East Sussex based production company working on new film in county

Film in production at the Burwash Forestry

East Sussex based production company Skooch Media Films have been since working at various locations across the county for a new film.

‘The Presence of Snowgood’ comes off the back of a movie short, ‘A Curious Tale’, released in 2021, a classic ghost story set in the heart of the Sussex countryside, based on a novella by MR James. It tells the story of a valuable legendary Saxon crown that, sought by those who should not have found it and the deadly consequences that ensued.

Writer Neill McKenzie said: “When Leigh Tarrant, the director, asked me to write a sequel to his last film, that I actually appeared in, little did I realize what was entailed when he asked if I would also like to produce it…’oh and by the way…let’s make it a full length feature film!’...a few (more) grey hairs later, I think we are about there.”The sequel, due for release in December of this year, takes the story from the previous film forward a year, where the characters find themselves in the same deadly village whose residents, alive and dead, will stop at nothing to protect what they feel should belong to them.

Director Leigh Tarrant said: “The film is more of a psychological supernatural thriller than a full-blown horror, the story twists and turns with many plot lines that keep you guessing to the end.

"My aim was to take you back on a journey with a mixture of Hammer house of horror meets the Wicker Man, but with a more modern feel. There is none of the graphic violence one so often sees, using the power of suggestion and suspense with one or two grizzly scenes thrown in for good measure, giving, I hope, an overall spine-tingling experience.”

Local film crews have been spotted across East Sussex including Arlington Churchyard, Arena Pursuits near Bewl water, the Gun & Spitroast Public house, The New Inn Public house in Hadlow Down along with aerial footage being shot across the beaches of Seven Sisters and Peacehaven.

Gothic horror princess and ex-Bond girl Caroline Munro feature in the film along with veteran actress Sarah Maur Ward, with Tom Malt and Charlotte Butterworth also star in the project alongside newcomers including Liss Osbourne, Holly Roberts and James Baskett.The film will launch at the Hailsham Pavilion this coming December and all proceeds for the films premiere will go to local charity Family Matters..