Like Spirit Halloween seizing a once-beloved store, Silver Scream Con moved into the old stomping grounds of Rock and Shock — New England’s premier horror convention, which came to an end in 2019 — at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA for its three-quel on September 13-15.
It was a full circle moment for Silver Scream mastermind and Ice Nine Kills frontman Spencer Charnas, whose experiences attending Rock and Shock inspired him to start his own convention. Having quickly outgrown its previous venue, the Doubletree hotel in Danvers, Silver Scream Con III’s new setting was able to accommodate even more horror fans for three days of horror, music, gore, and more.
The guest list included: Scream‘s David Arquette, Jamie Kennedy, and Lee Waddell; Cabin Fever‘s Eli Roth, Cerina Vincent, and Jordan Ladd; Terrifier‘s Damien Leone, David Howard Thornton, Lauren Lavera, Elliott Fullam, and Amelie McLain; Halloween‘s Nick Castle, PJ Soles, John Michael Graham, Danielle Harris, Scout Taylor-Compton, and James Jude Courtney; Friday the 13th‘s Sean S. Cunningham, Ari Lehman, Warrington Gillette, and Derek Mears; Idle Hands‘ Devon Sawa and Elden Henson, Saw‘s Shawnee Smith; The Devil’s Rejects‘ Bill Moseley; The Nun‘s Bonnie Aarons; Super Troopers‘ Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske; and Freddy’s Dead‘s Ricky Dean Logan.
The centerpiece of the weekend was Ice Nine Kills’ live concert next door at The Palladium Outdoors on Saturday night. The outdoor venue allowed for a bigger production that incorporated pyrotechnics. The band deftly translates their theatricality into a live setting, complete with a giant Silence — the masked killer from the band’s cinematic music videos — looming in the back of the stage with glowing, red eyes.
The hour-long set featured a bevy of horror-inspired fan favorites, from “Thank God It’s Friday” with an appearance by Ari Lehman to “The American Nightmare” with a Freddy Krueger glove that shot sparks into the air. The band also busted out deep cut “The Greatest Story Ever Told” for the old-school fans.
Charnas and his band members — guitarists Ricky Armellino and Miles Dimitri Baker, bassist Joe Occhiuti, and drummer Adam Reed — were joined by Reel Big Fish horn section Matt Appleton and John Christianson for several songs, including their rousing rendition of Katrina and the Waves’ “Walking on Sunshine.”
The show was the final stop on Kiss of Death Part 2 tour co-headlined by alt-metallers In This Moment, whose dramatics were a perfect match for INK. Swedish metal band Avatar and pop-punk/hip-hop amalgam TX2 provided support, while First Jason — fronted by Lehman on keytar — opened.
The convention’s vendor area included Ice Nine Kills, Terrifier, Sirius XM’s Octane with metal ambassador Jose Mangin, emo-rock band The Funeral Portrait (whose song “Suffocate City” features Charnas), and the original Halloween‘s screen-used station wagon, alongside filmmakers, authors, cosplayers, tattoo artists, toys, records, collectibles, and an expanded Ice Nine Kills museum that included music video sets for free photos.
Cosplayers were out in full force throughout the weekend, including a costume contest on Saturday afternoon with nearly 50 participants. Terrifier‘s Art the Clown and Little Pale Girl were the most popular costumes, but an enthusiastic cosplayer dressed as Stu from Scream — including a homemade TV set smashed over their head — took home first prize, followed by Silent Hill‘s Pyramid Head on stilts and Monster High‘s Draculaura. A girl dressed as Samara from The Ring, complete with a well from which she crawled out, handily won the children’s section.
Former MTV News journalist Ryan J. Downey returned to host all 12 panels throughout the weekend, many of which were standing room only. A highlight was the Scream panel, which featured numerous cracks about Dewey’s fate. “I’m still sad about it,” Arquette giggled. The actor said he pitched Dewey as Scream 4’s killer and mentioned a podcast he wanted to do about the character’s lost years stopping would-be Ghostface killers between the events of Scream 4 and 5.
Appropriately, the Friday the 13th panel took place on Friday the 13th. Sean Cunningham shared his thoughts on the future of the franchise, divulging that A24 and Peacock’s Crystal Lake series could shoot in Australia at the end of this year for a Halloween 2025 release.
Harris and Taylor-Compton detailed how their best friend bond in Halloween blossomed into a real-life friendship. The pair, who co-host Bloody FM‘s Talk Scary to Me podcast, revealed they’re co-directing a movie in November in which they star together as lovers.
During a nostalgic panel celebrating Idle Hands‘ 25th anniversary, Sawa discussed his work on Chucky. While the fourth season’s fate remains unknown, the series regular is confident we haven’t seen the last of the pint-sized killer. “They’re doing Chucky stuff next year. It could be season 4. It could be a couple of movies. We don’t know, but Chucky’s a machine. He needs to keep moving. They’re for sure doing Chucky stuff next year.”
While chatting about the legacy of Saw, Smith said she’ll gladly return as Amanda in Saw XI if the opportunity presents itself. “It’s taking more time than they had hoped, but they’re working on it,” she notes. “It’s out of respect for you guys.” She wants to explore more of her character’s relationship with fellow Jigsaw protege Mark Hoffman and hopes for more interactions with Saw X antagonist Cecilia.
As has become tradition, Silver Scream Con III came to a conclusion with a packed Ice Nine Kills panel. Roy Merkin — a controversial journalist character in the INK universe (think Gale Weathers meets Alex Jones) — briefly attempted to hijack the Q&A with his conspiracy theories, only to be escorted out by Soter in his Super Troopers uniform.
As the panel was winding down, Thornton joined the band for a special announcement: Ice Nine Kills has created an official song and music video for Terrifier 3. Titled “A Work of Art,” the track is a collaboration with System of a Down’s Shavo Odadjian, while the video features Thornton and fellow Terrifier franchise alumni Catherine Corcoran and Leah Voysey, among other surprises. The video will premiere alongside Terrifier 3 at Fantastic Fest this week and will accompany AMC’s Terrifier 2 & 3 double feature in theaters on October 10.
The announcement left fans buzzing, ending the weekend on a high note. That eruption of excitement will be tough to top at next year’s Silver Scream Con IV, but if first three events are any indication, Charnas and company are more than capable.
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