Event Report: MONSTERPALOOZA 2024 Brings Horror Fans Together In The City Of Pasadena
May, June, and July are traditionally when convention season kicks off. There is no shortage of conventions happening during these months. From comic books and horror toys to licensing and film festivals, conventions run rampant at this time and we couldn’t be happier.
The first of many conventions for us here on the west coast is of course, Monsterpalooza. Monsterpalooza has been the must attend convention for horror fans for the last ten years. Everything horror fans love is under one roof for one weekend only and boy howdy do the horror fans come out in force. The flocks of goth kids and punk rock rejects through the doors of the Pasadena convention center this past weekend was staggering but also very welcoming to this old punk kid who loves horror.
Line management was done very well this year. We mention this as some conventions have major issues with lines and corralling tons of horror folks is not an easy feat. The line to get in was very long and lasted for hours for some of those unfortunate to get to the con later than the 11am opening time. We were granted a press pass for Friday and are supper grateful to Monsterpalooza for granting us this. We attended Saturday as well and were met with a little bit of a downer as even though we had our weekend wristband already on us and could have been waved in very easily by staff, we were instructed to wait in line with everyone else who had passes waiting at will call. This was a minor annoyance but we arrived early enough so that the wait wasn’t too bad…this time.
All are welcome to Monsterpalooza and surprisingly, everyone was in an amazingly chipper and good mood. You’d think so many people into dark and disturbing things would be a downer but nope, not at Monsterpalooza. Everyone was smiles and laughs the entire convention as celebs from Linda Blair (The Exorcist) to Matthew Lilard(Scream, Scooby Doo) signed autograph’s and took photos for fans. Other celebs were there like Tony Todd (Candyman) and director Adam Green (Hatchet, Frozen) as well as first time attendees like Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad, Creepshow) all had great times meeting fans and chatting it up.
Walking around the convention center was not an easy feet this year as it seemed every walkway was slammed with guests and cosplayers. We’re not saying that the walkways were impassable but you did find yourself waiting to get around the massive crowds during some of the makeup demos or celebrity arrivals. For regular con goers, this isn’t new but to those who have never been to something this crowded, it can be daunting.
We will say though, unlike other conventions, Monsterpalooza allows drinks to be had during the event and let me tell you, they were greatly appreciated as we tried traversing through the aisles to get to some of our favorite vendors. One vendor that stuck out to us was our friends over at Micheline Pitt’s promoting VIXEN, her clothing line. Vixen is really rad for getting official licensing from classic horror films and making some amazing clothing and accessories from them. Micheline’s recent acquirement of the Bram Stoker’s Dracula rights is astounding because of the work she has put out using some of the original design concepts from the wardrobe of the film. She is also working on a Creature from The Black Lagoon line and from what we have seen so far, it looks amazing.
There were tons of vendors that truly showcased what horror fans wanted. Shirts, patches, buttons, movies, and vinyl records were a plenty at Monsterpalooza. We even broke down and bagged the soundtrack for ‘THE SENTINEL’ from our friends at AtomicArtandmusic as well as a few other items we needed for our collection here at the office. Monsterpalooza is traditionally known as the convention many legit collectors attend to add some very pricey items to their collections. It’s no surprise to see folks lay down anywhere from two to five hundred dollars on a single purchase. Monsterpalooza is not for the weak at heart or light in wallet. The event will and usually does cause, what we call, “ATM withdrawal pain”. It’s a basic premise that after the money has been withdrawn from your account and you purchase your item, you look back at your atm balance and boom, it hits you, “why did I spend so much?” ah the smell of worry as you just spent your months rent money on a first printing of Dawn of The Dead signed by George A. Romero…but it’s all worth it!
Truth be told, the weekend that was dedicated to Monsterpalooza this year (May 31st to June 2nd) was a bit slammed in the host city of Pasadena. This was in no way the fault of Monsterpalooza, the city decided to host a films production, plus a graduation, all on the same day and in the same general vicinity of Monsterpalooza. So to say that parking was a problem if you didn’t show up at least two hours before the show started, is an understatement.
Monsterpalooza is an event all horror fans or fans of film in general, need to attend. 2024 brought up its own issues and concerns but we have a very strong feeling Monsterpalooza will be around for a very long time and we hope just gets bigger and better than previous years. We’ll see you in 2025!
Now check out our photo gallery from the event below.
(All photos by MacabreDaily via Stephanie Alvarado)
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