Screamers and Cenobites

It’s been 20 years since the Burkittsville Three disappeared in the Maryland Black Hills, and 15 since the footage of their uncanny fate terrified audiences and redefined modern horror. Now The Blair Witch Project acting trio – Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael C. Williams – are finally reunited for the ninth annual Texas Frightmare Weekend. The Dallas fiend club is infamous for conjuring up some of the greatest cabals of terrorcasts, and this year is no different, with three of Hellraiser‘s Cenobites, a Dawn of the Dead resurrection (two names to rattle your bones: Romero and Savini), and a reassembly of the choir for Repo! A Genetic Opera.

There’s also a double blast of James Cameron creations, with cast members from not only the original Terminator, but Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, and even The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Plus, Cameron utility players, Michael Biehn and Jenette Goldstein, will take time from the machine madness to talk about bug-hunting on LV-426 for Aliens. And don’t worry, this isn’t all just digging through the crypt: There’s plenty of new blood and fresh meat, featuring guest appearances by the delightfully twisted Jen and Sylvia Soska (American Mary, See No Evil 2), Sinister‘s big, bad Bughuul, Nick King, and a nightmare cavalcade of world and U.S. premieres, including a rare chance to see the film adaptation of Edward Lee’s beyond-controversial splatterpunk novel The Bighead. Yet the greatest reverence may be reserved for two of horror cinema’s finest swimmers. Back in 1954, it was Julie Adams in that famous white one-piece, and Ricou Browning under the Gill Man’s rubber mask, that gave Universal its last great monster movie. Frightmare reconnects the pair that made The Creature From the Black Lagoon so chilling and thrilling.

This article appears in April 25 • 2014.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.