Hello! I’m Laura, FlixChatter’s horror correspondent. I’ve mentioned in previous posts that I credit my dad with sparking my interest in horror movies. (Fun tidbit: my dad and FlixChatter’s founder Ruth used to work for the same company!) I have so many great childhood memories of him showing me some of his favorites, pointing out actors I might recognize from other films, sharing behind-the-scenes trivia, and watching to see how I would react to classic jump scares (I’m sure he was delighted by how much I freaked out at Ben Gardner’s corpse popping out of the boat in Jaws, but he might have been disappointed when my sister and I burst out laughing at Mrs. Slyde being wheeled out in House on Haunted Hill). 

Now that I’m grown up and have dived even deeper into the horror genre, it’s time for me to return the favor. Last year, I bought Dad a day pass for Crypticon, a horror convention held in Plymouth, Minnesota, for his birthday. It was a first for both of us, and I’m so glad I got to share the experience with him. However, whenever I would geek out over the various actors attending the event, Dad would be completely clueless.

There were a few he recognized once I pointed it out to him (we got a picture with Dawn of the Dead’s Ken Foree, exchanged cheesy jokes with The Hills Have Eyes’ Michael Berryman, and chatted about filmmaking with A Christmas Story’s Zack Ward), but overall, any time I mentioned a celebrity or the movies they’d been in, Dad would have no idea what I was talking about. 

That’s why this year, I’m making sure he’s prepared. 2026 is Crypticon Minneapolis’ 20th year, and they’ve already announced several big guests that I am so excited about. However, just like last year, every time I mention a guest announcement and the movies the guest is known for, Dad has been completely unfamiliar with them. To remedy that, I plan on showing him one movie a month starring various Crypticon guests, leading up to the convention in October.

While there are so many amazing celebrity guests attending this year who have been in so many great horror movies, I’ll only be covering four films: Hellraiser (starring Crypticon guests Ashley Laurence and Sean Chapman), Pan’s Labyrinth (starring Crypticon guest Doug Jones), Wishmaster (starring Crypticon guest Andrew Divoff), and Re-Animator (starring Crypticon guests Barbara Crampton and Jeffrey Combs). These are all movies I adore, and I am so excited to introduce them to the man who introduced me to the genre. 

And, because I’m a girl who loves a theme, I plan on making specialty drinks inspired by each movie. I’m dubbing them “Crypti-cocktails.” My mom and sister are especially excited about this part, because while neither of them like horror movies and plan on peacing out to my parents’ condo’s pool as soon as Dad and I hit play, they do plan on participating in the drink portion of the screenings. 

I’m so excited to share this experience with my dad, and I can’t wait to share the process with all of you. Let me know if you’re a fan of any of the movies we’ll be watching in the comments below! 

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Stay tuned for Laura’s post for each horror movie once a month from June through September, leading up to the con in early October!