Many little girls fantasize about being an actress—the glamour and high life of the stage and screen. I was one of those little girls. The first movie that captured my heart was THE SOUND OF MUSIC, and as a result I wanted to be Julie Andrews. Just watching her wasn’t enough for me; I ran around my house singing all the songs, playing her part both before and after she fell in love with Captain Von Trapp. For me, the best part was when she was a nun: I put a towel on my head and paraded in and out of all the rooms of our home as if I too were the spirited Maria. So, who would have thought that all these years later, VINDICATION director Bart Mastronardi would make my dream come true and ask me to be an extra in his horror short THE TELL-TALE HEART?

Last fall, I attended the eighth annual New York City Horror Film Festival, one of the best places to meet and greet others in the horror world. The fest is just large enough to host a roster of terrific feature and short movies and panels, and just intimate enough to allow you to get to know the talented filmmakers from all over the world. Director Michael Hein has secured a perfect location: The Tribeca Cinemas, with two theaters and a large bar space that’s perfect for mingling, making new friends and reconnecting with old ones. At last year’s event, I was quite impressed with, and fortunate enough to meet, Rob and Edward Kennedy, two brothers from Dublin, Ireland.

Lately I’ve been thinking about THE TWILIGHT ZONE and short films, and how truly alike they can be. Coincidentally, a very interesting book on TWILIGHT ZONE found its way to my desk just last week. It was then that one specific filmmaker came to mind: Patrick Rea of Lawrence, Kansas.

I was sitting at my desk one day when a package arrived, addressed to the FANGORIA Film Fest and myself. Inside were seven short films, one of which was called THE KILLER KRAPPER. OK, I’ll admit that intrigued me since I love bathroom humor, and I thought to myself, “Anyone who calls their film THE KILLER KRAPPER is likely OK with me.” Little did I know just what I was in for!

I was fortunate enough to screen a copy of New York filmmaker/FANGORIA scribe Jeremiah Kipp’s most recent short film, CONTACT. While it has a running time of only 11 minutes, the movie feels much more substantial due to its message and depth. Maybe it’s the dark mood, or the powerful message, or its simple horror. Whatever it is that makes CONTACT special, the fact remains: it is a must-see.

Note: All names are omitted to protect the ridiculous!

Several months ago, FANGORIA had its Trinity of Terrors convention out in Las Vegas, and it was just friggin’ perfect. Everything from the black-and-gold color scheme, to the stocked bar outside the main room, to the endless list of celebrities, to the slot machines located just one elevator away—we got it down. It was a Class A production.

Right now, vampire horror is having its heyday. Everyone wants to be around the vampires; they’re the equivalent of the most popular kid on the block…the queen of the prom, the captain of the football team, that rock star you’re just dying to meet. If I were a zombie, I would be jealous. So today, it’s not vampires I’m writing about—it’s the undead, as seen in one of the most interesting short films I’ve viewed recently: PLAGUE, directed by Matt Simpson and co-directed by and starring Joseph Avery.