Film: Daggers Inn

Director: James Smith

Writers: James Smith, Caroline Spence

Actors: Anna Danvers, James Hamer-Morton, Terry Bamberger, Gavin Gordon, Charlie Bond, David Streames, Martin W. Payne, David J. Biscoe, Julian Clapton, Eve Kathryn Oliver, Lutricia Norris

Synopsis: When an enigmatic young woman arrives in a remote English village the locals are both intrigued and wary, their suspicions growing as she begins delving into their darkest secrets.

In a new exclusive Southend Film Festival interview on Blazing Minds, I got a chance to ask Co-writer/Director James Smith and Co-Writer / Producer Caroline Spence a few questions about the festival’s closing film ‘Daggers Inn‘.

Daggers Inn has been selected as the Closing Gala film for the Southend Film Festival and will be playing on Sunday 8th June at 8pm.

Q. Your film ‘Daggers Inn’ has been selected as the closing film for the Southend Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect from the film?

A. [Caroline] You can expect a fairly dark murder mystery… think Midsomer Murders meets Tales Of The Unexpected. Although never directly stated, there is an underlying theme of witchcraft throughout the story, but portrayed in a comparatively subtle way, using wardrobe and production design to hint at this using clues and ‘Easter Eggs’ taken from traditional legends, folklore and fact.

Q. How did the idea for the film come about and What were your inspirations when writing the script?

A. [Caroline] The story was inspired when we attended a film festival in Lavenham, which is an incredible medieval village in Suffolk where Witchfinder General (1968) starring Vincent Price was shot. The original intention was to shoot a creepy tale in Lavenham, but logistics and budget became too much of a headache, so we moved the production to Essex and locations more accessible to London.

Q. What were some of the influences for the look and style of the film?

A. [Caroline] I am a big fan of some of the darker thrillers and horrors of the 30s, 40s and also the 70s. I wanted to produce a film that harked back to this era – more moody, broody and dripping with atmosphere as opposed to blood. The Cat And The Canary (1939) and early Sherlock Holmes movies starring Basil Rathbone have always been big inspirations, along with The Omen (1976), which is a Gothic masterpiece.

Q. Were there any elements of the original script which were adapted during filming?

A. [Caroline] The majority of the screenplay was shot as written, but due to some logistical and budgetary obstacles, we had to adapt a few scenes. For example, we wanted to shoot inside St Laurence’s Church in Blackmore, which dates from 1114, but new restrictions presented by the Archdeacon and Church Of England, meant that there was too much red tape for us to deal with, so we swapped to the interior of a garage.

This turned out to be a blessing as we were better able to control the lighting for a number of major dialogue scenes. We got some great shots of the exterior of the church, though, so we didn’t completely miss out on capturing its amazing architecture!

Q. What were some of your favourite moments whilst making the Film?

A. [Caroline] We shot many scenes in the Essex village of Blackmore and Megarrys Antiques-Teashop owned and run by Judi Wood (with the help of her little dog, Stanley). I think all of us who had the pleasure of filming there will agree that it was one of the most delightful locations of the whole shoot. Judi was so welcoming with teas and coffees on tap and the most delicious vegan apple cake that proved to be a cast and crew favourite, whether you were vegan or not!

Q. Although there are some new faces to Raya Films in Daggers Inn, there are several returning cast members whom you have worked with on previous projects. Do you find it easier bringing back cast members who you have worked with previously?

A. [Caroline] It’s always exciting bringing in new actors to our films, but if a role perfectly fits someone we’ve worked with before, then it makes sense to offer it to them.

[James] Producing a small independent film is a huge undertaking with many risks and pressures, and trust is a big factor. We knew that the returning faces absolutely knew the challenges and we could count on them to support us every step of the way.

Q. Did you experience any issues whilst making the film?

A. [Caroline] We had no major issues, but we did have some odd quirks. For instance, at one location, there were repeated power outages, some of them lasting hours and causing a few holdups in filming. Then we had a power cut at Megarrys for no explicable reason… Judi assured us it was very unusual. These instances, together with some other strange power/lighting occurrences led some of us to question whether we weren’t alone… this was, after all, a film about witches and the supernatural…

[James] We had the usual weather headaches with freezing conditions, hail showers, and constantly changing extremes of light on exterior shoots. We also lost a drone into a tree at one point. By some miracle, I managed to recover it days later (it had fallen down in the wind) and the footage was intact, unlike the drone which was somewhat waterlogged and battered.

Q. What do you hope people will take away from the film?

A. [James] I hope that people will realise that there is real value in undertaking a small venture like this, and back our future films! People come together and have this wonderful time, and yearn to do more, but the business is laced with reality and we rely on our supporters and crowdfunding backers to make it happen.

Q. Do you have any other projects which you are working on?

A. [James] Earlier this year, we shot another feature film called Cult Night (also an Essex based shoot). We used everything that we learned on Daggers Inn to improve and aim higher, so I’m excited to see how it turns out and how it is received. While that film is in post-production (editing), we’re developing our Spain-based thriller The Finca, which we’ve been working on for a decade!

Q. If someone is looking to direct their first film, what advice would you give them?

A. [James] If you want to direct your first feature film, think very carefully about why you want to undertake the challenge, because it’s not for everyone. There are so many other tremendously rewarding areas of filmmaking that do not come with the pressure and downsides. You must have some level of natural authority and also have good levels of artistic and technical competency in order to direct effectively with confidence. You’ll sometimes be questioned, certainly criticised, and you need to be able to deal with that.

Try a short film or music video first – you’ll learn a lot – and if you love it, you may be good to go for a feature!

Daggers Inn has been selected as the Closing Gala film for the Southend Film Festival and will be playing on Sunday 8th June at 8pm.

You can find out more about Raya Films and Daggers Inn on the Website and IMDB

You can find out more about the festival and purchase tickets for Daggers Inn here:

Philip Rogers

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!