For the Love of Monsters: Sideshow Video Roundtable

Everybody loves a good monster — wait, is that a paradox? Not at all! Monsters come in all shapes, sizes, and motives. From inhuman laboratory creations to iconic slashers, monsters are the fuel of our nightmares and the stars of our favorite horror stories. Sideshow presents … For the Love of Monsters!

During our Monsters and Villains event, we premiered a roundtable discussion of all things monster with an expert panel uniquely suited for the job. In this thoroughly engrossing discussion, you’ll be guided by Ryan Turek into a lively segment called For the Love of Monsters — an exclusive, original feature for horror fans.

Explore legendary horror movie monsters and the passionate fandom surrounding these terrifying but often misunderstood icons of the screen with horror luminaries David Dastmalchian, Akela Cooper, and Tom Gilliland for a unique insight into movie monsters and why we love to fear them. Ready to scream? Watch (or listen below!) and keep reading for even more in-depth monster madness.

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Meet the For the Love of Monsters Panel

Each of our roundtable participants has a background in horror that is both impressive and terrifying. Get to know more about them here:

Ryan Turek

First Monster Movie Memory: Godzilla

Ryan Turek is the VP of Development at Blumhouse Productions, where he has produced popular horror movies such as Halloween (2018), Ma, Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends, The Black Phone, M3GAN, Insidious: The Red Door, The Exorcist: Believer, and Five Nights at Freddy’s. This year, his credits include scaring audiences away from pools with Night Swim and proving imaginary friends aren’t all that friendly with Imaginary.

David Dastmalchian

First Monster Movie Memory: The Curse of the Werewolf

Recently, David Dastmalchian can be seen in Late Night with the Devil, a retro-inspired possession horror film. But this actor, producer, and comic book writer (Dark Horse’s Count Crowley series) is also well known for his roles as Polka-Dot Man in The Suicide Squad, Kurt and Veb in the Ant-Man film series, William L. Borden in Oppenheimer, and his breakout film role as Thomas Schiff in The Dark Knight.

Akela Cooper

First Monster Movie Memory: Pumpkinhead

Akela Cooper is an accomplished screenwriter and producer, having worked on television shows like Grimm, The 100, American Horror Story, Luke Cage, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, among others. She also wrote modern horror classics such as Malignant, M3GAN, and the highly anticipated upcoming sequels for The Nun and M3GAN. Next up on TV, Cooper is the showrunner for Monster, an HBO adaptation of the A. Lee Martinez novel about two paranormal pest control agents.

Tom Gilliland

First Monster Movie Memory: Them!

Tom Gilliland is Sideshow’s Chief Creative Officer and the creator of Court of the Dead, an epic dark fantasy tale that brings Death to life as a war rages between the forces of Heaven and Hell. He oversees creative production for Sideshow and has been with the company since its earliest days, helping to lead the way on groundbreaking Sideshow achievements such as the Bernie Wrightson Frankenstein Model Kit.

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Bring the Monsters Home

Here are some product highlights from the panel’s discussion!

Hear those cicadas? It’s the Pumpkinhead 1/4 Scale Statue by Premium Collectibles Studio.

Look out for the atomic blast! Here’s the Godzilla (1993) Collectible Figure by X-Plus.

Evil never looked so dashing. Collect the Dracula Premium Format™ Figure tonight.

Step aside for royalty. The Queen Alien Battle Diorama by Prime 1 Studio is waitlisted, but you can still explore other Aliens creatures.

 

Brute strength peers through the jungle in the Kong Fine Art Print by Frank Frazetta.

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Now that you’ve heard from the experts, the only thing that remains is sharing your opinion! Who (or what) is your favorite monster from across the many mediums of horror?

Join the conversation with other horror fans over at Sideshow Social Network or in side.show/geekgroup, and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!