What could be scarier than eight wanna-be Scream Queens locked in a mansion for a week with no men, hidden cameras and a $50,000 cash prize for the last ghoul standing?  Sounds a little like the "The Bachelorette" only with more blood and gore... And, of corpse, chainsaws. Picture Scream Queen sleep-over camp and you’ve got Miss Horrorfest 2007.

This is all a clever promotion for the After Dark Horrorfest November 9-18 in Theaters everywhere. “ 8 Horror Films to Die For.”  But I found the 90 second Miss Horrorfest entry films to also be well made and clever and darkly funny (just the way Corpsy likes ‘em).

The Miss Horrorfest contestant finalists, all eight of them, moved into an L.A mansion to compete in a series of “chilling competitions,” all of which will be broadcast on YouTube, giving viewers the chance to vote for the next Queen of Scream. http://www.youtube.com/user/horrorfest

“Over the last month, contestants have submitted 90-second videos on YouTube and participated in live auditions across the country in the hopes of winning $50,000 and the coveted title of Miss Horrorfest 2007. YouTube users have the ability to influence the selection of Miss Horrorfest by viewing the entries and ranking them with stars leading up to the Miss Horrorfest crowning, which will take place live on national television in New York City.”

So, Corpsy visited the mansion to see what it was all about and what the girls were plotting. Would they saw off each other’s heads? Strangle each other with their pearls? Stab each other in the back... literally?

I had a chance to sit down and chat with the eight blood-drenched finalists and find out for myself.  Here’s the ghouls I met:

NIXON SUICIDE (Erin Nixon Kerrigan)
COUNTESS ELIZABETH BATHORY
RAINEY WELCH (Sweet Dead Sara)
MISTRESS MALICE (Melissa Jones)
MAD MOLLY and BATTY BONNIE (Morgan sisters)
CHIEKO GRIMOIRE
SHANNON LARK

First victim, Nixon Suicide (the only ‘Suicide Girl’ to make it to the Miss Horrorfest finals) and The Countess Bathory – a self proclaimed Countess, born in Hungary in 1560, who never dropped the Vampire accent during our interview and could give Zsa Zsa Gabor a run for her money (Though I understand, from the other contestants, that when The Countess hits the open bar in the basement her accent descends with her Tequila shots to a Fran Dresher squeal). The Countess told me her goal was to, ’Champion the rights of bloodsuckers everywhere.” And what better place, I thought, than in Hollywood?

Next, I met Sweet Dead Sara (Rainy Welch) and Mistress Malice (Melissa Jones). Both girls agreed that the most important quality to be Miss Horrorfest was, “Commitment to character.”  I wondered if they had met Countess Bathory  whom I imagine even snored in Transylvanian.  I asked each girl what they would do with $50,000 if they won the title of Miss Horrorfest 2007 and both mentioned buying shoes. But Rainy Welch added, with aplomb, that she would use her winnings to pay off her boob job (And I mighty fine one, I might add).  A more honest Miss America response has never been uttered. None of that “feed the starving children of the World” crap. The girl’s heroes are Sheri Moon Zombie and Elvira. That’s Elvira... not ‘indira’ Ghandi.

I was soon accosted by a visual and aural assault from the Morbid Sisters: Mad Molly and Batty Bonnie, the “Flying Morgans” who perform at the Carnival of Carnage.  They said they were “separated at birth,” though it was hard to tell if the stitches had come out the way they clung to each other and contorted before my astonished eyes.  The sisters also spoke in unison, driving me mad by the end of the interview.  But the were cute and perky and could twist their bodies so you could take them as a carry-on.  Bonnie also has a film career, having been the climbing freak in the well scene for “The Ring 2” and also a role as an alien in “Men in Black 2.” I guess everything with these sisters comes in two.  That’s two... two... two psychopaths in one!

Finally, I met Chieko Grimoire a Miss Horrorfest semi-finalist in 2006 who hails (sails?) from Oahu Hawaii -- and Shannon Lark, the manager of The Living Dead Girls (Zombie Dance Troop) from San Francisco, which you must see to believe.  I met Shannon at Fangoria, on a lark (forgive me) where we were both exhibiting.  She not only smart, and made one of my favorite 90 second shorts for Miss Horrorfest, but she’s a sharp businesswoman, as well.  Well, she at least as sharp as the chainsaw she held to my carotid artery.

The top 3 finalists will be announced on shortly. Log on to http://www.youtube.com/horrorfest and cast your vote today.

And go to some of the 8 killer films that are part of the After Dark Horror fest Nov 9-18th: http://www.horrorfestonline.com/

So, crawl, stagger and run to a theater screaming near you!

RIP,

Corpsy