In a new exclusive on Blazing Minds we have the first images from the upcoming home invasion horror Election Night. Inspired by the politics of a divided country, its themes are now more relevant than ever with the uncertainly regarding Brexit.
Five friends hold an Election Night party in a politically divided Britain – A far Right party and a Far-Left party battle for control of Parliament whilst the threat of violent protest builds on the streets. Confident in the results the friends hold a gathering in their affluant home and await the results. When riots break out throughout London, there is a knock at the door and a plea for help, with one simple action their lives will be changed forever.
ELECTION NIGHT is a politically inspired home invasion horror from Director Neil Monaghan. Produced by Ben Pickering and Co-produced by Frazer Brown
ELECTION NIGHT is a tense home invasion movie that taps into the rising unease and division that now plagues our world. It is a thought-provoking political drama AND a gritty, violent horror.
The Britain of ELECTION NIGHT is a society where the public are disillusioned with traditional politicians and the “establishment”. Many believe in a new optimistic rhetoric from a fictitious firebrand socialist party. Others believe in a new populist far-right movement, the New Britain Party, headed by former newspaper baron Dominic Drummond.
As the election results pour in, five liberal-minded friends gather to watch the TV coverage.
It’s a drink-fuelled night that could be a huge celebration. But outside NBP supporters are rioting and claiming a rigged election. Then there’s a knock on the door and three people desperately seeking shelter from the violence as the police struggle to maintain control. ELECTION NIGHT plays out in a microcosm of the horrors our world could face if society stays as politically opposed as it is today. It’s a pressure-cooker of a movie, A tense thriller. A violent, bloody horror. And a call to arms to the political dangers that lie ahead for all of us if we are not careful.
Director Neil Monaghan: “We live in interesting times, the world is becoming ever more politically divided, but the ideological rift is not split along traditional party lines. More than ever, people are retreating into their political bubbles, a world of black and white and nowhere in-between.
It’s in this environment that I felt compelled to make ELECTION NIGHT. This is a film that explores what Britain might look like if the left and the right can’t find common ground. I wanted to make a horror film that uses home invasion movie rhythms, tensions and shocks to explore the issues that are currently tearing our society apart.
The film is set a few years from now and no reference is made to the actual political parties of today. Instead of Conservatives, Labour and Lib Dems, we have fictional parties from both right and left struggling for relevance in the shadow of a far left-wing party and a surging populist far-right movement.
With division so rife – a misinformed, desperate generation could very easily back a charismatic extremist who can manipulate fear. It’s been a long time since the world was as divided as it seems today.
Whether it’s Trump and Hilary in America, the rise of extremism in South America, mainland Europe or Brexit closer to home, politics is more polarised than ever. It’s a powder keg just waiting to go off. ELECTION NIGHT is a film that goes beyond horror. After all, it’s a scary world we now live in”
Producer Ben Pickering: “ELECTION NIGHT started life as a work of complete fiction. Set in the near future, with a country divided by fictitious parliamentary opponents and exaggerated political ideologies. But since filming began, everything we’ve dramatised has come true. The reality presented in the film is quickly becoming indistinguishable from events in the real world: lame duck mainstream political leaders, polarised politics and ineffective politicians. ELECTION NIGHT presents a world where no middle ground can be found, whether it’s between politicians or between people, and the terrifying consequences of that.”
Co-Producer Frazer Brown: “Election Night is a wakeup call. It holds a mirror to our times both politically and morally as a society. I was a huge fan of Neil Monaghan’s play EYE CONTACT, and his unique take on this political subject matter is what drove me to be involved with the film. Can we survive politically and as a society if we continue to distrust each other? Do we attack those with differing opinions instead of debating them intellectually? And when we resort to aggressive even violent opposition in the belief, we are doing what’s correct, do we still deserve the chance to be heard? It’s a fascinating premise and a ‘horror’ film that will hopefully lead to debate as well as terror. I was hooked the minute it was pitched to me as “Abigail’s Party meets the Purge”, an ‘Abigail’s Purge’ if you will”- we are currently filming, and I can’t wait for you to see it.
ABOUT THE PRODUCERS:
ELECTION NIGHT will be the directorial debut of Neil Monaghan. A writer for film, theatre, television and radio, Neil originally trained with the BBC, working in postproduction for the Film Department. He has written several award-winning shorts as well as features including MADE IN ROMANIA, a comedy ‘documentary’ about independent filmmaking starring Jason Flemyng, Jennifer Tilly, Danny Huston and Elizabeth Hurley. He also worked for former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott on three Labour General Election campaigns.
The film is produced by Ben Pickering, one-time Conservative Parliamentary candidate and on-off filmmaker for the past twenty years. His most recent feature, the psychological thriller WELCOME TO CURIOSITY starring Richard Blackwood (EASTENDERS’ Vincent) and Amrita Acharia (Ruby from THE GOOD KARMA HOSPITAL and Irri in GAME OF THRONES) was released in the UK, USA and Canada in 2018. It was the world’s first crowd-investor funded film and comes out in China, France and Germany in 2019.
Salt Film Releasing is an all rights UK distributor, established in 2017 to fill a gap in the distribution market for low-budget (less than £500,000 budget) UK British films struggling to gain distribution. ELECTION NIGHT is Salt’s next UK release, hitting selected UK cinema screens, DVD shelves and VOD platforms in autumn 2019.
Shooting Tiger Pictures is a Truro-based film and television production company run by film producer-director Ben Pickering. It develops low-to-medium budget British films as well as television projects in collaboration with Suspicious Character Films and others. It also offers production services through its parent company Jericho Lane. Shooting Tiger’s last feature, WELCOME TO CURIOSITY, was released by Salt Film Releasing in selected cinemas, on DVD and on VOD in the UK, US and Canada in June 2018.
Suspicious Character Films is a London-based film and television production company run by writer-director Neil Monaghan. It develops and produces feature-films for the domestic and international market. ELECTION NIGHT is its latest project, to be followed by the romantic comedy TWO WRONGS with Shooting Tiger Pictures and the two-part steampunk musical THE PROFESSOR KING CHRONICLES, a co-production with Clive Nolan Musicals and Caamora Norway.
Photos by EMMA BARROTT/ELECTION NIGHT
You can keep up to date with news for Election Night on the following social media pages
TWITTER: www.twitter.com/ElectionnightUK
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/electionnightuk
INSTAGRAM: www.Instagram.com/electionnight
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!
