Interview with Sinister Creature Con Founder Tim Meunier + 50% Off Discount Code
Since its launch in 2015, Sinister Creature Con in Sacramento has become one of California’s most lauded bi-annual horror events. What it lacks in size and scope it more than compensates for with incredible special guests, engrossing panels, educational workshops, and raging after-parties. Sinister Creature Con happens every Spring and Fall and we’re just under two weeks away from the next one (June 15th-16th)
About Sinister Creature Con:
Quakes ripple around the known universe as a new convention beast breaches through the Earth’s surface. The Sinister Creature Con announces its presence from the primal depths of our humanity with volcanic might and jubilant fanfare. Located in Northern California, Sinister Creature Con’s expansive tentacles ensnare a massive array of horror genre craftsmen and craftswomen that give monsters and the genre its tangible essence, such as painters, filmmakers, sculptors, tattoo artists, comic book artists, graphic designers, practical FX companies, actors, writers, haunted attraction engineers, and much more. So come one and come all to the belly of this new convention beast and learn how your fears are imagined so you may celebrate in the conquering of them.
Sinister Creature Con is a horror convention unlike any other. We celebrate both the past and present. From the nostalgic to the contemporary we celebrate it all and have something for every horror artist and fan alike. Above all, we strive to serve and promote the art and artists. Come, be inspired, create, and scare us. We invite you to Northern California’s Horror Convention, Sinister Creature Con.
Special Guests confirmed for this month’s convention include David Howard Thornton (Art the Clown in Terrifier), Kane Hodder, Doug Bradley, Ashley Laurence, Sherilyn Fenn, Felissa Rose, Joe Bob Briggs, and many others.
This year, Dread Central is thrilled to offer our readers a 50% discount code to attend Sinister Creature Con. Just enter “DREAD” at checkout, HERE.
As a member of Team Dread Central, I’m lucky enough to attend many of the biggest and most prestigious horror conventions across the country. That said, Sinister Creature Con is an event I look forward to more than any other; I’ve been to every one since its founding and don’t plan on stopping. In fact, I’ll be working at Dread Central’s table, so come by and say “Hello”—and pick up some of our incredible DVDs/Blu-rays.
We recently sat down with Sinister Creature Con founder Tim Meunier to find out what it takes to establish one of today’s best horror events from the ground up. Check out our conversation below.
Dread Central: How did you go from being a horror fan to a horror promoter?
Tim Meunier: This began in 2006 when I saw under representation of independent horror shorts and features and the many multi-genre independent film festivals in my home town of Sacramento. With my background as a filmmaker and experience as a promoter I elected to dive head first into the field of film festivals, screenings, and exhibitions. I wanted to give horror a home where fans like myself could benefit from such events.
DC: What motivated you to launch Sinister Creature Con? Were you inspired by any other conventions or was your goal to create something unique?
TM: I honestly wasn’t into conventions until I was offered a challenge by my former business partner to produce the first successful horror con the city of Sacramento has seen. Having a built-in horror following from all my horror film festivals, shadow cast screenings, one off events, etc., I felt I had enough of an audience to take the dive. With the focus being on the art of creation, SFX, nostalgia/appreciation, I was given the reigns to produce an event I myself would pay to go to. I admired haunt focused conventions where things were interactive and you could roam the halls as a voyeur and spy on folk’s creations as they were being assembled. Currently I don’t have the venue space for such an event so I decided to blend the elements of conventions I did enjoy to fit the space we have effectively. I think what attaches many horror fans to the genre is its tangibility. So, the craft of monster building and FX creation is something I feel is of interest to all, even just the casual viewer.
DC: You’ve always had great guests, but you’ve got some serious heavyweights coming to the con this June. Does this reflect Sinister Creature Con’s reputation?
TM: We have some fantastic team members that help give each of our featured guests, artists, and celebs the red-carpet treatment as much as possible. These amazing staffers have afforded us a great reputation in regards to guest treatment. When you treat a guest right and they do well financially they spread the word amongst other horror celebrities and artists in their network. Many times, it is not us who seeks out the guest but the guest who seeks us out to experience Sinister Creature Con and our fans. That’s a beautiful thing and lets us know we are doing something right.
DC: What advice would you give to up-and-comers looking to launch horror conventions in their own cities?
TM: Don’t blow your wad. Be smart. Realize your first event will probably be a loss if you don’t have a fanbase already built. I had nearly eight years of producing horror film events across Northern California before I launched Sinister Creature Con. I had a built-in fanbase to entice to our newest project. If you are starting fresh, I advise to keep it simple. Don’t book any celebrity guests. Curate your vendors so you have a fantastic assortment of items for your patrons to browse. Horror fans are loyal. Shine that bright blood smear in the sky like the bat signal and they’ll eat up what you provide. Don’t buy into the celebrity guest trap too soon or it could mean the end of your convention if you blow your budget getting them in the building and you don’t have the attendance to make up your investment.
DC: What’s been your biggest success so far? What are you most proud of?
TM: I couldn’t do this alone. My team supports this show and gave it legs. I’m proud that through the thick and thin my team has been able to help me produce a quality show in a city, Sacramento, I was told would never support horror events. The fact that I began in 2007 with one film festival and in 2019 I stand with 6 film festivals, 2 conventions a year, and an assortment of other one off, semiannual events that all revolve around horror makes me incredibly proud.
DC: Where would you like to see Sinister Creature Con go in the future?
TM: Eventually nostalgia will change with the aging generations. Legends will become too old or will die and booking marquee guests will become more of a challenge. At Sinister Creature Con, we wish to stay ahead of this shift. Eventually, we will reduce the number of media guests and be more artist-focused and place a focus on outside-of-the-box type bookings. I want to include more LGBTQ representation, horror drag queens and drag kings. Podcasters. Twitch broadcasters. Youtubers. Of course, until that shift happens we are proud to bring the best guests we can for fans who aren’t able to afford to attend the bigger veteran horror cons. We stay in our wheelhouse and focused on our market. We hope to launch a 3rd convention in the February or March month’s in Central California once we find a suitable venue. Of course, I’d love to see attendance grow to justify moving into a much bigger venue where we can have so much more flexibility in creating a horror paradise for fans for a weekend.
DC: Can I get you to tell me a bit about the horror scene in Sacramento?
TM: Horror fanatics in Sacramento are loyal, intelligent, passionate, LOUD, and so sweet to engage in discussions with. Other horror promoters in the city all play nice together and we have a great relationship with them all. Local media is usually wide-eyed and awkward when they cover our events or other events but we appreciate their enthusiasm and willingness to give the weird and esoteric some exposure. Like many cities, Halloween season is 2nd to Christmas in terms of how much entertainment there is to be had. Sacramento is no different. Night clubs, haunted houses, playhouse performances, bar crawls, film festivals, you name it, get in the spirit of the season. It creates so much competition but that’s great for fans as they have so much to select from.
Have you attended past Sinister Creature Cons? Are you planning to attend the next one later this month? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! You can also carry on the convo with me personally on Twitter @josh_millican.
Categorized:News
