VAMPIRE-CON FILM FESTIVAL: Let There Be Bloodlust

We first came across VAMPIRE-CON last year while looking for other like-minded folk on the Internet and were immediately intrigued by the simplicity and power of their goal: to amass the largest gathering of “all-things Vampire” under one collective roof.

The second thing that caught our eye was the caliber of the graphics and the very strong design concurrence evident in both their website and related media content. And while straightforward in concept and elegant in design, such and undertaking is still an ambitious endeavor to say the least. Moreover, in a genre whose fans don’t suffer fools kindly (f * * k with the Vamp and you get the fangs!), and in a town that isn’t easily impressed, VAMPIRE-CON pulled off a bloody coup: they re-animated the ‘Vamp-Pop’ fanbase with the only fangs-in-your-face convention of its kind!

This year the convention has been scaled back a bit in order to keep it from busting at the seams and straying off its mission’s rails, but none of what made it such a success in 2009 has been diluted. Instead the organizers have focused their energies on expanding their curated showcase – the film festival – and attracting unique, rare, and seldom seen cinema treasures that speak to the ‘blood lust’ in all of us.

Unchanged is the fact that the film festival continues at LA’s New Beverly Cinema(thanks for saving this gem, Quentin!), which genre-wise and from the venus’ significance to revival cinema, is a match made in… well, you know. The same magical aura that caught our attention in ’09 still surrounds the event today.

Vampire-Con is set to re-animate Vamp-Pop fans of all ages with a world-class convention that is sure to leave you drained of your societal woes.

The 2nd annual Vampire-Con Film Festival kicks off on Thursday, June 24th with a “Summer of Vampire Love” thematic featuring the best bloodsucking cinema born of the turbulent 1960s, including Roman Polanski’s The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967), and Freddie Francis‘ Dracula Has Risen From The Grave (1968), with Christopher Lee as he plots revenge against the Monsignor who exorcised his beloved Castle Dracula.
That alone is worth the price of admission!

LATIN HORROR has joined Vampire-Con as a presenting partner via a showcase derived straight from our clarion call tagline: ‘There will be SANGRE,’ which takes place right smack in the middle of the festival (like a cleaver to the head) on Friday, June 25th, and features such Latin horror classics as the 1931 Spanish-language Drácula (peep the accent!) staring Carlos Villarías; and Vicente Aranda’s 1972 spooker The Blood-Spattered Bride (La novia ensangrentada).

Sandwiched between these two famed horror dramas is LOOKING FOR THESE?, a short-form, dark comedy about a sect of female Vampires who use a South Bronx comedy club as a hunting ground for their ‘feed.’ The film is written and helmed by comedian-turned-director Arnold Acevedo and produced and shot by yours truly. LOOKING FOR THESE? is the first film produced under the LATIN HORROR banner.

The evening will be capped off by a special midnight showcase. What makes it special, you ask? Answer: Vamp Cult lineage – as Rena ‘Lynn’ Riffel’s 2009 dramady Trasharellaliterally splashes across the screen. A bloody cherry on top is provided by a personal appearance by the controversial director / model / showgirl / vixen. A ‘trashionista parade’ precedes the screening – so wear your best (meaning WORST) trashy fashion – a good reason if there ever was one to shake your Gothic tramp stamp or swing your favorite draconian codpiece like you just don’t care! 😉

Representing LATIN HORROR at Vampire-Con will be contributing staff writers Gary “El Boy” Deocampo and Irene “She Wolf” Villalobos. Look out for their report from the field shortly after the film festival.

1979 was a good year for disco and Vampire-Con goes deep on Saturday, June 26th as they present vital Vampire lore with legendary auteur Werner Herzog’s version of Nosferatu the Vampyre, and mix it with John Badham’s Dracula, an eclectic re-imagining of the classic staring Frank Langella. Finally, eternal tan-meister George Hamilton dons the Count’s polyester cape and heads to New York in the hope of finding a bride in everyone’s favorite ‘pain in the neck’ parody, Love At First Bite.

BRING THE FANGS & FUN: Patrons are strongly encouraged to wear costumes: Vampires, Victorian, Edwardian, Steampunk, Bohemian, Tribal and Gypsy attire is welcomed throughout. Nothing is too shocking or in poor taste here…