Films, panels and performances will be streaming through Festivee.com
More are being added, so check back for updates!
Panels, workshops and lectures
123 Years of Dracula: From Novel to Stage to Screen
FearCon guest of Honor, Dacre Stoker, the great grand-nephew of Bram Stoker, provides a fast paced presentation utilizing films clips highlighting Dracula’s transformation from Bram’s novel to its success on the stage and then onto unprecedented success in film and TV up until the present.
Stoker on Stoker: The Mysteries Behind the Writing of Dracula.
Dacre Stoker’s compelling and informative keynote presentation,weaves together the details of Dracula’s history with Stoker family lore, and Bram Stoker’s life in Dublin and London, then separates fact from popular fiction, revealing the truth about all things Stoker and Dracula. Stoker on Stoker has fascinated audiences around the world, exploring the issues behind the mysteries that have baffled Dracula scholars and fans since the book’s publication in 1897. Illustrated with Dacre’s own collection of never before published, and seldom-seen historic images, Stoker on Stoker is a glimpse behind the scenes of the life and the writing of one of the least known authors and one of the worlds most famous books. Recently Dacre has added the background research and images of locations in the novel Dracul, co authored with JD Barker.
A Morphing of Monsters
With hosts Dineta Williams Trigg & Thommi A’mal. Join us as we travel in time and discuss how monsters have evolved over the decades. We’ll discuss the original blueprint of monstrous creatures, along with current day “monsters”, cult classics and societal obsessions with them. There will be a live Q&A following the presentation, so stick around and chat with us.
The Horrors of Developing Horror: How to bring a TV Series to life
Host Russell Rothberg’s career has been that of a hyphenate, working both on the writing/producing side as well as serving as a development executive for various studios and networks. He most recently served as Co-Executive Producer on Isaac Asimov’s Foundation for Apple +. Prior to this, he served as Co-Executive Producer on Season 2 of Knightfall for History Channel and served as Executive Vice President, Drama Development at Universal Television, where he headed the studio’s drama development department. Among the drama series that Rothberg developed were “Bates Motel” (starring Emmy-nominated Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore) for A&E, “The Path” (starring Emmy-winner Aaron Paul) for Hulu, as well as “Chicago Fire” and “Shades of Blue” (starring Jennifer Lopez and Ray Liotta) for NBC. In addition, he developed “Emerald City”, “Midnight, Texas” and “Gypsy” (starring Naomi Watts) for Netflix.
How To Write Horror
With award-winning novelists, Owl Goingback & John Skipp. Owl Goingback has been writing professionally for over thirty years, and is the author of numerous novels, children’s book, screenplays, magazine articles, short stories, and comics. He is a HWA Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient, a two-time Bram Stoker Award Winner (for novel and first novel), and a Nebula Award Nominee. His books include Crota, Darker Than Night, Evil Whispers, Breed, Shaman Moon, Coyote Rage, Tribal Screams, Eagle Feathers, and The Gift. John Skipp is a splatterpunk horror and fantasy author and anthology editor, as well as a songwriter, screenwriter, film director, and film producer. He collaborated with Craig Spector on multiple novels, and has also collaborated with Marc Levinthal and Cody Goodfellow.
Collecting Monsters: discussing Horror, Sci-Fi and Fantasy Memorabilia
With author/collectors Joe Moe & Jonathan Alexandratos. Joe is a writer, producer, studio singer, genre figure and horror memorabilia expert. A lifelong collector and fan, Joe was befriended by Forrest J Ackerman, legendary editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland, and for many years, lived with “Uncle Forry” in his “Ackermuseum” of Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror, preserving, purveying and curating over 800,000 genre treasures. Today, Joe is Catalog Editor for the world’s premiere Hollywood auction house, Profiles in History, handling historical props, costumes and artifacts from the greatest movies ever made. Jonathan is a Non-Binary playwright, essayist, toy collector, and professor based in New York City. On stage, their award-winning plays have been produced internationally, and typically have something to do with toy collecting, Queerness, and/or family. On the page, Jonathan created the first edited collection of academic essays to be entirely about action figures, titled Articulating the Action Figure: Essays on the Toys and Their Messages.
Playing with Monsters: Video Horror Games
with Patrick Hickey, Jr., author of The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers, which was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers, in an ESPN 30-for-30 style that allows them to tell their story. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventure Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, is set for a Summer 2020 release. At least three more sequels to the series have also been confirmed. Hickey is currently writing the story for the upcoming sci-fi shooter game, “Kroom”, where he will also be performing voice-over duties. Hickey plays the role of Rex in the upcoming indie game “Relentless Rex,” and served as the narrator in “The Kaiju Offensive,” which hit Steam in 2019.
