Director: Tarun Teja Mallareddy
Starring: Vasanth Ravi, Vimala Raman, Saras Menon, Muralidaran, Udhaya Deep, Simran Pareek
Production Company: Sri Venkateswara Cine Chitra, Vibgyor Vibe Media Services, Victory Visuals
Kent Locations Used: Bedgebury Manor
Asvins (2023) is an Indian Tamil-language psychological horror film following a group of YouTubers investigating paranormal activity in a mansion in Kent. After accidentally unleashing a 1500-year-old evil entity, the group must fight to save their lives.
Most of the film was shot at Bedgebury Manor in Cranbrook, featuring as the haunted house the crew investigate.
Bedgebury Manor is a privately owned and partly restored former boarding school set in 200 acres of parkland in the Weald of Kent. There are many facilities including a gymnasium, offices, a study centre and accommodation block.
Asvins (2023) was released on Netflix on Friday 23rd June 2023.
Creator: Charlie Brooker Starring: Aaron Paul, Josh Hartnett, Kate Mara
Production Company: Zeppotron, Channel 4 Television, Babieka
Kent Locations Used: Home Farm, Chilham Mill Estate, Dungeness, Perry Wood
Black Mirror (2011-2023) is a Netflix anthology series set in a dystopian future, with each episode focusing on unique individuals grappling with the effects of technology.
Set in an alternative 1969, Beyond the Sea follows two astronauts, Cliff and David, who are deep in outer space on a six year-long mission. Thanks to technology, the two can transfer their consciousness into highly realistic replicas of themselves back on Earth. When a tragedy occurs, their lives onboard and off the ship are thrown into turmoil.
Various locations in Kent feature throughout the episode. Cliff’s family home was shot at Home Farm in Swale, the river where Cliff and his son Henry (Daniel Bell) go fishing was filmed at Chilham Mill Estate, and the woodland where Lana takes David was Perry Wood in Selling. Dungeness also features as the road which Lana travels along to get into town, and where she later sits in her car waiting for Cliff to return from the ship.
Situated in Swale, Home Farm is a colonial style weatherboarded villa, with veranda’s overlooking the countryside. Inside, rooms are decorated in a vintage chic style with reclaimed wood floors and chateau doors. The property is particularly popular for photoshoots but has also featured in The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2017), Juliet, Naked (2018) and The Current War (2019).
Perry Wood is an ancient woodland lying between Selling and Chilham parishes. It is designated as a Local Wildlife Site and offers stunning panoramic views of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Chilham Mill Estate is located in the idyllic village of Chilham, which offers a multitude of features including a stunning private castle, two pubs, a traditional beamed village hall and a Norman built church which is believed to be the final resting place of Thomas Becket. The village has previously been featured in Emma (2009), Chickens (2011), and A Canterbury Tale (1944).
A unique expanse of SSSI shingle beach, the Dungeness Estate also features ramshackle huts, old and ultra-modern residences, two lighthouses, boat moorings, two pubs and artist galleries. It’s one of Kent’s most popular filming locations, having recently featured in Back to Life (2019-2021), Brave New World (2020) and Una (2017).
Season 6 of Black Mirror will be released on Netflix on Thursday 15th June 2023.
Writers: Henk Pretorius, Jennifer Nicole Stang Director: Henk Pretorius Starring: Jemima West, Christopher Dane, Rebecca Hanssen, Harry McMillan-Hunt, Rachel Lin, Tori Butler-Hart Production Company: Dark Matter Studios Kent Locations Used: Home Farm, Swale.
The Unfamiliar (2020) is a horror film that features an army doctor returning from war. Initially believing she is suffering from PTSD, Izzy (Jemima West) begins to wonder if there are supernatural forces toying with her as all she once knew becomes unfamiliar.
The psychological horror is set at Home Farm in Swale. Home Farm is a Colonial style, weather boarded villa with a veranda’s overlooking the countryside bordered by woods. Inside, high rooms are decorated in a vintage chic style, with reclaimed wood floors, radiators and chateau doors. Previous productions to have filmed here include The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2017) and Juliet, Naked (2018).
