UK indie genre studio Shogun Films has unveiled the one-sheet key artwork and launched its first crowdfunding campaign for its horror movie, Harbinger.

Inspired by the classic British Hammer and Amicus horror films, the cast contains some much-loved genre favourites, headlined by Carole Ann Ford (Doctor Who), Gary Webster (Minder), Tony Sands (Moondial), and Peter Woodward (Crusade).

Harbinger tells the story of Julia, the sole survivor of maniacal satanic serial killer Henry Decker, living with PTSD 5 years after he was shot dead by the police while trying to kill her. Julia is approached by TV ghost show producer/presenter Mike Craggs (Webster) with an offer to return to Decker’s deserted home for a new episode of his show Spectre Investigates. Convinced by her mum (Ford) that it could be cathartic, Julia agrees and travels with Mike and his Crew to Decker’s imposing home. Once there, the team, including psychic Neal (Sands), uncovers Decker’s prized possession: a fairground fortune-telling machine known as The Harbinger, which dispenses fates via Tarot-style cards.

What the group don’t know, however, is that with his dying breath, Decker used an ancient incantation to transfer his soul into the Harbinger, and now uses it to plot murderous ends for the TV crew, taking the six souls he needs to be reincarnated. Preying on them one by one, he exploits their deepest fears and begins his murderous journey back to corporeal existence.

Harbinger was filmed in East Sussex and London and is now in post-production. The crowdfunding campaign is raising funds for finishing and promotion to get the movie to market and raise awareness of a new and exciting horror character in an age of repetition and familiarity.

Shogun Films founder Jonathan Sothcott said: “Having resisted the lure of crowdfunding our previous movies, Harbinger seems like the perfect project with which to embrace the huge value it offers filmmakers. Not only do we want to raise some money to really get the film out there in an increasingly oversaturated market, but we also want to use this exercise to raise awareness for the film. I grew up watching all the great British horror movies of the ’60s and ’70s, they’re in my blood, you might say, but it isn’t the kind of film I’m really associated with – yet! – so we want to get this movie out there as far and as wide as possible. If you love Hammer and Amicus and all those kinds of films, I’m sure you’ll like this!”

The film will be released by Trinity Content worldwide later in the year, both digitally, on Blu-ray and in selected cinemas, but before that, Shogun has teamed up with greenlit.com to offer audiences the opportunity to get involved at a grassroots level. Shogun Films are vocal advocates for physical media and are offering Blu-rays and soundtrack CDs to backers, as well as posters and unique screen-used tarot cards from the Harbinger machine itself.

Harbinger was created by producer Jonathan Sothcott (Helloween) with a story by Harry Boxley, and the screenplay was written by Simon Cluett (We Still Kill The Old Way). It is directed by James Crow (Nemesis). The Harbinger box’s malevolent occupant was designed by special effects wizard Stuart Webb.

The campaign can be found at www.greenlit.com/project/harbinger. Expect more news soon!

Independent production company Deadbolt Films has officially launched a Kickstarter campaign for Baited, a visceral new found-footage horror feature blending internet vigilante culture with cosmic dread, and it’s off to a flying start, reaching over 65% of its goal in its first week!

Currently in production, Baited is directed by Gav Chuckie Steel (Preternatural) and produced by Jonathan Payne. The film is written by Thomas J. Campbell and Joe Butler, with cinematography by Benjamin Hamill.

Described as a “raw, immersive descent into paranoia, guilt, and something far worse,” BAITED follows a group of online vigilantes who expose suspected predators to a growing audience hungry for justice. When a previous sting ends in tragedy, the group fractures and is haunted by what really happened. A year later, they reunite to track their most infamous target, a man known only as Gregory. What begins as one final operation quickly spirals into something far more disturbing, as the group becomes trapped inside a shifting, nightmarish space where reality fractures and they realise they may no longer be the hunters.

Shot using a multi-camera approach, including handheld rigs, body cams, smartphones, and cinema cameras, Baited aims to deliver a grounded, claustrophobic experience that blurs the line between fiction and reality.

The film stars Isabel Salazar, Byron Collins, Benjamin Hamill, and Cora Jaine.

The Kickstarter campaign will support the next stage of production and post-production, while giving horror fans the opportunity to become part of the film through exclusive rewards and behind-the-scenes access.

“We’re making a film that feels real, uncomfortably real,” said the filmmakers.

“Baited is about guilt, consequence, and the danger of believing you’re on the right side of something you don’t fully understand.”

With principal photography already underway, the team is inviting audiences to help bring BAITED to completion and join a new wave of independent, boundary-pushing horror cinema.

Get involved by heading to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tjcampbell/baited-a-found-footage-descent-into-cosmic-horror.