As the Eerie Horror Film Festival entered its third year, no one could have imagined, or been prepared for, how huge of a horror event it would shape up to be. For those of you who are not familiar with it, the Eerie Horror Film Festival is an annual event dedicated to showcasing the best, weirdest, and most beloved of the horror genre. It takes place every October in Erie, Pennsylvania. The last two years, the event has been nestled within the cozy walls of the Roadhouse Theatre, but now it moves to the much larger Erie Playhouse.
Everything about the third year of the Eerie Horror Film Festival just seems to be bigger and badder than the previous two. Not only has Festival Director Greg Ropp moved the Festival from to the grandly prominent Erie Playhouse, but he has also received a tremendous amount of entries for the fest, far more than in previous years. The Festival seemed to be expanding nicely . . . until it went Nova.
Two little words just sent the Eerie Horror Film Festival into the stratosphere:
George Romero.
Yes, you read correctly, the great godfather of the Living Dead will be present at the third annual Eerie Horror Film Festival. Frightful fans of the Fest will have their opportunity to meet with Romero, who will be on hand for a celebration of his film career.
Greg Ropp, one of the men instrumental in the creation of the festival three years ago, is thrilled with the development. “I was determined to have a major player in the horror field as the Guest of Honor for our 2006 Eerie Horror Film Festival, and I aimed pretty damned high to say the least!” he recently said. “On my wish list I wrote down the names of Wes Craven, John Carpenter, Rob Zombie, and George A. Romero. Though all of these legends were long shots at best, I thought that Romero was the one true pipe dream of the bunch. Little did I know that a series of odd events would lead to a phone call from George’s manager and to a booking of one of the most admired and beloved horror directors of all time at our film festival in October! I am just as amazed as anyone else that this is happening, and it hasn’t really sunk in yet! It’s truly an honor to have George with us at our Fest this year, and our organization is thrilled to be able to share this experience with all of his fans as well! This is going to be one hell of a weekend for all of us!”
For those of you who are not familiar with the Eerie Horror Film Festival, it is a five-day, competition based marathon of wall-to-wall horror films. Last year Leatherface himself, Gunnar Hansen, visited the shores of Lake Erie and regaled all of us with his tales of living the Chainsaw experience. The year before Lionsgate premiered Saw at the fest two weeks before it played at theatres. This year the fest runs from October 4th through the 8th. Entries for film submissions are still being accepted. Visit the festival’s website right here for all details!
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