Scrawl (film)

Scrawl
First film poster
Directed by Peter Hearn
Produced by Annabelle Le Gresley
Peter Hearn
Written by Peter Hearn
Starring Mark Forester Evans
Daisy Ridley
Nathalie Pownall
Elizabeth Boag
Liam Hughes
Joe Daly
Annabelle Le Gresley
Ellie Selwood
Chris Casey
Music by Dan Hall
Cinematography Matty Crawford
Edited by Matty Crawford
Release date
 17 October 2015 (Select film festivals)
Running time
 81 minutes
(Extended version is only played in festivals)
Country United Kingdom
Language English

Scrawl is a 2015 independent British supernatural horror-thriller film written and directed by Peter Hearn, and produced by Annabelle Le Gresley and Hearn. It stars Liam Hughes, Joe Daly, Daisy Ridley, Mark Forester Evans, Le Gresley, Nathalie Pownall, Catherine Ruddick, Ellie Selwood and Derek Jones. It tells the story of two best friends, Simon and Joe, who must rewrite the happenings from the comic book, Scrawl, after realising that the events occurred from the comic are beginning to happen. It is also Ridley's film debut, being shot just before Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The film received positive reviews. In 2016, an extended cut of the film played at several indie horror festivals.[1][2] Hearn stated that the film was to be released sometime in 2017, but it failed to find distribution.

Plot summary

Loners and best friends Simon (Liam Hughes) and Joe (Joe Daly) have written a horror comic book featuring characters from their daily lives. But when a murder on the beach occurs, and a girl based on the book, Hannah (Daisy Ridley), suddenly appears, they began to realise that the events from the comic book are starting to happen for real. With the help of Annie (Annabelle Le Gresley), Frank (Mark Forester Evans) and Rosie (Ellie Selwood), they must prevent a massacre in the woods that occurs in the book, by trying to revise what they have written, while battling Death.

Cast

  • Liam Hughes as Simon Goodman, the main creator and writer of the comic book, Scrawl. He is also Joe's best friend.
  • Joe Daly as Joe, the co-creator of Scrawl. He is Simon's best friend.
  • Daisy Ridley as Hannah, the mysterious girl from the comic. Hearn stated that at the time of pre-production she was unknown by a wider audience until she was cast in the film Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Although The Inbetweeners 2 was slated to be her film debut, the directors decided to remove her scenes from the final cut after she was cast in The Force Awakens, because it meant she was not available for any other scenes. When Scrawl was in the final stages of production, she left the project to focus on her role in Star Wars.
  • Annabelle Le Gresley as Joe's co-scouter with a habit of taking a camera with 'sentimental value' everywhere with her.
  • Mark Forester Evans as Frank, Joe's estranged father.
  • Ellie Selwood as Rosie, Joe's sister.
  • Catherine Ruddick as Charlie, a character in the comic who is the first 'monster' to appear in our world.
  • Elizabeth Boag as Georgie
  • Chris Casey as Uncle Mike
  • Nathalie Pownall as Eve
  • Morag Sims as Claire
  • Derek Jones as The Caretaker

Production

Scrawl's stylistic production harks back to the 70s and 80s horrors Phantasm and A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, as well as fantasy films such as Big.[3] Hearn had been teaching film at Andover College, and conceived the project as a hands-on training exercise for his students, influenced by Brian De Palma's Home Movies. Much like that film, Hearn's students were given the responsibility of raising money (via crowdfunding), as well as shooting and editing the film, all under Hearn's supervision. The cast consisted of professional actors, mostly British, such as Star Wars and upcoming Hollywood actress Daisy Ridley, as well as award-winning theatre and film actress Elizabeth Boag,[4] Mark Forester Evans and Nathalie Pownall from the horror film Credo. Both Boag and Pownall had worked before with Hearn on his short film Motto, as well as a previous feature film. Hearn stated that the film would likely attract a wider audience because of Ridley's appearance. Many of the students involved have subsequently gone into the industry or onto film school.[5]

Release

The film was produced by Half Day Wednesday and Red Scout Films, and played in film festivals and select cinemas between October 2015 and an unspecified month in 2016. A DVD version was due to be released independently in the first quarter of 2017, but neither the cast nor the official website confirmed this. After a fan asked about the film's release, Hearn stated that it would happen in September or October 2017, but studios refused distribution without the use of Daisy Ridley's current fame, and decided to give the film only a limited release, alongside Hearn's next film, Dead Air.

Controversy

There has been argument over whether Scrawl or The Force Awakens was Ridley's film debut, with Ridley's fans claiming that entertainment news outlets have been mistaken in saying that the Star Wars film was her first. According to them, Scrawl was definitely her film debut, but it was ignored by the major media because it has not been widely shown. Ridley's fans have noted Hearn's decision to screen it only at select film festivals and not give it a proper release.

Reception

The film received positive feedback from independent movie reviewers, but audiences were divided. Dr. Lenera of Horror Cult Films rated the film 8/10 stars, saying it is "a very impressive piece of work considering the circumstances of its making, and is certainly very different to much else that is out there at the moment."[6]

Hearn was awarded the Phil Tucker Spirit Award by the Zed Fest Film Festival, in Burbank, California.[7]

Awards

Festival awards
FestivalAward
Zed Fest Film FestivalWinner Best Director – Peter Hearn; Producer – Annabelle Le Gresley, Peter Hearn; Actor – Mark Forester Evans; Actress – Daisy Ridley; Actress – Nathalie Pownall[8]
FestivalAward
Zed Fest Film FestivalPhil Tucker Spirit Award – Director/Producer Peter Hearn[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Fright Night Film Festival 2015". Fright Night Film Fest. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  2. ↑ "Macabre Faire Film Festival 2016 Line up". Macabre Faire Film Fest. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  3. ↑ "NEW HORROR FILM 'SCRAWL' RELEASES OFFICIAL POSTER, SYNOPSIS AND STILLS!". Horror Cult Films – Movie Reviews of Obscure, Weird, Strange, Horror and Cult Cinema. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  4. ↑ "About Elizabeth Boag". Elizabeth Boag Official Website. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  5. ↑ "Indie Spotlight: From SCRAWL to Screen, Interview with Director Peter Hearn". Daily Dead – Zombies and Horror News, Reviews, Features. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  6. ↑ Lenera, Dr (26 August 2015). "[Pre-Festival Review] 'Scrawl (2015)'". Horror Cult Films. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  7. ↑ "Zed Fest Winners 2015". Zed Fest Film Festival 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "Zed Fest Film Festival". Zed Fest Film Festival 2015 Awards. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  9. ↑ "Zed Fest Film Festival". Zed Fest Film Festival 2015 Awards. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
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