A panel about women in horror films, the cast of an 80s movie about a janitor turned-mutant and screenings of movies that are set to make you jump out of your seat are all descending upon Worcester’s Mechanics Hall this weekend.
The Dead of Winter Horror Festival, an event celebrating independent horror and horror films in New England, is returning for a second year in a row at Mechanics Hall from Feb. 22 to Feb. 23, according to the festival’s executive producer and chief operating officer, John Keough.
Keough, along with independent filmmaker James Lamond, came up with the idea of holding a festival that presented a selection of independent horror films.
Keough told MassLive that Lamond had previous experience in holding conventions. The two put together the first Dead of Winter Horror Festival in 2024, which resulted in an attendance of 503 people and the screening of over a dozen movies.
Keough expects the same amount of people to attend this year’s festival. He said that there’s a possibility attendance may double.
“I think Worcester doesn’t really have a lot of events that are orchestrated by a very small kind of group focused on one thing,” Keough said. “This is completely independent, completely built from the ground up and small business focused.”
The festival will span two days, Feb. 22 and Feb.23, and will feature screenings of 25 films, all of them independently directed and horror-themed.
These films include titles such as “Multi-Level Massacre,” an animated short called “The Bite,” “The Guest on Topsfield Road,” and “This is My House,” according to the event’s website.
“I think in this particular genre, horror allows you to do things that you can’t always do in other genres,” Keough said. “It’s really where a lot of filmmakers have learned to push the envelope.”
This year’s festival will also feature a special panel where people can meet the cast of the 1984 horror/comedy film The Toxic Avenger.
Directed by Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman, the film is about a teenage janitor named Melvin, played by Mark Torgl, who falls into a drum of toxic waste, turning him into a mutant with superhuman strength who fights evildoers in the fictional town of Tromaville, New Jersey.
Keough told MassLive that this would be the first time the film cast had been reunited.
“The movie came out 40 years ago and we’re happy to get them all together,” Keough said.
In addition to film screenings and the reunion, there will be a series of panels known as “Dead Talks,” similar to “Ted Talk” panels.
These panels will highlight topics such as the history of women in horror films, the art of cosplay, and how to do horror makeup, according to Keough.
There will also be a concert at Ralphs Rock Diner on 148 Grove St. with four horror-related bands involved, Keough said.
Keough added that there will be almost 60 vendors at the festival selling horror-related merchandise.
“There’s one lady who’s doing horror plants,” Keough said. “She’s making plants that grow into certain things. I don’t know if [I’ve] ever seen that.”
The Dead of Winter Horror Festival takes place from Feb. 22 to Feb. 23 at Mechanic’s Hall in Worcester at 321 Main St. Tickets can be bought by clicking this link here.
