After the screening of CREDO at the Grimm Up North! festival this weekend, a review has been posted on the US film site Quiet Earth. Personally, I think it’s a really fair review. It would be good to know what other people think of it.

Posted on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 23:13:24 GMT by: projectcyclops

Year: 2008
Directors: Toni Harman
Writers: Alex Wakeford
IMDB: link
Trailer: link
Review by: projectcyclops
Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Credo is a low-budget horror film directed by Tony Harman, written by Alex Wakeford and set in London. The film starts off with a group of Catholic students attempting to summon the devil himself. Of the five, Simon (the late Stephen Gately, who carries himself very well) is their leader, with his roots in Irish Catholicism; he’s seemingly obsessed with finding Satan, so as better to defeat him. Poor old Seth however, gets cold feet and runs away from the séance. Next morning, his four friends are all dead from suicide…

We then cut to another group of students, several years later, and they’ve just been evicted from their flat. Jock, a boisterous American… um… jock, has held one party too many and the landlord boots them onto the streets. Alice (MyAnna Burning) is a practical and dedicated psychology student who spends all her time in the college library studying for exams. Timmi is a shy brunette who has a secret crush, and Scott is a well intentioned nerd, who also has a secret crush. With their somewhat token and underwritten black friend Jasmine in tow, the five of them break into Eden Catholic Halls to spend a weekend of boozy fun and Ouija board tinkering.

Hands-down the best thing about Credo is this, and if you really don’t want a slight spoiler then skip to the next paragraph: It’s old-school, it’s cerebral and it’s scary, but there is no horror except that which is suggested. I live for a film that can scare me without resorting to buckets of gore, grotesque make-up or weak CGI, and once Credo gets going, it’s really an effective horror film. After a shaky start which has some pretty dodgy acting, the film finds its feet and we follow the characters through a terrifying journey in which Satan will try his best, through hallucination and time-shifts, to convince each person to commit suicide, so they die in sin and he claims their souls.

Harman has wisely chosen an incredible location for Eden, it’s a huge complex of run-down bedrooms and hallways, full of old mattresses and filthy radiators, broken lights and years worth of dust and grime, and it helps to perfectly set the tone and atmosphere for the film. Scott attaches cameras around the building too, and we get shots on his laptop in night-vision which are used effectively and add to the chills. The music and sound design warrant mention too, as they are simply terrific in turning-up the fright factor and keeping the audience tense as to the next scare, especially the microphone that Scott uses to pick up signals that humans can’t normally hear, that freaked me out completely!

In all – An effective and chilling horror film that uses inventive camera work, imaginative sound design and that overlooked little technique known as suspense and suggestion to create some real scares.

Credo Old Poster Image

Just got back from a CREDO cinema screening at the Grimm Up North! Horror Film Festival at the Odeon Printworks in Manchester.

It was great to see CREDO playing on the big-screen especially as we had a really good audience reaction at what actually was it’s cinematic premiere. The only sadness was that the screening was being dedicated to the memory of Stephen Gately.

For me personally, I loved doing the Q&A’s!

I was on a “Directing Your First Horror Feature” panel where the discussion was all about transferring the skills from making short films to feature films and about what lessons we had all learned from directing our debut horror flicks. There were four directors on the panel, so myself and the directors of three other indie UK horror flicks – SPLINTERED, GNAW and THE FALLOW FIELD.

What really struck me was that we all had very similar experiences – that we didn’t find directing our first feature film that different from directing either shorts or TV, that we all struggled with the night shoots, that finding objectivity in the post-production was our biggest problem, we were all working on our next feature and that actually, all of us were just really normal not-up-ourselves (sorry to use this word) “nice” people who just happened to love horror.

After the screening, I did another Q&A with my producer partner Alex Wakeford and our gorgeous star from Credo, MyAnna Buring, about exactly how / where / why / how quickly etc we made CREDO and again, I just loved talking about it! I could have talked about it for hours. It just gave me a real rush. (Although it was a bit weird, doing the Q&A being surrounded by a dead very bloodied model sheep and decaptitated heads which were part of the Grimmfest Exhibition.)

And I loved talking all things horror with all the other directors / actors / horror fans present.

The thing that really struck me was that I absolutely felt that I belonged in this world of horror and fear. And I felt really proud that a film I directed was one of those being screened. It felt right and it felt good.

So thank you Grimmfest. Hope to see you same time next year.

CREDO screening dedicated to the memory of Stephen Gately

Just heard the devastating news that Stephen Gately has died whilst on holiday in Majorca.

I am really saddened as Stephen became a friend after he appeared in Credo and I honestly thought he was an amazing, talented and brilliant man who had a wonderful sense of humour.

He’ll be hugely missed.

I recently did an interview for the folks of Love Horror about our horror film CREDO, covering how we came up with the idea, how the film came together, spooky stories about the shoot, what we’re doing next and supposedly some words of wisdom to anyone wanting to make their first feature film!

