Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
I can’t remember how old I was when I became a fan of horror movies. I do know I was a late bloomer. I’d say it wasn’t until I was in college that I really started to explore the genre and found out that I loved the rollercoaster of emotions you experience with horror.
There are so many sub-genres, and I can’t pick just one. Slashers, supernatural, sci-fi, apocalyptic, zombie, revenge and even comedy. I love them all.
Something that comes with being a horror fan is the convention scene. We’ve all heard of the big conventions – San Diego Comic Con and New York Comic Con, but those encompass all the fandoms. Whether you love sci-fi and the debate about Star Wars versus Star Trek or you’re a fantasy fiend who knows their Hogwarts house, all the Game of Thrones sigils and how to speak Elvish –there’s something for everyone at those cons.
What I didn’t know for a long time was that there are a series of horror specific conventions all around the world, character actors, stunt performers and the main actors who brought all those great slashers to life on the big screen gather for the fans.
It became a dream of mine to attend a horror convention and meet my favorites, which turns out to be a lot of different actors who brought to life Jason Voorhees in the “Friday the 13th” films.
That dream came true October 11, when I jumped in the car with my friend, Tony Blackstock, and headed to Richmond, Virginia, for Nightmare Weekend, hosted by GalaxyCon.
I was like a kid on Christmas morning, filled with a happy, nervous energy. Tony has been to a lot of conventions through the years, so I called him my horror con sherpa.
Prior to attending, we checked out the website which gave a list of all the celebrities who would be there. I was stoked! There were going to be four Jasons there, including one of the best, Kane Hodder. Just two weeks prior to the event, Hodder had to cancel, but that didn’t dampen my spirits. There were still three, and so many more people that I recognized from different movies and shows.
The main cast from 1979’s “The Warriors,” was there, as well as Kristy Swanson, who was Buffy in the movie version of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Devon Sawa and Kerr Smith, of “Final Destination” were also on hand as well as many others.
The biggest draw was David Howard Thornton, who portrays Art the Clown in the “Terrifier” series. “Terrifier 3” came out in theaters that weekend, so the line to see him was really long.
I focused on the Jasons and got a chance to chat with all three of them.
Ken Kerzinger was a stunt coordinator and double and one of Jason’s victims in “Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan,” the eighth film in the series. He then donned the hockey mask as the slasher himself in “Freddy vs. Jason,” which pitted him against Robert Englund’s Freddy Krueger.
Kerzinger said he was surprised he was asked to be Jason in the 2003 flick, assuming Kane Hodder would continue the role. Hodder has portrayed Jason in four films. The producers explained they wanted a taller Jason who resembled the comic book character.
“They put two-inch lifts on me and I’m 6’6” so I was 6’8” with the boots on,” Kerzinger said. “When I got it, I was like, ‘wow.’ I didn’t know what a big deal it was, and my family started getting a hold of me and asked if I looked at the internet. It was blowing up over me playing Jason in ‘Freddy vs. Jason.”’
Fans of the “Friday the 13th” films know that it was initially hinted that a “Freddy vs. Jason” film was in the works at the end of “Jason Goes to Hell” when Freddy’s gloved hand comes out of the ground and pulls Jason’s hockey mask down into the depths below.
“I was one of those people who saw the glove come out of the ground and grab the mask and pull it under, and go, ‘oh, wow, they’re going to do a ‘Freddy vs. Jason’ movie someday,” Kerzinger said. “And, lo and behold, I got the part.”
Kerzinger has been in the horror industry his whole career, working on TV shows such as “X-Files” and “Twilight Zone Outer Limits,” as well as dozens of films.
After the chat, I got an autograph and photo with Kerzinger, who didn’t have his lifts on, but was still a towering presence.
The next Jason I spoke to was Derek Mears, who took the mantle for the 2009 reboot/remake of “Friday the 13th.” Mears declined to do an interview, but was very personable and spoke to us for a bit about his career in the horror industry and what it was like to play Jason.
When Tony told him it was my first convention, he grinned and said welcome to the family. He said that’s what he loved about the horror genre, that the fanbase is passionate about the genre and they treat each other like family, even if they just met minutes prior.
Mears, another towering figure at 6’5” also has a long career in film and brought back to life a classic horror character – Swamp Thing – for a TV series in 2019.
