Houston Horror Film Fest
The Horror Film Fest is a horror-themed festival held annually in Houston. I had never heard of it until this year, but once I knew, we had to go. Single-day admission tickets were $40 each, but you can also purchase tickets for the entire weekend for $60 each. There are also VIP tickets available for $249 each. The VIP package includes early entry to the event, a swag bag, badge/lanyard and access to after parties. This event advertises celebrity meet and greet opportunities, costume competition and hundreds to vendors with horror-themed merch.
Our Experience
We were definitely excited to see what this was all about, but I also tried to keep my expectations low. We got tickets for Sunday and showed up around 1pm (event started at noon). Parking was an absolute nightmare. There was not a single parking spot to be had. After a few laps around, one of the parking attendants alerted us to someone leaving. Don’t worry, we tipped him for his service. Since the lot was overflowing with cars, we knew it was going to be busy inside, but the event is spread out enough that it wasn’t completely insane while we were walking around. We got a map and schedule of events upon check-in along with our wristbands. The amount of people walking around in their immaculate costumes was amazing to see. We took a look at the map and decided to start at the closest point and work our way out.
There were two large conference rooms filled to the brim with vendors as well as some other side rooms for celebrity meet and greets and the costume competition. To get from one conference room to the other, you had to go through the hotel lobby which was decorated to meet the theme of the event. Plenty of photo opportunities in this area with different horror characters to choose from. The vendors themselves were diverse and had a lot of merch to choose from. Some had better prices than others, of course, but for the most part I would consider the prices reasonable. Due to my impulse buying habits, I ended up leaving with a lot of merch (that my husband carried for me, duh) including some art, a mystery box and records. Highly recommend a mystery box if you go next year! There were other vendors selling books, plushies, handmade items, candles, magnets and so much more. We did not meet any of the celebrities, but be aware that if you want a selfie or autograph, those cost extra and the lines can get long so allow plenty of time.
I do want to note for my misadventurers with children that they are allowed to attend the event and actually get in free (12 and under) with an adult companion. There is a kids costume competition if they are interested in that, but I am not sure what the prizes are.
Caution!
If you plan to. go to this event, get there early to make sure you can actually take advantage of the free parking.
I highly recommend taking a personal fan as it was so warm in there with all of the people. That’s ultimately what led us to leave.
Have your phone readily accessible for pictures because the cosplay at this event is next-level.
Wear comfortable shoes, this event is bigger than either of us expected.
Will We Go Next Year?
Absolutely! No question. This event is definitely worth the money, especially since it was less than $100 for both of us to go. Of course, we will plan better for parking next year! Let me know in the comments if you have attended this event in the past and what your experience was.
Until Next Time,
Happy Haunting