Check it out and let me know what you think!

http://lovehorror.co.uk/?p=2009

Just seen one of the best things in my horror film-making life. Our horror film Credo dubbed in Russian.

We sold Credo to a Russian distributor and they’ve just launched it with a new poster!

Credo in Russian

I love it – makes Credo look like a sci-fi time-travelling horror all about people holding up skulls setting fire to themselves which is exactly what it is, apart from the sci-fi time-travelling fire skull part!

Apparently the title has been changed to: Sign of Darkness

To me, that’s a better title than The Devil’s Curse which Lionsgate called it.

But the best thing is watching clips of our film dubbed in Russian. It’s fantastic. Makes it much scarier! Loving the accents and the expressions in Russian.

Here’s a link to a clip: video.raid.ru

And to watch more clips, copy and paste this in to Google:

Знак тьмы

Go Russia and the Baltic States!

Must be the approach of Autumn and so a change in weather, change in people’s mood, change in what people think…

So I just looked on Amazon and low and behold, a total stranger has written a really good review of our horror film Credo!!!

5 out of 5. Makes me feel very proud. Maybe Credo is starting to find its audience!

			Credo [DVD] Price: £5.48 Availability: In stock
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful: Give credence to Credo, 23 Sep 2009 Five theology students plan to take part in an occult ritual in their halls of accomodation, to prove the existance of the devil. One backs out after the ritual has begun, breaking the circle of protection. The next morning his four friends are all dead. Some years later, a group of students evicted from the house that they share, find themselves a nice place to stay as a stop gap. Yes, its the very same halls of residence, now derelict and boarded up. Then strange things start to happen… This film superficially resembles another modern Brit Horror, Long Time Dead. As the film progresses however it comes across more like a British version of the superb American chiller Session 9. The film eschews gore and elaborate set pieces, instead favouring a gradual build up of mounting dread, and it postively drips with atmosphere. The creepy interior of the building takes on a life of its own, and the young cast all equip themselves admirably. Its not that scary, but it should leave you with a little tingle down the spine, especially after the ending, which made me question everything I had seen up to then. It even comes complete with a Lesbian shower scene. Okay, thats a bit of a fib, but if it makes one extra person delve into this superb film, then I’m glad I told it. A terrific film, destined to become a minor classic in the future. Highly recommended. 5 out of 5

Just read a good review of our horror film Credo posted on the Love Horror Website.

Gives me a warm glow when people write nice things about our film!

Here’s what it said:

“Take 5 students, a degree in the occult, a creepy old halls of residence, and what do you get? The perfect setting for a bit of ouija board and devil worship.
From the onset, it’s easy to think that you know how it’s going to pan out. But this little flick has more to offer than you might expect.

It has been a while since we reviewed a British film, so we were glad to receive Credo. There’s no doubt that I was a little sceptical when I saw that it starred Stephen Gately, but seeing as the lead was MyAnna Buring (Descent, Lesbian Vampire Killers) I put aside my hatred of cheap pop music and hit ‘play’.
A halls of residence at a Catholic university is chosen by Gately and his student friends as the perfect setting for an experiment. The object of which is – to discover whether the devil exists.
Armed with some candles and limited knowledge of demonology the group of 5 head up to a remote tower in the building to begin contact with the ‘other side’.
Early on in the proceedings, one of the gang goes chicken and walks out, leaving his friends unprotected (5 members are essential for this type of ritual) and as a result all but he are dead by morning, after supposedly committing suicide.

Some years later Alice (Buring) and her friends are students attending the same university. After losing their accommodation, they resort to staying in the spooky, abandoned halls of residence. Strangely they are also a group of 5, and predictably, familiar events start to unfold as the apparent evil forces reveal themselves.

Generally, the film is of a good standard. For an independent British film, it’s glossy, it’s professionally finished and it’s of a standard which you could easily mistake for being Channel 4 or BBC funded.

The cast are decent, each holding their own in this ‘bordering on the formulaic’ (for the most part) storyline. Gately as Simon is even pretty good, although fortunately he doesn’t feature much (I have nothing against his acting, I just can’t see beyond Boyzone!).
Myanna Buring is excellent, and really takes the film away from mediocracy. The script is a little odd at times, but she works around that and makes the role her own.
On the downside, I wasn’t too sure about the inclusion of an American character, Jock (that’s actually his name, not a reference to his high-school status). It seemed a bit unnecessary and as if it may have been a ploy to appeal to the American market. His stereotyped ‘whoop whoop! Paaartay on dudes’ behaviour was a little distracting. When the blood-letting began, I was eager for him to get ‘offed’ quickly.

The story itself is solid enough. Group of students, scary demons, a crazed stranger who could be a killer. And in the group, your typical teen horror movie characters: the cute lead, the brash jock, the withdrawn geek, the ethnic minority and the religious one.

