Writer / Director: Matt Mitchell
Starring: Laura Swift, Sally Phillips, Tom Goodman-Hill, Carol Cleveland, Harriet Madeley, Michael Fatogun, Sarine Sofair, Kevin Leslie, Sophie Miller-Sheen, James Barnes
Production Company: Lost Eye Films
Kent Locations Used: Manor Way Business Park – Swanscombe, Gravesend Old Town Hall, Powerhub, Northfleet Industrial Estate

The Rizen (2017) and The Rizen: Possession (2020) are horror stories 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. The films ask the question: what if they had succeeded, and the experiments, once unleashed, tear the world apart?

The films were written and directed by Matt Mitchell (Gangsters, Guns & Zombies (2012)).

The film stars Laura Swift (No Time to Die, Black Widow) as Frances, with cameos from Sally Phillips (Year of the Rabbit (2019), Bridget Jones’s Diary), Tom Goodman-Hill (Humans – Series 2 (2016), Mr Selfridge (2013-2016)), Bruce Payne (Passenger 57, Highlander: Endgame), Julian Rhind-Tutt (Sally Lockheart – The Shadow in the North (2007), Stardust), Stephen Marcus (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Ninja Assassin), Adrian Edmondson (A Spy Among Friends (2022), Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi), Carol Cleveland (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Monty Python’s Life of Brian) and Lee Latchford-Evans (Ten Dead Men, Dead Ringer). The sequel stars Harriet Madeley (Waking David, Dragonflies Only Live for 24 Hours) as Grace, Michael Fatogun (The Courier, Zip Wire) as Davies, Sarine Sofair (Anna Karenina, Game of Thrones) as Bell, Kevin Leslie (The Code, 13 Graves) as Steve, Sophie Miller-Sheen as Maddie and James Barnes (Sable Fable, Wilderness) as Johnson.

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) and The Interceptor (2015).

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. Missing (2009) also filmed in Maidstone.

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, and The Rizen: Possession (2020) closed the London Sci-Fi film festival on Wednesday 22nd May 2019.

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