North Bay a ‘great place to make movies – The North Bay Nugget

Seen here in his home studio in Kingston, Ont., actor Anthony D. P. Mann has returned to North Bay to work on The Abominations of Frankenstein with local filmmaker Sebastien Godin.Julia McKay/Postmedia NetworkJulia McKay / Julia McKay/The Whig-Standard

It was a year ago when actor Anthony D.P. Mann travelled to North Bay to work with local filmmaker Sebastien Godin on a vampire flick.

And Now Mann has returned to the Gateway City, where he will spend a few days filming with Godin once again, this time on a new film, The Abominations of Frankenstein.

It was a great experience. There were some really creative people there, Mann said, by phone, on coming to North Bay last year. Pleased to be coming back to be doing this one.

Born in the U.K., Mann grew up in Montreal and currently lives in Kingston.

Known in the Canadian indie horror scene, Mann has been involved with such productions as Sherlock Holmes & the Shadow Watchers, Terror of Dracula, Ghostkeepers, Phantom of the Opera and A Christmas Carol.

As a voice actor, he has worked alongside people such as Malcolm McDowell, Tony Todd, Sir Derek Jacobi and Brian Blessed.

Last year, Mann became an official voice of many of the characters created by Billy Van in an audio revival of The Hilarious House of Frightenstein and he can be heard headlining a recent audio remake of the British horror film The Wicker Man.

Having met Godin at a convention, Mann said he remembered him as a budding filmmaker who found a nice niche in the independent horror film world.

The two would later collaborate on Blood Rites of the Vampyr, which Mann came up to North Bay to work on.

Heres this young guy, hes got a vision, hes got a voice of his own as an artist, and I was very impressed, Mann said. So thats why were coming to do the Frankenstein.

Abominations of Frankenstein is described on the films Kickstarter page as an homage to the bizarro exploitation films that inspired it, among them the later Hammer films Evil of Frankenstein and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, as well as Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein and The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein by Jess Franco.

Mann will play the character of Baron Heinrich von Frankenstein, who has found a way to keep himself alive over the centuries and is now living in modern-day Canada, holed up in a decaying laboratory with his murderous and enigmatic assistant Clerval, played by Vicki Bitis, and haunted by the spiteful ghost of Mary Shelley, played by Melissa Radford.

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Having played some very polished characters over the years Sherlock Holmes, Count Dracula and Ebenezer Scrooge Mann says Baron Heinrich von Frankenstein was an attractive role, being that he is a despicable character who is all about his scientific narcissism.

Mann says he even got to write some of his own scenes.

Its just absolutely insidious and I loved it, he said.

Although he has been fortunate enough to do some audio work during the pandemic, Mann says it is sad to see how other people in the community have been faring.

There is a value to what creators do bring to the table and so when theyre prevented from working, as well, its unfortunate, he said.

Its a major industry, it has a major ripple effect in communities and I dont think people realize how much of an impact the shutdown of the entertainment industry is having.

With Halloween around the corner, Mann says the timing is perfect for his return to North Bay.

North Bays a great place and its a great place to make movies, he said.

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North Bay a 'great place to make movies - The North Bay Nugget

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero