests and celebrities? Headling the event was Saw star Tobin Bell, and Tony Todd of Candyman. Both had excellent panels hosted by Christopher M. Jimenez of Sinful Celluloid (@SinfulCelluloid) and were quite informative. Bell’s panel had quite the surprise for the audience as he hinted that a new Saw movie might be in the works. Bell went on to say “Don’t make any plans for Halloween 2017.”
One of the most important panels of the entire weekend was the Etheria Films panel, which consisted of all female horror directors. They spoke of the importance of women film makers and how crucial this movement truly is to the film world and to our culture.
As awesome as Days of the Dead is, the convention has some flaws. There was not nearly enough to do or see to warrant the $35 ticket for admission. There were very few panels, the vendor’s hall was small and over crowded (As the vendors had to share the same space as the celebrity autograph tables), and parking was ridiculously expensive ($21 for the day!).
The worst part was that there were so many fans. It was too crowded. We have to wonder if the convention organizers didn’t think they would have the turnout they did. There were definitely some missed opportunities at Days of the Dead. Hopefully they will see how much potential there is for the convention and how big it could be.
We pray this won’t be the last Days of the Dead Horror Convention in Los Angeles and it will get bigger in the years to come. Overall, we had a great time, but we wanted more.
All Hallows Haunts 