Thriller

Greetings (2008)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Kirsty (Kirsty Cox) looking at a mirror that has misted up

Kirsty (Kirsty Cox) looking at a mirror in Greetings © Dunne Productions

Director and writer: Ken Colley

Production Company: Dunne Productions

Kent Filming Location: Shepway

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.

4 men with their hands on a Oujia Board in a living room

Lads playing the Oujia Board © Dunne Productions

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.

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

The Bank Job (2008)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Jason Statham standing behind an open train door staring away from the camera

Jason Statham in The Bank Job © Lionsgate Films

Writer: Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais

Director: Roger Donaldson 

Production Company: Mosaic Media Group , Relativity Media, Skyline, Atlas Entertainment, Omnilab Media

Kent Filming Locations: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Starring Jason Statham (The Italian Job, The Transporter) and Saffron Burrows (Boston Legal, Enigma), The Bank Job is inspired by true events. When Martine, an attractive model from Terry’s old neighbourhood, offers information on a bank, Terry finds that it is too tempting to resist.

By tunnelling their way into the bank, the crew not only walked away with a jackpot of over £3 million, but more importantly, stumbled upon scandalous Royal secrets. Almost as soon as the daring heist hit the headlines, the government fearing the release of the uncovered secrets put in place a gagging order that has shrouded the true nature of this crime for over thirty
years.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham provided the ideal double for a London railway station of the 70’s, as well as the post office scene in the closing stages of the film.

Set over 80 acres, The Historic Dockyard Chatham contains over 100 Georgian and Victorian buildings as well as cobbled streets and dock spaces. The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a poplar location for filming having previously featured in Rustom (2016), Downton Abbey (2013) and The World is Not Enough (1999).

The Bank Job was released in cinemas on 29th February 2008 and is now available on DVD.

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

Spooks (2007) Series 6

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Actors Peter Firth, Hermione Norris and Rupert Penry-Jones wearing dark suits staring into the camera with a cracked glass effect behind them.

Peter Firth, Hermione Norris and Rupert Penry-Jones in Spooks ©BBC

 

Starring: Rupert Penry-Jones, Hermione Norris, Miranda Raison.

Production Company: BBC

Kent Locations Used: Medway Services, Cliffe

Spooks is a long running BBC One TV drama series following the work of the British MI5 agency. This fast-paced thriller sees the team trying to stop a rogue member of the Iranian intelligence who plans to unleash a deadly bioweapon.

Season 6 stars Rupert Penry-Jones (Stan Lee’s Lucky Man), Hermoine Norris (Cold Feet) and Miranda Raison (Murder on the Orient Express).

The production filmed scenes for Episode 8 “Infiltration” in rural locations around the village of Cliffe, near Rochester in Medway including fields and a railway bridge to stand in for rural East Anglia.

Medway has been featured in many productions, including Great Expectations (2012) and the TV series New Blood (2016).

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

 

 

Cape Wrath (2007)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Cape Wrath Cast at Leybourne Lakes with houses behind

Cape Wrath Cast at Leybourne Lakes © Channel 4

Director: Duane Clark, Andrew Gunn

Writer: Robert Murphy

Starring: David Morrissey, Lucy Cohu, Ralph Brown, Tom Hardy

Production Company: Ecosse Films

Kent Filming Locations: Leybourne Lakes, Mote Park Leisure Centre, Whatman warehouse Maidstone, Kings Hill, Imperial College-Wye Campus

Cape Wrath is a 7-part thriller which is known in the US as Meadowlands. This sinister series followed the lives of the Brogan family, headed by David Morrissey, as they relocate to the seemingly safe suburban town of Meadowlands as part of a witness protection programme. The Brogan family begin to doubt just how safe the village of Meadowlands truly is when it turns out that they’re not the only ones with secrets to hide.

Starring David Morrissey (The Walking Dead, The Reaping, The Other Boleyn Girl) as Danny Brogan and Lucy Cohu (Becoming Jane, Broadchurch, The Queen’s Sister) as his ever-patient wife Evelyn, Cape Wrath also showcases a number of well-known talents including Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything, Like Crazy, The Diary of Anne Frank), Tom Hardy (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, Mad Max: Fury Road), Ralph Brown (Withnail and I, Star Wars: Episode 1 -The Phantom Menace, Wayne’s World 2) and Nina Sosanya (Love Actually, Last Tango in Halifax, Code 46).

The series based and filmed in Kent, utilising an empty warehouse in Rusthall to create a number of central sets which were used for most of the interiors. The main characters homes were filmed at housing development next to Leybourne Lakes Country Park which double as “Meadowlands”. Liberty Square at Kings Hill features as the local town centre and The Kings Hill Golf Course is also used for a number of scenic exterior shots. Wye College also features as Samantha’s Father’s place of work in London. The Gym, the sports hall and the exterior of Maidstone Leisure Centre also feature frequently throughout the series.

