Monsterpalooza is an American multigenre convention focusing on horror, creatures and makeup work. The convention takes place every spring in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, most recently in the

Pasadena Convention Center The Pasadena Convention Center is a convention center in Pasadena, California, United States. It consists of three buildings. Pasadena Civic Auditorium The Civic Auditorium, one of the major structures in the Pasadena Civic Center District, wa ...

. A smaller offshoot convention, "Son of Monsterpalooza" is held in

Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...

in the fall.

History

After a successful trial run in New Jersey in 2008, Monsterpalooza was organized on the West Coast by Eliot Brodsky in 2009, and held at the Marriott Burbank Convention Center. It has been held annually since then, and usually takes place in March, April or May. The spring event moved from

to the

in 2016, and became the venue's most attended event. A smaller offshoot convention, "Son of Monsterpalooza" is still held in Burbank in September.

Programming

Convention programming includes

presentation A presentation conveys information from a speaker to an audience. Presentations are typically demonstrations, introduction, lecture, or speech meant to inform, persuade, inspire, motivate, build goodwill, or present a new idea/product. Presenta ...

s, panels, and

workshops Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the only ...

. The spring Monsterpalooza event features a museum which displays screen-used props, masks, life-size figures and movie creatures from participating Hollywood FX studios and artists. Workshops focus on the craft; makeup demonstrations and creature effects. The emphasis is on classic horror, including characters from B movies of Hollywood's

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during wh ...

and modern horror, science fiction and fantasy films. Panels have included behind the scenes looks at films such as ''

The Shape of Water ''The Shape of Water'' is a 2017 period romantic dark fantasy film directed and produced by Guillermo del Toro, who co-wrote the screenplay with Vanessa Taylor. It stars Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Micha ...

'', '' The Predator'', '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters'', Alien Romulus,

Terrifier ''Terrifier'' is a 2016 American slasher film written, edited, co-produced, and directed by Damien Leone. The film stars Jenna Kanell, Samantha Scaffidi, Catherine Corcoran, and David Howard Thornton. The plot centers on partygoer Tara Heyes ...

, as well as attractions such as Halloween Horror Nights and more. Over the years, Monsterpalooza has hosted several famous actors and industry personalities, including Robert Englund, Bruce Campbell,

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...

, Neve Campbell, Matthew Lillard, Skeet Ulrich,

Giancarlo Esposito Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito (; born April 26, 1958) is an American actor and director. He rose to prominence by portraying Gus Fring in the AMC (TV channel), AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2009–2011), a role he reprised in ...

Cassandra Peterson Cassandra Gay Peterson (born September 17, 1951) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of the horror hostess character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Peterson gained fame on Los Angeles television station KHJ-TV in her stage pers ...

Michael Dougherty Michael Patrick Dougherty (born October 28, 1974) is an American writer, director, animator, and producer known for his work in a variety of genre films, both big and small. Beginning his career as an animator and illustrator, Dougherty’s a ...

, Kane Hodder,

Jennifer Tilly Jennifer Tilly (born Jennifer Ellen Chan; September 16, 1958) is an American-Canadian actress and professional poker player. Known for her distinctive breathy voice and comedic timing, she is the recipient of a Saturn Award, and a GLAAD Award, ...

, George A. Romero,

Martin Landau Martin James Landau (; June 20, 1928 – July 15, 2017) was an American actor. His career began in the 1950s, with early film appearances including a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's '' North by Northwest'' (1959). His career breakthrough c ...

James Remar William James Remar (born December 31, 1953) is an American actor. He has played numerous roles over a 45-year career, most notably Ajax in '' The Warriors'' (1979), Albert Ganz in '' 48 Hrs.'' (1982), Dutch Schultz in '' The Cotton Club'' (198 ...

Sonny Chiba , known internationally as Sonny Chiba, was a Japanese actor and martial artist. Chiba was one of the first actors to achieve stardom through his skills in martial arts, initially in Japan and later to an international audience. Born in Fukuo ...

, and

Linda Blair Linda Denise Blair (born January 22, 1959) is an American actress and activist. Her portrayal of Regan MacNeil in the horror film ''The Exorcist'' (1973) established her in popular culture and as a scream queen, earning her a Golden Globe Award ...

Reception

Monsterpalooza draws tens of thousands of attendees and is also visited by various horror celebrities and others from the film industry. Director

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born 9 October 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and artist. His work has been characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales, Gothic fiction, gothicism and horror fiction, horror often blending the genres ...

said on his Twitter that Monsterpalooza is "the monster convention I dreamt could be possible as a kid". Director J. J. Abrams said in an article with CNN's Marquee Blog that Monsterpalooza "is a total blast". Brian Collins from ''Birth. Movies. Death.'' calls it the "best horror convention of all"."Collins’ Crypt: Monsterpalooza Is The Best Horror Convention Of All"
Brian Collins, for ''Birth.Movies.Death''. Monsterpalooza was featured on

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead g ...

as part of a question in September 2022.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.monsterpalooza.com/ Multigenre conventions Horror conventions Culture of Los Angeles Kaiju