Update on Splintered and a Chance to See Excerpts on UK TV

Debi Moore |

Mar 18, 2010

It’s been ages since we’ve heard anything about UK horror film Splintered, the debut feature from production company Not A Number and director Simeon Halligan, but today we got an update on its release date and a chance for our UK readers to see some excerpts of the film on the popular prime-time soap opera “Coronation Street”.

Splintered will be released in July of this year, and following is its synopsis:

Prowling in the darkest corner of a desolate, abandoned building on the edge of a wilderness is a dangerous animal, one that lives by the rules of the wild, where survival is its only concern. This creature of the night uses cunning and instinct to hunt and kill for pleasure. It has no qualms about its actions; it lives by its carnal desires alone. Sophie (Holly Weston), a teenager with a troubled past, puts herself and her friends at the mercy of this beast when her curious obsession with the unexplained leads them deep into the Welsh countryside. When her friend is violently attacked, Sophie soon discovers what it’s like to become the object of this animal’s obsessive desire. She is locked in an isolated empty room, where no one can hear her screams.

In the night, in the dark, something is trying to get in, and Sophie is terrified. Daylight brings Gavin (Stephen Martin Walters). He keeps the animal at bay as best he can. A protector of sorts, but a protector who also keeps her imprisoned.   Sophie’s attempts at escape repeatedly end in failure, but she clings to the hope that her friends will rescue her. Unfortunately their desperate search for Sophie will inevitably end in death and despair.

Sophie must confront the mysteries that are locked in her past and discover the truth about her captor if she is to survive the beast’s unstoppable and obsessive onslaught.

Now here’s the skinny on the “Coronation Street” (aka “Corrie”) connection: On Friday, March 26th, those tuning in to the show can expect to see several of the main characters – Sian, Sophie, Ryan, and Lee – huddled around the television discussing the film. The action takes place across both Friday night episodes and forms part of a plot thread focusing on Sian and Sophie’s strained friendship. The four teens arrange a double date where the tension is only heightened by their choice of DVD, and as the chilling world of Splintered plays out on screen, the awkward atmosphere soon threatens to boil over.

Commenting, director Halligan said, “I’m really pleased Splintered plays a key role in next Friday’s episode of Coronation Street. And what’s ironic is that the background to the story in Splintered is very much about coming to terms with your own sexuality. This nicely echoes Corrie’s Sophie Webster as she begins to realise her own sexual identity. It’s also interesting that the lead character in Splintered is also called Sophie.”

In addition to a number of projects that are in the works, Not a Number is also the group behind the Grimm Up North Horror Festival. “Corrie knew about Grimmfest and asked if we might have a suitable movie to show clips from,” Splintered producer Rachel Richardson Jones explained. “They didn’t know we had just completed our own and its release was imminent. It seemed a perfect tie-in for us and a great way to give people a little sneak peek.”

Check out a new still and the trailer below, and for more visit the official Splintered website.