In the late 80’s childhood friends Tom Ryan and Kurt Stahlin began filming a horror related movie review show on VHS tape called Theatre of Terror. With the stylings of Siskel & Ebert they would review faux horror films that they themselves would act out. It was a great experience for the amateur filmmakers who eventually shared their horror home video passions with other friends including Fakhar “Nico” Mir, Summar Mir, Michael Beck, and Rodrigo Bustamante. Together and on their own, the group filmed spoofs, shorts, commercials and anything else they could dream up. Years passed and eventually the gang of friends grew into adults and the filmmaking came to an end. During that time they lost one of their brothers. In January of 2000, Nico passed away far too young. His death left so many of his friends and family heartbroken while simultaneously bringing them all back into each other’s lives.

Talk began about getting together again and doing something Nico always loved, making movies. After a few months of discussions, Tom decided to film a short film called 'Day 9' under the Theatre of Terror moniker. He recruited many of the old VHS gang to help.
Built by artists and the pure enjoyment of making films, they vowed budgets would never restrict them while they were so rich with imagination and ingenuity. The Theatre of Terror was launched in 2012 and in his memory, the banner was designed using the image of Nico standing silhouetted over a landscape. The mission statement is to deliver to the audience high-quality, low-budget independent horror that will inspire others to pursue their dreams.