Horror on Sea 2026
00:38:13
About
We’re back like a vertebrae and ready to tell you all about our day at the 2026 Horror-on-sea Film Festival. Always a joy to attend this ever-brilliant event, this year we opted for the second Saturday (23rd of January), and we hit a brilliant seam of great new horror. Features covered are “Borley Rectory: The Awakening”; “All You Need Is Blood” and “Horror-on-sea: 13 Bloody Years”. Short films covered: “Mirror, Mirror: Matryoshka”; “Medieval Maze”; “Knell”; “Kindness”; “Antebody”; “Fox and The Hen”; “Say Bye Bye To Blood Sausage” and “She-Bear”. No prep needed for this episode, as these are all brand new we will try to stay spoiler free, so just tune in and join us.
Adam's research
Verbatim lifts from Adam's own words in the episode. Click a timestamp to hear him say it.
- Nell film availability
And uh, incidentally, um, I'll send you the link because the they had the QR code there. That is something you can see on YouTube. Yeah, they've they've put that up on YouTube and it's well worth a watch. If you look for um Nell K N E D L uh Dean Ferris is the director.
- Short film distribution challenges
because shorts shorts is a very difficult thing because usually they're supporting a main feature you may if someone then goes on to direct a feature film they may include them as extras but that's not even you're not even guaranteed a physical release now because things are not moved in that direction. So a lot of these things, hopefully they'll surface on stuff like YouTube because it's going to be the only way to see them. And it's, you know, surely it's got to be an effective calling card to be able to point someone in that direction. Yeah. You know, and go, right, if you want to see what I can do, here's this, you know, 15 minutes of um just great folk horror. It was, yeah, pretty good, very well acted and yeah.
- Borley Rectory director's filmography
Yeah, because he's done he's done quite a he quite done quite a number of films if you look on looking on his sort of IMDB credits. Um, but there's there's a couple of previous Borley Rectory as well, which I I'm not sure, you know, obviously we haven't sort of investigated those further, but I am intrigued to do some.
- Borley Rectory cast details
But they, um, but yeah, and I and quite a few, I mean, there are a number of familiar faces in there, but actually across the board, the cast were brilliant and they were I've got to sort of like say, they were um, I'm hoping I'm saying it right, Corneel Dion Willis. And Jess Inchbold, who were like the uh, the main sort of the. The brother and sister. Were so damn good. You know, they were because a lot of the time, you know, you sort of find it's like, oh, well, you've got familiar faces in there, but then the lesser known faces might not be. They were, they were brilliant to the point where I'm like, I'm convinced I've seen them in other things just because, surely I've seen them in other things because they were really, really good. But in terms of other names, you had Patsy Kensit in there and Julian Glover at the start, uh, Vicky Michelle, uh, Helen Ledrer who was great. She turned up as a doctor and was just, yeah, and Mark Winger from uh, who was Carver in the bill. Utterly unexpected. He was really great in it and um, yeah, just just all round the cast were fantastic.
- Antibody title etymology
Because it's Antibody with an E as in anti. Meaning before. Not anti as in against. So, yeah, so it's before body essentially is Antibody.
- All You Need is Blood actress's debut
Also, we've got to mention Emma Chase who was playing um the aspiring actress. This is her only film.
- Shebear silent film style
It's black and white and done like a silent film. Yeah. So you would have the and and the wonderful thing that you because we you we've watched we've watched silent stuff on the show on the show. Obviously we've watched Nosferatu. And and it's that lovely thing where someone says the dialogue and then it black the black card comes up with. The writing with the dialogue on this, you know, it's been said. And then this one they would subvert that occasionally where clearly they were saying something quite different. But they made it slightly more polite on the card.
- Horror on Sea festival submission policy
And I mean the best well the best will in the world, then it's not always the most comfortable seat in. And you know. But I mean, I'm a I'm a sucker for a documentary as it is, so I was quite happy with the run time, but my God, it was just such a just such a lovely evocative tribute of just how fun. And how oddly wonderfully amazing horror on sea is. And it taught me things that I didn't realize. I didn't realize that they don't charge people. To submit films, which is such a rarity within. You know, within filmmaking, certainly within film festivals, they don't charge people to submit their films. That's fucking amazing because that's the best thing. For for any struggling filmmaker, money is everything. You don't need to spend. And not only that also but but also you don't you don't think about it, but that's paying to submit your film. They may not even show it. You know, and that's like however much money you've wasted for someone's not going to show your film. And just again, much like being in the bar, it was just seeing all the familiar faces. Realizing how many people sort of met up and projects that spiraled out of people. And just this lovely little confluence of local, well, not even local, but like nationwide talent that has sort of been connected through Horror on Sea and which is all been brought together by Paul Crove. I mean, he's obviously he was the focal point of the documentary in a lot of ways, and he was a talking head in it as well. Um, but yeah, I mean, it's great to see the because it was hilariously funny the documentary.