Mears gladly signed my copy of “Crystal Lake Memories,” an anthology book about the making of the “Friday the 13th” films, even though the one he was in wasn’t included in the book. He was a good sport about it, and I told him that maybe he should write a book about it himself and he enthusiastically agreed.
The final Jason I met at the con was C.J. Graham, who brought Jason to life in “Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives.”
Graham is a boisterous character and spent a lot of time with each person who stopped to meet him at his table. He took selfies and videos with people and gave each conversation a personal touch that the fans will never forget.
I asked Graham how he got in the business, and he said it just kind of fell in his lap. Although he didn’t attend stunt school or have any training, he quickly found himself doing his own stunts in movies like “Friday the 13th.”
“When you see me on fire, underwater, going through doors, windows, walls –never done it in my life –until I did the movie,” he said. “Everything is OJT, On the Job Training, and it wasn’t my intent.”
Graham went to L.A. to either join the LAPD or the sheriff’s department, but ended up running nightclubs, including one owned by Jackie Collins. He went on to run casinos and resorts, a job he retired from seven years ago.
He still takes acting jobs from time to time, and enjoys going to conventions, but is also content to be on his ranch in Montana.
“It’s never been my intent, but it’s fun now,” he said of acting. “I don’t really rely on it for income. I have a ranch. I live in Montana, so I’ve got horses, alpacas, bees. I got honey last week. You always take honey in September, and I got stung a couple times. They got me.”
The biggest question then became – what hurts more, going through a window or getting stung by bees.
“Getting stung by a freaking bee,” Graham said, laughing. “It hurts.”
The most famous actor in attendance, at least in my opinion, was Clint Howard. Yes, the Clint Howard – son of Rance and brother to Ron.
Howard began his career as a child actor on Gentle Ben and The Andy Griffith Show. He’s been acting so long, he can’t really remember how he got started.
“I honestly do not remember,” he said. “It’s been in the family. My dad was an actor. My mom was an actor. My big brother is an actor and filmmaker, so it’s just sort of something I’ve never known the difference. I’m so grateful that I’m in the position I’m in, to be part of the magic trick; to understand fundamentally what it is and to get to participate in it.”
Howard said he has been acting for 62 years and is happy to now share the craft with his daughter, Raffi, who he will soon share the big screen with, as well.
In 1995, Howard starred in “The Ice Cream Man” and now there is a sequel in the works. Howard will return as the title character and Raffi will have a scene in which all she wants to do is get an ice cream cone, but there’s a “Karen” who won’t leave the ice cream man alone and causes a big scene.
“Raffi is just trying to get ice cream while this Karen is climbing into my grill and she meets her fate,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’re going to understand why somebody puts body parts in ice cream. We answer that question. The world needs to know what it takes for somebody to decide to start putting body parts in ice cream.”
Howard’s decades of work have spanned all genres, including horror. The funny thing is, he’s not that big a fan of the genre.
“It’s fun to do,” he said, of acting in horror. “There’s a fanbase. There’s a loyal fanbase for horror movies. It’s not my favorite genre, but I do understand it. We just went to see “Terrifier 3.” I’m in “Terrifier 3” and we saw it at the premier in New York last Tuesday, and it’s great to see the envelope get pushed.
“I end up telling people who think it’s too gruesome, ‘guy’s, it’s just a movie,’” he added.
As we were talking, Howard pointed to his wife, Kat, who laughed and said that when they met, he told her he was a snow globe maker. While true, she thought it was funny he didn’t mention the laundry list of TV shows and movies he’d appeared in.
I was on Cloud 9 after talking to Howard and may have done a few hops up and down saying, “I just interviewed Clint Howard!” It was surreal to me.
The celebrities are just part of a convention. The rest of the convention hall was filled with vendors – artists, businesses and clubs – with items for sale, from movie merchandise and collectibles to original artwork and comic books.
There was also a section with tattoo artists who were doing tattoos all weekend and had a special for those wanting their favorite actor’s autographs immortalized on their skin. Next to the tattoo section was a photo-op section with props including the aliens from “Mars Attack!” characters from “Killer Klowns from Outerspace.” and more.
There were also a lot of attendees dressed as their favorite characters, interacting with everyone. It was a blast to say the least.
It was so exciting and fun that I’m ready for the next convention.
Hopefully, next time, Kane Hodder will be able to make it.
