Grave Tales

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Grave Tales
Grave tales movie flyer.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDon Fearney
Screenplay byJohn Hamilton
Produced byDon Fearney
Starring

Peter Irving

CinematographyJon Nash
Edited byJim Groom
Music byScott Benzie
Release date
  • 20 June 2011 (2011-06-20)
Running time
77 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
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 30 April 2011 at Southend on Sea Film Festival, however an earlier premiere took place on 30 October 2010 at Cine Lumiere in South Kensington, London SW7. The film was released as a DVD in August 2012.

Contents

The film is based on the Amicus portmanteau horror genre.[ citation needed ]

Christopher Lee starred in the original theater movie release, however he does not appear in the DVD release.

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?

The Nightwatchman : Peter Irving

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.

ActorRole
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

Peter Irving (The Nightwatchman)

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".

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References

  1. Comics, Hamilton. "Grave Tales". www.comicvive.com. Hamilton Comics. Retrieved 12 June 2014.