 Thanks for checking out this convention review video. This is for the Monster Mania number 44 Which was in Hunt Valley, Maryland I've been doing the reviews for all of these that I go to and Sadly, I could not make it to hunt Valley last year because I really wanted to because they had some people from Twin Peaks And I love Twin Peaks. So that was a sad time. I just happened to be out of town at that time But this time I was able to make it and I was glad that I was I always like going to Monster Mania Um There were a few issues there, which I will talk about at some point during this But for the most part really good really well run and really enjoyed it As usual and the celebrities are always the big draw for me personally because I like to get things personally signed and be able To display those in my house. It's just really cool. So I Was excited to go the big headliner for this one was Bruce Campbell After that there were a lot of good celebrities But Bruce Campbell was clearly the biggest focus for everyone So I'll just kind of talk a little bit more when we go into it I showed up super early for this one Because I wanted to see if I could get a ticket for Bruce Campbell now the way they did the Bruce Campbell thing was it was like this There was bad communication first of all I bought my ticket for this show a year in advance because they announced Bruce Campbell about a year ago Which is great like announce them as soon as you can that's awesome And so I bought it about a year ago And then they didn't communicate specifics of what people really needed to know about the Bruce Campbell autographs until the week of The week of the convention they then say oh by the way He will only sign a certain number of autographs per day It's not a situation where come and get in line and they'll get through as many as possible within that You know time period within the day. It was he was he has a certain number that he does per day So they said they were gonna be doing a ticketing system So you have to show up in the morning to get in the line to buy a ticket for the autograph now the smart thing about that is That they were having you pay up front and they would write your name on the ticket And so that you would show up at a later time because Bruce didn't start signing actually until 12 That day when most celebrities start at 10 So you could just show back up at 12 and then they would you as you got through the line You would just hand your ticket to Bruce Campbell with the item you wanted to get signed and he would you know take your name off there to personalize it to you and everything and That made it more smooth like it went more smoothly after that one of the problems though Is that like I said first of all, they didn't communicate this to people until the week of so for people who are Flying in from someplace or traveling from a far place We're kind of getting screwed because you had to show up super early in order to get in the autograph line and some people's Itinerary may not allow that So really bad on there and in my opinion for not getting the communication out there earlier But I will say maybe it was a situation where they didn't know this until then I don't know I I just I don't know. I'm not sure but then once they did know it They actually didn't do anything to other than the ticketing system, which actually was a really good idea They didn't think think further. They didn't think after the ticketing system So it became a situation where it was just like you get your ticket, which I did get a ticket It was $50 for the ticket that guarantees you a Bruce Campbell autograph that day, which is nice You know as soon as you got it as soon as I got it I was like thank goodness because who knows when he's coming around again. He's very popular So I want to be able to check him off the list and just meet him because he seems like a cool guy plus I like a lot of stuff. He's done so When you got that ticket they were just I asked I'm like they weren't even telling people They're just giving them the ticket So I proactively asked and I was like, you know, what do we do? We just come back here at 12 o'clock like how is this working and the lady was just like Yeah, you know at 12 o'clock you just come back here because that's when he's gonna start signing I was like, okay, so that makes me assume you come there and you get in line and as you get in line That's the order that you know, the line will go although they had told us ahead of time Everyone who pays for the VIP passes, which I did not do I'd never do the VIP because it's $150 and that just gets you to skip a line once which this time they did two different types of VIP They did VIP specifically for Bruce Campbell and they did regular VIP that you could use for anyone So the whole idea was starting at 12 o'clock They would work through all the VIP people first which makes sense because they paid for that Then they would work through everyone else who got a ticket So the VIPs the good thing about that paying for VIP for them is that they could just show up You know kind of whatever and then just go to the front line for Bruce Campbell So if you have the money to spend that way That's a really good way to go if you don't care about throwing an extra hundred and fifty dollars Basically, if you don't mind paying two hundred dollars for a Bruce Campbell autograph, which I was like I can't justify that I'll just do the fifty dollars and I'll wait in line because it's gonna suck when I'm waiting in line But later, you know like a month later. I'll look back and be like yeah, I'm glad I did that for sure actually kind of immediately I was like yeah glad so Based on what I've been told about just show up at 12 I my buddy and I were like oh man, you know Maybe we should show up earlier because if they're