Beyond Clueless follow-up, Fear Itself, premieres on iPlayer in October
David Farnor | On 02, Oct 2015
Fear Itself, the new film from Beyond Clueless director Charlie Shackleton, will premiere on BBC iPlayer on 18th October.
The experimental exploration of fear – constructed entirely from existing horror films – is the second feature-length commission from BBC iPlayer, following Adam Curtis’ bold documentary Bitter Lake (still available on iPlayer).
“I got about 20 minutes into [Bitter Lake], before I started fidgeting with excitement about what an incredible platform it had become for weird and wonderful art,” say blogger and critic-turned-filmmaker Lyne. “Art that wouldn’t quite fit anywhere else. About a month later I somehow found myself beginning work on Fear Itself, the second feature-length commission from BBC iPlayer. No pressure then.”
“The last six months have been a whirlwind of experimentation, discovery and occasional terror, attempting to make a film that both evokes and scrutinises the effects of horror cinema at the same time,” he adds. “I’m thrilled (and more than a little anxious) to be releasing the film into the wilds of the internet, where it can finally be scrutinised in its own right.”
The film encourages viewers to interrogate a diverse range of images and sounds sampled from a hundred years of cinema, attempting to change the way in which people watch horror movies.
Fear Itself was ordered by Victoria Jaye, Head of TV Content, BBC iPlayer, from Janet Lee, Executive Producer, BBC Arts, and it is produced by Daniel O’Connor, Catherine Bray and Anthony Ing.
“Charlie has seized all the creative opportunities iPlayer presents to bring his unique vision for this film to life,” says Jaye. “Fear Itself is a mesmerising, experiential exploration of how fear works, beautifully told through the archive of over a hundred years of horror cinema. You’ll be deeply moved, and at times terrified, by what Charlie has achieved.”
The film is narrated by Amy E Watson, an actor living in Glasgow and born in Canada, and builds on the success of BBC iPlayer’s original commissions, which have attracted over 29 million requests in the last six months. Indeed, the announcement follows the commissioning of BBC iPlayer’s first comedy-drama feature film, a snooker-themed flick called The Rack Pack, which will be released in December. Fear Itself will be available to stream and download from Sunday 18th October, just in time for Halloween.
Beyond Clueless is now on Netflix UK. You can read our review here. For more on what’s available to catch up with from the Beeb, see our weekly best of iPlayer column.