Hudson Horror triumphantly returned to Poughkeepsie, NY on Saturday, August 9th for its ninth exciting installment. A change in ownership for the Empire South Hills 8 theater (formerly the Silver Cinemas) and the new owner’s commitment to convert all projectors to digital left the status of one of the most popular horror movie festivals on the east coast very much in doubt. But Hudson Horror head honcho Chris Alo and his loyal band of film fanatics persevered, and managed to secure a slot for film fiends to view more classics in all of their 35MM glory. “We thought we were done…..but now we’re back!” Alo gleefully exclaimed to the packed house ready to view two mystery movies (sorry, we were sworn to secrecy….alright, they were Mystery Movie 1 (1977) and Mystery Movie 2 (1982)) along with Indonesian hidden gem Lady Terminator, The Burning, the original Maniac, and the 35th anniversary screening of Mad Max. And as usual, the original trailers for classic ’70s and ’80s flicks amused and horrified the crowd, highlighted by Child’s Play, Eye of the Tiger and Nightmare Honeymoon. Vendors offering everything from rare DVD’s to LP’s, masks to custom art lined the lobby and hallway of the theater. Bill Diamond (Monster TV Network Great Space Coaster) and Ron Chaney (grandson of Lon Chaney, Jr.) were on hand to announce plans for their next project, a faithful adaptation of the lost Lon Chaney film, London After Midnight. They will be launching an Indie Gogo campaign in the next few days. Once again, HNN’s prolific Larry Dwyer and myself were on hand to enjoy the hijinks and take the pulse of the horror aficionado community. Par for the course for Hudson Horror, everyone went home happy and had their cinematic blood-lust satiated. We can’t wait for Hudson Horror 10, which will be a momentous achievement for Alo and the rest of the gang!
