Today’s grisly takes on zombies and terror shared honors with some of Hollywood’s oldest monsters in the results of the 2013 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards. The Cabin in the Woods, Joss Whedon’s homage to 80’s teen thrillers, was named Best Horror Film of 2012 while AMC’s hit series “The Walking Dead” took the top television prize for the second straight year in the awards decided by fans and fantasy professionals worldwide.

Voters also embraced Universal Studios’ massive effort to digitally restore its catalog of archetypal monsters such as Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolf Man and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. The studio’s Blu-ray set, Universal’s Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection, was voted Best DVD Collection, and the 1931 Dracula was voted the year’s Best Restoration. In addition, Universal’s 1948 comedy perennial Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein was named Best DVD as voters celebrated recent Blu-ray upgrades of monster classics.

The Rondo Awards, named after Rondo Hatton, an obscure B-movie villain of the 1940’s, recognize the best in classic horror research, creativity and film preservation. This year’s e-mail vote, conducted by the Classic Horror Film Board, an 18-year-old online community, drew a record of more than 3,400 votes as fans chose among 35 categories. The work of horror history researchers was also recognized as Japanese monster movie expert David Kalat was awarded a Rondo for his commentary on Criterion’s twin release of Japan’s 1954 Gojira and its Americanized version released two years later, Godzilla: King of the Monsters. And horror enthusiast Simon Rowson was named Monster Kid of the Year–the award program’s highest honor–for his work discovering snippets of footage in Japan that had been cut from the original release of Hammer’s Dracula with Christopher Lee in 1958 (retitled Horror of Dracula in the US). As a result of his efforts, a new restored version of the film has been released in Britain.

Based on suggestions from Rondo voters, the following Monster Kid Hall of Fame inductees were named:
J.D. Lees, editor and publisher of G-Fan, a magazine devoted to Godzilla films which recently marked its 100th issue.
Count Gore De Vol, one of a growing number of horror hosts who celebrated his 40th year in front of the camera.
Ted Newsom, a Los Angeles-based film researcher who pioneered monster history documentaries.

Steven Bissette, a comic book writer and horror historian whose work ranges from Swamp Thing to European horror film scholarship.

Jessie Lilley, a publisher and editor who has helped helm publications ranging from Scarlet Street and Mondo Cult to the reborn Famous Monsters of Filmland.

The late Gary Dorst, a monster fan whose writing in early fanzines helped elevate standards for those who followed.

Many of the Rondo winners will receive Rondo busts, sculpted by Kerry Gammill, at the Wonderfest convention in Louisville in May. Further information, including runners-up and all the nominees, can be found at RondoAwards.com.

Finally, based on suggestions from Rondo voters, the following Monster Kid Hall of Fame inductees were named:

J.D. Lees, editor and publisher of G-Fan, a magazine devoted to Godzilla films which recently marked its 100th issue;

Count Gore De Vol, one of a growing number of horror hosts who celebrated his 40th year in front of the camera;

Ted Newsom, a Los Angeles-based film researcher who pioneered monster history documentaries;

Steven Bissette, a comic book writer and horro historian whose work ranges from Swamp Thing to European horror film scholarship;

Jessie Lilley, a publisher and editor who has helped helm publications ranging from Scarlet Street and Mondo Cult to the reborn Famous Monsters of Filmland;

The late Gary Dorst, a monster fan whose writing in early fanzines helped elevate standards for those who followed.

Many of the Rondo winners will receive Rondo busts, sculpted by Kerry Gammill, at the Wonderfest convention in Louisville in May..

Further information, including runners-up and all the nominees, can be found at rondoaward.com
Here is a category-by-category breakdown of who won.
(Includes winners, runners-up; also honorable mentions who scored well.)

