HorrorBuzz returned to Burbank for SON OF MONSTERPALOOZA this past weekend! Son Of Monsterpalooza is the smaller version of the regular con that is hosted in April. But, it doesn’t mean that there are less monsters or greatness. This year, Son Of took place the first weekend of haunt season, which meant the horror fans of SoCal could visit it during the day and get scared at Universal Studio’s Halloween Horror Nights at night! The best part of that is that they are so close to each other, you could have gotten a double creature feature to give your haunt season a GREAT start! Thank you to those who plan Son Of Monsterpalooza for organizing this spooky event to start off the haunt season. LET THE ART OF MONSTERS BEGIN!

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I love seeing the passion of horror fans around the convention as they dwell in the Marriott Convention Center in their cosplays and monster costumes. Everyone has fun with being their favorite horror movie characters and monsters. Here are some of my favorites I saw around the convention:

Ash VS Michael Myers…when is this going to be made into a movie?

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Here are two creepy little girls, one as the Marionette from Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (even her music box played the Marionette’s theme from the game) and the creepy ballerina from Cabin in the woods.

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Here are a few more of my favorite,s including the Reel Guise fiends as The Walking Dead characters. The woman who portrayed Carol even gave out cookies to those who got the reference from the show.

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Also, it’s great to see the hard work of many talented makeup artists all around the convention bringing to life creatures and characters we all know and love. One of my favorites was Niko Gonzalez’s (makeup artist from FaceOff) “War Woman” from Mad Max. WITNESS ME!

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And to see the process being done live by the makeup artists was great, like this character of Billy Butcherson from Hocus Pocus. Then, he met Doug Jones (who played Billy Butcherson in the movie and made a surprise appearance at the con).
Here are some other of my favorite movie characters that they brought back to life.

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Not only did they bring to life characters we know, but also monsters and creatures that are original and come from the darkest depths of their imaginations!

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Along with the live makeup demonstrations happening before your eyes, another thing that makes Monsterpalooza unique is that you can meet the actors and filmmakers who bring your favorite horror movies to life! Personally, Child’s Play and Fright Night are two of my favorite horror movies and the director of both, Tom Holland made an appearance at the convention along with the man who played Andy Barclay in Child’s Play, Alex Vincent.

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Other horror legends also made appearances. Monsterpalooza brings together EVERYONE who loves the genre. Some of the notable appearances were Mick Garris (writer of Hocus Pocus), Tony Todd (Candy Man), Danielle Harris (Hatchet), and Sid Haig (House of 1,000 Corpses). Then there were those who were not in the program who decided to come and enjoy the con, such as Tom Savini (Makeup Artist for Friday the 13th), Rick Baker (Makeup Artist for An American Werewolf in London), and Doug Jones (Hocus Pocus).

Even though there were many horror legends and masters attending Son of Monsterpalooza, the people who I always look forward to see at the con are my friends who also love the genre. Conventions bring all of us freaks together for the love of horror, especially since it’s haunt season and all of us are crazy busy during this season. Monsterpalooza brings all of us together even if it is only for a day or two.

Also in the halls of Son Of are tons of vendors that provide Horror items that you can only get at a convention.

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Artists display their works of art throughout the convention, many amazing pieces of art that leave you in awe. Mike Hill’s yearly contribution is a very life like Bela Lugosi as Dracula. There was also another life like statue by a different artist that amazed me, it was like Houdini crawled out of his grave to greet all those who came to Son of Monsterpalooza.

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Other works of art were displayed in the “mini museum” within the convention called “Son of Conjoined” art exhibit curated by Chet Zar and the Corpor Gallery.

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There was also a display and auction of props from infamous films which defined the Horror, Fantasy and Sc-Fi genres.

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Overall Son of Monsterpalooza was a great convention filled with all the things that make Monsterpalooza an amazing con. There is so much to see and so many people who love the genre as much as you do. This was a great last hoorah for Monsterpalooza in Burbank,  this April the 22-24th it will be at the Pasadena Convention Center where the home of Scare LA is held. Looks like two awesome conventions will share a home and offering their own unique focus for Horror Fans… both are a MUST attend. Thank you for joining me on this journey to Son of Monsterpalooza 2015! Hope to see you all soon… IN THE DARK!

 

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