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Shooting has begun in secret in Edinburgh on a film of one of the most
celebrated titles in modern horror fiction.
Industry insiders are hoping it will give Scotland a hit horror series
to rival Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th, enhancing the
country's claims to be an emerging centre for horror movies.
The Books of Blood series established Clive Barker as one of the
world's best-selling horror writers when they were published more than
20 years ago. Stephen King hailed Barker as "the future of horror" and
he went on to create Hellraiser, Britain's most successful modern
horror film series.
The very first Book of Blood story is now being turned into a feature
film, shooting on locations in Edinburgh's historic Old Town and
Georgian New Town.
Barker is not the only well-known horror figure involved in the film,
which is entitled simply Book of Blood. The name Doug Bradley may not
mean much to the general public, but he created the horror icon Pinhead
in the Hellraiser movies. He creates a new supernatural villain in the
new film.
Scotland is fast becoming a centre for horror movies following the
success of The Descent, Neil Marshall's underground chiller. It was set
in the US, but shot largely in Scotland.
Marshall returned earlier this year to make Doomsday, a
post-apocalyptic thriller, while Scotland doubled for eastern Europe in
Outpost, with mercenaries doing battle with Nazi zombies.
Sony snapped up international rights after seeing just 15 minutes of
footage. Both films should be out next year, further promoting Scotland
as a location. And there are others in the pipeline.
Barker spoke in the late-1990s about wanting to create a whole new
Books of Blood franchise that would "redefine horror cinema the way the
original books redefined horror literature", but initial attempts fell
through.
He is involved in production on the current film through his Seraphim
Films company. They have linked up with several other companies,
including Plum Films, a Leith-based company that made its name with
commercials, but is now branching into feature films.
Joe Daley, of Seraphim, said: "Once the idea of shooting in Scotland
came up we jumped at the opportunity. Edinburgh is an amazing city.
Every location elevates this story to an incredible level."
Ros Davis, of Edinburgh Film Focus, the local locations agency, said:
"The architecture and setting of Edinburgh particularly lends itself to
the horror film genre. The grand architecture of the New Town next to
the darker alleys and multi-layers of the medieval Old Town give
directors great visual metaphors to play with.
"Recently horror films have proved to be extremely popular and we are
hopeful that Book of Blood will gain international success and
encourage more films to base in Edinburgh."
Tina Foster, of Plum, said they could not release any further details
of casting or locations at present and added that it was all so sudden
that some roles were still being cast.
Book of Blood is the introductory story in the initial volume of the
Books of Blood series. Mary Florescu, a
university researcher, visits a supposedly haunted house, with a young
man called Simon McNeal, who claims to have psychic powers. He fakes
messages from the dead on the walls of the building.
Unknown to McNeal, however, the house is a busy intersection on the
highway of the damned. The dead take exception to his behaviour, they
decide to tell their own stories and exact a terrible revenge for his
misrepresentations.
The original story gives the dilapidated old house's address as 65
Tollington Place, though the area is never specified.
Bradley said: "I play a character called Tollington who has been dead
for pretty much a century. He was an occultist who occupied the house
in Tollington Place."
He gave a few more clues on his own website, revealing that he has
shaved his head for the role, as he did for Pinhead, the classic
character who was originally nameless and got his name form the make-up
artists because of his appearance.
He added: "Any similarities between Tollington and a certain Aleister
Crowley would not be at all inappropriate."
Crowley, dubbed the "wickedest man in the world", was an early 20th
century mystic and occultist.
Scottish Screen, the national film agency, is investing in the film,
though the details are still being finalised.
Carole Sheridan, head of talent and creativity at the agency, said: "We
thought it was a really interesting project, shooting in Scotland, and
potentially the first of 10."
She said the horror boom was not the result of any central strategy.
"It's what the market is throwing up at the moment."
The 1992 hit Candyman was based on one of the stories from Books of
Blood, although it was relocated in the US. It inspired two sequels.
