Dust off the cobwebs. If it weren’t for duel reports from twitchfilm.net and quietearth.us over this past weekend I would not have noticed that Philip Ridley is in the final moments of post-prod. We know this because the world premiere for Heartless won’t take place at TIFF (I’m still hoping that it will make its way there) but instead, will close out London’s five day FILM4 Frightfest on August 31st.
For those who don’t know him, his total output will now be three films in two decades – Ridley occupies his time with stageplays, writing, photography and various other media artwork. I’ve included the trailer below for the disturbing The Reflecting Skin and I would not recommend you see The Krays (which he wrote) because you may lose your lunch. Jim Sturgess, an actor who I believe is honing his craft after each role, stars as the film’s quote unquote Valentine. Here’s the synopsis from the festival, for a trio of pics head on over here.
HEARTLESS is the menacing and magical tale of Jamie (Sturgess) born with a heart-shaped birthmark on his face. Shunned by those who find him repulsive, the photographer’s son lives in a part of London’s East End notorious for gang violence. When his mother is viciously murdered, the media reports it’s by a hoodie wearing a devil mask. But Jamie soon realizes the thugs aren’t wearing disguises at all; they really are demons and hell on earth is beginning to plague the capital city. Yet all is not what it seems in enfant terrible Ridley’s unique horror fantasy landscape ingeniously informed by the current climate of fear running through every strata of modern society.
