Avoiding the glitz and the glamour of more traditional awards shows, the Eyegore Awards kicked off Universal Studios’ annual Halloween Horror Nights on Friday Sep. 24.
“Lost Boys” actor Corey Feldman hosted the event for the fifth consecutive year. The Eyegore Awards honors those who’ve made memorable contributions to the genre over the past year, as well as throughout their careers.
Sid Haig, known to many as the demented character Captain Spaulding in Rob Zombie’s films “House of 1000 Corpses” and “The Devil’s Rejects,” was one of the first award recipients and was proud to be featured in this year’s Horror Nights.
“It’s like coming home,” Haig said after seeing his character plastered all across the park. “It’s an honor to get to be a part of all this.”
In addition to being a presenter at the awards, director and musician Rob Zombie also held a short film contest challenging all up and coming filmmakers to craft an effective horror film with a time limit of 3 minutes.
The winning film, “Jasper,” directed by Texas native Elizabeth B. Schieffer received praise from the audience of horror icons and left Schieffer in shock as she accepted her award.
“I will never give up,” she said, paraphrasing from Haig in his speech. “I will use this as motivation to keep going, no matter what.”
Another moment that got quite a rise out of the already raucous crowd came when Christopher Lloyd was given an award for his contributions to science fiction and horror.
“I don’t know exactly why I’m here,” said Lloyd. “I haven’t done anything as bloody and disturbing as everyone else…yet.”
Capping off the event was a speech by award recipient Eli Roth who appreciated the award but also saw it as motivation.
“I haven’t been at this nearly as long as some of the others here tonight,” he said. “But I promise I’ll keep making movies for a long time.”
The awards serve as the start of Halloween Horror Nights and this year Horror Nights has brought back a few classic characters with a new twist.
The lead maze this year is “Never Sleep Again” inspired by the 2010 remake “A Nightmare on Elm St.”
Also featured is “Kill, Jason, Kill,” which is based on the 2009 remake of the film “Friday the 13th.”
Derek Mears, who portrayed Jason in the remake and was excited to see what Universal had come up with.
“This is the coolest thing,” said Mears. “I’m a huge nerd so I can’t wait to get in there and take a look at everything for myself.”
Other mazes include “Saw: Game Over” inspired by the popular horror franchise, “La Llorona” based on the classic Mexican legend, an original maze, “Vampyres” and the “House of 1000 Corpses” maze which will be featured in 3-D “Zombie-vision” marking the first time an attraction at Horror Nights will be in 3-D.
Halloween Horror Nights will run each weekend up through October 31.
For ticket information and prices visit halloweenhorrornights.com
Derek Mears proves why he was cast as Jason on the red carpet.
Eli Roth and Rob Zombie talk horror at the Eyegore Awards
Corey Feldman once again the host for the evening
Kicking off the event with style, dancers pump up the crowd.
