Miss Horrorfest Controversy
Several reports have surfaced that the Miss Horrorfest Contest, put on by After Dark Films to tie in with the After Dark Horrorfest - 8 Films to Die For, has been rigged or altered from the original rules.
Many were under the assumption that the woman crowned Miss Horrorfest would be chosen by the fans via Horrorfest’s YouTube page. Many women submitted videos, and YouTube users voted on their favorites. Supposedly based on the most popular videos and auditions that were held, 8 semi-finalists were chosen and flow to Los Angeles to live in a house and compete in competitions. Out of these 8, 3 would be chosen as finalists. Webisodes were supposed to be broadcast on YouTube starting October 22nd, showing these competitions and allowing users to vote for their favorite, but nothing was posted until late October 26th, and even then it was only a brief introductory video.
Here is the announcement for the 8 semi-finalists from After Dark’s YouTube page, also stating that viewers would be able to “vote for the next Queen of Scream,” among other promises that weren’t kept:
“The women competing for horror’s most illustrious crown will be Melissa Jones, Lorrisa Julianus, Nixon Suicide, Shannon Lark, sisters Molly and Bonnie Morgan, Jeanette Roberts and Rainey Welch. The contestants will live in a house and compete in a series of chilling competitions, all of which will be broadcast on YouTube over the next week, giving viewers the chance to vote for the next Queen of Scream. The top 3 finalists will be announced right here on Youtube.”
Another posting from contestant Rainey Welch’s site, stating that the VIEWERS would be responsible for voting for the next Miss Horrorfest:
“The three finalist will be announced sometime next week, and footage from us competing in L.A. will be posted on YouTube starting Monday Oct. 22. The winner of the new Ms. Horrorfest 2007 will be crowned in New York on Halloween. You will be able to vote on each contestant at www.horrorfestonline.com starting monday, by giving the contestant of your choice five stars. Every vote counts, and youtube is the place to do it!”
THEN the announcement came in that four finalists had already been chosen (HOW and by WHOM??), even though originally there were supposed to only be THREE.
The first announcement was dated October 26th from Suicide Girls stating:
The Miss Horrorfest contest announced the finalists yesterday afternoon and our very own Nixon Suicide is one of the final 4!
Nixon’s competition to become the next Queen of Scream are…
Countess Bathory
Mistress Malice
and Sweet Dead Sarah
Also, here’s part of a report from Horrormovies.ca:
“YouTube users had the ability to influence the selection of Miss Horrorfest by viewing the entries and ranking them with stars. This year’s winner, who wins $50,000 and a one-year contract as After Dark Films’ spokesperson, will be crowned in New York City on Halloween.”
Why wasn’t this widely announced? Say, on Horrorfest’s YouTube channel? It seems very clear that YouTube viewers DID NOT influence the final 4 (even though the ORIGINAL announcement by the contest says there should be only 3) because two contestants with the highest rankings on YouTube (Shannon Lark with 4.5 stars and Cheiko with 3.5 stars) didn’t make it to the final round.
Is this really a fair competition, especially when these women are competing for $50,000?
Things really get interesting when you realize that Nixon works for Suicide Girls, who is a SPONSOR for this year’s Horrorfest (they have discounted rates for After Dark’s Horrorfest, feature coupons for Suicide Girls in the Goodie Bags and offered $100 to the first 10 Suicide Girls who entered the contest)!! From the Suicide Girls’ site:
If you want to get your all access passes for $5 off the regularly listed price click here: Horrorfest all access pass
Enter the following code: SUICIDE79
All Access Passes feature:
-One admission to each of the 8 Films to Die For® during your specified weekend. You can choose either November 9-11 or November 16-18 to experience the chilling world of terror that is Horrorfest 2007.
-One Goodie Bag per pass that features terrifying giveaways from top Horror Partners. Which could include a Limited Edition Horrorfest Collectible Sculpture that features the iconic Horrorfest Girl (quantities limited and will be awarded on a first come first serve basis)
-Many valuable coupons including one from the world famous SuicideGirls
-A discount on the purchase of Horrorfest 2006 DVD’s.
-Additional giveaways from Horrorfest Partners including GSN, FUSE, E! and AMC.
-Admission to one deadly Horrorfest party in selected cities nationwide - cities TBD
The rules for Miss Horrorfest clearly state that sponsors or affiliates of sponsors are NOT eligible to enter the contest:
6.Eligibility, Verification and Affidavits of Eligibility and Liability Release and Publicity Release
“The Contest is open to all legal U.S. residents 18 years or older (except residents of Puerto Rico) who are not employees (or immediate family members of employees), agents or affiliates of Sponsor, participating vendors, or their respective promotion or advertising agencies. All entries must be completed and filed in accordance with these Rules. All Semi-Finalists, Finalists, and Winner are required to execute Affidavits of Eligibility and Liability Release and, where legal, a Publicity Release permitting the use by Sponsor of the contestant’s name, likeness, video entry and recorded footage of contestant during or relating to the Contest for promotional or other proper and lawful purposes. No contestant will receive a prize or coverage or reimbursement of any expenses of participation in the Contest until he/she has executed the above-described affidavits and releases.”
Is the contest all a gimmick for a Suicide Girl to be crowned Miss Horrorfest even though all the other girls put in a lot of hard work and MONEY into the contest?? Was the winner predetermined from the start? Nixon IS a Suicide Girls’ employee, and because Suicide Girls appear to be a sponsor for After Dark’s Horrorfest, she should have never been allowed to enter.
Unfair “contest” or not, After Dark sure has some explaining to do…at the very least they could have more clearly stated the rules and explain how a winner is chosen. Instead they have a lot of confused and angry fans on their hands.
Perhaps, come Halloween day, everything will be straightened out, but if Nixon is crowned Miss Horrorfest 2007 there will be plenty MORE questions raised and many more accusations that the contest was, indeed, a sham.
If proper explanations aren’t given by After Dark, I suspect that Horrorfest 2007 will be boycotted by more than a few people.
Other reports:
Pretty-Scary.net Article
Horror-Fanatics.com Article
Horror-Movies.ca Forum
Leave After Dark a comment on their Myspace page…
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