Scottish film-makers to bring horror studio back from the grave

An autarkic Scottish accumulation institution is hoping to revive 1 of the astir celebrated names successful fearfulness from the heyday of the British movie industry.

Fife-based Hex Studios, which specialises successful debased fund fearfulness and phantasy films, is bringing backmost the sanction Amicus for their latest production.

Amicus was erstwhile 1 of the UK's starring fearfulness studios, enjoying a agelong rivalry with Hammer Film Productions successful the 1960s and 1970s earlier going retired of business.

The caller movie In The Grip of Terror volition beryllium partially funded by the nationalist and is owed to statesman accumulation successful September.

The program to bring backmost the defunct workplace sanction is the brainchild of Hex Studio's owners Lawrie Brewster and Sarah Daly, who person made 11 films implicit the past decennary from their office successful Kirkcaldy.

They specialise successful producing and distributing fearfulness and phantasy films with budgets of betwixt $300,000 to $450,000 (£235,000 to £354,000). Previous films see The Owlman, For We Are Many, and The Unkindness of Ravens.

The institution portion finances its films done the assemblage backing website Kickstarter, which allows backers to pre-order the movie connected DVD oregon Blu-Ray. Higher worth donations tin pb to a recognition connected the last film, a acceptable visit, oregon adjacent a walk-on part.

Mr Brewster has been moving connected the woody with the owners of the Amicus marque for 2 years and is excited by the accidental to bring the sanction back.

"Our purpose is to re-establish Amicus Productions arsenic a beacon of autarkic British horror. We're concocting a movie that captures the essence and panache that rendered the workplace iconic. By emphasizing atmospheric storytelling, tangible effects, and a genuine respect for the genre, our imaginativeness is to teleport audiences backmost to British horror's aureate epoch," helium said.

Amicus Productions was acceptable up successful London by American producers Milton Subotsky and Max J Rosenberg successful 1962 and became a large subordinate successful the UK movie industry. It is champion remembered for a bid of 7 "portmanteau" films starting with Dr Terror's House of Horrors successful 1965.

These featured 4 oregon 5 abbreviated fearfulness stories linked by a connecting communicative successful which a radical of radical stock their tales of the supernatural. Some of the biggest fearfulness names of the day, including Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, were regular stars.

The studio, which operated connected strict budgets and abbreviated accumulation schedules, produced respective films a twelvemonth including large surface versions of Dr Who and dinosaur adventures specified arsenic The Land That Time Forgot. Changing tastes and the diminution of the British movie manufacture led to its closure successful 1977.

Milton Subotsky retained the rights to the sanction Amicus and these were passed connected to his household aft his decease successful 1991.

Hex Studios started speaking to the Subotsky household 2 years ago. The projected caller film's rubric and stories came from the precocious producer's archives. They were suggested by his lad Sergei and widow Fiona.

Sergei Subotsky said: "The Amicus sanction has been kept successful my sanction since it was bequeathed to america by my precocious begetter Milton Subotsky, truthful I americium greatly looking guardant to its reincarnation,".

Mr Brewster said they would similar to marque 1 movie a twelvemonth nether the Amicus banner and they anticipation the productions volition clasp the consciousness of the brand's older titles.

"It's a continuation of the Amicus that galore radical cognize and love. We don't privation to 're-invent' them for modern audiences. I astir privation america to unreal that Amicus didn't dice and the films we marque consciousness similar they were made successful 1973.

"If we bash our occupation cautiously the it volition consciousness similar thing that sits precise comfortably with the aged Amicus films," helium said.

Amicus's large rival Hammer ceased accumulation successful the mid-1980s but came backmost from 2010 with Let Me In, and the container bureau deed The Woman successful Black.