How One Horror Film is Hoping to Revamp a Community (2/2-2/6)

     The writer and director of an upcoming horror film are aiming to reboost the local atmosphere and industry of Staffordshire, a small county in the West Midlands of England. Steven Beattie and Philip Kempson are preparing to start shooting their film, ‘Beneath Still Water’, a retelling of the story of the Blakemere mermaid, a seemingly local legend that has the community buzzing. A plot summary of the movie goes as follows: A young man is in love with a woman who he claims is a witch, and after rejecting his advances, the girl is thrown in the lake and drowns, thus creating the Blakemere mermaid. Since the legend is well-known around the country, the project is creating excitement in the local community among tourists and residents alike. The men are anticipating the use of local casting and location use of the area to truly capture the realistic aspect of the story. The film's director states: "It is a great opportunity to showcase the locales and talent that normally would not be shown. The area used to be in a lot of films in the 1950s and a few of the mining collieries were used for films set in Wales. We want to bring back the industry to Stoke and people are already latching on to it.”
    The pair also states that the onset of the horror film has spurred talent searches throughout the local community, bringing out actors who know how to represent the authentic, original storytelling trying to be achieved. The project is bringing variety to the job market in Staffordshire especially and the community feels a sense of being on a "united front" in order to accurately depict this legend and keep it genuine to it's roots.
    Not only do I believe that this project will tremendously boost the morale of this town known to be a coal-mining mecca, but it will create recognition of such an unknown area. By being displayed in the horror film industry, the town could be used for further projects in the future and local actors could possibly land a Hollywood role on the big-screens. 

The Sentinel. (2015, February 2). Staffordshire horror film hopes to revitalise local industry.
Retrieved February 5, 2015, from http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/ website:
http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/Staffordshire-horror-film-hopes-revitalise-local/
story-25961760-detail/story.html