I was lucky enough to meet the much-loved character actor and horror film star David Warner at the London Film Memorabilia Convention yesterday and we spoke briefly about some of his horror film roles and his career over the years. When I brought up the subject of his part in The Omen (1976) he said “The Omen is not a horror film….it’s an ‘atmosphere’ film…” and he added that in the scene where his character is decapitated by a flying sheet of glass “there wasn’t blood spurting everywhere” by which he meant that the film was much more concerned with creating  a creepy atmosphere than just shocking people with gory special effects. He also revealed that when he was first approached to be in the film, The Omen was originally going to be called Birthmark, which of course alludes to the ’666′ birthmark hidden under Damien’s hair and is a sign of the Devil.

Warner also told me about his upcoming role in a new BBC television production of James Herberts novel The Secret of Crickley Hall. He said it was a three part adaptation of Herberts best selling ghost story which was to be screened over the Hallowe’en period on BBC One. The series also stars Suranne Jones, Douglas Henshall and Tom Ellis.

I was also lucky enough to get to talk to Vera Day, glamorous star of such horror flicks as Quatermass II (1957), Grip of the Strangler (1958) and The Woman Eater (1958) as well as more recent fare as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998). She said that she was a relative newcomer to film conventions and related events but enjoyed meeting film fans and sharing stories and memories with those that attended. Something tells me that Vera will be attending a lot more of these events in the coming months and that can only be a good thing for classic horror fans!

 After speaking to Vera Day I then had a good chat with British actress Sylvia Syms who would be known to classic horror aficionados for her appearance in the 1972 Amicus production Asylum. This highly regarded performer has also become very well known for her extensive charity work and was particularly pleased to be able to talk about her work with the young persons charity Intermission Youth Theatre which engages young people from London’s inner-city communities by way of of drama workshops.

As well as being able to meet such iconic stars, the London Film Memorabilia Convention also gave me the opportunity to check out the amazing dealers who had come from all over the world to attend the event. Autographs, film posters, monster movie magazines, dvds, VHS videos, lobby cards, vintage film programmes all clamoured for my attention as well as a rare publicity still of Max Shreck from the original Nosferatu (1922) worth thousands of pounds! Needless to say, I shall definately be returning on July 14th to meet special guests Fenella Fielding (Carry On Screaming) and Hammer horror star Valerie Leon (Blood From the Mummy’s Tomb).