BaDoink_Sitges_Lastnight-013

Zombies flooded the streets of Sitges on Saturday October 5, 2014, turning the not so mild-mannered Sitges Film Festival into an apocalyptic carnival of brain-eating monsters. And we were there in the thick of it. Camera and flare for the dramatic in hand, photographer Angie Bolea and I descended into the madness to capture some of that that shambling dead ambience and terror. I’ve never seen such love of brains in all the world.

Before the walk began, we had a chance to see what kind of zombies were on offer. People from all over the world dressed as zombie nuns, chefs, full-blown mummies, police officers, and traditional Catalonians wearing the well-known red hat. There were zombie kids holding mangled baby dolls, fake severed hands, and at least one toy chainsaw. One costume in particular stood out; in the midst of it, I found a zombie cannibal mercenary who’d fabricated a whole backstory for himself.

“After a nuclear apocalypse, the last survivors are the undead and cockroaches. So I’m killing remaining humans and eating them,” said the masked, post-apocalyptic zombie. “Everyone I find, I kill.” Now that’s dedication to the genre (declared originally in Spanish).

As the zombies gathered at the starting point for the march, a stage lit up above everyone and one of the festival officials expressed his excitement for the zombies, as well as for Rec 4, one of the inspirations for the event. He then handed the mic over to Jaume Balagueró, the director of the film, to initiate the walk. A big smile on his face at all the undead in attendance, he said how happy he was to see so many zombies supporting the festival.

“Salir y comer el mundo!” (Go and devour the world!) he shouted, kicking off a nearly hour-long horror parade through the streets of Sitges. Check out the photos and video footage of this zombie cornucopia.

If this kind of event interests you, check sites like www.crawlofthedead.com for zombie marches in your area. It’s a growing trend, and one of the most epic and fun times you’ll ever have, no matter how silly you may feel covering yourself in fake blood and gore.

Or how empowered you might feel covering yourself in real blood and gore. [Ed]

Comments are closed.