by Dustin Hall

It was the weekend of Halloween, one that has not left me; indeed I’ve dreamed of it since. Trinity of Terrors, the first ever, held at The Palms Casino in Las Vegas.

I haven’t been to many horror festivals, typically I expect them to be small affairs hidden away in grimy-yet-glorious back alley theaters. Not so with Trinity of Terrors, this was held in the glitz and glam of the Palms, 55 floors of gambling, restaurants, scantily clad girls… did I mention that the Playboy Club is housed in there?

Yet despite all of this sinful goodness, the sight that made me smile upon entering the Casino wasn’t the lights and sounds and babes and sushi bars, rather it was the band of fat guys in Dawn of the Dead T-shirts carrying bags of posters and horror goodies out to their car. Behind me, a group of clown-faced hoods in mental-ward jumpers casually laughing and smoking. In the parking lot, a midget dressed as an undead leprechaun rode a tricycle around, scaring young girls. Oh yes, I was home.

This was the Palms’ first attempt at a horror show, and they pulled out all the stops. Guests included Bill Mosely and the cast & crew of Dead Air, George Romero on hand to promote his newest zombie epic, and the legendary Bruce Campbell, there to amaze us all with his mighty chin. Even John Kassir, voice of the Crypt Keeper, read introductions in the exhibit hall. Did I mention Roger Corman, John Waters and Malcolm McDowell. The guest list was huge and was nothing but quality.

Muscial entertainment was provided by Slipknot, panels were had with FX and crew members from movies new and old, big and small, and beyond that, three solid days of horror movies hosted by Brendan Theaters in the main lobby.

Of course, there were some errors made by the convention, mostly by the scheduling department. Two screens were arranged for movies, with the films each only showing once that weekend, often dangerously close to one another. And since they only offered one showing, if you wanted to see, say House of the Devil, but really wanted to see the Tom Atkins and Adrienne Barbeau Q & A, well that was just tough titty. Add to that the fact that the projector blew up during Romero’s screening of Survival of the Dead and, well, there were some rough patches.

Despite all that, Trinity of Terrors was a hell of a time, one of the few moments I’ve been privy to where horror fanatics can gather, in costume, en masse, and revel in the glory of their gory god. Whether buying vintage horror rarities or rubbing elbows with cult-movie legends, Trinity of Terrors gave everyone a little of what they wanted. I can’t wait to see how they top it next year.

Check out the following reviews from the festival’s Saturday Screenings:

– Dead Air
– Alone in the Dark 2
– Bad Biology
– Survival of the Dead

Films included in this years line-up: Alone in the Dark II, Bad Biology, Bitch Slap, Black Devil Doll, Dark House, Dead Air, The Fourth Kind, Franklyn, The House of the Devil, House on the Haunted Hill (Rifftrax Edition), The Intervention, Live Evil, Nightmares in Red White and Blue, Penance, Sea of Dust, Smash Cut, and Survival of the Dead.

LAS VEGAS - OCTOBER 31: (L-R) Slipknot singer Corey Taylor, Fangoria magazine Vice President Scott Licina, filmmaker John Waters and Fangoria magazine President Tom DeFeo appear at the Fangoria Trinity of Terrors festival at the Palms Casino Resort October 31, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)