The British are invading the horror movie marathon known as Camp Frida on Oct. 19 at the Frida Cinema in Santa Ana, Calif.
Orange County’s fan friendly arthouse theater is hosting its eighth annual installment, titled Camp Frida: British Invasion!, featuring 12 consecutive hours of horror with a British accent. And like usual, the films will only be revealed on camp day. But film fans could see icons Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing on the big screen again, among others.
Camp Frida start time has moved up to 2 p.m. to include a couple of matinees and will run through 2 a.m. Campers can also take advantage of different ticket packages, including general admission for $30, a VIP pass for $50 that includes reserve seats, free coffee and Camp Frida pins, and a Super VIP pass for $80 that includes reserve seats, free coffee, Camp Frida pins and t-shirt, two free slices of pizza and free parking.
Halloween Every Night talked to the Frida’s programmer Trevor Dillon, and social media marketer Bekah Phillips about why film fans should come to camp.
Halloween Every Night: Camp Frida is back. What’s new to say about this edition?
Trevor Dillon: This year’s edition is themed “British Invasion” a.k.a. all horror films from our friends across the pond. Anything from creature features to ghost stories to folk horror. Everything is on the table this year, just as long as it was produced by England. We’ll have themed decorations, interstitials on screen, music, snacks, etc., all day and night.
HEN: I think starting camp at 2 p.m. is smart. How should the new start time fire up campers?
TD: The new start time is to incentivize folks to go the distance for all 12 hours. Past Camp Fridas have gone 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. or even 4 p.m. to 4 a.m., and have had an average retention rate of 60 percent survivors at the end. We feel the new hours could see that number stretch to as high as 80 percent.
HEN: If you’re not going to reveal what the films are, let me just ask what is it about British horror that you guys like? And what do you want campers to like about it too?
TD: When I think about British horror, I imagine a very specific tone and texture to the way they make their genre pictures. I think that enveloping our campers in that atmosphere will be very fun. The idea is to surround them in a specific environment and have them live in it for 12 straight hours while just having fun and watching some spooky movies.
Bekah Phillips: The main thing I love about British horror is their ability to balance taking themselves very seriously and not seriously at all. They aren’t afraid to dive into a film in a very tongue-and-cheek manner, with a flash of camp and some heavy handed gore.
For tickets and more information, go to frida.org
