Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Gruesome scenes On our coast
Gazette reporter Lydia Chantler-hicks explains why shocking sights across the district recently aren’t quite what they seemed...
It is 5am and in the grey light of a cold September morning, a small gaggle of people are standing waist-deep in the sea. They are drowning a witch. As the life leaves her body, one of the group takes out a sword and beheads the woman. They then take the severed head and throw it around with glee.
As time goes on, earlymorning joggers and dog walkers along Reculver seafront begin to stop and stare at the bizarre scene. But all is not as it seems. The group are, thankfully, actors and cameramen filming a horror movie.
The Witches of the Sands is being shot in locations across east Kent, and is set to come out next year.
With a crowdfunded budget of less than £20,000 and a cast and crew of volunteers, it does not claim to be the next Scream or The Shining. But its writer and director, genre buff Tony Marden, is passionate about the project and hopes he could take it to Cannes.
“As a life-long horror fan, I wrote The Witches of the Sands as a love-letter to horror movie lovers everywhere,” he said.
The grandfather-of-three, 49, studied fine art at what is now the University of Creative Arts in Canterbury, before training as a teacher and working at schools across Kent.
His foray into cinema began a decade ago, when he bagged a small part in horror film Gangsters, Guns & Zombies. He enjoyed it so much he took professional acting classes and soon got roles in shows such as Eastenders and The Tunnel.
The Witches of The Sands is his directorial debut and pays homage to British horror B-movies of the 60s, 70s and 80s.
The project began when his friend, who was putting together an anthology of short horror films, asked Tony to direct one.
The anthology itself was later scrapped, but Tony decided to keep working on his film, which has since evolved and come a long way from its humble beginnings.
“It just snowballed,” he said. “A lot more people have come on board. It was as much a shock to me as anybody else, to be honest.”
Tony launched a crowdfunder which has raised about £20,000, allowing him to hire professional special effects artists, who have helped with prosthetics and gory costumes.
The Witches of the Sands
now features a cast of about 150 actors, including “15 or 16 well-known horror film actors”.
It is packed with all the classic horror film baddies – a vampire, zombies, a demon, ghosts – and some far more unusual ones.
There’s a femme-fatale, film noir-esque squid creature named Callie-marie. There’s Glass Head Gus, who has shards of glass embedded in his face and at one point headbutts someone with predictably gruesome consequences.
Then there’s a cameo from Jacqueline The Ripper – daughter of Jack – and even a “demon sandwich”.
“It was fun making these up,” says Tony.
“We thought it would be fun to fit in as many as possible. “The film’s been referred to as ‘Monty Python meets horror’. I do feel it’s a bit like that.
“Although the scenes are fresh, the audience will find a great deal of horror movie nostalgia in them too.”
The “meta” plot follows director Fischer Markway – played by Tony – as he makes his own B-movie.
But as he begins suffering pressures both on-set and at home, he progressively loses his tentative grip on reality. The Witches of the Sands switches between this narrative, and scenes from the actual B-movie Fischer is filming.
“It’s very violent and very gory and a bit naughty,” says Tony. “But it’s very funny as well.”
“It will be an 18,” he added.
It has been filmed all over east Kent – at Reculver Towers near Herne Bay, in Tankerton, Whitstable Harbour, the Playhouse Theatre in Whitstable and at a flat in Aylesham.
This month, filming is taking place at a second-hand bookshop in Faversham high street.
Some American actors have also been filmed on location in LA.
Tony, who lives just outside Whitstable, hopes to premiere the film at the Playhouse. “Then we’ll submit it to festivals,” he said. “I’d like to take it to Cannes if I can. “I’m looking forward to people seeing it. It’s quite nerve-wracking. I feel it is quite personal to me. Since starting, I’ve learned a lot about film-making.
“I’m very lucky to have a great team around me to help with the technical side so I can focus on directing and getting my vision across.
“It’s been an amazing experience.
“It’s just been great to meet all these amazing people. “I’d like to say thank you to everyone who’s given up their time and believed in the project.
“And a massive, massive thank you to everyone who has donated.”
Among those acting in the film is Melissa Todd, an occasional columnist for the Gazette.
Speaking of the experience, she recalled: “I found myself in Aylesham, surrounded by the strangest of strangers, covered in fake blood, giggling hysterically, pointy bits of wood glued to my naval and décolletage.”
She described a set comprising “oozing skulls, lampshades made from human faces, and severed hands, all made by the fabulous Tracey Jane, special effects superstar”. “We spent the first two hours cutting and shaping different coloured filters for the lights, in a bid to give the film the weird blue and red glow beloved of splatter films, before setting up the bedroom for my big scene,” she said.
“It was a small flat, with six people in it, six lights, one camera strapped to a frustrated cameraman, and a lot of chocolate. Actors run on sugar. “I perched on a corner of the sofa, watching a pet tarantula scuttle about its tank, trying to act as if this were my standard Sunday.
“‘Used to have 97 tarantulas, said Mike, whose flat it was. ‘But it was too much work. So I sold the rest. One tarantula is enough’.
“I very much wanted to know why he’d held on to that particular fluffy beast, whom he’d named Neytiri – but sadly at that very moment my name was called. I was on set! “I played a good time girl in a shimmery frock who’s picked up by two chaps and discovers their idea of a good time doesn’t quite correspond with hers.
“The resulting misunderstanding involved me screaming, then lying still, while Tracey got busy with the fake blood and silicone.
“It was brilliant. I particularly loved the screaming.
“Life in general should involve more screaming.”