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Gothic: The Dark Heart of Film
Gothic horror and romance tales feed on our darkest fears and desires, and conjure the creatures of the night into being.
The sensational tales of 18th and 19th century writers like Horace Walpole, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and the Brontës, have defined popular culture, inspiring some of film and television’s most memorable characters, from Dracula and Frankenstein to Cathy and Heathcliff. The technology of film always did fulfil a deep-rooted Gothic fantasy, by capturing the spirits of the living, conjuring ghostly and disembodied forms, and re-animating the dead. Now the undead creatures of the Gothic imagination return to our screens again and again, shape-shifting and breeding new genres. In 2013 the BFI’s spellbinding season lifted the lid on this dark storehouse of the imagination, which found its heart in Britain, and came to life on film. Delve into a dark heart of film here.
The Mistletoe BoughThe Mistletoe Bough
Fantasy 1904 9 minsSilent
Discover a haunted gem, the earliest film of the Christmas ghost story The Mistletoe Bough. Guaranteed to spook a whole new generation over a hundred years after its creation. With new music by Pete Wiggs of Saint Etienne, commissioned by the BFI.
Cross-RoadsCross-Roads
Horror 1955 19 mins
Christopher Lee in perhaps his earliest supernatural screen role, as a ghost who returns from the grave to seek revenge.
The Tell-Tale HeartThe Tell-Tale Heart
Drama 1953 21 minsDirector: J.B. Williams
Stanley Baker enacts the classic Edgar Allan Poe story in this chilling short film, only recently rediscovered after being lost for 50 years.
A Visit to Whitby (1913)A Visit to Whitby (1913)
Documentary 1913 3 mins Location: Whitby
Early film footage of the place where Bram Stoker's Count Dracula legendarily arrived in the UK.
DreamlandsDreamlands
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2012 4 mins
Gothic-tinged animation, presenting the final day of a fox, who is being sentenced to death for murdering his rabbit lover.
PreludePrelude
Horror 1927 7 mins
A man hallucinates being buried alive after reading an Edgar Alan Poe story.
Whistle and I’ll Come to YouWhistle and I’ll Come to You
Amateur film 1956 10 mins
A decade before the BBC's version of M R James supernatural classic came this chilling version from the North Downs Cinematograph Society
Tut-ankh Amen's TombTut-ankh Amen's Tomb
Non-Fiction 1923 3 minsSilent
Rare, shaky but priceless images of one of the great excavations of the early 20th Century - and its legendary leader, Howard Carter
The Testament of Caleb MekeThe Testament of Caleb Meke
Amateur film 1969 25 mins Location: Bangor
A young man is left an old mansion in his uncle’s will. Too late he discovers that he's also inherited a legacy of witchcraft and demonology!
The Coming of the Black DawnThe Coming of the Black Dawn
Amateur film 1965 25 mins Location: Newtownards
Something sinister this way comes in one of The Spence Brothers earliest films.
Two-faced Killer: A Modern ThrillerTwo-faced Killer: A Modern Thriller
Amateur film 1951 5 minsSilent
Amateur award-winning dramatic thriller influenced by 1940s Universal Horror movies and made by husband and wife team John and Dede Wright.
ShadowmanShadowman
Amateur film 1994 8 mins Location: Harlesden
A female protagonist falls prey to the ‘Shadowman’, who stalks his victim before attack. Uses stop-motion animation as well as live action.
Dracula and the Turn of the TideDracula and the Turn of the Tide
Documentary 1981 26 mins Location: Whitby
What connects a vampire count and feuding fishing families? Five miles of coastline, storms at sea, and two contrasting imaginations.
The Mistletoe Bough (Short Version)The Mistletoe Bough (Short Version)
2013 3 mins
A delightful Christmas adaptation of a classic ghost story with new music by Pete Wiggs of Saint Etienne, commissioned by the BFI.
Dead HungryDead Hungry
Comedy 2009 10 mins
A hungry zombie finds love while terrorising teenage campers in this gruesome but fun twist on the zombie movie.
Hand in GloveHand in Glove
Amateur film 1976 12 mins
To carry on his important work the ego-maniacal scientist Dr Kelly must obtain another hand … a hand which begins to take on a life of its own.
Things We Leave BehindThings We Leave Behind
Horror 2009 16 mins
For whom does the bell toll? A man discovers a dreadful secret among his late father's belongings.
Fangs for the MemoryFangs for the Memory
Student film 1970 8 mins Location: Durham
A vampire with a taste for the demon drink prowls the dark alleys and subterranean cellars of Durham in the 1970s.
The Tomb of FrankensteinThe Tomb of Frankenstein
Amateur film 1964 26 mins Location: Comber
A strange old hermit uses witchcraft to give life to the Frankenstein monster. Will the creature be his instrument of revenge, or will it turn on its creator?
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