Bodies
Faced with serious financial troubles and the prospect of losing their home, Rosie and Ben Whitaker are thrilled when they are invited to participate in a potentially lucrative behavioural experiment run by Kenilworth Life Sciences.
With expectations of a state-of-the-art medical facility, the young couple are naturally suspicious when they arrive at an old secluded farm which looks like it hasn't been touched since the 1970s. Things get even stranger when their enigmatic host, Beatrice, explains that financial rewards will be determined by Ben and Rosie's performance in a series of mysterious tasks.
As days go by and the challenges become increasingly sinister, the couple are forced to make some disturbing decisions as they slowly uncover the horrifying truth behind what is really going on at Kenilworth. For Ben and Rosie, the experiment is no longer about money... It's about staying alive.
Immersive and claustrophobic, Bodies is a thrilling sci-fi drama about memory, identity and what happens when we are forced to make unthinkable choices. With a cast which includes Joseph Baker (The Hex), Lisa Ronaghan (Humans) and Paul Hurstfield (Dead Man's Shoes), director Tom Large (Arcadia, Wounded) has created a tense and atmospheric feature film that will leave you asking the big question: What would you do?
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Tom LargeDirectorArcadia, Beyond, Wounded
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Joseph BakerWriterBeyond, Fly Trap
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Nicholas JessupProducerTomoko
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Isobel PietschProducerTomoko
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Tom LargeProducerArcadia, Beyond, Wounded
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Joesph BakerKey CastArcadia, The Hex
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Lisa RonaghanKey CastHumans
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Paul HurstfieldKey CastDead Man's Shoes
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Chloe MasseyKey Cast
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Luke BooysKey Cast
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Sam CrookCameraArcadia, Beyond
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Tom BlountCamera
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Henry KeepCamera
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Megan Hockin-BennettCamera
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Alexandra BuchananExecutive Producers
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Paul MayerExecutive ProducersArcadia
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James WalkerArt DepartmentMillbrook, Beyond
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Hayley Jane WardArt DepartmentBeyond, Arcadia
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Chloe EdwardsArt Department
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Ioannis PavlidesSoundBeyond
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Hedley KnightsSound
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Tom BealeSound
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Jack HenniganPost-ProductionFrankenstein, Beyond
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Richard ChesebroughPost-ProductionBeyond, Wounded
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James SummersPost-ProductionBeyond, Arcadia
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Project Type:Feature
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Genres:Sci-FI, Drama, Thriller
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Runtime:1 hour 37 minutes 10 seconds
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Completion Date:June 16, 2017
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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:4K Sony
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Aspect Ratio:2.35:1
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Austin Film FestivalAustin
United States
October 28, 2017
World
So... where do we start? I walked out of a cinema in 1991 and knew that this was what I wanted to do. The film had gripped six year-old me so much that I went into the back garden with my friend Jack and tried to fly over the fence. We were just so convinced that anything was possible.
Fast forward 17 years (and a lot of cinema trips later) and I found myself behind the camera on my first feature. That was in 2008 and it was the hand-held drama, And Darren. Since then I've directed Fly Trap and Wounded, which was lucky enough to win Best Feature awards at Marbella Film Festival and London Independent Film Festival.
In 2015 Beyond was released in the UK and around the globe. You only had to follow me on Twitter to see how ridiculously surprised we were with the reception to the film. Number 2 in the iTunes Sci-Fi chart felt pretty awesome.
In 2016 my feature, Arcadia, was released and at the start of 2017 I began work on Bodies. Every film feels like the culmination of the skills you have learnt to date, but Bodies really is the focus of my work over the last few years. This is the kind of film I have always dreamt of making and I can't wait to show it to an audience.
Bodies has been a thrill to direct. The balance of drama, sci-fi and thriller has been a tightrope to walk throughout every stage of production.
The writer, Joseph Baker, first approached me with the concept at the start of 2016. It's not every day you hear an idea that you are desperate to make but Bodies was one of those. For me, it was influenced by many of my favourite films. It has the eerie nature of Ex-Machina and Moon, the confused touch of Eternal Sunshine along with the raw sci-fi of Another Earth and Sound of My Voice.
We shot Bodies over three weeks in January 2017. I assembled my regular crew, plus added in some new members, so we could meet the demands of the more ambitious shoot. Throughout the film I wanted a faded and dated look to match with the defunct nature of the Kenilworth Life Sciences facility.
Production Designer James Walker and DOP Sam Crook worked together to ensure that the film achieved the desired effect, a saturated and claustrophobic environment. I'm stupidly proud of this film and delighted that it is now ready to show. I can't wait to see what people think.