- 13 Bloody Years documentary production
Because of the love of everyone involved, there was no problem with getting. Clips of the films and stuff like that and the stuff that's been break out of the and you know, everyone from people who just bring in mad shorts every year. To people who've made sort of like three or four feature films and stuff like that. And but you say you had clips from the films. And stuff like that to illustrate it as well. In fact, and I don't know if this rates for our IMDB, Lee. But I think we're in this more than we are in Video Shop Tails of Terror II. Because they were using off cuts from that. In there as well. … It's still in there, but it's part of the it became part of the governor trailer, didn't it, which is Paul. Paul's cameo role. … Yeah, they freeze frame. You can see us really. Yeah. Yeah. So. So we'll get we'll get we'll put that on IMDB. We've got to be putting us I don't know, archive footage or something like that.
- 13 Bloody Years documentary origin
And yeah, it's just it was just hilarious, but also it apparently it's spun from. It was going to be a DVD extra, it was just going to be like a 10-minute thing saying, Oh, here's the Horror on Sea festival, and so many people wanted to contribute and so many people that they ended up with this thing that then became half an hour. And then an hour, an hour's a feature-length documentary, and I'm hoping that I hope I hope that it comes out like in some physical form or is available somewhere.
Highlights
Transcript
Show full transcript
LeeGood evening and welcome to horror. I'm Lee.
ChrisHi, I'm Chris.
AdamI'm Adam.
LeeAnd we're here again to discuss the Great Horror on Sea Film Festival that we all attended yesterday.
ChrisYep.
Leeexcellent as always.
ChrisYeah, it really was.
LeeIt was really exciting, loads of people, loads of good films, so we're going to try and rush through it all quite quickly, because obviously there is a lot to get through.
AdamAnd we don't want to spoil anything, so you know,
Chrisa good thing that we can there will be swearing.
AdamYou're present.
LeeYes.
AdamBut there won't be spoilers, hopefully, so.
ChrisWe'll keep each other in check.
LeeYeah.
Unknownyes, so we've managed to watch three main films, as well as we saw eight shorts along the way.
AdamAbout that, yeah, I think it was, yeah.
ChrisYeah.
Leeso we had a nice early start for a Saturday morning. We started with Borley Rectory The Awakening.
Chris
LeeWhich was at 10:00 AM, but before that, we had a few shorts.
Leefirst we had was Mirror Mirror.
ChrisMirror Mirror.
AdamMatr, Matroshka.
ChrisMatroshka. Oh, there you go. That's the pronunciation.
AdamWell, that's that's my pronunciation. I'm probably doing it wrong.
ChrisThey did get debated on the day, didn't it? A little bit.
AdamProbably, probably best speak to a Russian.
ChrisSounds good.
LeeSo we, so that was brought to us, it was the first of what's going to be a much larger story by Martin Payne.
LeeWe, I, I really enjoyed it. I thought it was good. It was nice and short. It was only eight minutes.
ChrisYeah.
Leeit was very creepy and weird. It was really well done. We didn't give too much away, so I'm looking forward to the rest of the parts, because he said they're all going to fit together to create one large narrative.
ChrisYeah, because it seemed to top and tail with what looks to be what links it to the larger piece and then you've got the actual thing in the middle of it that was essentially standalone, yeah.
ChrisI think the title does give you the hint really as you know, roughly what you can expect.
AdamBut certainly the mirror mirror aspect, yeah.
Leeyes, so that was a great start to the day.
Leethat was followed by Medieval Maze.
LeeI liked this one as well. It was good.
AdamThe Ne Ne remains very, very short.
ChrisYeah.
Adamlike five minute, pretty much presumably done pretty much on an iPhone, but yeah.
ChrisIt did, it did look like it, but it totally worked for this.
ChrisI like, it does make me think it would be kind of fun to try and do something like that.
LeeYeah.
AdamOh, absolutely, yeah.
ChrisThey're just gone to this medieval village and yeah, just used all the props that are there and
Chrisyeah, managed to create a story around there.
AdamYou use what you've got and, you know, it was an effective little sort of moment, yeah.
ChrisYeah.
LeeVery, very good.
Lee
Leeso but yeah, I get the same, Chris. I do every year when I come away from horror on sea, I'm like, maybe we should think about doing something, yeah.
LeeI've not yet, but
LeeIt, it, you never know.
ChrisI think, I think one day.
LeeMaybe.
ChrisYeah.
LeeYeah.
LeeSo,
Leewe also then saw a longer short Nell,
Leewhich was a folk horror.
AdamAnd that's Nell with a K, so as in the toll of a bell.
LeeYes.
AdamNot Nell as in Jodie Foster.
LeeYeah.
Leedirected by Dean Ferris.
Leeyeah, this was super creepy.
LeeI like, I thought the effects in this one at that very end were really, really impressive.
AdamIt was, it was a very good, very simple sort of like little folk horror moment like you say, you know, someone disturbs something they shouldn't in the woods and that follows them out. I think in everything about this, I really enjoyed. I thought the like the visually it was brilliant because they because it moves from the woods to the city and I think both were invoked.
AdamReally, really well.
ChrisYeah.
AdamAnd, you know, there was the, the sound design and music was great on on it as well. And yeah, it was a very effective and, you know, excellent, you know, there was nothing about it that bespoke that spoke of small budget. It looked
ChrisIt it was really high quality, very high quality, really sort of well put together editing.