The Unfamiliar is due for release on Friday 11th September 2020 on Amazon, Sky Store, Google Play, Apple TV and other digital channels.
Starring: Jessica Arterton, Jack Brett Anderson, Liam Kelly, Robert Lowe, Leslie Mills
Production Company: Last British Dragon
Kent Locations Used: Evegate Manor, Dryhill Local Nature Reserve, Sole Street House
The House Of Salem is a horror film in which a child, Josh (Liam Kelly) finds unlikely protectors in the form of a group of kidnappers who discover they have been tricked and are now trapped in a house. Realising that they are to become the next sacrifice in a line of murders spanning centuries, they get ready to battle demonic forces for their freedom.
Several Kent locations were used for filming, including private houses Evegate Manor as Josh’s home and Sole Street House as The House of Salem, alongside KCC Dryhill Nature Reserve.
Evegate Manor is a grade II star listed Manor House in Ashford and until recently was used as a farmhouse. Mostly dating from 14th to 16th century the house is constructed of Kentish ragstone rubble with red brick dressing; and is part timber framed with numerous exposed beams. Previous productions to film in the Ashford district include Dead and Awake (2016).
Sole Street House in Ashford is a 10-bedroom Georgian manor house with a Victorian wing, less than 50 miles from central London and standing in 30 acres of grounds including gardens, woodland, stables accommodating some 16 horses and paddocks.
Dryhill Local Nature Reserve in Sevenoaks is on a former quarry site of Special Scientific Interest. The exceptional structure of its rocks and fossils led to it becoming the first geological Local Nature Reserve in Kent. It also has a small stretch of private road for small set-ups. Sevenoaks has previously been used by productions such as Judwaa 2 (2017) and The First Team (2020).
House of Salem was released on 23rd January 2018.
For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map:
Writer: Richard Hobley and Jonathan Hopkins Director: Jonathan Hopkins Starring: Maggie Q, Will Kemp, Sophia Wiseman Production Company: Goldcrest Films Kent Locations Used: Home Farm in Swale
Slumber is a supernatural horror film that follows the story of Alice (Maggie Q), a sleep doctor who is forced to think outside the box when she meets a family who claim that a demon paralyses and terrorises them while they sleep.
World War Z is an apocalypticaction, sci-fi film starring Brad Pitt (Fight Club, Oceans Trilogy) as United Nations researcher Gerry Lane who is forced to leave his family to travel across the world in a race against time to try and stop the zombie pandemic that is threatening to decimate humanity itself.
Based on the 2006 bestselling novel of the same name by author Max Brooks, the film is directed by Marc Forster(Quantum of Solace, Monster’s Ball)from a screenplay by Matthew Michael Carnahan (Lions for Lambs, State of Play) Drew Goddard (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Lost) and Damon Lindelof (Lost, Star Trek – Into Darkness).
Brad Pitt is a supported by Mireille Enos (The Killing), Sterling Jerins (Deception), Matthew Fox (Lost) and James Badge Dale (The Departed).
In September and October 2012, the World War Z production team visited Discovery Park in Sandwich, Dover to use the offices and laboratories to shoot scenes where Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) tries to find a cure for the zombie pandemic.
Discovery Park is the former head quarters of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer. It offers large office complexes, scientific laboratories, warehouses and plants.
Discovery Park has previously been used as a film location by Sky Atlantic drama, The Tunnel(2013) and new BBC series James Mays Cars of People due out in 2014.
Don’t miss World War Z which is out in cinemas on Friday June 21st 2013.
