Private Project

Skullhunter


Headlines read 'The Skull Hunter murders', where the parents are hung and the children beheaded. As Detective John Transton investigates, he finds things that don't want to be found - coverups, corruption in the force, and links to satanic cults.
Risking his friends, job and sanity, John goes full tilt in the hopes of finally bringing about his capture.

  • James Albert Solly
    Director
    Snake Hotel, Manhunt
  • Charles Micheal Solly
    Director
    Snake Hotel, Manhunt
  • James Albert Solly
    Writer
    Pinstripes, Petticoat
  • Stephen Alcaster Murphy
    Writer
    Doorways, Relentless, My Saviour
  • Ash Bobby Patani
    Producer
  • Del Micky Patani
    Producer
  • Tim Faraday
    Key Cast
    "Sanson"
  • Sean Cronin
    Key Cast
  • Ryan Harston
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Runtime:
    2 hours 5 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    May 24, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    100,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - James Albert Solly, Charles Micheal Solly

James Solly and his brother, Charles Solly, are the primary show runners of 'Sollywood Production House', an independent, in-house, one-stop-shop film-studio based on the South Coast of England, in Dorset / Bournemouth.

The brothers have been practising film production and post for over a decade now, with their rich catalogue of commercials, music videos and shorts available on their website (sollywood.co.uk).

Having had their early scripts funded and given the green light by the National Youth Film Academy (Manhunt, 2020) , the brothers have gone onto produce, writer, direct, edit and score a multitude of projects, with their 2023 garish fantasy comedy-horror 'Snake Hotel' being distributed by ITN and made available on Amazon Prime & Apple TV in 2023.

Alongside film, James is a certified hypnotherapist, published novelist, and prolific watercolour artist, while Charles is a published poet, holistic health therapist, and up-and-coming song writer, working across genres such as drum and bass, comedy rap, and indie-pop-rock.

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Director Statement

From what was such rich source material on the page for us to get our teeth into, we knew this film was going to be a huge undertaking . The result, we hope, is an immersive descent into the fractured psychology of our protagonist, with lots of twists and turns and dead ends along the way.

We were looking to create something 'timeless' with this film: before smart phones and the invading presence of digital technology impeded upon the world and genre of grounded thriller/crime stories. In doing so we have a film set long before the 'Me too' movement, and long before the contemporary unveilings of sordid celebrity misdeeds. In that being the case, there is plenty dramatic irony to play with in the audiences mind, upping the potential sense of unease and paranoia, and grounding our story in real world issues and the socio-political landscapes of England's recent past.

There is a delicate balance we aimed to strike with 'SkullHunter', whereby the conventions of a 'neo-noir detective thriller' serve as a vehicle for the unravelling story, while, in the mean time, our 'catch the killer' plot-line is inter-spliced with personal tragedy, psychological trauma and repressed memories of domestic abuse.

It is not a film for the faint hearted, but we are all immensely proud of this end result: all the way from the lighting and camera work, through to the VFX, the acting, the tension-building, atmospheric score, and all the way through to the the blood, guts and gore's carefully selected sound effects.