News: UK Horror Anthology 'Its Walls Were Blood'

It's fantastic news for us UK horror fans as just last week it was announced an all-British portmanteau is in the works. Entitled Its Walls Were Blood, the film is set in an English country house and follows four connected stories that take place throughout the house's history. Filming is said to start later this year and an intriguing cast has already been announced, boasting the best in British talent. 

Steve Oram (Sightseers, The Canal), Pollyanna McIntosh (The Woman) and Edward Hogg (Anonymous) have been confirmed to star (to name but a few) and akin to the classics Dr Terror's House of Horrors, From Beyond the Grave and The House that Dripped Blood, we can expect an ensemble piece, with plenty more names yet to be announced. 

As for the directors, Paul Davis (The Body), Sean Hogan (The Devil's Business), Paul Hyett (FX Artist and Director of The Seasoning House) and Tom Shankland (The Children, Ripper Street) have been confirmed for each segment. The individual synopses have remained under wraps, although producer Paul Fischer had shed some light on the matter;

"It's all set in one house, and the house is a character, certainly; but it's not a haunted house. It's more complex than that - more about the idea of bringing your own darkness to a place that draws it out of you, of stepping into darkness and darkness entering you in return".

Davis (who is also the film's Executive Producer) has described it as a "contemporary-throwback", providing a modern twist on the classic portmanteau form, with a nod to the British anthologies of the 60s and 70s. In addition to Davis, who has labelled his own segment as "the heaviest thing [he's] done so far", the other directors have promised "a chilling and visceral journey through the twisted innards of a Victorian house", "a retro/horror thriller echoing the grittiness of Straw Dogs and A Clockwork Orange" and the "product of 1970s broken Britain". 

By the sound of things, Its Walls Were Blood is a fantastic project - a celebration of not just horror, but British horror, drawing upon an esteemed sensibility and tradition that has been somewhat lost within the genre of late. Not to mention, the consideration of some intelligent socio-cultural context that should provide some solid substance. With credible talent and an evident passion for what each cast and crew member is about to embark on, any horror fan is a fool to not get excited over this recent development. Need a little more convincing? Then read on for these Wise Words... from Fischer;

"Britain has a great, proud tradition in cinematic horror, where originality, spectacle, atmosphere and memorable characters played as much of a role in a film's identity as jumps and gore... Hammer and Amicus films of the 1960s and 70s had all the scares, the psychological suspense, all the dread and a sort of primordial imagery that kept you up at night and stuck with you your whole life - but they were also a great cinematic experience, in the dark with other people.

They were made for a wide audience, not a niche audience - and made well, made to scare and entertain. We're hoping Its Walls Were Blood will claim that back for horror a little, and give people a change from found footage, torture porn and period ghost stories".

We wait with baited breath for further information but until then, feast your eyes on the recently released teaser poster below...

Source: twitchfilm.com