Directors Statement
The original idea came one day as we were out jogging during the covid Lockdown. We jogged down a normal street and saw one house that was exactly like all the others, but unlike its neighbours, this one was painted black, and had red velvet curtains that never seemed to be pulled open. We decided for fun that this was the house of a monster.
We had started taking exercise during lockdown at strange times of the day, so as to stay safe and limit how many other people we came into contact with. Over time we noted that there emerged an unwanted paranoia about coming into contact with strangers, who perhaps may not of taken the necessary precautions as ourselves. These were and are strange times. To complicate matters further, there were all sorts of sudden shortages, and even difficulties in simply obtaining food. As we jogged through empty streets, our experiences and emotions started to fill in our idea for a story - We began to ask ourselves what might happen if one predator, meets another , but is totally incapable of realising until it’s too late? How might the extreme changes in lifestyle caused by the virus effect someone already living a stealthy existence… such as a vampire?
As we began to develop the characters to tell that story, we really liked the idea that the audience might find themselves re-evaluating situations that they thought they understood, as the dangerous cat and mouse game starts to evolve and distort.
Colour language played a big part in our visuals, from the cold streets of London to the rural setting of the cemetery. It runs through costume design too. Ambers slick modern running gear looks jarring the landscape, and subtly signals that she is very conscious of both attracting and warning equally. We hope that we have made a film that first and foremost works as a thriller, then at the last moment changes direction and goes to a terrifying place that no-one sees coming... unless they Stay Alert.