It’s quite rare that we actually get to see an indie horror set in our home town of London so we were pretty excited to hear that writer, director, producer and editor Bulent Ozdemir had made a short film literally only a few minutes from our base.
Shot on location at St. Giles church in Camberwell, London, Promised focuses on a broken promise between Archangel Michael and Lucifer, which brings forth a threat against the birth of Man. Starring Alan Stenson (Andrey Konchalovskiy’s The Odyssey) as Michael, Andrew Dowbiggin as Lucifer and Remie Purtill-Clarke as Faith, the short was shot over two nights and with no budget.
Promised drips with an urgent intensity that makes the audience sit up and take notice; even right from the opening scene where we see Michael clenching as if in pain and screaming fiercely at the top of the lungs. Short films are notoriously difficult to shoot, given that the director has only a short time to get across the characters and the story, so considering that Promised has a runtime of only 10 minutes; it is a true testament to Ozdemir that he manages to do both so well.
Beautifully and dynamically shot at an equally stunning location, Ozdemir shows real promise not only as a director, but also as an editor with the post-production being both slick and professional. However, what really makes Promised stand out is its concept, which is both original and intriguing. That being said, there were some points where we must confess that we were a little confused as to what was actually happening, but all in all the screenplay was strong and the actors did a fantastic job bringing their characters’ personalities to life. Alan Stenson’s performance as Michael was particularly stellar.
Composer Saul James did a fantastic job with the score and his music was very effective at building tension throughout.
When talking to us about the making of Promised, Ozdemir said: “It was an unbelievably exhausting process. There were times where I could have broken down and turned into a blubbering five-year-old, but everyone pushed on like soldiers. Never once complaining and just getting on with the job at hand. I’m very proud of what our super small group of individuals achieved with such limited resources.”
We are also pleased to announce that Promised is an official selection for 2013’s Fantastic Planet Film Festival in Sydney, Australia and has been nominated for three Maverick Movie awards (2012).
Score: 444/666
Check out the trailer and read our preview here.
For more information go to Wolf Valley Films’ official website and like Promised on Facebook. You can also check out Wolf Valley Films’ blog. Don’t forget to follow them on Twitter at @wolfvalleyfilms.
The Horror Hothouse 
Leave a comment