For the Love of Horror - Manchester (Part 2)

Besides some very cool Horror actors, a big part of the convention will consist of scare attractions. Some of your favorite Horror movies (and their characters), will be featured in the "Nightmare Zone". This will consist of 8 scare zones, featuring the following franchises:  "Aliens", "From Dusk 'till Dawn", "Friday the 13th", "The Exorcist", The Dolls, "Hostel", "It" and "The Walking Dead".  Now, if the "Nightmare Zone" did not scare the living daylights out of you, you can also enter "Zombie Outbreak". As you can see on the picture, I am always the Zen master of calm in these situations, so if I do have the time, I will check them out and try to be cool about it. But now, let's talk some more about the individual scare attractions and the franchises featured.

In 1979, Ridley Scott brought the movie "Alien" to the big screen and introduced the character of Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver in all four of the primary movies of the franchise. Now almost 40 years later, "Alien" and especially the sequel "Aliens" are still considered among the best movies ever made by a lot of people.

WARNING: May contain spoilers for the movies "Alien" and "Aliens".

"Alien" tells the story of the spaceship Nostromo and its crew of 7. On their long way back home from a mission, the crew is put into a state of hyper-sleep and the Nostromo is operated by an advanced computer (called Mother by the crew). When Mother picks up a strange signal from a nearby planet and she wakes the crew. They decide to land on the planetoid and take a look. During this mission things go south and an unknown parasitic creature enters their ship. Ripley is the only one to survive the fight with this creature. The sequel "Aliens" is set 57 years later and when Ripley awakes from her stasis, her testimony about what happened is being questioned and she loses her flight license. When the contact with a colony on the planetoid, where the Nostromo first got the signal from, is lost; Ripley is requested to go back. Do you dare to enter the "Aliens" zone at For the Love of Horror in Manchester? Just remember one thing: in Space no one can hear you scream...

Opens at: 3 p.m.

Minimum age limit for the attractions is 11 years old, 11 - 16 year olds must be accompanied by a participating adult. Areas may contain scenes of simulated gore and peril, strobe lighting, areas of darkness, mist and fog effects, uneven surfaces, tactiles, crawl and confined spaces (in areas), sound and smell special effects. Certain areas (crawlspace etc) are not suitable for wheelchair users, however routes are available to accommodate this.  

WARNING: May contain spoilers for the movie "From Dusk 'till Dawn".

"One night is all that stands between them and freedom. But it's going to be a hell of a night."

This was one of the taglines for the legendary 1996 Action Horror movie: "From Dusk 'till Dawn". 

The movie is directed by Robert Rodriguez and stars George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino as the criminal Gecko Brothers, Seth and Richard. Seth (Clooney) is in the oldest one of the brothers and he is serving time for a very violent armed robbery, with several casualties. During a court meeting sexual offender Richard (Tarantino) breaks his brother out of jail. Being hunted by the authorities, they leave a trail of destruction and dead people behind them, to get to Mexico. All they have to do is get to the Titty Twister, a bar just over the Mexican border. Here they will meet one of Seth's partners Carlos, who will get them settled in Mexico, where they can enjoy the rest of their lives in freedom. On their way to the Mexican border, they stop at a low budget motel to scout the border area. At the same time, Jacob (Harvey Keitel) and his kids Kate (Juliette Lewis) and Scott (Ernest Liu) are on their way to a vacation in Mexico in their RV. When Seth spots them, he decides that they should take them hostage. The Fuller family will help them get into Mexico and he promises to release them at dawn the next day. When they all arrive at the Titty Twister, things seem to turn out fine....but then all hell breaks loose! 

At For the Love of Horror you can step inside the world of the Titty Twister and just remember to be cool...."Everybody be cool!"

Opens at: 3 p.m.

Minimum age limit for the attractions is 11 years old, 11 - 16 year olds must be accompanied by a participating adult. Areas may contain scenes of simulated gore and peril, strobe lighting, areas of darkness, mist and fog effects, uneven surfaces, tactiles, crawl and confined spaces (in areas), sound and smell special effects. Certain areas (crawlspace etc) are not suitable for wheelchair users, however routes are available to accommodate this.  

WARNING: May contain spoilers for the movie "Friday the 13th".

Are you ready for a relaxing day out at Camp Crystal Lake?  The "Friday the 13th" franchise is one of the most extensive ones in Horror history. It contains 12 slasher movies, comic books, a TV show, video games and a lot more. The franchise focuses on the shenanigans of the main character Jason Voorhees, who drowned in the Crystal Lake as a young boy. This happened because of the malfunctioning of two of the Camp's staff members and with the Camp preparing for a grand re-opening, he is out for revenge...and so is his mother (who is the main antagonist in the first part). 