AdamYou know, just just the whole thing. I think that was a great.
AdamAnd incidentally, I'll send you the link because the they had the QR code there.
AdamThat is something you can see on YouTube.
LeeOh, is it?
ChrisThat's good.
AdamYeah, they've they've put that up on YouTube and it's well worth a watch.
AdamIf you look for Nell K N E D L Dean Ferris is the director.
ChrisThat would be really great if if more could do that, because, yeah.
ChrisSometimes I really want to go back and watch them.
AdamYeah.
LeeWell, this the thing with a lot of these, it's sort of they come out and they do the festival.
LeeAnd you know, some of the bigger films obviously get a Blu-ray release or whatever.
LeeBut so much stuff that we watch that's fantastic, we you just never get the chance to see it again and it's such a shame at times, but I mean I know why.
Adambecause shorts shorts is a very difficult thing because usually they're supporting a main feature you may if someone then goes on to direct a feature film they may include them as extras but that's not even you're not even guaranteed a physical release now because things are not moved in that direction.
AdamSo a lot of these things, hopefully they'll surface on stuff like YouTube because it's going to be the only way to see them.
AdamAnd it's, you know, surely it's got to be an effective calling card to be able to point someone in that direction.
ChrisWell, yeah.
AdamYeah.
ChrisDefinitely.
AdamYou know, and go, right, if you want to see what I can do,
Adamhere's this, you know, 15 minutes of just great folk horror.
AdamIt was, yeah, pretty good, very well acted and yeah.
LeeYeah, oh yeah, great, great start to the day.
Leethen we had our first main feature, so that was Borley Rectory The Awakening.
Leeso this was, Stephen M. Smith.
Chris
Leeand he mentioned that he's done he's he's doing Borley Rectory through the ages. So this is the first of these I've seen, but judging by this, I will definitely be looking for more of these.
LeeIt was,
AdamYeah, because he's done he's done quite a he quite done quite a number of films if you look on looking on his sort of IMDB credits.
Adambut there's there's a couple of previous Borley Rectory as well, which I I'm not sure, you know, obviously we haven't sort of investigated those further, but I am intrigued to do some.
Chris
LeeYeah, definitely.
Adamon the basis of the awakening.
AdamBecause, yeah, it was really good.
AdamNice, slow burn, supernatural horror.
ChrisYeah.
Adamobviously I think, I think they're using Borley Rectory just as a name. It wasn't really the the story the actual you know what I mean, the actual story of the believer story of the Borley Rectory, you know, of the haunting at Borley Rectory.
ChrisI mean, they hinted at you know, potentially there have been many stories.
ChrisBut you know, or things that have gone wrong through any particular building through the ages.
AdamYeah.
AdamBut they, but yeah, and I and quite a few, I mean, there are a number of familiar faces in there, but actually across the board, the cast were brilliant and they were I've got to sort of like say, they were I'm hoping I'm saying it right, Corneel Dion Willis.
Chris
AdamAnd Jess Inchbold, who were like the the main sort of the.
ChrisBrother and sister.
AdamThe brother and sister.
AdamWere so damn good.
ChrisYeah.
AdamYou know, they were because a lot of the time, you know, you sort of find it's like, oh, well, you've got familiar faces in there, but then the lesser known faces might not be.
ChrisLike it stands out a little bit.
AdamThey were, they were brilliant to the point where I'm like,
AdamI'm convinced I've seen them in other things just because,
Adamsurely I've seen them in other things because they were really, really good.
AdamBut in terms of other names, you had Patsy Kensit in there and Julian Glover at the start, Vicky Michelle, Helen Ledrer who was great.
LeeYeah.
AdamShe turned up as a doctor and was just, yeah, and Mark Winger from who was Carver in the bill.
AdamUtterly unexpected. He was really great in it and yeah, just just all round the cast were fantastic.
AdamReminded me somewhat of the original TV version of the Lady in Black.
ChrisOkay.
LeeYeah.
AdamOkay.
AdamThe Woman in Black.
ChrisOkay.
AdamYou know, it's kind of that sort of a slow burn that there were apparitions and ghosts.
AdamBut it was done very, it was done very much in camera, you know, things would you would move and a figure would be there or the figure wouldn't be there and stuff like that.
AdamThere wasn't a lot of, you know, ostentatious effects in that sort of sense.
AdamIt was much more creepy and sort of.
ChrisYeah.
LeeIt was a very classic ghost story, wasn't it the way it was told and it was kind of drip fed to you as well, which I really, like, I love that old classic style when I I think in that setting, it worked, it worked brilliantly.
ChrisYeah, it was building up the explanation throughout.
AdamYes.
ChrisYeah.
ChrisYeah.
AdamAnd like again, speaking about sound design with it, I love the fact that when there were apparitions occurring, people's you you the the soundtrack would sort of distort so it was people who were drawn into the apparition were not hearing the rest of the world.
AdamCorrectly. They sort of sounded muddy, like they were underwater, sort of thing.
AdamAnd I just thought that was a lovely effective touch that made you go, that that was like the hairs on the back of your neck. It was right, shit's going down because it's done that, you know, and
AdamYeah, I think, I think I would like to see more stuff from Stephen M. Smith.