doing it where you just show up and get in line We'd rather be in the front as opposed to the back of that line because then we can make it into his first time slot of signing of 12 to 2 o'clock because then from 2 to 3 I think he was doing more photo ops or taking a break or doing both I don't remember what and then he was coming back from and doing a 3 to 5 slot So we were like we'd much rather be in the 12 to 2 and get the autograph Then so we don't have to wait even longer in that line until 3 o'clock So we actually decided to show up even earlier. We went there about 1045 ish To get in line because they're like let's get further up now We were standing in line for Matthew Lillard because I really wanted to meet Matthew Lillard I've seen a lot of his stuff. I really like what he's done. He's amazing in SLC punk Obviously a lot of people love him from Scream. I love him most from the movie hackers I have this weird obsession with the movie have hackers. I know it's not a good movie, but I just I love it It's fun. It's a great time and his character and hackers is my favorite So I wanted to meet him because of that. So we're standing in line for him. His line was crazy slow It wasn't super long but it was crazy slow because he really takes his time with fans and that's kind of a double-edged sword where You hate it when you're in line But once you get up there you're you're glad that he takes the time with you and it's very meaningful and special So, you know, some celebrities are just like that Robert England is notoriously like that You wait in line for a long time because he talks and he tells people all sorts of things and answers questions And you know, he takes times with with people which is cool so Waiting in line for Matthew Lillard and we ended up jumping out after standing in it for a while because we were like We'd rather make sure that we get a good spot for Bruce Campbell So we got there we started waiting in a line that they said that We asked people are like you're in line for Bruce Campbell, right? And they're like, yeah So we waited in line and then we heard people talking about the photo op because there's a Bruce Campbell photo op at 11 o'clock And then he started signing at 12 and then I was like, we better figure this out So my buddy Rich went and asked a few people and they verified Oh, the line you're standing in is just for the Bruce Campbell photo op at 11. They're like, oh, okay Where's the line for the autographs? So then they pointed to another line for the autographs now the issue with this type of confusion is that they could have solved it by having Signs saying Autograph line photo op line. That's all you need and it only needs to be a piece of paper Like you don't have to pay for professional signs Like they just they have a hard time thinking these things through and it really seems like at least the way Things developed while we were there It seemed like they had a basic idea of we'll just sell the tickets and didn't think past that And we're just kind of like if anything else comes out after that will wing it That's not a good idea it's really not a good idea you should think think ahead This is the 44th monster mania that's been done 44 you should have an idea of how to project ahead and problem solve and anticipate what's gonna go on Especially with a celebrity who's as popular as Bruce Campbell is you have to anticipate these things Because you're a professional Convention you got to do this. I'm sorry. You've been doing it 40. This is your 44th time. You got to make this happen so like I'm saying just simple just have a sign it's easy so They did end up putting up a photo op sign at one point, but it was in a place where no one was actually Lining up for photo ops so that didn't even make sense So then after we got out of the line for the photo ops and we got into the actual autograph line We're like, okay, we're in a pretty decent spot here looks good And then they on the other side of the kind of hallway, but we're outside Archway, I guess they were lining up all the VIPs for the autograph So we would like look over and be like how long does that look? That's pretty long We might not make it in the 12 to 2 slot figures cross So then they came by and started saying hey, I think we're gonna organize everyone by their numbers on their tickets And I was like, okay I mean like that makes sense because if you showed up early and you were in a particular slot in line Like that can dictate it But the problem is why didn't you say this to people when they were buying the tickets? Because then people could have stayed in line for Matthew Lillard like me and met him and had his autograph Instead of showing up an hour and 15 minutes earlier than I needed to for a line that I was just gonna have a place in already This is what I'm talking about about the communication and it does kind of piss me off because you have to anticipate this stuff and if you're gonna make these types of Decisions on the fly that's what your Monster Mania app on my phone is for because you promote it saying Download this app. It's got all the news you need and if things are going on we'll communicate with you through the app I kept checking the app. No news about these changes bad communication so When they said they're gonna do this number putting people in order by number situation I was like that can get really messy and so they would have to like push the line backwards and be like, okay You know these people with these numbers come forward and they're manually trying to put people in the right order Which I thought was gonna be really really hard to do But the volunteer staff actually did a pretty good job pulling that off so good on them um and So it wasn't smooth But it was probably as smooth as it could have gone with making that decision on