And so I was lulled into a false sense of security, happily watching and correctly predicting events as the film bubbled on before me.
But just as the film approached the end, and I began to feel a tad unsatisfied, it took a big twist that I wasn’t expecting. A twist that actually made the film for me.

You know, one of those events that can keep you thinking for a while after the film, coming up with different explanations and serving as good conversation between you and your film buddies.

And there’s nothing more that I love, than a movie that does the unexpected.

Credo is a film that stands proud with the best of British horror. What it lacks in budget and finesse, it makes up for in grit and imagination. It’s solidly shot, constructed and communicated, and should serve as inspiration for any other British horror movie makers who aren’t pulling their weight at the moment.

For the elements of originality, gets a lot of kudos (or should that be credos) from me.

Check it out on DVD and Blu-Ray now. Quick! Before it gets exorcised back to the dark realm from whence it came!

Movie Rating:

I know I haven’t posted for a while but things on the horror front have been relatively quiet this summer.

I’ve been focusing my attention on a new factual baby DVD series on pregnancy & childbirth that we are launching:REAL BIRTH STORIES which maybe for some people the ultimate horror!

Real Birth Stories 3 DVD boxset

On the horror front, CREDO is screening at the the Manchester Halloween Horror Festival “Grimm Up North” this Halloween and I think I’m down to do a Q&A, so if you’re in the area, drop by and say hello!

Meanwhile, still working on our next horror film so will keep you posted. And now the nights are drawing in and it’s starting to feel a little bit colder, am starting to feel the chiller vibe so could be a scary winter.

And although I haven’t written about it for months, my ghost from the basement is really starting to make its presence felt recently. More of that to come…

So I thought after unleashing our horror feature film CREDO in the UK then life would get a bit less hectic. Hmmm. I was wrong.

Suddenly, things that were set in motion months and even years ago are all starting to happen right now, all at the same time, then I’m also initiating new projects…

Back to Credo. It’s selling ok and having it’s own little life. In fact, I was really excited to find it stocked in my local HMV! It’s had a good run of publicity -  on GMTV, This Morning, The Mirror, Mail on Sunday etc and had lots of net coverage. As we’re also selling from our own website – www.altofilms.com – we’ve having to fulfil orders on a daily basis (that’s me stuffing the envelopes!) so numerous trips to my local post office.

Meanwhile, I’m about to launch a factual special interest DVD series (details to be announced soon) and in fact, a duplicating company is replicating 1000’s of DVD units as I write this. So lots of technical conversations about artwork and DVD authoring spec’s plus lots of business discussions with the fulfilment company (we’re having another company fulfil the orders on this DVD series as there’s only so much envelope-stuffing a girl can do!)

Meanwhile, our film workshops seem to be gaining momentum and proving to be much more successful than we first thought – with people messaging me daily asking for details about the next workshops and what we’re planning on running next… (The next workshop is on June 20/21 – two days of practical workshops on directing).

Meanwhile, we’re also setting up our next feature film to shoot later this year.

Meanwhile, so then I thought, I know, I have a few seconds spare each day, so why don’t I try and set up 10 short films, each 10 minutes long to be shot over 10 days. And you know what – other people are starting to switch onto this idea and actually it might just work….

Meanwhile, there’s my blog to write and I haven’t even mentioned my ongoing mission to contact the ghost in my kitchen!

Is it just me or is every UK indie film-maker this busy?

Our Brighton Film Workshop!

Our horror film CREDO is now on sale on DVD in the UK in shops and on-line!

The last couple of weeks have been really exciting as there’s been  quite a bit of publicity in the press and on TV: a clip from CREDO was shown on GMTV and This Morning and we had press coverage in the Mail on Sunday, the Mirror, the Telegraph, the Metro and quite a few regional newspapers plus coverage on MSN, Yahoo, Virgin Media and also I think Credo is also going to be in a couple of film magazines. (Let me know if I’ve missed any!)

This is amazing considering CREDO is a small indie film with not much in the way of a marketing budget and with no advertising!

What is really exciting is that it’s finding an audience – people are writing their own online reviews and comments on CREDO and suddenly it’s got it’s own life, which makes me feel immensely proud!

Meanwhile, as we’re also selling the DVD from our own website, we’ve also become a little DVD fulfilment factory – processing online orders, printing address labels, stuffing envelopes, weighing parcels on our kitchen scales combined with numerous trips to the local post office.

I always seem to be served by the same lady at the post office counter and every time, she  tries to flog me the full range of Post Office phone cards, travel insurance, foreign currency exchange etc etc and each time I smile and politely say “No thank you” but inside I am screaming “You’ve asked me three times today already thanks!”

We’re also about to launch another DVD series in a couple of weeks (a factual series with nothing to do with horror!) – so things are about to get a whole lot busier…