AdamEspecially if there's other Borley Rectory.
LeeYeah, yeah.
LeeAbsolutely.
Leeso so,
Leethen we broke for lunch.
LeeCaught up with a few people.
LeeNot as many people that was the thing we we got a lot of films in, well we got three films and as I say eight shorts.
Leebut yeah, I next year I'm thinking I might try and allocate more time for talking with people, because the people who were there like Michael Fausti and Sin Law,
LeeTommy Lee Rutherford was there, Philip Rogers, there were so many people I would have liked to have had more of a chance to catch up with.
ChrisYeah.
AdamIt was it was lovely catching up with Tom, especially because he was so lovely about making sure I got my pocket film of Superstition Blu-ray through because.
ChrisYeah, he's dedicated.
AdamHe's officially an arsehole and just never shows up.
AdamSo.
Adambut no, yeah, it was great, great speaking to him and obviously you got to speak to Michael Fausti as well and.
LeeYeah.
AdamYou we saw Law and it was just yeah, it was just a nice sort of flying. Yeah, it was good to see everyone.
AdamWe'll sort of catch up in that sense, but.
AdamLike you say, it'd probably be nicer to actually concentrate more on that side of it, the social side of it rather than the film side of it in a way, yeah.
LeeYeah, like I could almost do two days next week and spend next year, sorry. Yeah, and just so that I get as many films in but break them up over two days, so we have more time to sort of socialize, or I might just bite the bullet, stay overnight and end up in the next yeah, because I mean, you know, we'll talk about it, but it was.
ChrisWell, that's that's probably the way to do it.
Adamearly hours.
ChrisYeah, we're doing around.
AdamYeah.
AdamYou're there in the wee smalls, yeah.
Leeso following that, our next feature that we went in for, was All You Need is Blood.
Chris
Leeso before this, we had again a couple of shorts.
LeeSo we had, Antibody was the first, which was James Gleeson.
AdamYes.
Leeyeah, this was I know he said this is an older film, so.
AdamIt was 2004.
ChrisYeah, but this was like amazing production.
AdamNo, that was, that was really, really good.
AdamBasically, a body is washed up in the LA River.
Adamthe police go around to the woman's house to tell go go around to the the victim's house to tell his wife that his body's been found and then he walks through the door.
ChrisThere he is.
AdamAnd they're trying to work out how his body that is clearly it's not a mistake.
AdamIt's clearly him, everything matches, dental records, fingerprints, all this stuff.
ChrisI like that the way that like he is hiding some details from them, but we know essentially.
ChrisLike, it it seems like it has to be him, because, yeah, because we're sort of knowing a little bit more than they do and the way that unfolds.
AdamBut that was that was really effective, but what I really liked about it was I liked the fact that it kept it simple because it was kind of like,
Adamyou could not not see where it's going is the wrong sort of thing, but you were like, right, this this has got to inevitably end in a certain way.
ChrisYeah, it can't.
AdamYeah.
AdamAnd once it got to that point, it was like,
Adamright, that's it, finished.
AdamWe're not having.
ChrisYeah, yeah.
AdamYou it it it knew the audience were like, right, we know what's happened now.
AdamIt sort of, you know, or, well, not that we know what's happened now, but right, that makes sense and now this.
AdamBecause it's Antibody with an E as in anti.
ChrisYes.
AdamMeaning before.
AdamNot anti as in against.
AdamSo, yeah, so it's before body essentially is Antibody.
Adamand the other short we saw was Jeff Harmer's kindness, which was a dark short.
ChrisOh, yeah.
AdamVery short piece that was really just
Adamyou know, a single a single hander, the actress straight to camera.
LeeYeah.
AdamJust doing a sort of quick monologue, very effective, very sort of, again, great.
AdamAs he was saying, great calling card for her and just sort of like, you know.
LeeYeah.
ChrisAbsolutely.
LeeYeah, it was really punchy and really, yeah, it it it it was.
ChrisCertainly showed off her acting skills.
LeeYeah.
LeePerfectly, especially when you've got nothing to act against.
ChrisYeah, I know.
LeeLike that down the barrel.
ChrisYeah.
Leebut yeah, it was really good.
AdamWell, as as we also know, if you're worried about doing that, you can put a cat around the camera.
ChrisYes.
ChrisOh, you're, you're showing your hand.
AdamWhich leads us.
AdamYeah, which leads us nicely to our feature film.
ChrisOr or segway nicely.
AdamSegway nicely to our feature film, which was All You Need is Blood directed by Bucky LaBouf.
ChrisSo I mean, this this blew me away. This might even be in like you know,
Chrismy top 20 films of all time.
LeeWow, wow.
ChrisLike, I just, I just seriously was not expecting it to hit the marks.
LeeOh, was it?
ChrisLike so well.
LeeLike.
AdamThat it really sort of came came from under.
AdamIt was like.
AdamOh, well, I kind of know where I am with this.
AdamAnd again, not a particularly well-known cast.
AdamMina Sava is in there.
LeeYeah.
Adamand just fantastic.
Adambut the the concept the concept of this.
