By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com
Throngs of horror movie fans turned out for the Robert Kurtzman’s Mad FX Lab Tuesday night for the chance to meet the man of their nightmares.
An estimated 200 people turned out to meet actor Robert Englund who portrayed Freddy Krueger in The Nightmare on Elm Street movies of the 1980s and 1990s, along with numerous other directors, actors, and graphic artists. Proceeds of the evening went to to the Kurtzman Institute of Art in Crestline.
Despite spending time in Ohio with the Repertory Company at Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival in the early 1970s Englund said that this his first time in Crawford County.
“I woke up this morning and I was all alone at Robert Kurtzman’s brother’s home,” Englund said. “It is this wonderful cabin out in the woods here. I was able to make some coffee, and I didn’t even need a jacket it was so balmy and lovely and just fall. I saw pheasants and grouse, I took this great walk around the property and the woods, and I just wanted to stay there until Thanksgiving.”
Englund described his newest release.
“I have a DVD out right now called “Sanitarium” with a phenomenal performance from Lou Diamond Phillips n a paranoid bomb shelter twighlight zone segment,” Englund said. “My segment is with the great John Glover from Smallville and he plays a Tim Burtonesque folk artist who makes little dolls. And there is the host character of all three segments Malcolm MacDowell so this is a really good Halloween rental that I am promoting.”
Englund explained that he will be returning to Ohio to shoot another film.
“I will be coming back in November for the film Fear Clinic at a Catholic asylum somewhere outside of Cleveland.”
Englund wasn’t the only person from the silver screen appearing at the event as film director Gary Jones appeared promoting his 11th feature film “Axe Giant: Wrath of Paul Bunyan”.
“I’ve known Bob for 20 years going back to his K&B days, and when he moved back to Ohio here, he started to hound me to move back to Ohio to make films here, and this film is the third that I have done in Ohio,” Jones said.
Graphic novelist Mark Kidwell was also promoting his works of horror comic books “’68, and Bump”. Kidwell explained that Kurtzman is slated to direct Bump.
“It is an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink horror story about an undead serial killer, with a haunted house setting,” Kidwell said.
Kidwell described ’68 as the rise of the living dead in Vietnam in 1968. “The film Night of the Living Dead came out in 1968 so I used that year as the starting point, and used the Vietnam war as the backdrop.”
Fans from as far as Pittsburgh came to the festive night. Rodrigo Lomba, who grew up in Brazil, but moved to Pittsburgh said, “The main reason I came here was for Robert Englund. I have been a fan since Nightmare on Elm Street. In Brazil the gore was censored, so my mom didn’t mind that I watched it growing up.”
“I am really happy to see Kurtzman and his work, I could live here this is the coolest place in the world,” Lomba exclaimed.
Father and son Lee and Mike Martin came to the event for quality family time.
“I came here with my dad because he is a huge horror fan, and obviously a huge Nightmare on Elm Street fan,” Mike said.
The night wasn’t all about promoting new films, or meeting horror film legends. Shannon Wake and Becky Harlan were in agreement that they enjoyed preparing for the evening, but the best part of their night occurs when groups get scared or interact with the actors as they walk through the Mad FX Lab.
With the night benefitting the Kurtzman Institute of Art, Robert Kurtzman gave an update on the school.
“The first year was great. We just literally graduated our three of our students, our first year students, just like a month or so ago. And we have new students coming in,” Kurtzman said. “We have a new program starting the first of the year that was approved. So we have our six week courses, and weekend courses. It’s going great and the students are great. We just hired one of our students to help us work on the new Kevin Smith movie Tusk, which starts filming in a few weeks.”
Kurtzman explained that getting the school off of the ground takes time.
“With baby steps we are building the program, and this is why we are doing the night, and Robert came out to support the school, support the arts and creative arts,” Kurtzman said. “There is not enough support of the arts and that is why we are doing something like tonight.”
The Mad FX Lab, which is the brainchild of Kurtzman, is a haunted attraction which takes customers through a frightful thrill ride with Hollywood-style special effects in Crestline. And like monsters in horror movies the Mad FX Lab will come back again.
“We are going to do this every year,” Kurtzman promised. “Now we have a permanent haunt that we are going to do, and we have big plans for next year. This year we put this together in five or six weeks, next year is going to be all out.”
“It makes sense you know. We sell to six flags, Cedar Point; they buy products from us so we were like hey we should take our product create our own haunt in the area,” Kurtzman continued.
In film Kutzman explained his next projects. “Right now we are doing a movie with Kevin Smith, Tusk which starts in a few weeks.”
For those that may have missed the Mad FX Lab, the haunt will be open Oct. 31, Nov. 1, and 2. Hours and information on the Haunted attraction can be found at www.madfxlab.com.
More information on programs, coursework, and class sign up for the Kurtzman Institute of Art can be found online at www.kurtzmaninstitute.com.
A photo gallery of Tuesday night’s mayhem can be found at www.crawfordcountynow.com on the Photos page.