Next up we have the Musicians Who Love Horror Panel. This is one I was excited for, but it felt a little uneven. The panelists for this included Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), Bright Light Bright Light, Arrow de Wilde (Starcrawler), and Blothar, Pustulus Maximus, & Sawborg Destructo (GWAR).
Moderated by Yahoo Music Editor Lyndsey Parker, this panel focused on their entry points for horror, how horror impacts their aesthetic, and much more!
Where it feel flat for me was when discussing Tobe Hooper directing Billy Idol’s “Dancing With Myself” video with Steve Stevens, Lyndsey Parker asked if Tobe Hooper directed horror movies. Also at another part she mentioned conflict at concerts. Pustulus Maximus in the usual sarcastic GWAR banter stated “There has never been any conflict, arrests, fights, or women getting pregnant at a GWAR show”. This led to the moderator saying she thought the PMRC had gone after them, a case of something that should never be done…taking GWAR seriously.
Overall this was a fun panel, but for one I was looking forward to it just didn’t work for me. Going in I wasn’t familiar with Starcrawler, but will be checking them out and Bright Light Bright Light had the best description ever of Twin Peaks.
In the 5 o’clock hour viewers were treated to Story Time with Josh Ruben And Friends.
For this segment each of the panelists treated viewers to some fun by telling a story lasting 3 to 5 minutes.
Some comical, some “true”, some made up, and some unbelievable.
Noah Segan had a great story about a haunted room he was staying in while working in Winnipeg only to find out a double suicide happened there. He continued to stay there for 2 more months due to the stellar breakfast.
The story that really floored me was Dreama Walker McMahon’s based on the German doctor, Carl Tanzler. Let’s hope this panel with the feel of Ruben’s flick Scare Me gets added to the app!
Up next we’re treated to a mix of panels. Kicking off things at 6pm we have a panel with the crew of the Shudder Exclusive anthology film, The Mortuary Collection.
Being a film that’s been on my list to check out, this short panel made me want to watch it tomorrow due to the all day festivities of Shudderfest. As the panel discussed older Amicus anthologies to how their film is a kitchen sink of genres blanketed in horror.
Once the Mortuary Collection wrapped up fans were treated to a quick list from Metallica’s axe man Kirk Hammett as he ran down his Top 5 Modern Horror Movies.
After that fans were treated to a Q & A with Keith David and a surprise interview with Lin Shaye about her new film The Call which co-stars Tobin Bell and just hit VOD.
To finish off the panels was Kingcast at 7pm. This panel featured Greg Nicotero talking all things Stephen King with Scott Wompler and Eric Vespe.
During this hour long session, Nicotero discussed how he was introduced to King’s work and his projects involving the Master of Mystery. After this the panels started over. For those that have the Shudder app or website login they were treated to a 9pm showing of 1978’s Halloween and a one time 10:30pm showing of Lucky, a film that won’t be back on Shudder until later in 2021.
Overall this made for a fun day, giving a sense of some convention activities in a year when a majority of them have been canceled. Even though the panels were pre recorded, some fan interaction on them would have been a nice touch. Josh Ruben, Tananarive Due, Ted Geoghegan (We Are Still Here, Mohwak), and Jenn Wexler (The Ranger) were in the chat throughout the day.
Hopefully this is something Shudder will continue to do and will add the panels to their app and site in the future.
With panels from Shudderfest currently not available for replay you can catch years of panels hosted by our own Michael Exler on our YouTube page.