The House of Screaming Death Unleashes a New Trailer; Ian McNeice Joins Cast
David Gelmini
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The House of Screaming Death is another fantastic sounding anthology horror film coming out of the UK, and in addition to the images and trailer that we already brought you, we’ve now got a new trailer in addition to the news that legendary actor Ian McNeice will star as The Architect, a mysterious figure who appears at the center of the film to introduce each of the separate stories.
From the Press Release:
Celebrated British actor IAN McNEICE (From Hell, White Noise, “Doctor Who,” Dune, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Doc Martin) has joined the massive ensemble of stars already in the film, calling the project that lovingly pays homage to the style, tone, and content from the classic heyday of Hammer Horror and Amicus Studios, as “great fun!”
David Hastings, who wrote The Architect scenes, remarks that “after reading through the script with Ian in early January, he immediately got what we were attempting to do, as well as being very impressed with the first trailer we’d released last Halloween. We discussed the role, what it meant to us as all, as well as his own ideas, which were thrilling to hear. From the first take we did on set, everyone just watched him, spellbound, and you could have heard a pin drop!
Kaushy Patel, who directed The Architect segments over the course of two days in mid-February this year, observes that “when the concept of The Architect character started developing in the script, we knew straight away that our film needed someone who would bring a sense of appreciation and esteem to the classic Hammer/British Gothic Horror genre that we loved. We approached Ian directly for the role and showed him the trailer and the pre-production work we had done beforehand. He was very impressed with how hard we had worked with the film so far, but he also looked at our previous feature, Checking-In, which won BEST BRITISH FILM at the London Film Awards in 2014. Ian was a pleasure to work with and bought nuances to his character that were mesmerising. Everyone on set felt that something magical was happening during his scenes. The crew were enamoured of him, and we all sat around after the shoot as he told stories of the other films from his previous work. He also gave a lot of advice to the crew as to how to work in the industry, especially wanting to show his support for our younger independent filmmakers on the crew.”
Benjamin Thompson, who is the DP on the project, spoke about the look he discussed with Patel before filming the segments. “My initial thoughts for shooting Ian’s picture followed a similar sort of style from that of Owen Roizman, cinematographer on The Exorcist. I’d thought about revealing The Architect over the course of a period, predominantly using low key/noir lighting setups. However, the dilemma of independent films and having a recognisable actor such as Ian is that you want them to appear as much as possible, and not hide them in shadow throughout their entire screen time. Having discussed this with Kaushy, we decided that a moonlight mix of high key back and warm, firelight fill lighting would help to present a powerful Architect. However, for the all important reveal shot, well, you’ll just have to wait and see,” he teases.
Hastings continues, “Myself, Kaushy, and lots of the crew grew up on the Amicus anthologies and all the amazing Hammer films they used to show on the BBC late Friday or Saturday nights in the UK, and the mis-en- scene within them just imprinted on our minds, and this is what we’re doing our very best here to recreate for modern audiences, in the eerie walls of the fictional Bray Manor (named after Hammer’s celebrated home grounds). In the production office, we even had screencaps from both of the legendary studios’ output on the walls to give us extra inspiration.”
“Their films’ content,” he continues, “extends to the characters you’d see in them too, especially that one particular figure shrouded by mystery and always referred to as ‘The Cryptkeeper’ (like the fantastic Ralph Richardson in Tales from the Crypt, for example) or ‘The Proprietor’ (embodied by my idol, Peter Cushing, who is so devilishly enjoyable in Beyond the Grave), so The Architect was a natural successor and namesake to these iconic characters to bring to life in Screaming Death. And like them, having a very recognisable and talented British actor such as Ian take on the role here just sealed the deal for us all too. You’ve never seen him like this before! I can promise you that!”
Notable Hammer and Amicus historian Bruce Hallenbeck, who has authored numerous works on the classic studios such as The Hammer Frankenstein and The Amicus Anthologies, has already described the new trailer and the whole project as “fantastic,” praising the entire film’s unique cast/crew, “atmospheric photography, moody music, and just enough information” not to spoil the surprises yet to still be unearthed!
The House of Screaming Death is now in post-production and is aiming for a late 2016 release. It will also be unleashed on the worldwide festival circuit at the same time. It was filmed in and around both Walsall, Sandwell, and Staffordshire areas in the West Midlands, UK, with huge support from the local councils. You can keep up-to-date on all the latest news by following the film on Twitter @screamin_death, on Facebook at HouseofScreamingDeath, or by visiting the official website.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-pRZpWG0JQ]
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