LURE

The original concept for Lure was to make a film about a ghost where the ghost would be the main character and the focus of the film. However, to create a strong enough story for the audience to grasp within a run time of 10 minutes, I took inspiration from Japanese horror films such as The Ring (1998) and Kairo (Pulse, 2001). In these films, the ghost plays a prominent role in the film despite hardly appearing on screen. Using this approach allowed me to create a character which the audience would fear and remember despite only seeing once, at the end of the film. I wanted to demonstrate that fear can be created in the mind of the audience very simply and it is not necessary to have elaborate special effects to achieve this.

The film is called Lure. People are lured into doing things they shouldn’t do, and the film is about people faced with those temptations. The film was almost called ‘Temptation’ but the word ‘Lure’ fitted the genre more effectively. The main character of the film is simply called ‘The Man’ and he is a metaphor for greed. I wanted to tell a story about a man who spends his life taking whatever he wants from others, but who is lured into taking too much and gets his comeuppance. This happens in the form of his encounter with the ghost at the end of the film.

I am lucky to live in an area where there was already a perfect shooting location just five minutes down the road. Ever since the idea of making films first occurred to me as a possible career, I have known that this would be a superb location for a horror film. The location is an 18 th century workhouse and known for its paranormal activity, hosting regular ghost hunting weekends. The building is huge, with some being used for local history exhibitions, art studios and other community group spaces, but much of it is still abandoned and largely unexplored. We were given permission to film there at night in return for helping out at a local event a week earlier, a great example of co- operation and collaboration within a small community.

As a Director, I am a believer in collaboration, letting my crew and my actors contribute ideas throughout the process, such as the actors suggesting a way to walk, or my cinematographer suggesting a different way to shoot something. This works well as it allows people with better knowledge of these areas to ensure that the film is the best it can possibly be.