BEST FILM OF 2012

CABIN IN THE WOODS

Runner-up: THE AVENGERS

Honorable mention: WOMAN IN BLACK;

DARK SHADOWS

BEST TV PRESENTATION

THE WALKING DEAD: Pretty Much Dead Already

Runners-up: AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ASYLUM; DOCTOR WHO

Honorable mention: BIG BANG THEORY

BEST CLASSIC DVD

ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (Blu-Ray)

Runners-up: ROSEMARY’S BABY; GOJIRA/GODZILLA (Criterion Blu-Ray)

Honorable mentions: NIGHT OF DRAK SHADOWS/HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS;

TWINS OF EVIL

BEST CLASSIC HORROR COLLECTION

UNIVERSAL CLASSIC MONSTERS: THE ESSENTIAL COLLECTION (Blu-Ray)

Runner-up: DARK SHADOWS: Complete Original Series (131 DVDs)

Honorable mentions: ALFRED HITCHCOCK MASTERPIECE COLLECTION;

COMPLETE HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR

BEST RESTORATION

DRACULA (1931)

Runner-up: CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (3-D)

Honorable mention: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (restored ending)

BEST COMMENTARY

DAVID KALAT (Criterion GOJIRA/GODZILLA)

Runner-up: Tim Lucas (HATCHET FOR THE HONEYMOON)

BEST DVD EXTRA

THE ORIGINAL HOUSE OF HORROR (Booklet in Universal Classic Monsters set)

Runner-up: MAKING OF MAD MONSTER PARTY

Honorable mention: INCREDIBLE MR. LIPPERT (documentary on MST3K XXIII);

REMEMBERING ROSEMARY’S BABY

BEST INDEPENDENT FILM

HOUSE OF GHOSTS, directed by Christopher Mihm

Runner-up: AMERICAN MARY

Honorable mentions: PLAY DEAD; THE DEVIL’S CARNIVAL; DEAD WEIGHT

BEST SHORT FILM

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, directed by Raul Garcia

Runners-up: JOE COMES TO LIFE; THE CAPTURED BIRD

Honorable mention: EVEL KNEIVEL ON SKULL ISLAND

BEST DOCUMENTARY

BEAST WISHES: The Fantastic World of Bob and Kathy Burns, directed by Frank Dietz and Trish Geiger

Runners up: THE SHARK IS STILL WORKING (Jaws); CORMAN’S WORLD

Honorable mentions: MEN IN SUITS; THE AMERICAN SCREAM

BOOK OF THE YEAR

RAY HARRYHAUSEN’S FANTASY FILMBOOK, by Ray Harryhausen and Tony Dalton

Runner-up: FRIGHT NIGHT ON CHANNEL 9 by James Arena

Honorable mentions: AMERICAN SILENT HORROR, by John T. Soister, Henry Nicolella, Steve Joyce, William F. Chase and Harry Long;

THE FORREST J ACKERMAN OUEVRE, by Christopher M. O’Brien;

TOO MUCH HORROR BUSINESS by Kirk Hammett;

NO TRAVELER RETURNS: The Lost Years of Bela Lugosi, by Gary Rhodes and Bill Kaffenberger

Photo of Dalton and Harryhausen: BAFTA/Brian J. Ritchie
BEST MAGAZINE (modern)

RUE MORGUE

Runner-up: FANGORIA

Honorable mentions: HORROR HOUND; VIDEO WATCHDOG

BEST MAGAZINE (classic)

SCARY MONSTERS

Runners-up: FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND; MONSTERS FROM THE VAULT

Runner up: LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS

BEST ARTICLE

‘CHRISTOPHER LEE: A Career Retrospective,’ by Aaron Christensen, HORRORHOUND #34

Runners-up: ‘I Sing Bradbury Electric,’ by Steve Vertlieb, FILM MUSIC REVIEW;

‘Ray Bradbury’s Earliest Influences,’ by Terry Pace, MONSTERS FROM THE VAULT #30.,

Honorable mentions: ‘Ghosts of Horror Past: 25 Films That Have Been Lost to the Sands of Time,’ by Kelly Robinson, RUE MORGUE #124;

‘Dracula, Frankenstein,’ by Tim Lucas. VIDEO WATCHDOG #171;

‘Discovering the Censored Scenes from Dracula,’ by Simon Rowson and Stuart Hall, LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS #28;

‘The Kind of Fiend Who Wins — The Making of The Abominable Dr. Phibes,’ by Justin Humphreys, LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS #29.

