Horror Film Festival Opens In Southern California

Mania Fest, a film festival dedicated to horror, sci-fi, and fantasy movies opens today in Santa Monica. The festival was created by Cinescape magazine. Cinescape also produces the annual Saturn Awards, which honor the year's best movies in those genres. Chip Meyers of Cinescape says that they hope to turn Mania Fest into the "Sundance of genre movies."

The 2003 film festival features panels with horror legends Clive Barker, George Romero, Wes Craven, Guillermo del Toro, and others. The West Coast premiere of Beyond Re-Animator is on Thursday night's schedule. Other films scheduled to be screened include "Friday The 13th" (a brand new print), "Night of the Living Dead", "Halloween", "Nightmare on Elm Street", "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", and "Undead".

On Saturday night there will be a screening of a new print of "The Hills Have Eyes" followed by a question and answer period with those behind the 70's classic, including Wes Craven. Friday there will be a tribute to special effects guru Stan Winston featuring screenings of three of his best known genre movies, "Predator", "Terminator", and "Pumpkin Head".

Sunday's lineup includes the world premiere of Lion Gate's "Monster Man" as well as the closing night's award ceremonies.

Mania Fest 2003 runs September 18-21, 2003. Tickets are available at the Laemmle Monica box office, but supplies are limited.

Source: Wired, Official Site