U.S.-set, U.K.-produced horror movie “Aura” has wrapped. The film revolves around the concept of photographing your own aura, known as Kirlian photography, and stars Shane Taylor (“Band of Brothers”), newcomer Janine Nerissa, and veteran British actor Rula Lenska.
Steve Lawson (“Survival Instinct”) wrote and directed the picture, which was produced by Hereford Films, the U.K. indie behind the “We Still Kill the Old Way” gangster movie franchise.
Hereford has moved into horror and hopes to emulate the success of Jason Blum’s production house, which has made a string of cost-effective genre pictures including “Insidious,” “The Purge” and the Hammer Horror movies of the 1950s-1970s.
“In the wake of the huge success achieved by Blumhouse Productions in the U.S., we have been busy establishing a horror division at Hereford to produce quality, commercial genre films for the international market,” said Richard Watts-Joyce, Hereford’s CFO. “The relatively low budgets make these films attractive for investors who can see returns on this type of films quickly.”
Lawson is set to direct another of Hereford’s genre pictures, “Pentagram,” which is inspired by “The Devil Rides Out” and, like “Aura,” will be set in the U.S.
It is part of the slate of genre movies that also includes sleep-paralysis feature “Tormented” and an adaptation of Shaun Hutson’s latest novel, “Chase,” which will also shoot this year. Hutson and Hereford struck a deal last year spanning several projects, and the author has adapted “The Chase” for the big screen himself.
Hereford is not abandoning its “We Still Kill the old Way” pictures, with a third installment in the series, “We Still Die the Old Way,” set to start shooting this spring, with Zackary Adler attached to direct.
Also in the gangster realm, the producer is about to start shooting “The Krays: Dead Man Walking,” a new take on the story of the infamous London crime-lord brothers.
