A panel about women with horror films, the cast of an 80’s movie about a turned counselor and the movie screenings that will make you jump out of your seat World Mechanics Hall this weekend.
It Horror Festival Dead of WinterAn event that holds independent horror and horror films in New England, returns for the second year in a row to Mechanics Hall from February 22 to 23, according to executive producer and festival operational director John Keough.
Keough, along with independent filmmaker James Lamond, came up with the idea of holding a festival that presented a selection of independent horror films.
Keough told Masslive that Lamond had previous experience in holding conventions. The two made the first Winter Dead of Winter Horror Festival in 2024, which was attended by 503 people and the screening of more than a dozen films.
Keough hopes that the same number of people will attend this year’s festival. He said that there is a possibility that attendance can double.
“I think Worcester does not have many events orchestrated by a very small group focused on one thing,” Keough said. “This is completely independent, built completely from the base and focused on small businesses.”
The festival will cover two days, February 22 and February 23, and will feature screenings of 25 films, all directed independently and theme of terror.
These films include titles such as “Massacre at various levels”, a animated short called “The Bite”, “The Guest on Topsfield Road” and “This is my house”, according to the event Website.
“I think in this particular genre, horror allows you to do things that you can not always do in other genres,” Keough said. “It’s really where many filmmakers have learned to push the envelope.”
This year’s festival will also feature a special panel where people can get to know the distribution of the 1984 horror film The Toxic Avenger.
Directed by Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman, the film is about a teenager named Melvin, played by Mark Torgl, who falls into a toxic waste drum, turning it into a mutant with a superhuman force that fights against the discomfort in the Fictional city of TROPA, NEW JERSEY.
Keough told Masslive that this would be the first time that the movie was gathering.
“The movie came out 40 years ago and we are happy to gather them all,” Keough said.
In addition to the film screenings and the meeting, there will be a number of panels known as “Dead Talks”, similar to “Ted Talk” panels.
These panels highlight songs such as the history of women in horror films, cosplay art, and how to make horror makeup, according to Keough.
There will also be a concert at Ralphs Rock Diner in 148 Grove St. With four terror -related bands, Keough said.
Keough added that there will be almost 60 sellers at the festival selling merchandise related to terror.
“There is a lady who makes horror plants,” Keough said. “He is doing plants that grow in certain things. I don’t know if [I’ve] I’ve ever seen it. “
The Winter Dead Horror Festival takes place from February 22 to 23 in the Worcester Mechanics Room, at 321 Main St. St. here.