When I had asked him what his next movie would be, Waters noted that in this economy he had no plans to launch one. But in some ways John Waters does not really need to make movies. He conveys his sensibility in these talks in a way that is so engaging, I think someone just needs to put out a DVD of him speaking. Watching him is like a John Waters film without the dull parts, just as much shock and some of the camp replaced by a morbid intelligence and a very sharp and barbed wit.

George Romero in his talk was more like a director answering questions and focused on movies. Waters spoke about shooting scenes on low budgets as a kid in which the joy he took in independence was implicit. Romero made this explicit by speaking at length and in various ways to questions by noting how much he preferred to work outside Hollywood. But his independent streak was also clear when it came to new computer games. Romero wants to be involved in any game connected to his films in more than a way that just rents the name. He wants to be an active creative contributor and he noted game designers tend to just want his name. The way Romero speaks and moves, and his total comfort and pride in what he does was apparent. He reminded me for some reason of George Carlin. The resemblance struck me while he spoke and when I briefly interviewed him afterward.

"I come to Vegas for events a lot. I've been here once with my girlfriend. But Vegas isn't normally a place I would go to have fun," Romero said. Ah, he breaks my heart. And, then the legendary director shocked me as much as his zombies with what he said next. "I like to go to shows when I am here. If we had another night, I would go see Criss Angel's show. I'm dying, if I had another day, it would be the first place I would go." And, yes, he was totally aware of the bad reviews "Believe" has gotten and continues to get. In fact, he said, that was part of what made him want to see "Believe."

I asked Romero about his obsession with zombies, and after reminding me what he also told the crowd, that zombies are never the issue and living people are the focus, he noted that his desire to branch into other film topics was in many ways curtailed by financial realities: "I have always been able to [branch out from zombie films], like I did this little film called "Bruiser." But if they don't have faith in it, they are not going to put enough money into it to make it visible enough to be successful. It is a losing game. And, to get back into the studio system and do projects like I did before for them is just something at my age, [69], I don't want to deal with. My films are peculiar. They are completely different. They are statements of my own. My stuff is independent and I think people can sense there is an inherent honesty there."

The Halloween concert for the Trinity of Terrors was Slipknot, a perfect match, at the Pearl venue inside the casino. Slipknot was totally sold out (whereas many other festival events had plenty of seating, even for Romero and Waters). I could only take about 20 minutes of Slipknot's stomach-churning intense metal. I technically also had to go do another interview, though I admittedly left on the extra early side for that. Honestly, I was relieved to have an excuse to leave early. I have very wide-ranging tastes, yet, I cannot last through a Slipknot show. The music reminds me of Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music, yet endlessly heavier and with screaming. Of course, I am 42 and the audience seemed mostly younger. The overwhelming majority of the fans were singing along with every word I could not make out, and the dedication of the audience was one of the best parts of the show. In fact, one of the band's percussionists played over a screen mount of a live shot of the crowd, so the audience members could always view themselves responding to the band.

Even as a person who does not watch movies at all, this match of Vegas to the horror magazine's talent roster for the first Fangoria Trinity of Terrors convention was fantastic for Halloween. And, that may be a point worth making. There is always a risk of poor attendance when Vegas wanders out of the mainstream and goes for crowds such as this one. Palms owner George Maloof told me the festival's initial deal is for three years at the Palms. So, from the range of talent, the exhibitors, the films and the bands, everything seemed perfectly done as well as timed over the holiday weekend to grab those whose interest in this genre only exists on Halloween weekend, the majority of Vegas tourists, as well as those who live every day with a strong interest in the culture Fangoria has covered for three decades.

Photo: John Waters. Credit: Sarah Gerke

Photo: George Romero. Credit: Sarah Gerke

Top photo: Tom Atkins and Adrienne Barbeau. Credit: Sarah Gerke