Profiles

Steven Sheil's micro budget horror film Mum & Dad premiered at the Edinburgh film festival in June and is now set for general release on Friday 26 December.

Steven has written and directed the feature and describes the film as "the Heathrow Airport Chain Saw Massacre".

The film has been made for less than £100,000.

Mum & Dad

Mum & Dad is an unflinching portrayal of a sado-masochistic family living in the shadows of Heathrow's runways.

Family portrait (Mum & Dad)

Not for the faint-hearted the film promises a hearty dose of horror served up with an (un) healthy dose of wit.

Steven grew up near Heathrow, a mile from the runway. The sound of planes going overhead were the sounds of his childhood.

"People always asked me 'didn't it drive you mad'. I guess the film's a bit of an exploration of what would happen if it did drive you mad."

The film was shot on location predominantly at a large vacant property in Nottingham.

"We shot over 17 days, mostly in Nottingham with some exteriors at Heathrow.

"It had to be a very, very short shoot. A quick shoot. We couldn't afford to go over budget or over schedule.

"There's a scene in the film where somebody runs through a garden and jumps over a fence and one side of the fence is in Nottingham and the other is in Heathrow Airport - all the magic of filmmaking."

Mum & Dad (Mum & Dad)

Steven grew up on horror films but has worked in more than one genre. He recently collaborated with another Nottingham filmmaker Chris Cooke (One For The Road) on the wrestling feature World Of Pain and worked as director of photography on the feature length documentary Goth Cruise The Movie.

Steven is one of the organisers of the annual Mayhem Horror Festival in Nottingham.

More success

Mum & Dad has received funding from EM Media, and is one of six films with local connections that has made it to Edinburgh.