The Story
Hello everyone, my name is Gregory Fishwick and welcome to Victorian England, the setting of my new film as writer/director, Death & The Widow!
The film is a short period Gothic horror that explores the fundamental mysteries of love, life, sex and death. Let me tell you a little about the story.
A woman observes the body of her daughter being treated by an undertaker. The sight of his hands on female flesh stirs memories in her of her deceased husband and a passion in her is awakened. Whilst voyeuristically spying on him one night, she discovers a bizarre side to his nature, thus leading her to discover dark, hidden depths to her own desires.
The film was born out of a question I found myself asking; how does someone who lives among death on a day to day basis, such as a doctor or, more specifically, a mortician readjust to living day to day life among the living? I felt Victorian England, one of the most macabre and perverse societies in history was the perfect setting for this chilling and sensual story.
The Return
Many of you will be familiar with the project already due to a previous crowdfund campaign where we manged to raise just over £1400 of the predicted budget. As a period piece, however, our budget is substantial, hence why we have returned asking for a little more help!
Below is a breakdown of where the money will be going.
The project has moved on considerably since the last campaign. We are fully cast and crewed up and you will be able to hear from our team as the campaign progresses. We have fantastic locations in place including the stunning Carlton Towers (below is me dwarfed by said location on a recce!) which you may well have recently seen on British television in ITV's Victoria. Costumes will be provided by among others, the prestigious West Yorkshire Playhouse and, of course, shooting dates are in place; we commence a 5 day shoot on 2nd July!
Lavish locations, fine costumes, high end equipment and a talented cast and crew; all these aspects obviously cost considerably but they are integral in bringing the world of Death & The Widow to life and in an historically accurate manner-we need your support to do it!
The Vision
For those new to the project, let me talk a little about my inspirations and influences.
The film draws equally on arthouse and grindhouse, classic and contemporary, black and white & colour! It's period setting allowed me to reflect my love of early expressionistic cinema and weird literature and while it is a horror, it is an unconventional one with a romantic slant to it.
Film is, of course, a visual medium so the mood board below is maybe the best way to reflect the tone and aesthetic that we're going for!
The Future
As the saying goes, every little helps. We are extremely grateful to those who have generously contributed already. That final push is now all we need. Everything is in place and we are ready to go! If you donate, you will become part of a unique film production and, of course, there are some equally unique perks up for grabs! (13 in total - a horror film's lucky number!)
Thanks for checking out our page and remember to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!
We hope you are as excited about our film as we are! From all the cast and crew of Death & The Widow (that's us below!) Thanks!