The Waterhouse
After a heist, mistrust grows among thieves at an off-grid safe house as people vanish, lies surface, and eerie voices lure them into guilt-filled trances. Can they unite to survive the chilling night at The Waterhouse?
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Samuel ClemensDirector
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Samuel ClemensWriter
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Agam JainProducer
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Julien LoefflerProducer
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James KermackProducer
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Alan CaltonKey Cast
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Lara LemonKey Cast
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Michelangelo FortuzziKey Cast
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Lily CatalifoKey Cast
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Dominic VulliamyKey Cast
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Sandrine SalyeresKey Cast
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Corrinne WicksKey Cast
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Fernando RuizCinematographer
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George ClemensEditor
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Edward Patrick WhiteMusic Composer
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Timo SailaSound Designer
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Project Type:Feature
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Genres:Horror, Thriller, Psychological
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Runtime:1 hour 24 minutes
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Completion Date:October 20, 2023
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Production Budget:747,000 USD
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Country of Origin:United Kingdom
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Country of Filming:United Kingdom
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital ARRI 4K (anamorphic)
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Aspect Ratio:2.39:1
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:No
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Digital Cinema Package:Unavailable
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FrightFest Halloween 2023London
United Kingdom
October 27, 2023
World Premiere
Official Selection - opening film
After training at The Drama Centre London as an actor, it wasn’t long before Sam found his passion for directing. In 2007, he began making his own short films, including 'The Lighter' starring the late great Sir Roger Moore, ‘Say No’ in collaboration with the Rose Theatre and the multi-award winning 'Surgery'.
Now Sam works in many parts of the industry. In theatre, he has directed both critically acclaimed fringe productions as well as a number one UK tour. In the audio world, he regularly works with many acting legends for the prolific audio stalwart, Big Finish Productions, in their 'Doctor Who' ranges and has begun producing their 'The Avengers' series. As for commercials, he has worked on big Christmas campaigns and smaller campaigns alike.
In 2022, Sam began filming his first feature film as a Director - a horror-thriller called The Waterhouse, scheduled for a late 2023 release.
He is also gearing up to direct ‘On The Edge of Darkness’, an adaptation of a successful stage play written by Brian Clemens.
While researching for The Waterhouse, I was interested in making a film that was timeless and could have worked fifty years ago but also fifty years from now. That seed led me down the path of exploring a Greek tragedy and transposing it into a modern setting. This allowed it to be a fresh take of a universal story, creating exciting characters all going through a shared problem. I also knew I wanted to continually keep raising the stakes not just as outer obstacles but also ramping up their inner conflicts with each other as well. Then hopefully as an audience member you would ask yourself ‘what would I do in that situation?’, always providing questions but never answers.
I felt that starting the film with a heist that we never see would help reveal the characters true intentions to us. By putting them all in a heightened state of paranoia, I wanted to use it as a vehicle to explore themes of sexual desire, shame and frustration, inspired by a more feminist outlook rather than from the typical anachronistic masculine viewpoint.
All this set within the landscape of a psychological horror thriller, I hope would make an exciting film to watch for the audiences.
There are many influences on this film, however the one film that I kept coming back to was Stanley Kubrick’s ‘The Shining’. That film has always stayed with me. I always find more in it with every viewing, it has never really aged and is a true masterclass on how to create a psychological horror, it still stays truly disturbing. It was always in the back of my mind when making ‘The Waterhouse’ and I was always striving to create that hypnotic quality that you might just populate with your own fears.