2001 Maniacs Slay Monster Mania
This past weekend in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, 2001 MANIACS director/co-writer Tim Sullivan, actresses Christa Campbell and Wendy Kremer and Fango Hall of Famer/MANIACS star Robert Englund knocked a capacity audience dead at the Monster Mania convention. The actresses introduced clips of the scenes in which their cannibalistic femme-fatale characters slaughter their victims, and then Englund, attending the show to participate on a NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET reunion panel, unexpectedly crashed the MANIACS presentation to introduce the films preview trailer.
Im still in shock, Sullivan tells Fango. We were the only people at the convention who didnt have a movie out. Other than the folks who came to the Fango-sponsored sneak preview screening of the film back in January in LA, no one at Monster Mania had seen anything until they saw what we screenedand they went wild. I mean, a standing ovation from over 1,000 fans for showing them a trailer? Go figure.
Sullivan isnt the only MANIACS alum still reeling from the overwhelmingly positive response to the splatstick horror/comedy reimagining of the Herschell Gordon Lewis drive-in classic. Actress/model Campbell, who has appeared in Maxim magazine and will be the cover star of an upcoming issue of Playboy which will emphasize her, um, talents as MANIACS nefarious Milk Maiden (dont ask!), was astounded by the attention she and Kramer attracted.
I had a great time, but I was also shocked, Campbell says. This was my first convention promoting the movie, and I always felt wed made a special film, but this was wild. We didnt just get a standing ovationpeople were screaming and cheering. I was overwhelmed by all the attention.
With Campbells rise to Playboy prominence, MANIACS history is repeating itself, as Connie Mason, star of Lewis original TWO THOUSAND MANIACS!, was the mags Playmate of the Month for June 1963. That is so strange and wonderful, Campbell says, as this wasnt something I sought outbecause although Ive been in Maxim, Stuff and FHM, Ive never done nudity beforeand the fact Im going to be on the cover Campbell, who has appeared in over a dozen movies, including the just-released MOSQUITOMAN, adds that Playboys reps contacted hers, and that kind of offer isnt one to turn down.
Expect more MANIACS mayhem when Englund joins Sullivan, co-producer Scott Spiegel, Campbell, Kremer and fellow cast members Giuseppe Andrews, Dylan Edrington and Lin Shaye at Fangos Burbank Weekend of Horrors, June 4-5 (go here for details). If youre planning on attending, remember to bring the barbeque sauce.
Courtesy of Fangoria
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