How south Essex became a key player in the horror film scene

Actress Tess Gustard has conscionable 1 occupation contiguous - to unfastened a door, look towards a steel-framed furniture and shriek astatine the precise apical of her lungs.

Gustard, a erstwhile taxation adviser, is 1 of hundreds of actors crossed the UK progressive successful the nation's booming autarkic fearfulness scene.

The BBC meets her astatine a workplace successful southbound Essex, an country accelerated becoming a Hollywood of horror, wherever she is reshooting a country with TIS Films.

It was with TIS films, and its manager Alex Churchyard, that Gustard, got her archetypal large interruption with I Scream connected the Beach.

"This is benignant of similar my midlife crisis," she says. "I gave up my taxation enactment astir six years ago, retrained and I americium present a afloat clip actor."

In conscionable 4 takes, her shriek - piercingly large yet peculiarly affluent - is deemed conscionable right. Her occupation is done.

"I didn't realise I was a bully screamer until I started moving with the guys," she says. "I'm present going to spell location and gargle immoderate honey."

The filming takes spot successful a ample nonrecreational workplace with aggregate sets connected an concern property successful Rochford - a acold outcry from Churchyard's earliest films, which were changeable successful household bedrooms.

"My archetypal diagnostic film, I Scream connected the Beach, was changeable implicit weekends with what we could spare from our earnings," the 35-year-old says.

The unit is shooting scenes for 2 films - Mosaic, which has a fund of astir £7,000, and Video Shop Tales of Terror: Lust and Revenge, which Churchyard hopes to support "well nether £10,000".

The autarkic fearfulness country depends connected a premix of DVD, screenings astatine cardinal festivals specified arsenic FrightFest and Horror connected Sea and, increasingly, online streaming.

"There's a large appetite for independent, low-budget horror," says Churchyard, who works arsenic a video exertion during the week.

It is an industry, helium says, successful which fans with the indispensable passionateness and quality tin assistance marque the films they love. Fans, helium says, similar 48-year-old Singh Lall.

By time Mr Lall works arsenic a concern studies teacher astatine a section secondary school. By nighttime (or successful this lawsuit weekend) helium is the shaper of Video Shop Tales of Terror: Lust and Revenge.

"I've been a genre instrumentality for arsenic agelong arsenic I tin remember," says Lall. "I utilized to enactment up precocious with my mum watching Hammer films and that led to fearfulness festivals."

It was done networking astatine those festivals that helium got the accidental to marque Video Shop Tales of Terror 2 years ago.

"If idiosyncratic had told maine I'd beryllium producing fearfulness films 5 years ago, I would person said, 'never successful a cardinal years'," helium says.

"But that's the quality of this - anybody tin prime up a camera and make thing and determination are outlets, festivals and fans. I americium 1 of them."

Lauren Jane Barnett and Tony Mardon person travelled to the Essex acceptable from London to assistance out.

When Mardon, usually a director, learns 1 of the pistillate formed members has not been capable to marque it, helium puts connected a abbreviated sequin formal and a reddish wig to screen the part

"Everybody helps each other; it is conscionable however it is. Doing worldly similar this is great, though I don't usually deterioration a dress."

"And it is simply a batch of fun," says movie historiographer Barnett, who moved to the UK from North Carolina 13 years ago.

"I grew up watching B movies and due to the fact that I met Tony done my work, I ended up successful his movie The Witches of the Sands and, due to the fact that everybody knows each other, I'm present to assistance out.

"Acting is an accidental portion of the journey."

Make up creator Alex Gent, a erstwhile paper journalist, has a batch connected his hands.

"I've been told we privation idiosyncratic turned into a robot, I've got idiosyncratic I've got to termination disconnected rather graphically and I cognize I've got immoderate wounds and injuries to inflict during the day," helium says.

Among the astir grizzly of the injuries connected his occupation expanse is what's known arsenic a "face pull-off", successful which the actor's look appears to beryllium ripped distant from their head.

"Once you've got the tools and the assurance you tin really bash things rather easily," helium says.

The robot outfit created by Gent was worn by Andrea Rose.

Thus acold successful her fearfulness career, the softly-spoken histrion is astir often formed arsenic a sinister feminine aggressor oregon a zombie.

"People accidental they conscionable can't ideate maine arsenic a scare actor, but I conscionable emotion it," she says.

Today, she aft playing the robot, she past plays a victim.

"It is truly bully to beryllium a unfortunate due to the fact that I'm usually the sinister one."

Chris Mills and Annabella Rich are rising stars successful the indie fearfulness country and person travelled from Portsmouth and Chichester to perform.

Mr Mills, 33, volition beryllium playing a abstraction bull and a quality called Joshua, a delinquent son, who volition beryllium joining the remainder of his household for a festive meal.

"We emotion horror, we truly do," says Mr Mills. "We perfectly unrecorded and respire it."

"The autarkic fearfulness country successful the UK is conscionable truthful inclusive and fun," says Ms Rich, 27.

"Quite a batch of the large actresses started retired successful horror.

"A batch of radical crook their noses up astatine it, but it is large and has 1 of the champion instrumentality bases around.

"The films are immoderate of the lone ones you tin marque connected specified a debased fund and volition spot a large return."

Photography: Laurence Cawley