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In the summer of 2007 a group of emerging filmmakers and actors set out into the Scottish wilderness to make a low budget horror film in homage to the low budget American horror films of the 1970s. The grizzly slasher titled The Bench has never been completed, until now.

Inspired by Tobe Hooper’s original Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), this team of filmmakers led by writer / director Sean Wilkie (Matter of Time) used the HD revolution to their advantage, shooting the film on Hdv tape lends a quality that’s been absent from cinema since 16mm celluloid went out of fashion some decades earlier, the film taps into elements established by the grungy guerilla films such as The Blair Witch Project.

Magic Monkey Films (Mercy Falls / Lost At Christmas) is proud to announce the revival of the long-dormant horror film, The Bench, a project that echoes the raw terror and unrelenting suspense...

Indie Scottish horror film The Bench began filming 17 years ago, and it’s only now streaming on Amazon Prime.

When writer/director Sean Wilkie set out to make horror film The Bench 17 years ago, he surely couldn’t have imagined it would take until 2024 for audiences to see it.

According to the BBC, production began in 2007, with scenes shot in the Caves venue in Edinburgh, with exterior scenes shot in Lochwinnoch and Drumpellier Country Park.

The synopsis reads as follows:

A breakdown. A kind invitation. A cabin with a bloody past. Alex and her newfound friends face a nightmarish reality as they are picked off one by one, drawn to the sinister bench below. Inspired by low-budget horror films of the 1970s.

The cast includes Jennifer Byrne, Matt McClure Ilaria Nardini and Joy McAvoy.

Wilkie wrote and directed the film. Of the delay, he said, “The first two weeks on...

If you poke around the Bloody Disgusting archives you’ll see that we wrote about an indie horror movie titled The Bench way back in 2012, a film that actually began production in 2007. The movie never ended up seeing the light of day… until now, that is.

17 years later, The Bench is available now to rent or buy on Prime Video!

The official press release explains, “In the summer of 2007 a group of emerging filmmakers and actors set out into the Scottish wilderness to make a low budget horror film in homage to the low budget American horror films of the 1970s. The grizzly slasher titled The Bench has never been completed, until now.

“Inspired by Tobe Hooper’s original Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), this team of filmmakers led by writer / director Sean Wilkie (Matter of Time) used the HD revolution to their advantage, shooting the film on Hdv tape that lends...

A few years before directing Dracula and Freaks, Tod Browning made a silent horror film titled London After Midnight. Starring Lon Chaney as “The Hypnotist,” the 65-minute film was distributed by MGM in December of 1927; though audiences saw it upon release, it’s likely that everyone who did is no longer with us. Sadly, the last known copy was destroyed in the infamous MGM vault fire of 1967, which tragically resulted in the loss of many classic films.

We may never lay eyes on Tod Browning’s London After Midnight, but those who’ve been salivating to experience it may be excited to hear that a full-cast audio drama is on the way.

Scripted Audio Drama producers Lance Roger Axt, Jack Bowman and Kenton Hall have meticulously adapted the original screenplay by Waldemar Young and Tod Browning as an immersive Dolby Atmos aural experience, with the recording taking place over two...

It will be released in UK cinemas from September 1.

Scotland-set survival horror Mercy Falls, starring Outlander’s Lauren Lyle, is getting a UK theatrical release courtesy of 108 Media’s newly-created film distribution label, Bingo Films.

Bingo Films will release the film in UK cinemas from September 1. Priscilla Ross Smith’s France-us sales outfit The Coven represents sales on the project, which has also sold to Bingo Films for Japan and Great Movies for Latin America. It is currently available in North America on streaming platform Tubi.

Mercy Falls is directed by Scottish filmmaker Ryan Hendrick, and follows a group...

Filming on the feature, directed by Ryan Hendrick, is underway in Scotland.

Outlander star Lauren Lyle has joined the cast of UK director Ryan Hendrick’s Mercy Falls, as production gets underway in Scotland.

Set in a remote region of the Scottish Highlands, the horror feature follows Rhona, played by Lyle, and her friends as they set off in search of her late father’s long-lost cabin, only for tragedy to befall the group.

UK actress Lyle is best known for her role in Starz historical drama Outlander and returned for the sixth season, which began this month. She is...

Exclusive: Indie streamer Cinedigm has picked up all North American rights to Lost at Christmas, a feel-good festival romance, and will release this holiday season.

