From: Darren D. MacDonald, thenorthbaybay.ca staff
SUDBURY – October: it’s a month of dying trees, dying grass, and dying hopes. So, what better time to celebrate the spookiest non-holiday of the year, Halloween?
No one celebrates Halloween better than Sudbury’s own Northern Frights Festival. Bringing the scariest horror films from around the globe, with an emphasis on Ontario talent, Northern Frights is becoming the destination festival of the North.
October the 19th marks “5 Years of Fear” for the festival, and event organiser David Briggs has big plans for this milestone.
“I figure if people are coming for horror, then they want to see blood and gore,” says Briggs. “So why not murder someone at the event? Live. In front of an audience that will appreciate it the most – horror fans!”
In an official press release, Briggs clarified that the murder would be real, live, and at the Sudbury Theatre Centre.
“We could stage a murder, but that’s like lying,” explains Briggs, “and it’s not very rock ‘n ‘roll to lie.”
“We could just air snuff films but it’s not the same mood. It’s not interactive, and I always want to include the audience. Anyone can make a snuff film, but no one has the balls to do a live murder!”
North Bay Gets a Taste
To bring the world of the Northern Frights Festival to North Bay, Briggs will be hosting a “Best of the Fest” event at the White Water Gallery on October 12th. Briggs says he plans to give his North Bay audience a taste of what’s to come later by cutting off someone’s ear.
Tickets for either event can be bought at the door, or here at the Northern Frights Festival website.
Briggs has some advice for anyone attending the festival.
“All I’m going to say is – if you’re in the front row, bring a waterproof poncho because there’s going to be some splash back. Kind of like ‘Evil Dead the Musical!,’ but you know, with a lot more screaming and a lot more real blood.”