Horror Fans and the Conventions They Attend Celebrated in the New Documentary Fantasm
/jan13/fants.jpg
We’ve had numerous documentaries about the horror genre, specific horror franchises, the people that make the movies, and even those that go all-out celebrating the Halloween holiday.
I’d say we’re overdue for a documentary like Fantasm that specifically focuses on horror fandom and the conventions that bring us all together.
As the tagline reads, Fantasm is “a documentary about horror fan devotion, and the events that keep them devoted.” Horror fan turned documentary filmmaker Kyle Kuchta is behind this project that talks to both the fans and the genre icons that attend these conventions for their take on what keeps the blood pumping in this particular genre of fandom.
I’ll let the press release tell you the rest.
Fantasm, a new documentary about horror conventions and the tight-knit community of fans who attend them, is currently in production under the direction of Kyle Kuchta.
Kyle Kuchta has a self-proclaimed obsession with horror films. Upon discovering the phenomenon of horror conventions, the young genre fanatic finally felt like a part of a community. He connected with like-minded individuals with whom he shares his love for the genre. Now he’s traveling to conventions all across America to find out why horror brings people together.
In addition to legions of devoted fans, the documentary will feature insight from iconic actors and filmmakers. Interview subjects who have already participated in Fantasm include Heather Langenkamp (A Nightmare on Elm Street, New Nightmare), Tom Atkins (Halloween III, Escape from New York), Joe Lynch (Chillerama, Wrong Turn 2), Amanda Wyss (A Nightmare on Elm Street) and more.
Fantasm began as aspiring filmmaker Kyle Kuchta’s thesis in pursuit of his film degree from Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. “I wanted to do a documentary on horror conventions,” he explains, “because I didn’t feel as if a lot of people knew about them or the loving community that they are a part of.”
The documentary was partially funded via Kickstarter. Further proving the enthusiastic support of the horror community, the project reached its goal in just eleven days. The 21-year-old Kuchta is currently working as a one-man film crew, serving as director, camera operator, interviewer and editor, among other duties.
Production will continue in March at the upcoming Monster-Mania in Cherry Hill, NJ and HorrorHound Weekend in Cincinnati, OH. Filming has previously taken place at such fan-favorite conventions as Monster-Mania (Hunt Valley, MD), Rock and Shock (Worcester, MA), Spooky Empire (Orlando, FL) and HorrorHound Weekend (Indianapolis, IL). The documentary is expected to be completed in May 2013.
You can follow the progress of Fantasm at the official Fantasm Facebook page.
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Celebrate fandom in the comments section below!
Categorized:
