Elvira! Nightmare on Elm Street! House of 1000 Corpses! Hellraiser and more! Louisville Halloween interviews Days of the Dead promoter Aldolfo Dorta!
The Days of the Dead Horror Convention has been on the rise over the last 10 years, bringing many of our favorite classic and modern horror stars and filmmakers to cities like Chicago, Atlanta, Indianapolis and Los Angeles. Now, for the first time, Days of the Dead is coming to Louisville at the Crown Plaza Hotel this weekend between Friday and Sunday, Sept. 2-4.
Appropriately enough, they’re bringing the punk rocker stars of “Return of the Living Dead” with them, reuniting the cast in the city in which the movie takes place for the first time.
Along with the cast of one the best zombie movies ever made, you can meet Halloween icon, Elvira Mistress of the Dark, Doug “Pinhead” Bradley and his fellow “Hellrasier II” cenobites, Heather Langenkamp and a bevy of Elm Street beauties, Sid Haig and Bill Moselely of “The Devil’s Rejects,” Marilyn Manson’s guitarist, Twiggy Ramirez, makeup effects legend Tom Savini and many more!
I sat down with Days of the Dead promoter, Aldolfo Dorta, to talk about brain eating zombies in the Ville and everything else you need to know about this weekend’s massive horror show.
LH: Tell us about how your founded the Days of the Dead Horror Convention and how long you’ve been doing it.
AD: Aside from Days of the Dead, I also run a website called From Dusk Till Con (along with co-founder, Rick Lara) which covers the horror convention scene and culture behind it and has been growing quite steadily since its inception on Halloween of 2009. Originally, Days of the Dead was going to be the Midwest expansion show for one of the long established horror conventions on the East Coast (which I am not at liberty to name) and they approached From Dusk Till Con about sponsoring an event for that show. A few months later, the original promoter changed his mind and Rick and I were offered the opportunity to take their place as a partner and the face of what went on to become Days of the Dead. As huge horror fans who go to about 4-7 horror conventions a year, it was an offer we simply couldn’t refuse.
LH: What made you decide to bring your show to Louisville, KY?
AD: We’ve had quite a bit of folks requesting Louisville be added to our
yearly tour for quite some time and many of our travelling fans come
to our Indianapolis and Chicago shows from Kentucky, Tennessee and
there about. Louisville as a city also has such a wonderful
appreciation for all things weird and creative so it seemed like a
match made in heaven.
LH: This will be the first time that the stars of “Return of the
Living Dead” have reunited in Louisville, the city in which the film
takes place. Dan O’Bannon’s 1985 cult classic has a rabid
following in this town and the week before your show arrives, we’ll
be hosting the World’s Largest Annual Zombie Walk that now gathers
at least 40,000 zombies in the streets of Louisville.
What can the fans do to welcome the cast of “Return of the Living
Dead” to their “second home“?
AD: The ROTLD cast is a pretty easy going bunch and love meeting and
talking to their fans; Hands down some of my favorite people to work
with ever. Swing by and give Beverly (Randolph) a hug, bring them a bottle of
wine or just come and say “Hi.” I can’t say enough good things about
them.
LH: Elvira (Cassandra Peterson) may be the single most recognizable
Halloween icon in the world. Tell us about the Exclusive Elvira Photo
Op you’re offering.
AD: We’ll be doing a very special costumed photo op with Cassandra
Peterson as Elvira on Saturday afternoon. From what we’ve been told,
she will be retiring the costume at the end of the year so this will
be one of the last chances to ever get a photo with the Mistress of
the Dark herself.
LH: You’ve got a gathering of five Scream Queens from the
“Nightmare on Elm Street” series coming to Louisville, including
original Final Girl, Heather Langenkamp! Will there be a panel Q & A
with all five actresses? Any planned tributes to Wes Craven at the
show?
AD: The Ladies of Elm Street will be doing a special Q&A panel on Saturday
at 1 PM. It’s the first time ever that these five ladies has ever been
together at a show (that I know of), so fans are definitely not going
to want to miss that. Also, they’ll be having a very special photo op
together on Saturday as well, which is the first time that’s ever been
offered, and likely not to be offered again.
LH: All four of Clive Barker’s cenobites from “Hellraiser II,”
including the original Pinhead himself, Doug Bradley, will be at the
show. Will there be any special Photo Ops, panels or special events
for “Hellraiser” fans?
AD: The Hellraiser cast will be doing a special Q&A panel on Saturday at
2 PM, which will also include lead actress Immogen Boorman. The
cenobite quartet will also be participating in a very special group
photo op on both Friday and Saturday, something that has never been
done in the Midwest before.
LH: Besides horror icons, you’ve also got some Rock and Roll and
Wrestling icons coming with you. Twiggy Ramirez, guitarist and primary
song writer for Marilyn Manson, will be there. Any chance he’ll be
bringing his guitar or playing any riffs after hours at the hotel?
AD: He won’t be bringing his guitar, but he WILL be DJ-ing our special
Return of the Living Dead themed after party on Saturday night. Our
“Rave From the Grave” will be kicking off Saturday at 10 PM and
feature all your favorite punk, industrial and metal tunes from the
80’s, providing the soundtrack to some of your favorite horror flicks
from the era playing in the background on a big screen. It’s going to
be amazing.
LH: Eileen Dietz, who was the actual face of the demon, Pazuzu, that
possessed Linda Blair in “The Exorcist,” has become a fan favorite
in dozens of indie horror films in recent years. Do you know if she
has ever been remade up in the Pazuzu makeup design since 1973?
AD: I have no idea whether or not she’s ever been remade up as Pazuzu. I
imagine it’s not something she does regularly or has done since, but I
could be wrong. Might be worth asking her at the show and seeing what
she says.
LH: What is the one DON’T MISS opportunity you would tell fans not
to miss out on at Days of the Dead Louisville this year?
AD: I would say all of it. (laughs) It comes down to what you’re into. If you
like films, we have the JABB Pictures 48 Hour Film Festival showcasing
the best in indie horror as well as a few classics. If you’re more of
a social butterfly, we’ve got after hours parties like the
aforementioned Rave from the Grave. If celebrities are your thing,
we’ve got over 30 of your favorites hanging with us all weekend long
waiting to meet fans and sign autographs. Overall, there’s no wrong
way to experience the show and we invite everyone and anyone to join
us in having a good time among like-minded people.
You can get your tickets now at
http://www.daysofthedead.net/louisville.
