A new horror convention is starting in Sudbury

Sudbury Indie Cinema and Ewen Productions present Sudbury Indie Creature Kon (SICK), a horror, sci-fi and fantasy convention that organizers hope to make an annual event. (Supplied)

Sudbury Indie Cinema and Ewen Productions present Sudbury Indie Creature Kon (SICK), a horror, sci-fi and fantasy convention that organizers hope to make an annual event.

The first edition of the convention will be taking over the lobby and the big screen at Sudbury Indie Cinema on Mackenzie Street in Greater Sudbury, on both the evening of Sept. 16 and throughout the day on Sept. 17.

SICK will include short and feature film programming, a gaming tournament, panels, as well as local vendors–including Comics North Hidden Level Games, The Gory Hole, Rob Sacchetto and more.

Sudbury Indie Creature Kon will take place at the Sudbury Indie Cinema on Mackenzie Street on Sept. 16 & 17. (File photo)

Miranda MacLeod, cinema manager for the Sudbury Indie Cinema and one of SICK’s organizers, told CTV News that the Sudbury cinema and a very active member of the cinema co-op, Douglas Ewen, of Ewen Productions in the Sault, have been wanting to put on an event together for months.

"We connected fairly recently and we decided to go with a horror convention because we are both very much into that," MacLeod said.

"He is a big fan of what the cinema co-ops are doing."

Ewen is a producer in Sault Ste. Marie and is active in the film industry, which allowed him to connect with other people in the industry to have them showcase their work at the convention.

"It is something we do not (normally) have here; it is something that is different. Being a big fan of horror, I have been trying to bring more horror and genre; kind of cult events, to our cinema. So this is something new that we put together very quickly,” MacLoad said.

"The horror community, we are kind of spread out in northern Ontario. So we are just trying to make something where people can look forward to coming, like once a year and kind of gather to see things you wouldn’t see anywhere else."

Organizers said they hope to expand the convention next year to include more of the horror genre scope.

Friday night will begin with a horror/sci-fi short film program, including films by local northern Ontario filmmakers along with international films, starting at 6 p.m., with the doors opening at 5:30 p.m.

Following the short films is the northern Ontario premier of Pierre Tsigaridis’s feature film directorial debut, Two Witches, starring Rebekah Kennedy. The Los Angeles-based actor will be on hand to introduce the film at 9 p.m.

Saturday, there will be many family-friendly activities including an all-ages Mario Kart tournament on the cinema’s big screen, a costume contest, panels and a vendor fair. Children ages 13 and under receive free entry from noon until 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Fans of the Resident Evil game and movie franchises should be excited for SICK’s panels.

The first panel at 2 p.m. on Sept. 17 features creature actor, Matthew MacCallum, who has played many roles as aliens, zombies and more–including a zombie appearance in the locally filmed, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City.

MacCallum will talk about his experiences as a creature actor and provided industry insight.

The second panel will feature Resident Evil voice actors Joe Whyte and Jolene Anderson. Whyte voiced Chris Redfield in the Resident Evil 2002 game and 2015 remaster, while Anderson voiced Ada Wong in the 2012 animated film Resident Evil: Damnation and the 2019 Resident Evil 2 game.

They will join SICK on the big screen to share experiences and the behind-the-scenes details about being voice actors.

Wrapping up this two-day event at 7 p.m. Saturday will be a screening of Fried Barry, a 2020 sci-fi horror film from South Africa with a cult following.

The director, Ryan Kruger, will join SICK on the big screen from the other side of the world to introduce his film.

Convention passes can be purchased on Eventbrite.

More information on SICK can be found on their Facebook page.