the fly to be honest So props to the volunteer staff for making that happen um So yeah, so we we actually ended up being in about the same spot that we were But I'm just really mad that I missed out on that time when I could have gotten Matthew Lillard's Autograph within that time like the whole idea of the ticketing system was so people wouldn't have to waste their time And we didn't have to waste some of our time But we wasted a lot because they didn't communicate that you would be in a number order that needed to happen They need to say that so um the lines when they actually when the autograph started actually ended up moving pretty well And the main reason is because bruce cambell's personal assistant came out And he was on top of things this guy knows how to run stuff He was very professional and he was like hey guys he yelled to all the lines He's like you gotta listen up. He's like help me help you basically we want to get through everyone We want to make this as seamless and quick as possible Um purchase if you're gonna purchase this new book come up and do it now Make a line to purchase this book before the autographs start If you're gonna get a photo sign that we have on the table over here come up now and grab that now So you have it while you're in line If you have anything that needs to be prepped Like posters rolled up in tubes have that out before you even hit the door To the room where bruce cambell is for the autographs because we want it to be as soon as you get to that table You can just hand them the thing with your ticket and he can start writing And we can just get things moving and I was like Okay, I like the way this guy works very organized Wants to get it taken care of so We actually made it in the 12 to 2 time slot. I was impressed Bruce Campbell signs fast, but he actually talks to the fans um My interaction with him was pretty cool. He um, it was weird. It was very unexpected, but it was pretty cool He was a very nice guy shook his hand. He was like, hey, how's it going? And he was like, oh, so who is carlin and I was like, oh, that's me and he's like, I'm where are you from? Like well, originally I'm from Ohio and he was like, we're in Ohio. It's like napoleon It's a really small town and it's kind of like one of those dying towns now in the midwest and he's like, oh, yeah There are actually a lot of those at this point. He's like actually I'm really I'm reading this really interesting book right now historical book on Ohio and how the midwest was settled called pioneers and I immediately was like I said Bruce my my mom is reading that book right now and she's Just a few weeks ago. She was just hounding me about how much I need to read this book because it's so interesting And he was like it is it's great and he starts telling me about this book and he's just like How hard it was for these people and like they had their wagon caravans and In order to get through mountains and large hill areas They had to like actually manually take all the stuff apart and carry the pieces to the other side And then rebuild it to keep on going and he was excited about this book. So The interaction wasn't wasn't how I expected it to be But uh, it was cool. It was very unique and um, I'll show you what I got signed by him Uh, nothing crazy special. My friend actually had like a figure That he got signed which was cool. Let's see if I can get this up here right without too much glare There you go Looks good. Yeah, he just wrote. Hey carlin put his autograph and put ash on it That's all I really need. I I just want to make sure it's personalized. I always like when they're personalized. So You know And it looks good. It's a good photo Um, so it's nice to have gotten his autograph and when we got done. We were just like We did it. That was our main objective. Now. Let's go see what else is going on So I looked at Matthew Lillard's Lillards line after that and it ended up just being too much to handle to be honest I got back in line for Matthew Lillard It was much longer than it was before and it was still moving very slow And I waited in line for probably about another 45 minutes to half to an hour And then someone came out and was like, hey, just letting everyone know we are um, We're doing a we're having a break for Matthew Lillard right now. He's gonna go actually take a break He's gonna go do his photo ops. So he's not gonna be back for like another hour and 45 minutes And then I started calculating in my head and I was looking at how long the line was adding an hour and 45 minutes Plus whatever I think the line is going to take based off how long it how how slow it's been going And I was like, I would end up being here for another four hours And I'm not gonna do that and I'm just gonna take my chances Not meet Matthew Lillard now and hope that he hits another monster mania in the future Which is possible. These things can definitely happen. There are certain celebrities who end up coming back You know, Robert England spent to a bunch of them recently. So It'll happen I'll just keep my fingers crossed because I would really like to meet them. But at that point I was just like, I'm really tired I haven't eaten enough today. Um, I was standing in the sun because the line was going outside and I was just like, uh But to their credit they did say We're gonna get everyone a ticket So you have a number and then we can reform the line so you have to physically wait here for an hour and 45 minutes I was like, oh, that's cool I was like, but I don't want to do it because I just don't want to be here that much longer So skipped out on that kind of sucks But I went and hit one of the other autographs That I really really wanted to get which was Danny Lloyd who played The kid in the shining the original Stanley Kubrick shining now this guy He's just a normal