Grave Tales
| Grave Tales | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Don Fearney |
| Produced by | Don Fearney |
| Screenplay by | John Hamilton |
| Starring | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
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| Music by | Scott Benzie |
| Cinematography | Jon Nash |
| Edited by | Jim Groom |
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Release dates
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Running time
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77 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £100,000 |
Grave Tales is a British anthology horror film made in 2011 at Pinewood Studios by FGS Productions and Ivory Tower Entertainment. It was directed by Don Fearney. It premiered on April 30, 2011 at Southend on Sea Film Festival, however an earlier premier took place on October 30, 2010 at Cine Lumiere in South Kensington, London SW7. The film was released as a DVD in August 2012.
The film is based on the Amicus portmanteau horror genre.
Christopher Lee starred in the original theater movie release, however he does not appear in the DVD release.
Contents
Plot
A young, genealogist (Heather Darcy) whiles away her afternoon in an eerie graveyard to identify graves but stumbles upon an elderly gravedigger (Brian Murphy) anxious to share horror stories with her. The gravedigger delights in telling her four, ghoulish tales.
One Man’s Meat
The local butcher (Frank Scantori) has a lethal confrontation with a vampire and decides to use his shop as a perfect way to dispose of the remains. A regular shopper returns with her family to complain...
Callistro’s Mirror
After killing a junk shop owner (Edward de Souza) and stealing his antique mirror, a greedy man (Damien Thomas) discovers it reveals a portal to another world.
The Hand
A couple of escaped prisoners find themselves on the run. The only problem is that they are shackled together. They don't have time to go to the locksmith - what's the quickest way to remove the handcuffs?
Dead Kittens
A newly-recruited member of an all-girl rock group is invited to do a video for their up and coming single. Its got to be realistic and it involves blood and guts. The lengths that modern record companies need to go to sell records is shocking.
Production
Casting
Brian Murphy is the best known of the cast due to his longevity in British TV roles such as George and Mildred and Last of the Summer Wine. Due to the low budget nature of the project, friends and associates of the director and production crew also starred in minor roles and extras.
| Actor | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Brian Murphy | ... | Arthur |
| Damien Thomas | ... | Mr Baxter |
| Edward de Souza | ... | Mr Petersen |
| Marysia Kay | ... | Vicky |
| Frank Scantori | ... | Mr Elliot |
| Mark Sloan | ... | Stanton |
| Aubrey Wakeling | ... | Varley |
| Louise Houghton | ... | Flick |
| Celia Carron | ... | Sadie |
| Heather Darcy | ... | Isabelle Preston |
| Kikki Kendrick | ... | Mrs Gable |
| Christopher Lee | ... | As Himself ( Original Cut) |
History and Development
Conceived originally as a three story anthology in the style of British Amicus horror movies, during production a fourth story was added. The films were shot and edited at Pinewood Studios and filmed in Iver Heath, Windsor and the London area.
The original script ideas came from horror comics published in 1991[1]
Footage of Christopher Lee as himself appeared in the story “Dead Kittens” in the original cut shown at Cine Lumiere and Southend Film Festival and was shown in the original cast list. The footage was removed from the final cut and DVD release.
Cameo appearance by British Horror Film Director Norman J. Warren as a music video director in “Dead Kittens”.
Critical Reception
Reported to be a surprisingly high production value film for the low budget. Good storytelling and acting let down by poor acting in one story “The Hand”. Rated by IMDB 4.9/10.
References
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