Leybourne Lakes and Kings Hill are new developments in the Tonbridge and Malling district. The areas have great transport links, local amenities, a network of cycle paths and a number of sports facilities including The Kings Hill Golf Course. The area has previously has been seen on Great British Railway Journeys (2014), Couples Come Dine with Me (2014) and Missing Series Two (2010).

Maidstone is the county town of Kent which lies on the River Medway and boasts lovely parks and gardens such as Mote Park where Mote Park Leisure Centre, is situated. The town also has many shops, bars and restaurants and is home to The Maidstone Studios an independent TV studio complex on an 11 acre site offering 5 television studios, dubbing facilities, edits suites, office space and parking. Productions which have previously filmed in the area include Later… with Jools Holland (2013-2018) and Missing (2009).

Cape Wrath was originally shown on Channel 4 in July 2007 and is available to buy on DVD.

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

Bleak House (2005)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Bleak House filming at Cobham Hall - Gillian Anderson as Lady Dedlock and Anna Maxwell Martin as Esther sat on a bench in a formal garden, cobham hall can be seen behind

Bleak House filming at Cobham Hall © BBC and Terry Curran

Written By: Charles Dickens (Novel) & Andrew Davies (Adaptation)

Starring: Gillian Anderson, Ana Maxwell Martin, Carey Mulligan, Charles Dance, Patrick Kennedy & Denis Lawson

Production Company: BBC, WGBH, Deep Indigo Productions, Smallweed Productions

Kent Locations Used: Cobham Hall

This BBC A dramatic thriller set in Victorian England. It tells the story of the beautiful but icy Lady Dedlock (Gillian Anderson). Nursing a dark secret in her past, her merciless lawyer Tulkinghorn seeks to uncover it.

Running parallel to the central story, the generous John Jarndyce struggles with his own past and takes in two young wards Richard (Patrick Kennedy) and Ada (Carey Mulligan). Like the infamous Lady Dedlock, all three are caught up in the case of Jarndyce Vs Jarndyce, a court case many years long that is yet to be resolved. When it is, the winning party will be rich beyond all imagination.

The two young wards are accompanied by Esther Summerson (Ana Maxwell Martin), a woman of questionable background. Told she will never amount to anything, is she the key to Lady Dedlock’s secret?

First published in 1852, the novel was released in 19 instalments. To mirror Dickens’ original dramatic storyline and typical cliff-hanger endings, the TV adaptation was comprised of a one hour opening episode with subsequent 30 minute programmes lasting for 14 episodes. The programme was shown twice weekly in 2005 on BBC 1 and is now available to buy on DVD.

Behind the scenes filming of Bleak House at Cobham Hall - courtyard with people walking, horse and carriage driving past

Behind the scenes filming of Bleak House at Cobham Hall © Terry Curran

 

Behind the scenes filming of Bleak House at Cobham Hall - brick house with crew outside and a white horse on the grass in front

Behind the scenes filming of Bleak House at Cobham Hall © Terry Curran

Cast and crew filming outside at Cobham Hall gardens- fields and gardens can be seen in the background

Behind the scenes filming of Bleak House at Cobham Hall gardens © Terry Curran

cast members in costume in the gardens of Cobham hall.

Gillian Anderson as Lady Dedlockk at Cobham Hall © Terry Curran

The BBC adaption stars Gillian Anderson (The Fall, Johnny English Reborn), Ana Maxwell Martin (Becoming Jane, Philomena), Carey Mulligan (The Great Gatsby, Suffragette), Charles Dance (The Imitation Game, Ghostbusters), Patrick Kennedy (Atonement, War Horse) and Denis Lawson (New Tricks, Broken).

Cobham Hall is a private boarding school near to Gravesend located in 150 acres of Grade II listed parkland. The interiors boast a stunning ball room, library, cobbled courtyards, formal gardens, classrooms as well as sports facilities, including a swimming pool. Cobham Hall is a popular film location having previously been used for Hetty Feather series 1-2 (2012), The Great Fire (2014) and Wild Child (2008).

Bleak House features in the Kent Film Office Dickens Trail which was laucnhed in 2012: https://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/kent-movie-map/dickens-movie-trail/

Bleak House was shown on the BBC in 2005 and is now available to buy on DVD.

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

The Gathering (2003)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
The Barons Hall large room with a meeting table in. Church officials are sat around the edge.

Church Officials meeting in The Barons Hall, Penshurst Place © Granada Films

Written by: Anthony Horowitz

Directed by: Brian Gilbert

Starring: Christina Ricci, Harry Forrester, Stephen Dillane, Peter McNamara, Robert Hardy, Ioan Gruffudd, Simon Russell Beale

Production Company: Granada Film Productions, Isle of Man Film Commission, Samuelson Productions, Isle of Man Film

Kent Locations: Penshurst Place

The Gathering is a supernatural thriller about Cassie, a young woman who forgets her identity after a car accident. As a mysterious, buried First Century church is uncovered, a dark history regarding some of the townspeople is revealed. Cassie begins to have premonitions of people whose lives are in danger and as events unfold, she realises who she really is.

