The Horror Section’s Jay Clarke checks in with a guest blog post detailing the debauchery at the first annual Shock Stock convention in London, Ontario.

This weekend I headed into London, Ontario for the first annual Shock Stock horror convention. A pair of life-long genre fans named James Bialkowski and Jake Grimbo have been running movie screenings as The Grim Brothers in their hometown for years, but this is the first time they’ve orchestrated a full-fledged event. It was held last Friday through Sunday at the Centennial Hall in downtown London.

I’m sure they were probably hoping for a better turnout, but everyone who was there seemed to be having a blast. It was the event’s first year, after all. To be honest, after the ridiculous craziness of the Fan Expo last year, it was kind of nice to have a little elbow room. You could take your time looking over all the vendor tables and speak leisurely with all of the guests.

Perhaps the best thing about Shock Stock was the emphasis on VHS, as there were several tables peddling the vintage format. There was even some Beta! You know, I’d almost forgotten how small those things were. Zack Wilson from The Vault was there in full force. He’s a great guy, so if you are ever in the Cambridge area, be sure to check out his shop. I also spent a lot of time at the Hollywood Canteen booth, as Mike Orlando had a stunning collection of original movie posters and press kits. My wallet quivers at the idea of visiting his store on the Danforth in Toronto.

Saturday afternoon was Linnea Quigley’s Q&A, which was a lot of fun. She talked about dealing with the nudity in her roles and how the moniker of “Scream Queen” has changed over the years. She said that the term gets bandied about fairly liberally these days, without these actresses really having to “pay their dues.” I’m afraid I have to agree, just on the fact that I can’t name any from the current class that are anywhere near as iconic as Quigley is. She will soon be appearing in an upcoming documentary called Screaming in High Heels, along with B-movie sorority sisters Brinke Stevens and Michelle Bauer, about the rise and fall of eighties horror.

The highlight of the weekend was that evening’s Evil Dead screening with the Ladies of the Evil Dead (Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker and Theresa Tilly) and Hal Delrich. It was definitely the liveliest Evil Dead screening I’d ever attended, with one excessively vocal jackass eventually being tossed out. That didn’t affect the spirits of the packed house, though, as the following Q&A was great. The cast always (here and on multiple DVD special features) seem to be having so much fun at these things. When I talked to them the next day at their table, they reiterated it is because they still can’t believe so many consider the film such a big deal. All I could say was, it’s because The Evil Dead is a special film. There are a dozen or so titles from that era that horror fans hold in the highest regard, but no cast suffered for their art – save for maybe TCM’s Marilyn Burns – as much as these guys did. And it shows. Even if you take away Sam Raimi’s cinematic ingenuity, there is still so much about this film to love.

Sunday was the Q&A with Dyanne Thorne, who played the iconic Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS. She can still rock the outfit and shared the mic with her husband and fellow actor Howard Maurer. The best story she related was that her getting the part of Ilsa, had a lot to do with her going to the audition still dressed in her uniform from working as a chauffeur. The most striking thing about the Q&A, however, was watching Thorne and Maurer interact with one another. Not to be overly sappy, but they are a perfect match with a bond as strong as it was when they met 38 years ago.

On my way out, there was another event happening in the building, so there was a crowd of seniors filing in. I got a kick out of watching the disapproving looks from all the old ladies when they caught a glimpse of Ilsa staring back at them from the Shock Stock poster. Middling attendance aside, I would say this was a successful event. I hope that after the Grim Brothers have crunched the numbers, they announce that their humble festival will return next year, bigger and sleazier.

Jay Clarke hails from Oakville, Ontario and is curator of www.thehorrorsection.com, a blog dedicated to the preservation of VHS coverbox art, as well as horror news, reviews and genre events in the GTA.