The Rizen (2017) and The Rizen: Possession (2020)

Hand holding open book of arcane symbols

The Rizen © Lost Eye Films Ltd

Written and directed by: Matt Mitchell

Starring: Sally Phillips, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Tom Goodman-Hill, Adrian Edmondson

Production Company: Lost Eye Films

Kent Locations Used: Manor Way Business Park in Swanscombe, Old Town Hall Gravesend, Powerhub in Maidstone, Northfleet Industrial Estate

The Rizen (2017) and The Rizen: Possession (2020) is a horror story set in 1955, an era when both NATO and the Allied Forces were supposedly conducting secret, occult experiments in a bid to win the Arms Race.

What if they had succeeded and what the Army unleashed threatens to tear the world apart?

Man standing side-on looking at the Suited Women (Sally Phillips) who is looking forward.

The Rizen © Lost Eye Films Ltd

The Rizen was written and directed by Matt Mitchell (Gangsters, Guns & Zombies, It Never Sleeps). The film stars Sally Phillips (Bridget Jones’s Diary, The Decoy Bride), Julian Rhind-Tutt (Lucy, Rush), Tom Goodman-Hill (Mr Selfridge, Everest) and Adrian Edmondson (War and Peace, Bottom).

The production was largely based in Kent and the Manor Way Business Park in Swanscombe was used as their studio. Production filmed the endless, dark corridors in the Powerhub in Maidstone and ‘laboratory’ and ‘radio room’ scenes at Northfleet Industrial Estate with both locations doubling as an ex-military base. Filming also took place at Gravesend Old Town Hall which featured as a Grand Hall for an ‘academy’.

Manor Way Business Park is an industrial area with offices and warehouses located in Swanscombe, famous for its spectacular finds of Early Man. The site has excellent transport links and previously featured in Gangsters, Guns & Zombies (2012) and Doctor Strange  (2016).

The Gravesend Old Town Hall was once the seat of the local Magistrates Courts and has now been restored to serve as cultural and community venue. Other productions that have filmed in the Gravesend area include Canterbury Tales – The Seacaptain’s Tale (2003), The Interceptor (2015) and Great British Railway Journeys (2014).

Lieutenant Conner Taylor (Lee Latchford-Evans) pointing rifle towards figure in the foreground.

The Rizen © Lost Eye Films Ltd

The Powerhub in Maidstone is a five storey, listed, industrial building with a 1900’s art deco exterior. Inside the building there are a selection of studios, offices, showrooms and amazing studios. Past productions that have filmed in Maidstone include Missing (2009), Children in Need – The Rickshaw Challenge (2015) and Couples Come Dine With Me (2014).

Northfleet Industrial Estate is an estate in two halves, having been cut in half by the high speed railway and each half has its own tone. The location was used for filming a car crash scene in Doctor Strange  (2016).

The Rizen (2017) was chosen to headline and close the London Sci-fi Film Festival 2017 on Saturday 6th May 2017 with its World Premiere and The Rizen: Possession (2020) closed the London Sci-Fi film festival on 22nd May 2019.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

 


Sally Lockheart – The Shadow in the North (2007)

The Shadow in the North logo- The Shadow in the North written in white on a black background

The Shadow in the North © BBC

 

Director: John Alexander

Starring: Billie Piper, JJ Field, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Matt Smith, Hayley Atwell

Production Company:  BBC, NOVA/WGBH Boston

Kent Locations: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Sally Lockheart in a period dress facing someone who has their back to the camera.

Sally Lockheart (Billie Piper) © BBC

The Shadow in the North is the second of the Sally Lockheart Mysteries and follows Sally, who, with the help of her detective friends, investigates her client’s losses of vast sums of money due to a vanished steam ship. The team find out that a mysterious stage magician and a psychic medium are part of the mystery, along with a very old enemy of Sally’s.

This BBC TV Movie is the second Sally Lockheart Mystery and is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by English author Philip Pullman.

Starring many familiar faces including Billie Piper (Doctor Who, A Passionate Women), JJ Field (The Musketeers, Captain America: The First Avenger), Matt Smith (Doctor Who), Hayley Atwell (The Duchess, The Sweeney)and Julian Rhind-Tutt (Rush, Stardust).

The Historic Dockyard in Chatham doubled as the exterior of North Star Castings gun shop, as well as London street scenes.

The Historic Dockyard in Chatham boasts many interesting features such as the HMS Cavalier, period buildings, cobbled streets and newly reconstructed smithy. Many productions have been shot at this location including Dom Hemingway (2013), Sherlock Holmes (2009) and Oliver Twist (2007).

The Shadow in the North was shown on the BBC in December 2007 and is now available to buy on DVD.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.