The film stars Christina Ricci (The Ice Storm, Sleepy Hollow), Stephen Dillane (Spy Game, King Arthur), Robert Hardy (Frankenstein, Sense and Sensibility), Ioan Gruffudd (Black Hawk Down, Fantastic 4 Franchise), Harry Forrester (The Bill) and Kerry Fox (Shallow Grave, Bright Stair).

The Barons Hall at Penshurst Place provided the location for the scenes where the Bishop held meetings with the clergy.

Penshurst Place is a beautiful medieval estate with a history spanning nearly 700 years. It is popular with the visiting public due to the dedicated conservation of the rooms and its beautifully maintained gardens. The vast home and grounds have previously welcomed productions such as Henry V (2012), The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) and BBC’s Merlin (2008).

The Gathering was released in January 2003 and is now available to buy on DVD.

 

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

The Others (2001)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
The Others film poster- Nicole kidman holding a lamp looking scared. The others written on top on a black background

The Others © Cruise/Wagner Productions

Directed by: Alejandro Amenabar

The Lime Walk, Penshurst Place- misty forest with trees

The Lime Walk, Penshurst Place © Cruise/Wagner Productions

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, Christopher Eccleston, Alakina Mann, James Bentley, Eric Sykes

Production Company: Cruise/Wagner Productions, Sogecine, Las Producciones del Escorpión, Dimension Films, Canal+, Lucky Red, Miramax 

Kent Locations Used: Penshurst Place 

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). 

The Lime Walk at Penshurst Place was used for the scene where Grace Stewart (Nicole Kidman) is walking to the local village through the fog, and coincidently bumps into her husband who has returned from the war. Penshurst Place has previously welcomed other productions such as The Hollow Crown- Henry V (2012), The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) and Merlin (2008).

The Others was released in cinemas in November 2001 and is now available to buy on DVD.

 

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

Essex Boys (2000)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Main poster of the Essex Boys production- black car with essex boys written in yellow

Essex Boys movie poster © Granada Film Productions

Writers: Jeff Pope, Terry Winsor

Director: Terry Winsor

Starring: Sean Bean, Alex Kingston, Tom Wilkinson, Charlie Creed-Miles, Larry Lamb

Production Company: Granada Film Productions

Kent Location: Dartford Crossing

Essex Boys is a British crime thriller based loosely around events in 1995 that culminated in the murder of three drug dealers in Rettendon, Essex. Young taxi driver Billy Reynolds (Charlie Creed-Miles) gives up his job to become the driver for gangster Jason Locke (Sean Bean) and finds himself in some difficult situations.

The film was co-written by Jeff Pope (Cilla, Mo) and Terry Winsor (Mad Money, Party Party) who also directs.

The cast features lots of familiar faces including Sean Bean (Game of Thrones, Lord of The Rings, Martian). Alex Kingston (Doctor Who, American Odyssey, ER), Tom Wilkinson (Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel). Charlie Creed-Miles (Ripper Street, Harry Brown) and Larry Lamb (Gavin and Stacy, Eastenders).

 The Essex Boys production team visited the Dartford Crossing to film scenes where the gang travels from Kent to Essex.

Dartford is a historic town situated close to London and home to one of Europe’s largest shopping centres. The Dartford Crossing – QEII Bridge has also been used as a film location for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010), London Spy (2015), Redemption (2013).

Essex Boys was released on 14th July 2000 and is now available to purchase on DVD.

 

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

The World is Not Enough (1999)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
The World Is Not Enough Movie Poster- montage of movie images between flames, james bond stands in the middle with a gun, with women either side of him. The World Is Not Enough 007 written in gold

The World Is Not Enough © movieposterDB

Director: Michael Apted 

Writers:  Ian Fleming (Novel), Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (Screenplay)

Starring:  Pierce Brosnan, John Cleese, Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle, Judi Dench, Denise Richards

Production Company: Danjaq, Eon Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, United Artists

Kent locations used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

The World is Not Enough is the nineteenth film in the James Bond series and sees Bond, played by Pierce Brosnan, return to protect the world from a nuclear bomb threat whilst protecting the heiress and daughter of an oil tycoon murdered at MI6.

Directed by Michael Apted (The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader) and starring screen favourites as Pierce Brosnan (Tomorrow Never Dies, Die Another Day), Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty, Trainspotting), Sophie Marceau (Braveheart, Beyond The Clouds), John Cleese (Fawlty Towers, A Fish Called Wanda) and Judi Dench (Die Another Day, Ladies in Lavender).

The World is Not Enough was a smash hit at the box office and became the highest earning James Bond film until Die Another Day was released in 2002. The film also won several awards for best film of its genre and best actor, Pierce Brosnan.

The Historic Dockyard in Chatham was used as the location for a section of the action packed boat chase at the start of the film where the boat goes across a road, through a boat house and down an arched alleyway. If you look closely you can see Chatham High Street just before Bond sails past the O2.

A popular filming location for the big and small screen The Historic Dockyard has also featured in productions such as Les Miserables (2013), The Golden Compass (2007) and the BBC adaptation of Oliver Twist (2007).

The film was released in November 1999 and is now available to buy on DVD.

 

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