The first "Friday the 13th" was released in 1980 and directed by Sean S. Cunningham. It was created to profit from the renewed popularity of the slasher genre, that was caused by the release of "Halloween" (1978). Over the next three decades another 11 movies followed and although the movies are not always well received by critics, "Friday the 13th" is considered one of the most successful media franchises of all time. 

Do you dare to take on Jason, then get yourself over to For the Love of Horror, on October 20th and 21st!

Opens at: 3 p.m.

Minimum age limit for the attractions is 11 years old, 11 - 16 year olds must be accompanied by a participating adult. Areas may contain scenes of simulated gore and peril, strobe lighting, areas of darkness, mist and fog effects, uneven surfaces, tactiles, crawl and confined spaces (in areas), sound and smell special effects. Certain areas (crawlspace etc) are not suitable for wheelchair users, however routes are available to accommodate this. 

WARNING: May contain minor spoilers for the movie "The Exorcist".

"They found something...". This is the opening line for one of the greatest Horror movies of all time. I consider it one of my favorites, there's just something about this movie, that scares the crap out of me...still. 

"The Exorcist" (1973) was based on the novel with the same name, written by William Peter Blatty. The movie is directed by William Friedkin and stars Linda Blair (in the role of the 12-year-old Regan.), Ellen Burstyn (as her mother Chris McNell), Max von Sydow (as Father Merrin) and Jason Miller (as Father Karras).

After Regan plays with a Ouija board, trying to reach her imaginary friend Captain Howdy, strange things begin to occur at the McNell house.  Not long after Regan begins acting strange and it turns out that she is possessed by a demon. Trying to get the demon out of her daughter, Chris appeals to two young priests to perform an exorcism on Regan. When they arrive at the house, it turns out that the demon inside Regan is not planning on being exorcised without putting up a fight...

Opens at: 3 p.m.

Minimum age limit for the attractions is 11 years old, 11 - 16 year olds must be accompanied by a participating adult. Areas may contain scenes of simulated gore and peril, strobe lighting, areas of darkness, mist and fog effects, uneven surfaces, tactiles, crawl and confined spaces (in areas), sound and smell special effects. Certain areas (crawlspace etc.) are not suitable for wheelchair users, however routes are available to accommodate this. 

WARNING: May contain minor spoilers for the movie "Hostel".

In 2005, director Eli Roth revitalized a Horror sub-genre called torture porn, with the movie "Hostel".  Quentin Tarantino was one of the executive producers for the movie. The movie is about two American backpackers, Paxton (Jay Hernandez) and Josh (Derek Richardson). While in Amsterdam (as part of their Euro trip), they meet Oli (Eythor Gudjonsson), another backpacker from Iceland. They decide to continue their trip as a trio.  When they meet the Russian Alexei, he advises them to go to a hostel in Slovakia. According to him the place is crawling with horny beautiful women. Arriving at the hostel, all seems as great as Alexei promised. But then Oli disappears and the hostel turns out to be a place worse than hell.

I must be honest and tell you that I did not finish the movie. I started watching it, as a preparation for Weekend of Hell (2 years ago), where two of the actresses of the movie were to attend. I read about Eli Roth directing it and Quentin Tarantino being involved. Carola loved it, so I thought what the hell. But about 50 minutes in I just stopped watching it. "Hostel" is just not my kind of Horror movies. I do understand why fans of the whole gory stuff like it so much. Are you a fan of loads of gore, guts, vulgarity and torture porn? I've got a great holiday spot for you....it will fulfill your every need.

Opens at: 3 p.m.

Minimum age limit for the attractions is 11 years old, 11 - 16 year olds must be accompanied by a participating adult. Areas may contain scenes of simulated gore and peril, strobe lighting, areas of darkness, mist and fog effects, uneven surfaces, tactiles, crawl and confined spaces (in areas), sound and smell special effects. Certain areas (crawlspace etc.) are not suitable for wheelchair users, however routes are available to accommodate this. 

WARNING: May contain minor spoilers for the miniseries "It" and the movie "It".

Hiya Georgie!  In 1990, the Stephen King novel "It" was adapted into a miniseries for TV, surely awakening a whole generation's fear of clowns. In my case it did and therefore I blame Stephen King for my lifelong fear of clowns. In 2017, King's novel was turned into a movie and a sequel is expected in 2019. If at this point, you are asking yourself: What can be so scary about clowns", you have definitely never seen Pennywise in "It" and you should also do a little walk of shame. 

