Darklands (1997)

Country of Origin: UK
Year of Production: 1997
Running Times: 90 mins
Format: Fujicolor     Super 16mm     35mm
Ratio: 1.85:1
Sound: Dolby SR

CREDITS

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Metrodome Films presents a Lluniau Lliw Cyf Production with the participation of Cronfa Lotery Lottery Fund / Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru / The Arts Council of Wales
Executive Producers: Alan Martin, Peter Edwards
Producer: Paul Brooks
Line Producer: Clive Waldron
Production Manager: Bob Portal

SCRIPT
Script: Julian Richards
Additional Dialogue: David Mitchell

DIRECTION
Director: Julian Richards
2nd Unit Director: Chris Jones
1st Assistant Director: Ian Astridge

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Zoran Djordjevic
2nd Unit Director of Photography: Ian Salvage
Steadicam Operator: Paul Edwards
Stills: Jaap Buitendijk
Camera: Arriflex Cameras
Lab: Soho Images, London, UK

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: Mark Talbot-Butler

MUSIC
Music: John Murphy, David Hughes

SOUND
Sound Designer: Paul Davies
Sound: Tim Alban
Location Sound Recordist: Richard Flynn
Foley Editor: Bernard O'Reilly

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Chief Make Up: Kymberley Piers-Harlow
Make Up: Yasmin Iqbal
2nd Unit Make Up: Claire Bonser
Hair: Yasmin Iqbal
Costume Designer: Sheena Gunn

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Pyrotechnics: Richard Rees

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: Hayden Pearce
Art Director: Frazer Pearce
Props: Tom Pearce

LOCATIONS
Locations: Evening Post offices, Swansea, Wales, UK; Port Talbot Steelworks, Port Talbot, Wales, UK

CASTING
Casting: Julian Richards

CAST
Craig Fairbrass (Frazer Truick)
Jon Finch (David Keller)
Rowena King (Rachel Morris)
Roger Nott (Dennis Cox)
Dave Duffy (Carver)
Richard Lynch (Salvy)
Ray Gravell (bearded Gypsy)
Kim Ryan (scared Gypsy)
Bob Blythe (McCullen)
Nicola Branson (Becky)
Hubert Rees (Bill Sawyer)
Philip Babot (Chainsaw)
Morega Polser (May Queen)
Ian Deveraux (Green Man)
William Thomas (Detective Jarvis)
Beth Morris (Doctor Morgan)
Ieuan Rhys (traffic cop)
Martin Cole (drug dealer)

PLOT SUMMARY

Frazer Truick, a down on his luck journalist, loses his job in London and returns home to Wales to work on a local paper. There he teams up with trainee reporter Rachel Morris whose steelworker brother recently died in an industrial accident. Rachel believes that he was murdered by a sinister religious cult which appears to be headed by David Keller, a powerful local businessman.

AVAILABILITY

France
Theatrical Distributors: Twentieth Century Fox

Germany
Theatrical Distributors: Splendid Film

Spain
Theatrical Distributors: Filmax International S.A.

UK
Theatrical Distributors: Metrodome Distribution
Video Distributors: Fox-Pathé

CENSORSHIP HISTORY

Germany
Rating: 18

UK
Rating: 18

AWARDS

1997
Fantasporto, Portugal
Critics' Award (Julian Richards) - winner
Grand Prize of European Fantasy Film in Silver (Julian Richards) - winner
International Fantasy Film Award Best Screenplay (Julian Richards) - winner
International Fantasy Film Special Jury Award (Julian Richards) winner (tied with Sweet Angel Mine (1996))
Grand Prize of European Fantasy Film in Gold (Julian Richards) - nominated
International Fantasy Film Award Best Film (Julian Richards) - nominated

Festival of Fantastic Films, UK
Best Independent Feature Award Independent Feature Film (Julian Richards) - winner

WorldFest Houston, USA
Silver Award Theatrical Feature Films: Fantasy / Horror (Julian Richards) - winner

TIMELINE

1996
March
Day Unknown: UK production begins

April
Day Unknown: UK filming ends

November
Day Unknown: UK production ends

1997
September
12: Sweden shown at the Fantastisk Film Festival Lund

October
24: UK - theatrical release

November
26: UK - theatrical release

December
13: Portugal shown at the Melies d'Or Awards

1998
May
9: Philippines - theatrical release

POSTER TAGS

The old flesh is dead, long live the new!

LINKS

SEE ALSO
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
The Wicker Man (1973)

REFERENCES

MAGAZINES

The Dark Side no.73 (June / July 1998) p.19 (UK)
review

Empire November 1997 p.56 (UK)
review (by Kim Newman)

Film Review November 1997 p.28 (UK)
review (by Ian Calcutt)

Total Film December 1997 p.97 (UK)
review (by Jerry Donlan)

KEYWORDS

conspiracies, nationalism, paganism, paranoia, satanism, witchcraft

Last Updated: 28 March, 2009