BEST INTERVIEW

(Award goes to interviewer)

MICHAEL CULHANE interviews Jonathan Frid and other original DARK SHADOWS cast members, FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #261

Runner-up: JESSICA DWYER interviews WALKING DEAD cast, HORRORHOUND #37

Honorable mentions: TIM LUCAS interviews Daliah Lavi, VIDEO WATCHDOG #170;

DAVID KRZISNIK interviews Tippi Hedren, SCREEM #25;

TONY EARNSHAW interviews Sara Karloff, DIABOLIQUE #12

BEST MAGAZINE COLUMN

IT CAME FROM BOWEN’S BASEMENT, by John W. Bowen (RUE MORGUE)

Runner-up: THEY CAME FROM THE KRYPT, by Jon Kitley (HORRORHOUND)

Honorable mentions: DIARY OF THE DEB, by Debbie Rochon (FANGORIA);

THE DOCTOR IS IN-SANE, by Dr. Gangrene (Larry Underwood; SCARY MONSTERS);

IN MY WRITE MIND by Richard Schellbach (FAMOUS MONSTERS)

SCARE-NEWS by John Skerchock (SCARY MONSTERS)

BEST THEMED ISSUE (tie)

MONSTERS FROM THE VAULT #30 (Vincent Price Remembered)

VIDEO WATCHDOG #169 (Dark Shadows)

Runners-up: RUE MORGUE #127 (Universal monsters);

LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS (Dr. Phibes);

Honorable mentions: FAMOUS MONSTERS #264 (Kevin Burns on Munsters);

HORRORHOUND #35 (Alien)

FILMFAX #130 (Bradbury/Burroughs remembrance)

BEST COVER

LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS #29 by Jeff Preston

Runner-up: HORRORHOUND #36 by Jason Edmiston;

Honorable mentions: FAMOUS MONSTERS #259 by Rick Baker;

MONSTERS FROM THE VAULT #30 by Daniel Horne;

FANGORIA #317 by Ama Lea;

SCREEM #25 by Mark Maddox

POE FOREVERMORE #1 by Cortney Skinner; MONDO CULT #3 by L.J. Dopp

BEST WEBSITE

DREAD CENTRAL

Runners-up: Trailers from Hell;

Universal Monster Army

Honorable mentions: WGN Creature Features;

Remembering Chicago’s Monster Era;

Dr. Gangrene’s Chiller Cinema; Count Gore de Vol’s Creature Features

BEST BLOG

THE COLLINSPORT HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Runner-up: Frankensteinia

Honorable mentions: Terror from Beyond the Daves;

Classic Movie Monsters; Pause. Rewind. Obsess (Tim Lucas)

BEST CONVENTION

MONSTERPALOOZA (Burbank)

Runner-up: HorrorHound Weekend

Honorable mentions: Monster Bash; Rue Morgue’s Festival of Fear; G-Fest; Dragon Con

BEST FAN EVENT

RICK BAKER GETS STAR ON HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME

Runner-up: Horror Host Hall of Fame inductions at HorrorHound Weekend

Honorable mentions: Blob panic re-enactment at Blobfest;

Dr. Shocker’s Frankenstein vs. Wolf man political debate;

Poe Forevermore preservation events in Baltimore

FAVORITE HORROR HOST

Svengoolie

Honorable mentions: Wolfman Mac; Penny Dreadful; Mr. Lobo;

Dr. Gangrene; Count Gore De Vol; Karlos Borloff

BEST MULTI-MEDIA HORROR SITE

FRIGHT BYTES

Runners-up: Rue Morgue Podcast; The Monster Channel

Honorable mentions: News from the Crypt; Sci-Fi Japan;

The Projection Booth; Tomb Dragomir

BEST HORROR CD

ROSEMARY’S BABY soundtrack (La-La Land)

Runner-up: King Kong 1976 (FSM)

Honorable mentions: BLACK SABBATH soundtrack; Dark Adventure Radio Theatre (Lovecraft);

Creature Feature: It Was a Dark and Stormy Night;

Kronos/Cosmic Man (Monstrous Movie Musicsic)

BEST HORROR COMIC BOOK

THE WALKING DEAD, by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard

Runner-up: BELA LUGOSI’S TALES FROM THE GRAVE #2(Monsterverse)

Honorable mentions: FRANKENSTEIN ALIVE, ALIVE (Niles/Wrightson); CONQUEROR WORM (corben);

HAUNTED HORROR (Craig Yoe)

BEST TOY, MODEL OR COLLECTIBLE

The Bride of Frankenstein (Moebius), sculpted by Jeff Yagher

Runner-up: Walken Dead T-shirt (tshirtbordello)

Honorable mentions: Creature Grave Walker; Presidential Monsters

FILM MOST IN NEED OF DVD RELEASE OR RESTORATION

NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS (1971)

Despite this year’s Blu-Ray package, extra footage which had been readied for release was not included.