AdamIs basically it's a a boy and his friend are sort of amateur filmmakers.
AdamThey're just it's setting the late nineties, so they're recording on VHS cameras and he has aspirations to be a sort of auteur director.
AdamAnd so he wants to make dramas, he's very sniffy about, you know, sort of popcorn fodder films or trash or you know.
AdamSo anything that's hokey or whatever like that, so he's has all these aspirations.
AdamBut then, strangely enough, his dad is infected by a meteor right that turns him into a zombie.
AdamAnd they slowly.
ChrisYeah.
ChrisI was just gonna say the start, the very start where you where we're shown the effects of the meteor right.
ChrisLike even that was really funny, very quickly.
AdamYes.
ChrisLike and that just drew you straight in. It's like, oh yeah, no, these seem like they know how to make a comedy.
ChrisOkay, now what are they going to do with the horror aspect?
AdamYou kind of knew you were in safe hands.
AdamAnd they and they and we remained in safe hands.
ChrisYes, absolutely.
AdamAnd so, yeah, so they realized, well actually, we can make a horror film or, you know, despite resisting it, we can make a horror film because we've we don't need special effects as we have a zombie.
ChrisYes.
AdamAnd it sort of spirals out from there, they advertise for actresses, but there's also an aspiring actress.
AdamWho has terrible stage fright and sort of cannot act to a camera.
AdamSo she comes along and offers her services just as researcher, gofer, you know, second assistant, whatever, you know, and makes a pickle sandwich turns up as very highly strung, very sort of demanding.
ChrisThe main job.
Adamactress who actually wants to play the part and it's the sort of misadventure that spirals out from there.
ChrisI mean, she has got a pretty impressive cocaine habit as well, like that. That was some serious dedication.
AdamThat's that's within the universe of the film, rather than you're saying.
ChrisYes.
AdamYou're saying the actress actually, but yes.
ChrisLike that, I mean, that scene was just so good.
ChrisIt was basically it's like Mission Impossible escape, but the whole point is to get the cocaine.
AdamI think because I and certainly, I mean, we were sort of saying, and I, I think you could be right, Chris.
AdamI think this could be the best zombie comedy since Shawn of the Dead.
ChrisLike, for me.
ChrisYeah.
AdamYeah.
AdamIt was consistently funny.
AdamAnd oddly enough, for it was it had a lot of heart to it.
ChrisRight, that's it.
ChrisThat's where really that came out just at the right points.
ChrisLike his character arc was fantastic.
ChrisBecause he was kind of a completely, you know, sort of a loser, essentially.
AdamLogan Riley Bruno, who's playing that character.
AdamYeah.
ChrisYeah.
ChrisLike just a miss, you know.
AdamA proper misfit.
ChrisYeah.
ChrisAnd but yeah, but yet figures it out in the end and at points throughout is sort of showing clearly he's got skills, and he's got understanding, but he's almost just missing the mark a lot of the time.
ChrisAnd then, yeah, it comes together so well.
ChrisAnd especially with his friend. I mean, that's that's really sweet as well, their friendship.
ChrisBecause his friend is mute.
Chrisand they yeah, but like the way they communicate, that's a fantastic touch.
AdamI think because yeah, I think it's just it's it's it's clearly it's clearly a tribute to growing up wanting to be a filmmaker.
AdamAnd that love of making stuff with your friends and but also you know,
Adambut not it wasn't sort of when I say it's got heart, I don't mean in a sort of cloying sense or anything else like that.
AdamThere's a lot in there that's like, you know, there's a lot of horrible bits in there.
AdamThere's proper gore, there's proper guts.
Adamyou know, and but also it's never sort of, yeah, it's never sort of sickly.
ChrisNo.
AdamYou know, it's just like, no, this this film feels genuine. This is, you know, this is this this comes from a good place.
AdamBut it's not afraid to still it's not pulling punches or anything else like that.
AdamIt's still.
LeeIt had everything in the, as you say, everything in the right proportions.
LeeSo the gore was excessive and hilarious. The comedy was laugh a minute.
LeeLike there wasn't there wasn't a two-minute scene without a real laugh in it.
Leebut yeah, at the same time the connections between him and his dad and the whole, you know, him and his friends and everything, yeah, it was really, really well done and really well polished.
LeeIt was great.
ChrisYeah.
Leeand I've got to say my favorite character though was, the detective.
LeePlayed by Eddie Grim.
ChrisOh, yes.
LeeHe was.
ChrisHe was fantastic.
LeeHe was just off his head.
LeeHe was brilliant.
ChrisLike when he's talking to himself, you're just like, yeah, you know where he's going through.
ChrisTrying to do all of this.
AdamYeah.
AdamYeah.
ChrisYou do not want to be here.
AdamAlso, we've got to mention Emma Chase who was playing the aspiring actress.
AdamThis is her only film.
ChrisIs it?
LeeWow.
AdamAnd again, it's one of those things where you're just like, this felt like, you know, this felt like somebody's been acting forever.
ChrisYeah.
AdamAnd again, it's it's that thing, it's an independent film, but there were no there were no loose, there were no loose threads.