dude like he's a very nice guy and part of the reason for that I think is that he's You know, he was a kid actor He was five years old when he was in the shining and that's what he said and he was just like And I don't remember a ton is what he told me I don't remember a ton from the film He's because it was so long ago and now he's like very much detached from it just because it's been so many years but um Super nice guy really easy to talk to willing to to chat And I got a really cool Autograph from him. You just said two carlin best wishes red rum Danny Lloyd, I like they put the red rum on there and this was cool Thanks rich for thanks for my buddy rich for steering me towards this one because I was considering some other ones And as rich pointed out to me, this does a good job of showing a range of acting emotions that Danny used So, yeah, that's cool. Also, they had the the twins From the shining were there as as well as the woman from room 237 the young version They were there signing but I didn't really feel that's like it was necessary for me to get their autographs I wanted Danny Lloyd because he was a Pivotal part of the movie and he had a lot of screen time And he was actually like doing a lot of acting with like the twins I mean, they were just kind of like in it briefly as well as the lady in room 237 just kind of in it briefly so That's why I didn't feel the need and you know it adds up for anyone who goes to conventions You know the money adds up super super fast. So I really like this I like this a lot and I really loved my interaction with Danny I used super cool when I was talking to him. I was just kind of saying I was asking, you know What's your favorite memory from the set of the shining and he was like to be honest since I was so young it was just like getting the Opportunity to ride a big wheel around so much as they were trying to figure out How to track the shot of of like following behind him as he was Riding his big wheel through all the hallways in the hotel He's like, that was a lot of fun So, um, then I was talking to him about, you know, just watching the film and how it's one of my favorite films And how I was lucky enough to to a bunch of years ago I have seen it on the big screen for a fathom events and he was like, oh really he's like I didn't know that they did that. I haven't seen like the full version of the film in on the big screen And I was like it's kind of game changing as far as the film goes because it makes The hotel feel like even more of an imposing character because everything's much bigger You feel more immersed in it and so you can kind of like feel the presence and that And the the evil kind of of the hotel itself and it's really amazing It does make a difference So I was telling him if you ever get the opportunity you definitely should check it out that way And he was like I would love to and then he told me how Because I asked him I was like, when did you first see the film? And he said that he saw like a kids safe version of it Not long after it came out. They did like a special cut So it was safe for him to watch because one so it wasn't so intense And he and his mother were allowed to go to this theater and it was a private screening Just the two of them watching this film He's like so it was kind of weird to like see this movie with just my mom in this big theater He's like but it was cool at the same time Uh, and then I was like, well at what age did you see the full film? And he said well like age of like 11 or 12. So Yeah, but a really cool interaction with him. I really loved it Nice guy if anyone gets the opportunity and you're a big shining fan, it's definitely worth it And chat with him man chat with him. See what's up Uh, so as far as like vendors went they always have really good vendors there. Oh, um, I will say real quick I didn't I purchased something I'll get to that last but I Spoke with the people at vinegar syndrome This will be very interesting for people who are into shudder and the joe bob joe bob stuff I was speaking to the guy at the vinegar syndrome booth Looking at a bunch of their films and noticing that a bunch of the films joe bob has done Episodes on of his last drive in on shudder and they were kind of point the guy was pointing He's like, yeah, this was done on boat joe bob. This was done He said actually for his upcoming stuff. He signed a six Film contract with us which has been big for us And I was like really and he said yes So He's gonna have six vinegar syndrome films coming up and I was like, huh I was like, can you say are you allowed to say which six films they are? And he was like, honestly, I couldn't I actually don't know what they are But he pointed to their gigantic booth of like all these tv d's and blue raisin was like But they're here somewhere most likely And he was like if I had to guess I would guess this one I would guess this one this one this one He goes basically our craziest ones like all the ones that are just like the most nutty and like out there and crazy I was like, yeah, it will be cool to see so that's interesting to know that there will be six Vinegar syndrome films that joe bob covers. So that's awesome also right next to the vinegar syndrome folks was Matt from horror movie podcast Horror movie night podcast. Hold on. Let me make sure I get that right because when I was talking to him I Downloaded one just to make sure Yeah, horror movie night is what the podcast is called So he just kind of like comedically talks about horror movies on these Episodes and I was like, I wasn't aware of this podcast. This sounds up my alley. I'm going to check it out Talking to him was really cool. He's a really nice cool fun guy We kind of just like geeked out about different movie titles and he and I kind of connected with Um Because sorry, I got a