Runner-up: OLD DARK HOUSE (1932)

WRITER OF THE YEAR

TIM LUCAS (Video Watchdog)

Runners-up: Tom Weaver, Gary Rhodes; Kristy Jett; Greg Mank, Nathan Hanneman, Lianne Spiderbaby; Steve Niles

BEST REVIEWER

DAVID-ELIJAH NAHMOD

Runners-up: Tim Lucas, Bill Cooke, George Reis, Kim Newman, Eric Shirey, The Phantom

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

DANIEL HORNE

Runners-up: Mark Maddox, Gary Pullin, Bob Eggleton

Honorable mentions: Frank Dietz, Jason Edmiston, Joel Robinson, Basil Gogos

LINDA MILLER AWARD FOR
FAN ARTIST OF THE YEAR
(In memory of the late Linda Miller)

MARK OWEN

Runners-up: Jerrod Brown, Ethan Black, Mark Redfield, Brian Maze, Malcolm Gittens

HENRY ALVAREZ AWARD FOR ARTISTIC DESIGN

RAY SANTOLERI

INTERNATIONAL FAN OF THE YEAR

RHONDA STEERER (Germany)

Karloff biographer, lecturer and lifelong fan, Rhonda’s websites include a 125th Anniversary Tribute site and on Facebook, The Boris Karloff Information Center.

MONSTER KID OF THE YEAR

Despite offical denials and decades of efforts by horror sleuths, it was cartoonist and Hammer fan Simon Rowson who finally tracked down the missing footage from Christopher Lee’s 1958 ‘Dracula’ (‘Horror of Dracula’ in the U.S.)

Living in Tokyo, Rowson stubbornly navigated an indifferent Japanese bureaucracy to rescue the long-rumored missing frames of the Hammer classic from Japan’s National Film Center.

The result: A new pristine print that includes the extended disintegration scene and more.

You can read all about it in LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS #27 but for now, Simon Rowson, on behalf of all those who tried before, is Rondo’s choice for Monster Kid of the Year.

MONSTER KID HALL OF FAME

The six newest inductees are:

J.D. LEES

Keeper of kaiju history

For 100 issues, and counting, J.D. Lees has kept the proud mythology of Godzilla and his brethren alive in G-FAN magazine, the chronicle of those who bring us Toho’s ‘many monsters.’ Lees finds dignity in even the slightest of the epics, and keeps the G-family alive for generations of future kaiju kids.

COUNT GORE DE VOL

Legacy of laughs from the crypt

For 40 years, Count Gore De Vol has been an unchanging symbol of horror hosting at its best — corny, reliable, comforting and bawdy, not naughty. A fixture in the Baltimore-Washington area, the Count helped rally hosts nationwide to share resources in their greasepaint comeback.

TED NEWSOM

Horror’s brash documentarian

Savvy, knowledgeable, opinionated and razor-tongued, Ted Newsom’s place in horror history is assured, one of the first to treat Hammer — and the entire genre — with a researcher’s respect and an editor’s pace. Whether Frankensteins, apes or Ed Wood, Ted helped launch the era of fan-based documentaries, and is an important link to a workaday Hollywood that is nearly gone.

STEVE BISSETTE

A presence beyond the swamp

Best-known for Swamp Thing and other edgy comic book works, Steve Bissette’s influence goes far beyond the imaginary bayou. A friend to the genre since 1972, he’s written for horror journals shallow and wise, is a leading authority on the history of horror comics and dares readers to keep up in his MYRANT blog of dinosaurs, films, graphic art and monsters.

JESSIE LILLEY

Horror’s trusted professional

For decades, Jessie Lilley has been the reliable clockwork behind some of fandom’s most high-profile publications. Whether publisher of the sometimes controversial Scarlet Street, experimenting with niche magazines, and then helping Famous Monsters transition to a third beginning, Jessie’s no-nonsense attitude rattles some even as it gets the job done. The genre would not be the same without her.

GARY DORST (1947-2013)

The self-taught fan

There were no rules for how to be a horror historian when Gary Dorst began writing about monster movies, contributing to some of the hobby’s earliest fanzines and talking to Lon Chaney Jr. in a go-to interview used by scholars for years after. A collector of movie music, one of Forrest J Ackerman’s original monster kids and a source of friendship that spanned all parts of fandom, his loss is still felt by some of the industry’s top talents.