UK indie genre studio Shogun Films has launched its first crowd funder for its ‘instant cult’ horror movie Harbinger.
Boasting a cast packed with much-loved genre favourites headlined by Carole Ann Ford (Doctor Who), Gary Webster (Minder), Tony Sands (Moondial) and Peter Woodward (Crusade) the film is inspired by the classic British Hammer and Amicus horror films.
Harbinger tells the story of Julia, the sole survivor of maniacal satanic serial killer Henry Decker, living with PTSD 5 years after he was shot dead by the police while trying to kill her.
Julia is approached by TV ghost show producer/presenter Mike Craggs (Gary Webster) with an offer to return to Decker’s deserted home for a new episode of his show Spectre Investigates. Convinced by her mum (Carole Ann Ford) that it could be cathartic, Julia agrees and travels with Mike and his Crew to Decker’s imposing home. Once there the team, including psychic Neal (Tony Sands) uncover Decker’s prized possession: a fairground fortune telling machine known as The Harbinger, which dispenses fates via Tarot style cards.
What the group don’t know, however, is that with his dying breath, Decker used an ancient incantation to transfer his soul into the Harbinger, and now uses it to plot murderous ends for the TV crew, taking the six souls he needs to be reincarnated. Preying on them one by one he exploits their deepest fears and begins his murderous journey back to corporeal existence.
Harbinger was filmed in East Susssex and London and is now in post production.
The crowd funding campaign is raising finishing and promotion monies to get the movie to market and to raise awareness of a new and exciting horror character in an age of repetition and familiarity.
Shogun Films founder Jonathan Sothcott explains “Having resisted the lure of crowdfunding our previous movies, Harbinger seems like the perfect project with which to embrace the huge value it offers filmmakers. Not only do we want to raise some money to really get the film out there in an increasingly oversaturated market but we want to use this exercise to really raise awareness for the film. I grew up watching all the great British horror movies of the 60s and 70s, they’re in my blood you might say, but it isn’t the kind of film I’m really associated with (yet!) so we want to get this movie out there as far and as wide as possible. If you love Hammer and Amicus and all those kind of films, I’m sure you’ll like this!”
The film will be released by Trinity Content worldwide later in the year, both digitally, on Blu Ray and in selected cinemas but before that Shogun has teamed up with greenlit.com to offer audiences the opportunity to get involved at a grass roots level. Shogun Films are vocal advocates for physical media and are offering Blu Rays and soundtrack CDs to backers, as well as posters and unique screen-used tarot cards from the Harbinger machine itself.
Harbinger was created by producer Jonathan Sothcott (Helloween) with a story by Harry Boxley and the screenplay was written by Simon Cluett (We Still Kill The Old Way). It is directed by James Crow (Nemesis). The Harbinger box’s malevolent occupant was designed by special effects wizard Stuart
Webb.
The campaign can be found at www.greenlit.com/project/harbinger
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!