psychological drama

Dead and Awake (2016)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Dead and Awake film poster- three actors all staring at the camera, Dead and Awake written in orange at the bottom

Dead and Awake film poster © Alexander Fodor

Writer and Director: Alexander Fodor

Stars: Jason Wing, Funda Önal, Ryan Ebling

Production Companies: Dark Moon Filmworks, Zed Resistor Company

Kent Locations Used: St Augustine’s Priory, Ashford

Dead and Awake is a dark, sinister, psychological thriller about a group of people who have kidnapped a girl with paranormal powers, only to find themselves victims of mind control.

The film was written and directed by Alexander Fodor (Hamlet) and stars Jason Wing (The Antwerp Dolls), Funda Önal (Made in Chelsea, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) and Ryan Ebling (Noah).

Dead and Awake was shot on location at St Augustine’s Priory at Ashford which is the country house featured throughout the film. The production also filmed in Essex.

St Augustine’s Priory is a 13th century priory and Edwardian country house in Ashford, surrounded by seven acres of beautiful gardens. The Ashford area has been used for filming by The Monuments Men (2014), Emma (2009) and the infamous Kentish series, The Darling Buds of May (1991 – 1993).

The film is released on Monday 12th September 2016 on Amazon for purchase.

 

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

 

The Poison Tree (2012)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
The Poison Tree lead characters relaxing around a dinner table with fairy lights.

The Poison Tree © ITV

ITV Mini-Series

Production Company: GroupM Entertainment, ITV,  STV

Kent Locations Used: Dungeness Estate, The Pilot Inn pub

‘The Poison Tree’ is an atmospheric and psychological TV drama based on the popular book of the same name by Erin Kelly. The two 60 minute episodes tell the tale of Karen Clarke (MyAnna Buring), who has been waiting twelve long years for the release of her partner Rex (Matthew Goode), from prison.

With her partner now free, Karen is looking forward to settling down as a normal family with their daughter, Alice (Hebe Johnson). However, Karen starts to receive phone calls and anonymous text messages and she realises that her family are being watched. Despite her best efforts to keep their past a secret, someone knows the truth about what she and Rex did twelve years ago. How far will Karen go to protect her family?

‘The Poison Tree’ was written by Emilia di Girolamo, lead writer/Co-producer of Law & Order UK seasons 5 and 6 and directed by Marek Losey who previously made his debut feature film ‘The Hide’, which was also filmed in Kent.

Filming took place on the Dungeness Estate, which has a rich and diversified history with film and television. The BBC filmed episodes of Dr Who during the 1970’s and the 1998 film ‘I Want You’ staring Rachel Weisz and Alessandro Nivola, which was set in and around Dungeness.

In an interview with Broadcast magazine in December 2012, writer of the TV adaption Emilia di Girolamo  said: “First we decided to change the setting.  Relocating the story to Dungeness gave us an immensely powerful and evocative landscape to work with. Abandoning the traditional dimly lit world of the thriller for the bleached out, desert-like exteriors, the power station. Brooding in the distance, gave a real sense of there being nowhere to hide for Karen, upping the dramatic tension.”

The Poison Tree was shown in December 2012 on ITV 1 and is now available to buy on DVD.

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

Island (2011)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Natalie Press sitting on a rock with sea and hills behind her.

Natalie Press in The Island sitting on a rock © Hopscotch Films

Director: Elizabeth Mitchell, Brek Taylor
Starring: Natalie Press, Colin Morgan, Janet McTeer
Production Company: Finite Films and TV, Hopscotch Films, Tailor-Made Films, Tailormade Productions
Kent Locations Used: Gravesend, Somerhill Independent School

Island (2011) is a psychological drama based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Jane Rogers. Incapable of love and desperate for revenge, Nikki Black embarks on a journey to a remote island to seek out the mother who abandoned her at birth.

Directed by Elizabeth Mitchell and Brek Taylor, the film stars Natalie Press (Wasp (2003), Suffragette) as Nikki Black, Colin Morgan (Merlin (2008), Humans – Series 2 (2016)) as Calum and Janet McTeer (The Honourable Woman (2014), Me Before You) as Phyllis.

Filming took place at a private house in Gravesend, which doubled for Nikki’s old house, and at Somerhill Independent School in Tonbridge. A scene was also filmed on Gravesend Promenade however this did not make the final cut.

Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent on the south bank of the Thames. The town’s pier is the oldest remaining cast iron pier in the world, with an unspoilt promenade, high street and two shopping centres. Other projects to have filmed in Gravesend include Canterbury Tales – The Seacaptain’s Tale (2003), The Interceptor (2015) and The Escape (2018).

The Schools at Somerhill are a family of schools within the Tonbridge and Malling district of Kent. Features include a sports hall, swimming pool, spacious dining hall, treehouse complex and a state-of-the-art music building with a large performance area.

Island (2011) debuted in UK cinemas on Friday 22nd April 2011 and is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime.

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