‘Living Dead’ and fans reunite for Falls horror show
As Jewel Shepard has found out, when you star in a cult classic it will pay dividends for years.
Shepard and four other stars of the iconic 1985 zombie flick “Return of the Living Dead” were reunited for the first annual Fresh Kills horror convention in Niagara Falls over the weekend.
Fans came from as far away as Colorado and Kansas for photos and autographs.
“We were beloved as a cast,” says Shepard, who played punk rocker Casey in the comedy/horror flick which spawned four sequels and has had a massive influence on modern zombie cinema.
Shepard was joined by original stars Thom Matthews, Clu Gulager, John Philbin and Allan Trautman, who played the movie’s most famous creation, the lanky, goop-covered zombie Tarman. “We still have that magic.” Shepard says the movie was the first to have both running and speaking zombies, and it “broke the mould” of traditional undead flicks. It was written by “Night of the Living Dead” screenwriter John Russo, though much of the humour was provided by director Dan O’Bannon.
“Return of the Living Dead” posters, T-shirts, prints and original VHS copies were being signed throughout the two-day event at Best Western Plus Cairn Croft Hotel on Lundy’s Lane. The inaugural show also featured “Friday the 13th Part
VI: Jason Lives” director Tom McLoughlin, “Feast” star Diane Ayala Goldner, “Johnny Grusome” director Greg Lamberson and a handful of vendors and artists.
Organizer Sean McAuley is pleased with attendance for his first crack at a fan convention.
“We were really excited with the turnout,” he says. “We had a lot of people that were just excited to see the different celebs that we have here.”
McAuley set out to offer a different type of Con than the annual Frightmare in the Falls show in October, put on by the team behind the Niagara Falls Comic Con.
“It’s a different element for a horror convention for Niagara Falls,” he says. “I frequent the Cons, so was like, ‘We’ve got to have some different people come, different horror celebs.’”
Vendors offered such things as rare horror DVDs, original artwork and tough-to-find figurines.
David Hennig of Mississauaga based Gr8Collectibles says the new Niagara Falls event showed promise, and he’ll be back next year.
“A first-year show is always a little show, and I expect that,” he says. “But you get to know the promoters and they’re really committed to what they’re doing. I’ve done enough shows and you know when you’re getting the run-around.”
Hennig attends about 45 shows a year and will return in October for Frightmare in the Falls. He has loved collectibles since he was a kid, and chuckles over one painful memory — his dad throwing out a bunch of key early Amazing Spider-man issues.
“I said, ‘Dad, I could have bought a house with those comics.’”