little loud there with podcasting We geeked out about because I do a craft beer podcast that's been going for almost seven years now And he's been doing his podcast for a long time as well Since I think he said 2004. So that's 15 years. That's crazy Um, so we were just kind of sharing some stories about this is what we learned with podcasting You got to do this you got to do that and never do this never do that So he was a joy to talk to but as far as vendors go when I went into the convention I had one vendor I wanted to hit in mind and that's what I did and that was the people from mixtape massacre Now if you watch my review for I think it was monster mania 42 I um I had Purchased the first board game the main board game for mixtape massacre at that time and I talked about it on that video So I wanted to grab they have an expansion pack and two booster packs for the game because My wife and I have been playing the game and we both really like it and confession I can't win. She always beats me. I've never won in this game We've played it a bunch of times and I've never won. I I got to figure that out But anyway, so I got the expansion which is the black mask expansion Which is pretty cool um Haven't played it yet because I was just at monster mania yesterday when I'm recording this Uh, then we have the booster pack of bad dad Which looks like a good time and scarlet Which kind of looks inspired by uh return of the living dead So uh excited to get those popped open to start playing if you have interest in mixtape massacre Just go to their website. They actually have playthrough videos that are very uh educational to kind of get you going when you get it Or just you can see how it works So you know if you want to buy it because you can order online and they actually have a new version of the game That's kind of from the opposite perspective that's coming out in december that I think i'm going to get Uh because the game is like you're one of the killers going after a bunch of people to kill And the new version coming out is the opposite where you're like trying to survive and the killers are coming for you So i'm going to buy that one. I'm probably going to go out and pre-order it. Um pretty soon maybe even today Um But yeah, so that's kind of my overall feelings that that's what I did and that's kind of my review of it overall convention was good They always have really good celebrities. That's one of the best draws the venue I like the hunt valley venue more than I like the cherry hill venue because it feels like the the hotel Is in much better shape to be honest like they've renovated that uh since two Years ago, I think when I was there and it's it's works better also the layout for convention I think works better because they can kind of spread things out a little more So it feels like you have more space. So I like the hunt valley one I Am okay with the cherry hill one, but there are some problems there with the actual venue itself. So um Overall, I had a really good time. I really liked it. I think they do a good job with a lot of things Obviously, I had some harsh criticisms about how things went with the Bruce Campbell situation, but You know that that's the truth of it and I'm not gonna Not tell you what I think about it because I really Because I love monster mania because I do I think they do an excellent job overall But I'm gonna point out the problems when they happen and it's up to them to hear the criticism internalize it and not get you know defensive about it, but instead say Hear what you're saying and we'll see what we can do because Me as a person one of the ways I operate whenever there's an actual problem or someone messes something up I don't want excuses. I never want excuses. I just want to hear I hear what you're saying and We'll see what we can do basically or we'll make it right That's what I want to hear. I don't want to hear excuses. I hate excuses. It's the worst So, um, yeah Hopefully they get that fixed if they have another big celebrity come through But like I said, if anyone from monster mania is watching this know that I don't hate you guys I actually love you guys. I think you do an excellent job, but the criticism just happens like it's it's a part of life So I'm sorry. It's a little hard to hear at times, but it's essential But anyway, thanks everyone for checking this out. Um, did you go to monster mania 44? If you did I want to hear in the comments what you did and what autographs you got and specifically Your interactions with the celebrities because that stuff is the most interesting to me Um, so yeah, put some comments down there. Let's geek out about it. Hit that subscribe If you don't mind it would really help me out. Oh and real quick. I gotta give a shout out to john I can't remember his last name. I think it was like laundauer or landauer or something like that I'm sorry, john But he's a guy we met in line when we were waiting for Bruce Campbell and we ended up just hanging out with him for like A lot of the convention because he was just a really cool nice guy And that's one of the other great things about these conventions is there's All these like-minded people in the same place who are there for the same reason and everyone Can talk while you're in line and geek out and be nice to each other and just have fun Because what else are you gonna do? You have to entertain each other when you're waiting in lines And that's one of the things that makes it okay, you know waiting in line Isn't as bad if you have cool people around you to talk to and I experience that a lot at these conventions And I love the horror community. That's just one reason I love the horror community, but Yeah, so thanks everyone for checking this out hit that subscribe Please I would really appreciate that and until next time keep it brutal