AdamThere was no one who was like, you know, not, you know, again, we're looking at something where it's like,
Adamthis is professional, you know, on a proper, proper level.
ChrisYes.
AdamAnd I hope that all you need is blood goes on to be like a bit of a cult hit. I think it's in that same sort of it feels like in that same sort of area like something like Zombieland or something like that, you know, that it could be.
ChrisYeah.
LeeYeah.
AdamSomething that really.
AdamSort of runs and runs.
LeeIf this hit streaming, I will 100% be.
LeeAnd that's if I don't just go out and buy it, because like you said earlier, Chris,
ChrisYes.
AdamExactly, yeah.
LeeI could watch this again in six months time without a doubt. It was such a fun ride.
LeeYeah, so excellent.
LeeYeah, so we had that in the middle of the day.
LeeAnd Chris quite rightly when we came out then said, well our main film for the evening better be pretty freaking because it's got a lot to compare to if it's going to
Leegonna follow that.
LeeSo our last film of the evening was actually a a feature link documentary.
Leeso Horror on Sea 13 Bloody Years, which was the story of Southend on Horror on Sea Film Festival.
LeeBut before that, of course, we had our shorts again.
Leewhich were.
Adamthere was the Fox and the Hen.
LeeYeah.
LeeI, you know what, that caught me off guard.
LeeI watched the first half and I was like, everything in this has been so predictable.
LeeIt's painful and then it had a beautiful twist.
ChrisYeah.
ChrisReally did.
AdamYeah, because I was kind of I was the same. I think I got to the point where I was like, you know, where's this going? Because we know we've seen this.
LeeYeah.
LeeAnd then we had, oh, no actually.
AdamYeah, done, yeah.
ChrisYeah, nice, nice rug pull there, certainly. Yeah.
ChrisYeah, it was perfect ending.
LeeGreat gore as well. I loved that.
LeeIt was
ChrisYeah.
AdamAnd actually it looked, it looked brilliant.
LeeYeah.
AdamBasically the tale of two girls who got who get lost on their way to a hen night and have to take shelter in a farm with a creepy farmer.
AdamAnd
ChrisAnd you don't know for sure, or you think you know for sure, but even if at some point.
AdamWell, I think it's one of those ones you can definitely, you can definitely put that down as sort of like, stick with it because you could quite easily just be going, no, I've seen this a million times before and.
AdamOh, no, actually, you know, we're sort of we're going a bit.
LeeYeah.
AdamYeah.
ChrisTake it somewhere else.
LeeBut yeah, it was.
LeeIt was great. I really.
LeeYeah, as you say, I mean, considering the budget and it was all shot in very low light in a, you know, in a sort of abandoned barn, it it did look really good. I was really impressed with it.
Leethat was followed by another another very short short, which was say goodbye to blood sausage, by Caleb Thresher.
Leeyeah, just a very comedic, very quick.
LeeYeah, I think they said it was their first their first attempt and they came up with the name first, which really made me laugh.
LeeThey said, wouldn't they were at a film festival and joking about and said, wouldn't it be funny to see something ridiculous on one of these, you know, lineups, came up with the name, then went away and shot the film.
LeeAnd yeah, it was it was really funny. I enjoyed it. It was good laugh.
ChrisIt was very entertaining.
ChrisIt it's definitely more in line with I guess what I would expect from a short indie.
LeeYeah.
AdamThis this felt like if Troma had a sketch show.
AdamThis is like a five-minute sketch in the middle of a trauma show, you know, that.
ChrisIt totally worked for what it needed to do, like.
LeeYeah.
ChrisYeah.
LeeFantastic.
Leeand then finally, we saw Shebear.
Lee
LeeAgain, another short that was made, I think the director, Madeleine Malum said that it was made in three months.
LeeBasically, it was a, oh, we should do something quick for the film festival and made it.
ChrisYes.
LeeAnd I, I, I found this so funny.
LeeIt was.
ChrisI love the unique, like unique take on showing the text on the screen with it and also quirky aspect.
AdamIt's black and white and done like a silent film.
ChrisSo.
AdamYeah.
AdamSo you would have the and and the wonderful thing that you because we you we've watched we've watched silent stuff on the show on the show.
AdamObviously we've watched Nosferatu.
AdamAnd and it's that lovely thing where someone says the dialogue and then it black the black card comes up with.
AdamThe writing with the dialogue on this, you know, it's been said.
AdamAnd then this one they would subvert that occasionally where clearly they were saying something quite different.
ChrisYes.
AdamBut they made it slightly more polite on the card.
AdamIt was really good.
AdamAnd.
ChrisBut I don't think I've seen that used for him for a short.
AdamI.
LeeNo, I haven't.
AdamNo.
AdamBut basically, yeah, the story of a.
Adamornithologist and his girlfriend who are out looking for a a very rare bird.
Adamshe is molested by a bear while he's looking the other way looking for this bird.
AdamAnd then later she reappears having having become yeah, she reappears and.
AdamI mean, can can you spoil something that quick? Possibly. I don't know, but yeah.
LeeYeah, no, I mean, you know, yeah.
LeeI mean it's called Shebear. You know she's gonna she's gonna become a bear.
