Time Travel Is Dangerous

‘Time Travel is Dangerous’ was first conceived when I met Ruth and Megan at their real-life vintage shop in Muswell Hill, North London in 2015. They’d already been running the shop for many years and made an amazing team that provided a creative hub for the community as well.
The first thing we did was a 24-hour sci-fi short competition. I sat them down in their shop for an interview about their business model: stealing things from the past to sell in the present. Ruth and Megan weren’t actors, and a lot of the things they said about their work and their friendship were true. I added the fantastical sci-fi element of the time machine and the inter-dimensional world beyond, called The Unreason. The short did very well at festivals, getting a lot of feedback that it looked like a really good trailer for a film that didn’t exist yet - spurring us on to expand the world.
Filmmaking duo Anna and Hillary Shakespeare (of Shakespeare Sisters Ltd) came on board to develop the feature script. We pulled Ruth in Megan in more of a fictionalised direction, putting their relationship at the centre and seeing it as a buddy comedy as well as a sci-fi. We soon went about assembling an amazing ensemble cast that kept growing. From Johnny Vegas, one of Britain’s most beloved comedians to Stephen Fry, a national treasure who’s voice is recognised everywhere. The cast grew and grew and we were constantly pushing the boundaries of what we would’ve thought possible - for what started out as a group of friends making something on the weekends.
In terms of subject matter, I’ve always found stupidity and ignorance extremely funny. Films like ‘This is Spinal Tap’ and ‘What we do in the Shadows’ were a great inspiration while developing this script. Our main protagonists (being real-life friends) formed an important and plausible backbone to the script, allowing us to add more outlandish characters and scenarios in the periphery. My aim is to take the audience on a journey to somewhere completely unexpected. The Unreason begins with ‘The Office’ type mock-doc, journeying through the rollercoaster of a friendship story before landing in a Terry Gilliam-esque landscape in a lost dimension. We wanted to break the boundaries that keep mock-docs tied up in reality, and take things to their bonkers conclusion. We were also committed to practical effects, puppetry and in-camera techniques, making 'Time Travel is Dangerous' reminiscent of classic 80s and 90s cinema, with a substantive and crafted feel.
It was very important for us to have totally engaging female lead characters in this science fiction story, and for them to become as loved as Bill and Ted, or Marty and Doc ever were. Our versions of Ruth and Megan are flawed characters and ridiculous, but also endearing. My co-writers Anna and Hillary (as a sister duo) brought a lot of their own experience to the development of these characters. We wanted them to squabble over stupid things like who gets to drive the machine rather than why the universe is falling apart. It was also a conscious decision that, although Ruth and Megan are both married in real-life and wear wedding rings, men really wouldn’t feature much in their relationship and we would never meet or hear about their husbands.
As director I wanted to make it a silly, but also heart warming science fiction film, which is quintessentially of a place: North London, England. Nodding to all the time travel movies that we love, as well as the small town, small life, little Britain absurdities which I find hilarious. ‘Time Travel is Dangerous'’ is a culmination of many years of work by many talented filmmakers, and we thank you for your support and consideration.

Time Travel is actually Dangerous.

Chris Reading
Director