The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Poison, The Rat Catcher & The Crown (2023)

Benedict Cumberbatch as Henry Sugar floats above the floor in a meditative position. He wears red pyjamas and is in a bedroom with wooden walls, wooden floor and several wooden tables.

Benedict Cumberbatch in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023) © Netflix

Director: Wes Anderson
Starring:
Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Rupert Friend, Ben Kingsley, Dev Patel, Richard Ayoade
Production Company:
American Empirical Pictures, Netflix Studios
Kent Locations Used:
Maidstone Studios, Powerhub

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Poison, The Rat Catcher and The Swan (2023) are a selection of short films based on The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More, a collection of short stories by Roald Dahl.

Directed by Wes Anderson (Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Grand Budapest Hotel), the films star Benedict Cumberbatch (The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (2022), Doctor Strange (2016)), Ralph Fiennes (Holmes & Watson (2018), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010)), Rupert Friend (The Death of Stalin, Hitman: Agent 47), Ben Kingsley (Gandhi, Schindler’s List), Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire, Lion) and Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd, Submarine).

The shorts were filmed at The Maidstone Studios almost in their entirety, with set and prop construction taking part in nearby Kent locations. The hospital set in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023) was filmed at the nearby Powerhub.

Just 45 minutes from London, Maidstone Studios is the UK’s largest independent studios. They are classed as a regional studio facility and have been home to some of the industry’s best-loved television programmes over the years. Most recently, it played host to Season 2 of This Time With Alan Partridge (2021), Series 2 of The Split (2020) and Series 2 and 3 of Hetty Feather (2015-2020).

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Poison, The Rat Catcher and The Swan (2023) were released on Netflix on Wednesday 27th September 2023.

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


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.