AdamAnd yeah, so basically she she's aware bear at that point and yeah.
AdamBut really well done and knowing its limitations.
AdamSo keeping keeping the silly, very silly, which I think was, yeah, and just.
LeeYeah.
LeeAnd worked in its favor so massively for this.
AdamAbsolutely, yeah.
AdamIt was it was the real they turned that into a real strength.
LeeYeah.
AdamYou know, that it was going to be sort of the effects were going to be daft and yeah.
AdamAnd just.
AdamAnd but that but also that thing where it's like, you know, when that sort of thing can actually have a ton more personality.
AdamThan some model that the creature workshop spent months developing or something like that.
ChrisTrying to do it perfect.
AdamWhereas actually, you know, just a an effective mask with a good performer and it's like, no, this is that's that's the thing.
ChrisLike getting the right camera angle for it just to give it that extra edge, you know.
ChrisYeah, yeah.
ChrisThey clearly knew what they were doing.
LeeYeah, so much fun.
Leeyes, and then the final piece for the evening, Horror on Sea 13 Bloody Years.
LeeI I I I was not concerned, but.
LeeAn hour and a half documentary is a very long run time.
LeeAnd I was worried it might dry up or feel stretched.
LeeI don't know about you guys, I could have watched another hour of this so easily.
ChrisAbsolutely.
ChrisI was thinking we've been sat down for quite a long time now. We've seen some amazing films.
ChrisLike, this has really got to do something and it absolutely did.
AdamYeah.
AdamAnd I mean the best well the best will in the world, then it's not always the most comfortable seat in.
AdamAnd you know.
AdamBut I mean, I'm a I'm a sucker for a documentary as it is, so I was quite happy with the run time, but my God, it was just such a just such a lovely evocative tribute of just how fun.
ChrisYeah.
AdamAnd how oddly wonderfully amazing horror on sea is.
AdamAnd it taught me things that I didn't realize. I didn't realize that they don't charge people.
ChrisYeah.
AdamTo submit films, which is such a rarity within.
ChrisThe film.
AdamYou know, within filmmaking, certainly within film festivals, they don't charge people to submit their films.
AdamThat's fucking amazing because that's the best thing.
AdamFor for any struggling filmmaker, money is everything.
AdamYou don't need to spend.
ChrisEvery, yeah.
AdamAnd not only that also but but also you don't you don't think about it, but that's paying to submit your film.
AdamThey may not even show it.
ChrisYeah, yeah.
AdamYou know, and that's like however much money you've wasted for someone's not going to show your film.
AdamAnd just again,
Adammuch like being in the bar, it was just seeing all the familiar faces.
AdamRealizing how many people sort of met up and projects that spiraled out of people.
ChrisYeah, the way they all collaborate with each other over time.
AdamAnd just this lovely little confluence of local, well, not even local, but like nationwide talent that has sort of been connected through Horror on Sea and which is all been brought together by Paul Crove. I mean, he's obviously he was the focal point of the documentary in a lot of ways, and he was a talking head in it as well. but yeah, I mean, it's great to see the because it was hilariously funny the documentary.
ChrisIt was.
LeeBut yeah, you could feel how much everybody involved, how much respect and love everybody has got for him.
LeeAnd everything he does.
LeeTo put this together.
Lee
LeeYeah.
LeeAnd the impact, as you say, the impact it's had.
LeeOn the the people who've produced films specifically for this and just the collaborations that have come out of.
LeeAnd I, I thought it really captured the essence of it, when you could, you know, the shots where it was just everyone just hanging out in the bar area and all the writers and actors and people who do special effects all get into chat to each other.
LeeAnd and projects coming out of the film festival, so it's not just a place to to show your film, it's a place to make those connections and network while having a nice time and it not feeling like, right, I've got to go and I've got to find someone to do this and do that.
LeeIt's just, it's it's such an amazing event.
LeeAnd so to have it put to put a film like this by it was Alex Churchyard, wasn't it, who
AdamYes.
LeeWho put it together, yeah, along with Michael Holiday and Hannah Patterson.
LeeYeah, and I, I, yeah.
LeeI was totally blown away by it. I thought it was, yeah, enjoyable.
AdamAnd obviously.
AdamBecause of the love of everyone involved, there was no problem with getting.
AdamClips of the films and stuff like that and the stuff that's been break out of the and you know, everyone from people who just bring in mad shorts every year.
AdamTo people who've made sort of like three or four feature films and stuff like that.
AdamAnd but you say you had clips from the films.
AdamAnd stuff like that to illustrate it as well.
AdamIn fact, and I don't know if this rates for our IMDB, Lee.
LeeYeah.
AdamBut I think we're in this more than we are in Video Shop Tails of Terror II.
LeeOh.
AdamBecause they were using off cuts from that.
LeeYeah.
AdamIn there as well.
LeeI love that.
LeeI don't know if I don't know if we mentioned it when we we discussed so we obviously we were extras on Video Shop Tails of Terror II.
LeeAnd we also shot a fake trailer for a ninja film that then got cut from the film, unfortunately.
Leeyou know, as these things are, like you end up.
AdamIt's still in there, but it's part of the it became part of the governor trailer, didn't it, which is Paul.