The story of "It" revolves around a group of outcast children (The Loser's Club) in the town of Derry, Maine. They band together to take out a shape shifting predatory monster, that has a human form in Pennywise the Dancing Clown.  I won't be telling you more about the story, because in my opinion for anyone into Horror, this is a must watch. The original miniseries contains two episodes. The first part of the story is set in the 60s and the other part is set 30 years later. The 2017 remake is set in 1989.  I dare you to take on Pennywise yourself in the "It" scare attraction at For the Love of Horror in Manchester. Are you ready to float? 

Opens at: 3 p.m.

Minimum age limit for the attractions is 11 years old, 11 - 16 year olds must be accompanied by a participating adult. Areas may contain scenes of simulated gore and peril, strobe lighting, areas of darkness, mist and fog effects, uneven surfaces, tactiles, crawl and confined spaces (in areas), sound and smell special effects. Certain areas (crawlspace etc.) are not suitable for wheelchair users, however routes are available to accommodate this. 

What would you do in a zombie infested apocalyptic world? Would you fight or crawl away in a dark corner, crying your eyes out? You can find it out in Manchester at For The Love of Horror, when you enter the "Walking Dead" scare zone.

In 2010 FOX came with a television show, based on the "The Walking Dead" comic books, by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard. The first episode aired in 2010 and now, 8 years later, we have landed in season 9. The first seasons of "The Walking Dead" were well received by critics and among viewers it soon grew out to one of the best watched and popular shows on TV. The last few seasons, however, do not give me that same feeling I got when watching the first three or four seasons. I still watch it and I do still like it, but it just doesn't grab me by my throat anymore.

"The Walking Dead" tells the story of a group of zombie apocalypse survivors in their search for food, shelter and safety. Meanwhile they get chased by walkers (that's what they call the zombies) and they must fight them to survive. But the walkers are not the only danger they face. During their time on the road they find out, that on some occasions people with their backs against the wall can be quite dangerous too. How far will they go to survive? Main protagonists of the show are Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohan) and Darryl Dixon (Norman Reedus). Can you get through this, without getting bitten?

Opens at: 3 p.m.

Minimum age limit for the attractions is 11 years old, 11 - 16 year olds must be accompanied by a participating adult. Areas may contain scenes of simulated gore and peril, strobe lighting, areas of darkness, mist and fog effects, uneven surfaces, tactiles, crawl and confined spaces (in areas), sound and smell special effects. Certain areas (crawlspace etc.) are not suitable for wheelchair users, however routes are available to accommodate this. 

Now, for this last part of the Nightmare Zone, the title is The Dolls. Since I cannot recollect a defining Horror movie called The Dolls, I think this scare zone has scary dolls as a theme. I do know there is a movie called "Dolls" (1987). There are a lot of scary dolls to be found in Horror History. Of course, there's that little guy called Chucky and what about creepy old Annabelle. But you can also think in the ways of movies like: "The Puppet Master" (1989), the earlier mentioned "Dolls", "Trilogy of Terror" (1973) and much more. What is it that is so creepy about dolls (and clowns for that matter)?. Buckle up and find out in the Nightmare Zone at For the Love of Horror.

Opens at: 3 p.m.

Minimum age limit for the attractions is 11 years old, 11 - 16 year olds must be accompanied by a participating adult. Areas may contain scenes of simulated gore and peril, strobe lighting, areas of darkness, mist and fog effects, uneven surfaces, tactiles, crawl and confined spaces (in areas), sound and smell special effects. Certain areas (crawlspace etc.) are not suitable for wheelchair users, however routes are available to accommodate this. 

Besides the horrors of the Nightmare zone, there is another scare zone at the event called "Zombie Outbreak". This will surely make you feel like Rick Grimes or Darryl Dixon in "The Walking Dead". Packed with a real airsoft gun you will step in a world crawling with zombies. Are ready to kick some zombie-ass?

Opens at: 3 p.m.

Minimum age limit for the attractions is 11 years old, 11 - 16 year olds must be accompanied by a participating adult. Areas may contain scenes of simulated gore and peril, strobe lighting, areas of darkness, mist and fog effects, uneven surfaces, tactiles, crawl and confined spaces (in areas), sound and smell special effects. Certain areas (crawlspace etc.) are not suitable for wheelchair users, however routes are available to accommodate this.