Blood and Gore
with celebrated FX Designer Elizabeth Piper S. Elizabeth is a special effects artist who has created a new kind of movie and stage blood … edible, washes out of everything, etc.. She will talk about this and other fun gory FX!
A Century of Stage Frights: The Grand Guignol to Modern Day Horror Plays
Speakers: Sara Fellini, Adam Belvo, Nic Thomas. Founded in 2015, spit&vigor is a non-profit theater company devoted to the development of new plays and spirited, innovative productions of existing work. Dedicated to makeshift, skin-of-your-teeth, ad hoc theater, spit&vigor brings modern voices and perspectives to the wild, chaotic, irreverent, burlesque roots of theater. spit&vigor’s small roster of productions has been award-winning and critically acclaimed, praised as “darkly humorous, deliciously ghoulish”, “wrenching and visually eloquent”, “irresistibly dramatic” and “legitimately upsetting” by the New York Times. Their productions delight in the macabre – phantasmagorical religious imagery, ghost hauntings, the mother of horror Mary Shelley, the brutal assassination of Abraham Lincoln, witches, sword fights, amputated limbs, cannibalism, blood & gore. Theater of guts & guile // blood, sweat, tears // spit&vigor.
Horror Fan Films: The New Evolution
Join The Horror Show’s Cecil Laird as he welcomes a who’s who of horror fan film directors to talk about how this sub-genre has evolved in recent years into something truly special and unique in the horror community! With special guests: Vincente Disanti, Dave McRae, Dominic Smith, Mitch Francis, Tony Biz & Rene Rivas.
Double, Double, Toil and Trouble: A Discussion of the Dark Forces in Shakespeare
Joun Jay Michaels & Rodney Hakim for a discussion of the ghosts, witches, and demons of the Renaissance. Rodney Hakim is an actor, director, producer, writer, comic, and host, having worked in and around New York City for many years. As an actor, Rodney has appeared in numerous Shakespeare and classical theater productions around Manhattan, Queens, and in nearby regional theaters. He has also presented several series related to the Shakespearean Canon.
Indie Horror Filmmaking [three-part special]
- Join Marcus Slabine, director of The Dark Offerings, the first horror film to use social distancing and filmed during pandemic with a genre-star-studded cast; and Antoine Le, director of Followed (proclaimed the #1 movie in the country when it first came out and now on many Top 20 lists) discuss what it took to create their acclaimed films.
- Members of the principal cast of Followed share their observations. Included are Matthew Solomon, Sam Valentine, Tim Drier, Kelsey Griswold, Caitlin Grace; with special guest, producer Matthew Brewbaker.
- An Indie Filmmakers Roundtable (with special guests TBA)
Slasher Mobile App – The Social Network for Horror
Featuring Damon Della Greca, the founder of Slasher, who will discuss the app’s features and uses. Damon Della Greca is no stranger to tech or the horror genre. Over the years, Damon has started multiple companies, both online and traditional, which focused on home theater and fed his passion for music and movies. After discovering horror conventions in 2012, this solidified his passion for the community, which celebrates horror in all forms. Slasher was released to the public in 2019 and is a free social mobile app created for horror fans and professionals. The app is rated M (R-rated, for the movie fans), in order to provide the best experience to support the enjoyment of horror themes, often censored on mainstream social media. It lets people connect with one another more easily, bringing the horror community closer together in a friendly, enjoyable atmosphere. It also provides ways to stay informed of movies, events, and more! Slasher is constantly evolving, as more features are added on a regular basis, to make the app even better and more useful. The app is currently available on iOS and Android in the US and Canada.
Mystery Mansion
A discussion with Mike Handelman, Isaiah Mueller and Hunter West, the creators of Mystery Mansion – a 6 part comedy/horror web series. With host Jay Michaels.
My Horror Manifesto
S.A. Bradley is here to remind you that you used to love horror movies… and you secretly still do! Horror does not deserve your shame! Join S.A. Bradley (author of ‘Screaming for Pleasure: How Horror Makes You Happy and Healthy’ and host of the “Hellbent for Horror” podcast) on a fun and energetic riff on one of our oldest and most beautiful storytelling forms: the horror genre. Bradley shows how the genre is tailor-made for allegory and metaphor, and how it allows us to have a safe “handshake” with our shadow-selves.
An Intimate Evening With the Vampire of History
Host Brent R Myers will explore and answer the questions: Was the Slavic Vampire real? And, might he still be? ** Mature Content **
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Rocky Horror celebrates 45 years! Live Stream Screening and Live Shadow Cast featuring the Thinly Veiled Troupe. Live Stream on Friday October 30th, 2020 at 11:00pm EST (US)