AdamPaul's cameo role.
LeeOh, you know what, it doesn't matter how many times I see that, I laugh out every single time.
Leebut yeah, so we were very surprised when we sat down and got 10 minutes in and then found that they'd put the put the trailer for the ninja film into the documentary and then we were like, oh shit, yeah, that's us, we were there.
AdamYeah, they freeze frame.
AdamYou can see us really.
AdamYeah.
AdamYeah.
AdamSo.
AdamSo we'll get we'll get we'll put that on IMDB.
AdamWe've got to be putting us I don't know, archive footage or something like that.
AdamOn.
LeeIt's funny, I normally with documentaries, they're one of those things. Once I've watched it and I've learned the information, I don't generally go back to a documentary very often.
LeeBut this, literally, I said to you guys, we walked out and I said, if I could get my hands on a copy of that, I'd watch it again tomorrow.
LeeBecause it's so fast.
LeeThere was so much going on.
LeeIt was so fast.
LeeI think we missed a lot of what was going on because we were still laughing at the previous scene.
LeeIt was just.
AdamYeah.
AdamI think that's.
AdamThat's the other thing as well is it's just so many lovely and funny people all together.
AdamAnd yeah, it's just it was just hilarious, but also it apparently it's spun from.
AdamIt was going to be a DVD extra, it was just going to be like a 10-minute thing saying,
AdamOh, here's the Horror on Sea festival, and so many people wanted to contribute and so many people that they ended up with this thing that then became half an hour.
AdamAnd then an hour, an hour's a feature-length documentary, and I'm hoping that I hope I hope that it comes out like in some physical form or is available somewhere.
AdamJust because, yeah.
AdamI could happily watch this again and it's just it's also a lovely thing if you've been to Horror on Sea.
AdamIt's a lovely little sort of it's a souvenir.
AdamIt's a souvenir from your time in Southend.
AdamIt's a stick of rock with horror on sea written all the way through it.
LeeIt is.
LeeAnd again, and it's for people who haven't been, people who maybe aren't so close to us and aren't just, you know, 40 minute drive away and are like, well, it's a long journey and you don't.
LeeIf you watch that, there is no way you would not go.
LeeSo I think they should release it as advertising.
LeeIf nothing else.
ChrisYeah, it made me want to stay the night and go back again the next day.
ChrisI was like, what what else am I doing?
ChrisThis is obviously the best thing I could be doing right now.
LeeBut yeah, so excellent work to the team who put it together.
LeeI know they I think they said they literally the day before it was airing.
LeeSo the festival was already running before they'd finished editing it.
LeeYou know, actually sent it over.
Leebut yeah, it was just a fantastic.
LeeIt was a perfect end to the day.
ChrisYes.
LeeYeah.
LeeYeah.
LeeAnd we've been going, we worked out since 2018.
AdamYes.
Leeyeah, so we've been, you know, several times, four or five times, I think we've been now.
Leeand and always have a great time, yeah, and just seeing it and but it is good because all the stuff you miss as well.
Leeso many films that they mentioned that were classics that we were there for, the Snarling and films like that.
Leebut also stuff that we missed, Day of the Stranger was mentioned.
LeeTom's film, which we had picked up on DVD.
AdamYeah.
LeeYeah.
AdamYeah, thank you, Chris.
AdamBecause Chris got that for me for my birthday.
ChrisYeah.
AdamYeah.
LeeYeah.
AdamMy birthday.
AdamBecause I've been I've been desperate to get hold of that as well.
AdamBecause it's what he's made an acid Western.
AdamYeah, no, I want to see that.
ChrisYeah, once I'd heard you both talking about it, I'd just grab a copy on the way out.
ChrisSo.
LeeOh, so you bought it.
LeeYeah.
LeeYeah.
ChrisAnd it like you say though, in that documentary, clearly there are some others that absolutely we need to get hold of at some point.
LeeYeah.
LeeSo much stuff we need to track down.
Leeyes, so thank you everybody for an amazing day.
LeeIt it always is, it's such a.
LeeYou know, it's I just wish I I had I could clear more of my calendar.
LeeTo make it. I think I should make more of an effort next year to clear the whole weekend really and maybe put the money off, but we'll see how it goes.
Leeyes.
LeeSo,
Leego and check out all of those film, go and find them, say, some of I don't know if all you need is blood might be streaming somewhere.
LeeBecause it's a couple of years old now, but if you can track it down, do.
LeeYeah, Borley Rectory the Awakening and obviously when this documentary comes out.
LeeWhen we hear about it, we'll let you know because yeah.
LeeWe'll be getting hold of it and and.
AdamYeah, we'll be first in line to grab copies, certainly.
LeeYeah.
LeeAbsolutely.
LeeSo, what are we covering next, Adam?
Adamoh, next time we're going to do a we have been watching.
AdamBecause we've been away for a few weeks, so and that gives us plenty of time to vamp.
AdamUntil we've actually worked out what we're going to watch next.
LeeExcellent. Good plan.
LeeI like that one.
LeeRight, thanks ever so much for listening, everybody, and goodnight.
ChrisGoodnight.
AdamNight, night.