The film stars Sylvester McCoy (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey), Frazer Hines (Doctor Who) and Clare Grogan (Skins); alongside rising stars Natalie Clark and Kenny Boyle. Based on a short film by director Ryan Hendrick, the story follows an unlikely pair of companions trying to save what appears to be a disastrous Christmas season.

Hendrick also co-wrote the film with Clare Sheppard, as well as taking on the role as an executive producer. Additional executive producers include Graham Reid and Stephen Wright. With David Newman acting as the film’s producer.

The deal was negotiated by Brandon Hill, Manager of Acquisitions, on behalf of Cinedigm and Priscilla Smith at Foxglove Entertainment on behalf of Magic Monkey Films. Foxglove is the sister company of genre sales agency The Coven.

Dark Blood, Unearth on sales roster.

In the run-up to the virtual Cannes market, veteran sales agent Priscilla Ross Smith has launched genre film sales agency The Coven based in Lyon, France.

Smith, who previously served as president of sales at Archstone in Los Angeles for nearly six years, has acquired We Need To Do Something produced by Peter Block who was integral in building the Saw franchise, and Ryan Lewis (Bird Box). The film gets it world premiere at Tribeca this month and IFC Midnight holds US rights.

The Coven has also picked up 2020 Fantasia Film Festival selection Unearth,...

Monday Update, writethru after Sunday 10:08Am post: Warner Bros/DC’s Wonder Woman 1984 in 32 international box office markets this weekend has opened to an estimated $38.5M from 30,221 screens. This is well below the $60M the industry was expecting ahead of the launch, and is largely down to a soft China debut of $18.8M in what was a slow Middle Kingdom moviegoing weekend overall. There were also sudden market closures over the past several days overseas which did not help.

In IMAX, the Gal Gadot-starrer grossed $5M from 31 markets. Of that, $3.8M came from 680 screens in China. IMAX is also citing standout performances in Japan, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, UAE and Ukraine.

Overall behind China, the best opening markets were Taiwan with $3.6M on 296 screens, Thailand ($2M/602), Brazil, Japan ($1.6M/736), Mexico, Singapore ($1.3M/132), UK ($.2M/615), Spain ($1.1M/813), UAE ($1M/200), Saudi Arabia ($1M/150) and Vietnam ($832K...

Álex de la Iglesia’s spot on the Mount Rushmore of Spanish genre filmmakers was cemented long ago thanks to cult classics such as “The Day of the Beast” and “Common Wealth,” finding more recent success with local hits like “The Bar” and “Perfect Strangers.”

The filmmaker has now turned his attentions to TV with his new high-end horror series “30 Coins,” already a hit in Spain where it is has been wowing local critics and trending on social media for the three weeks since its release. Produced by de la Iglesia’s Pokeepsie Films for HBO, the series will cross the Atlantic and debut with a two-episode double-feature on HBO’s linear network in the U.S. on Jan. 4, and be available to stream on HBO Max.

“’30 Coins’ presents a fantastic opportunity to highlight the great work being done within this company internationally. The uniquely captivating world created by...

Sweeping into snowy Scottish Highlands at the very start of Ryan Hendrick’s new romcom Lost at Christmas sets the perfect festive scene. Only the coldest of hearts would not be melted by this magnificent sight. The film’s idyllic setting continues to entice throughout the story, with the latter half played out in an isolated inn set within the impressive mountainous landscape – the stuff of picturesque Christmas dreams.

Based on acclaimed 2015 short Perfect Strangers by the same writer-director, the 2020 feature sees two strangers from Glasgow, optimistic and festive Jen (Love Bite and Still Game‘s Natalie Clark) and cynical Rob stranded in the Highlands after both being dumped/duped on on Christmas Eve. They decide to team up to get back to the big city in time for Christmas Day, but have obstacles placed along the way, including the unpredictable weather, that allows for feelings to flourish and Christmas spirit to reign once more.

New sales company takes world rights to romantic Christmas comedy.

New sales company Mrs Smith has acquired worldwide sales rights to Perfect Strangers, an upcoming romantic comedy from Bafta-nominated filmmaker Ryan Hendrick.

It marks one of the first acquisitions for LA-based Mrs Smith, which has been established by Priscilla Ross Smith, a former international sales and acquisitions executive for Clear Horizon and Archstone Distribution.

Mrs Smith will introduce Perfect Strangers to buyers during the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival.

The film centres on two strangers who become stranded in the remote Scottish Highlands after both suffering heartbreak and team up...