Meet The Team: Kaz Pierce

Putting pen to paper has always come naturally to me, ranging from short stories to write ups about mixed martial arts to reviews on film. I have been writing about things for as long as I can remember. My parents used to make me write essays as punishment to justify what I did wrong (Thanks, Pops).  If I wasn’t writing, my nose was buried deep in a book, getting more ideas about what to jot, exploring more worlds, and finding what really interested me. 

As far back as I can remember, I have been fascinated by things that go bump in the night. I had a mom who fell asleep to true crime. Descriptions of brutal murder drifted me into slumber most nights and I never knew that to be odd. Despite this, I used to be horrified by everything spooky. My youngest memory of my horror fandom is reading Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark so often that I had to throw it behind my bookshelf to avoid the constant nightmares it gave me. Haunted houses made me sick to my stomach and the faintest glimpses of horror movies stuck in my mind for weeks. Early scenes remain vivid in my mind like Pennywise biting Georgie’s arm off in the original adaptation of It, or Jeepers Creepers landing on top of the school bus in the sequel, bat wings extended. I remember watching Scream for the first time at a sleepover and my friend's dad running through the door in a Ghostface mask during the final scenes, nearly stopping my heart right there. I always thought these were things that stuck with me because I was a scared kid, but I was wrong, they stuck with me because I was fascinated by them. 

As time rolled on and my fascination extended to serial killers, the supernatural, horror literature and finally film. The genre I spent so much time avoiding suddenly became all I wanted to consume. As I learned more about the genre, my fascination grew to a fever pitch. A particular moment happened when I was alone in a theater watching Hereditary, when the scene occurred, and I realized what the genre could be, the depth of it, the endless well of entertainment I would be able to draw from for the rest of my days.

I always say that people can't ‘hate horror movies.' It really is a broad generalization. They just haven’t watched the right one yet. I wanted to be the link to help people find pieces of a genre that impacted me in such a profound way. I started putting out feelers, I wanted to share what I gleaned from these films with the world. I jumped in headfirst to 1428 Elm where I crafted my writing and reviewing skills.  I am now happily a screener for multiple major film festivals, including Austin and Heartland, and some smaller festivals as well including the Kansas City Underground FF. I have settled down happily in Kansas City where I work in graduate school recruitment by day and write about the horror of the night, well….. at night. 

That path led me here to the Horror Lounge, where I am joined by some of the finest horror cinephiles and masterminds available. We will do our best to keep your cups filled with everything gruesome and terrifying. All you have to do is find a seat in the lounge with our team and relax.