Sean Clark joins us in the Crypt to talk about his journey through the horror industry, from Horror’s Hallowed Grounds and the Halloween franchise, to shaping the modern horror convention scene.

We explore the evolution of horror conventions, highlighting the thrill and struggle of getting celebrities on board, building “25 Years of Terror,” and Sean’s insider experience with the “horror elite.” We talk horror's golden ages of the 30s, 70s, and 80s, discussing the MPAA's role in shaping the genre, and the way conventions have evolved since the '90s, for better or worse. Sean opens up about his early days, his hesitations about joining YouTube, and the struggles and successes he faced on projects like Halloween 2 and Halloween 3.

We also dig into recent horror headlines, debating reboots and sequels, Halloween, Exorcist: Believer, Alien: Romulus, and The Crow, along with original titles like Thanksgiving, LongLegs, Maxxxine, and much more. We share thoughts on today’s horror “elite”, the tension between fans and executives, and horror’s thematic shift to psychological scares with films like Hereditary, Midsommar, and Beau Is Afraid.

Beyond film, we discuss the rise of horror influencers and publications, “a*s-kissing" culture, and Sean's advice for up-and-coming creatives, stories from the convention circuit, and immortalizing yourself through creative work.

—

🎥 Make sure to subscribe to youtube.com/@talksfromthecrypt / youtube.com/@malfuncsean

Sean Clark – https://instagram.com/malfuncsean

—

00:00:00 – Introduction00:01:05 – Horror’s Hallowed GG

00:17:29 – Sean's Involvement in the Halloween Franchise - Finding a Real Shatner Mask, 25 Years of Terror, Early Legal Battles, Landing a Standalone Feature

00:30:37 – Convention All-Stars00:41:15 – The Horror Industry: A Labor of Love, Celebrities Who Revel In It or Hate It, Getting Them to Do Conventions

00:52:05 – Horror's Golden Age: 30's, 70's, and 80's & the MPAA's Involvement

00:56:14 – Conventions Now Are A Different World, The Good and The Bad

01:02:10 – Being Hesitant to Get on YouTube, Early Success and Struggles In Sean's Horror Career, Working on Halloween 2 and Halloween 3, Finding Filming Locations and Going to the Wrong Place

01:27:15 – Remakes and Reboots? When does a classic become a classic?

01:42:47 – Excorcist: Believer, The Crow, Casting Bill Skarsgard in Everything, Child's Play Remake, Movies We Love and Hate, Alien: Romulus, Believable Casts

01:55:04 – Horror Publications Ass-Kissing, Executives and Influencers vs. Fans and Artists, The "Horror Elite,” Thanksgiving, LongLegs, and Terrifier

02:05:22 – LongLegs Review, Maxxxine & Its Prequels, The First Omen

02:12:20 – Casting New Actors vs. Big Stars, the Scream Movies, In A Violent Nature

02:21:31 – Horror's Evolution: Social to Internal, Hereditary, Midsommar, Beau Is Afraid, The Strange Thing About The Johnsons, Alien: Romulus Review (Contains Spoilers

02:29:05 – Film Critic Buzzwords, Why Do The Biggest Directors Have The Coolest Sounding Names?!

02:33:22 – Advice to Upcoming Creatives

02:48:34 – Long Intros and Trolls

02:54:37 – Safety In Numbers, Unfinished Episodes, and Immortalizing Yourself Through Your Work

03:05:16 – Sean's Talks His Famous Haircut

03:10:33 – Cutting Your Teeth

03:13:45 – Outro

—

Copyright Disclaimer Under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

#15 - Sean Clark (Horror's Hallowed Grounds, Convention All Stars, The Thing With Two Heads)