Since we made the big switcheroo from Brutal As Hell to Warped Perspective, we have consciously stepped back a little from the indie horror scene – but every so often, a new project will pop up that we just have to share the news about. Such a project is The Book Club, set to be the first full-length feature from director Jamie McKeller and Red Shirt Films, the York-based team behind long-running web series I Am Tim Helsing (which can be found on their official Youtube channel). Pitched as ‘Great British Bake-Off meets The Silence of the Lambs’ with a hint of Brexit-era satire, it centres on a man who, having felt disenfranchised with the status quo, has his home legally seceded from the UK, leaving him free to live by his own laws. So naturally, he decides that murdering one’s annoying neighbours should be legal.
Here’s how Red Shirt Films sum it up on The Book Club’s Kickstarter page:
“Chester Mapleforth has a dream. A dream to break away from the rules of normal, not-that-stabby society and live by his own terrible, awful rules. Six years later and his little community of murderers has flourished wonderfully beyond his imagination, they have regular bake offs / burn the postman events next to the village pond. What a lovely Sunday afternoon for all.
“When a local filmmaker learns of the group, he and a handful of crew are granted access to the horrible yet hilarious world that Chester has created. but getting in is easy, it’s leaving with all your parts attached which proves trickier for most.
“Welcome… to the neighbourhood.”
We’re promised ‘classic horror practical effects and terrible, horrible people,’ and the Red Shirt Films team are seeking £25,000 to get the job done. To learn more and/or pledge your support, visit their Kickstarter; you can also find out more at The Book Club Facebook page and Red Shirt Films Facebook page.