By Brian Landa
@BrianLandaLawyer
I’ve been attending Texas Frightmare Weekend since 2008 (It started in 2006) and it’s one of the best conventions of its kind (or any kind) anywhere. Geared towards scary movies and the people who love them, A-listers and beyond show up as guests for autographs, photo ops and fantastic panels.
Dark and scary cosplay is a passion and a calling for many of the attendees, but some are mainly there to meet their favorite “scream queen” or the fellow horror fans they bond with on an annual basis. People come in from all over the world and it keeps outgrowing venues.
With current annual residence in May at the Irving Convention Center, guests and fans staying at nearby hotels, and locals there for the scene, get lively during and after hours. The Texican courtyard is the place to be late night every night.
This year I was able to make it to four panels, An American Werewolf in London (1981), Re-Animator (1985), the Terrifier franchise (2018-Present) and one with the composer and cinematographer of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. All were fantastic.
Longtime friends of ReelNewz, local Dallas entertainment personalities Paul Salfen and James Wallace, handle the moderator duties of the panels and they do really well with very different styles. James is such a fan himself that he might come costumed and always has good stories about personal experiences that are blended effectively with the topic at hand.
Paul’s research is great to get things rolling, and then he generally turns it over to the audience a bit earlier, because there are a lot of people who line up at those microphones. Some fans in this scene have major social anxiety, and going someplace with that many thousands of people is very brave. And getting up there to ask a question to a personal hero even braver. It’s very much a safe space for diversity of every kind. The crowd is wholly diverse in both age and ethnicity.
Frightmare has had the same organizers for the entire run, Loyd & Sue Cryer. Things sometimes go sideways, but the part of the plan as an attendee is to figure out how to get back on track swiftly. Knowing where stairwells are is very important, because elevators and escalators often get overcrowded. Elevator and line time can actually be great networking time. Frightmare is all about standing in line. And it is quite common to make friends for life in those queues. We are all kindred spirits.
There are films, shorts and features, screened throughout the weekend. I was happy to see one made in Austin, with lots of local talent, Sarah Scarah: Damsel of the Doomed (2024). I missed the new documentary about the making of Jason X (1993), but I was there for an amazing Q&A.
A story was told about how Kane Hodder (the 6th Jason, and considered the pinnacle of the role) put a young Black boy (perhaps the child of a crew member) on his shoulders and walked him around the wrap party because “everyone deserves to feel special.” Telling that story was also an act of bravery in this climate.
Linda Blair, Bruce Campbell and Patricia Arquette were the most in-demand guests this year. The American Werewolf Q&A was great. It was supposed to happen last year. David Naughton has Texas credibility because he was literally the Dr Pepper guy in the commercials and got the role in the movie because he was likable. John Landis thought if he was likable for 30 seconds, he might be likable for the duration a feature film. So the rest is history. Two decades of history. Texas Frightmare Weekend celebrates year twenty in 2026 and I plan to be there for it!