Director: Mitchell Altieri, Phil Flores
Starring: Cory Knauf, Elizabeth Henstridge, Joseph McKelheer, Mackenzie Firgens
Production Company: Film Harvest, Industrial City Films, San Francisco Independent Cinema, Sawhorse Productions, Snowfort Pictures, Straightwire Films
Kent Locations Used: Ringlestone Inn – Harrietsham, Romden Castle, Ashford
The Thompsons (2012) follows the Hamiltons, America’s most wanted vampire family. On the run from the law, the family travel to England to find an ancient vampire clan with the knowledge and skills to save their lives. Unbeknownst to them, what the clan has planned is quite the opposite.
Most of the film was shot in Kent. The Ringlestone Inn in Harrietsham features as the pub owned by the Stuart vampire clan and Romden Castle in Smarden doubles as the home of the Stuarts. Tufton Street in Ashford is the setting for a fight scene between David (Samuel Child), Lenny (Ryan Hartwig) and Stuart crony Cyrus (Sean Cronin), doubling for London.
Dating back to 1533, The Ringlestone Inn is a Grade II listed building, originally used as a hospice for monks. Now a country pub, the building has beamed ceilings, large inglenook fireplaces, stone floors and original brick and flint walls. The village of Harrietsham features in Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949).
Romden Castle is a large guest house situated between the villages of Smarden and Bethersden. The site benefits from an outdoor swimming pool, tennis court, barn, woods and fields.
Ashford is a busy market town with a bustling town centre that boasts two shopping malls, vibrant cafés and pubs, alleyways, and a partly pedestrianised high street.
The Thompsons (2012) was released on Sunday 26th August 2012 and is now available to purchase on DVD.
Director: Lee Alliston, Scott Bates
Starring: Jason Maza, Arnold Oceng, Natasha Jean Sparkes
Production Company: TiCTaC, Darkside Pictures, Pure Film Productions
Kent Locations Used: Whitstable, The Rose in Bloom Pub
The Tapes (2011) is a British indie horror movie following three Kentish teenagers who find themselves trapped on an abandoned farm being hunted by devil worshippers, whilst trying to record a Big Brother audition tape.
Whitstable is a seaside town with working fishing harbour, shingle beach and busy high street. The town is famous for its oysters and the harbour has a number of shops in large sheds which sell fish and shellfish or are seafood cafés. Tankerton Slopes are adjacent to Whitstable Harbour and consist of grassy banks covered in beach huts in front of a pebble beach. There are a number of kiosk style cafés, a yacht club and a beach front skate park. Other productions to have filmed in Whitstable around this time are Venus (2007), Gangsters, Guns and Zombies (2012) and Still Life (2013).
The Tapes (2011) was released on Friday 23rd September 2011 and is currently available to purchase on DVD.
Greetings is a psychological horror, written and directed by Ken Colley, who lives in Kent. Ken Colley financed the project entirely on his own, with a budget of just under £100,000. Filming took twenty days and it was shot with a small cast and crew at Ken’s house in Shepway.
Ken Colley’s wide and varied career as an actor spans over 40 years and he is best known for his portrayal of Admiral Piett in the original Star Wars trilogy.
At Cathy’s (Mel Stephenson) party the lads (Ben Shockley, Matthew Reynolds, John Rackham, Henry Dunn) decide to liven up the atmosphere by playing the Ouija board. When strange things start to happen they blame each other. But is there something else in control?
Greetings previewed at the Odeon cinema in Canterbury and at various festivals, including Kent’s own Swale Film Festival 2008. Ken is currently seeking a distribution deal for the film.
Greetings will have a special screening at the Folkestone University on Wednesday 4th February 09 at 7.30p.m.
The film now has a DVD distribution deal through Brain Damage Films and is also available for online purchase.
The Others is a supernatural thriller set in Jersey after the Second World War about a woman who lives in a darkened old house with her two photosensitive children and becomes convinced it is haunted.
The film features Nicole Kidman (The Golden Compass, Moulin Rouge), Fionnula Flanagan (Four Brothers, Tears of the Sun), Christopher Eccleston (Elizabeth, The Invisible Circus), Alakina Mann (Girl With the Pearl Earring), James Bentley (The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, Imperium: Nero) and Eric Sykes (Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire).
