On a sunny day in May I attended a day of events that piqued my curiosity and introduced me to a niche, eccentric world. It was organised to celebrate 35 years of Headpress Books, a Manchester-founded independent publisher with a presence in the counterculture-pop culture and horror scene since 1991.
The Kneale Inheritance
The first panel of the day was all about the work of Nigel Kneale. Jen Wallis, press officer at Headpress, took to the stage with four “Kneale experts” to discuss his work and the influence it continues to have today.
Brontë Schiltz, currently doing her PhD on the Televisual Gothic, proclaimed Kneale a “visionary” whose work hinges on extremity. She pointed out that The Year of the Sex Olympics essentially predicts reality TV and that Kneale used technology to portray human perceptions of the supernatural.
Brontë’s comment is reflected in an interview Kneale did in 1981, speaking about how violence becomes associated with pleasure when viewed through a screen. Andrew Screen, author of The Book of Beasts, read it out:
“We switch [the TV] on not out of curiosity to see what’s happened but because we bought the set to get fun out of it. If you then see a person being shot or the news, you convert that into a pleasurable experience.”
(The Observer, 06/09/1981)
Toby Hadoke, author of The Quatermass Experiment, observed that Kneale’s film Quatermass and the Pit seemed “one step ahead” of Doctor Who despite being made years prior. He recalled discovering the film in childhood and becoming obsessed, writing to crew members and receiving behind the scenes memorabilia in response.
Toby spoke about how writing the book enabled him to meet members of Kneale’s family, including Judith Kerr, Kneale’s wife and author of children’s books such as The Tiger Who Came to Tea and the Mog series. Having come across a wealth of material, Toby realised the capacity for a further two books following his first. He is currently compiling the second one.
Toby said he admires Kneale’s capacity for storytelling and how today his work is like an “imprint on the past”. He also debated how Kneale’s childhood on the Isle of Man might have influenced him: a tight-knit community with a tendency to reflect on the ‘olden days’ is likely to have had an impact on his work.
On Beasts, Andrew spoke about how the series has become more recognised years after its release, perhaps because – like him – people who watched it when they were younger have rediscovered it. Its style appears to appeal to audiences today. Andrew added that labels such as ‘folk horror’ have been retrospectively applied to Kneale’s work, a development that he isn’t a fan of but has to admit fits as a descriptor.
Andy Murray, author of Into The Unknown, spoke about Kneale’s originality and personality. He discussed how the narrow escape of his wife’s family from the Nazis must have haunted them both in a meaningful way. Having done plenty of research for their books, Andy and Toby imparted Kneale’s tendency to hold grudges and be a stubborn, “brittle” character.
The four panellists went on to consider the influence Kneale has had on others. Brontë relayed how people are being inspired by Kneale without even knowing it; how they cite influences that are themselves originally inspired by his work. Toby mentioned how Black Mirror’s technology-based themes are very familiar.
The four panellists all live in the North. Toby and Andy even share the same postcode. They joked that if a bomb dropped on the room at that moment, all Kneale expertise would be wiped off the face of the earth!
New Voices in Horror: The Shedding
The second event of the day had Lakkaya Palmer and Will Dupere, a pair of young filmmakers who met at university in London, screen their short horror film The Shedding. With its eerie soundtrack, nighttime primary school setting and visceral climax, it had everyone appropriately tensed, then squirming in their seats.
Jon Dear, a writer on archive TV and film, asked the pair about their sources for inspiration. They described their film as a “love letter to 70s and 80s horror”, citing influences such as John Carpenter and David Cronenberg.
Speaking about the process of making the film, they mentioned the usefulness of a movement coordinator and the combination of physical and visual effects. They relayed the intensity of the shoot: it was filmed over two nights, from 8 pm to 4 am. They used part of their university, meaning the set had to be undressed and redressed in between.
Will said that a primary school at night is creepy because it shows society as you don’t usually see it. Furthermore, a primary school teacher – typically safe and kind – has her identity flipped in this film. Lakkaya added that part of the reason for the setting choice was, admittedly, funding constraints. Despite raising £4000, they could not afford to hire a location, nor could they achieve as much as they wanted with special effects.
That being said, the final result is some fantastic body horror. Will said that his mum, who hates horror films, declared she would never watch it again after the first time, a sign of success according to him. Lakkaya observed that body horror is effective because humans, by nature, can identify with the pain. Will summarised, “We’ve all picked a scab in the bathroom.”
The other thing that contributed to a sense of unease while watching was the soundtrack. Will composed it himself and said that the drumming “makes the film, if I can toot my own horn a little bit”. The fact that it is slightly out of time – Will admitted this is because he is a “bad drummer” – has a conveniently disorienting effect.
Lakkaya spoke about wanting to see more women of colour in horror – both in front of and behind the camera – pointing out the work of fantastic yet largely unknown directors Mariama Diallo and Nikyatu Jusu. She also addressed that if a film has a black male actor or director, there is often an unfounded assumption that there are black women in the space too. The lack of dialogue in the film reflects the voicelessness of black women. It also contributes to the scary atmosphere and allows for more interpretations from the audience.
The panel then discussed how black representation in horror doesn’t often achieve a wider audience. Lakkaya observed that non-black filmmakers seem to fear dealing with race in their work. At the same time, she added, there is an assumption that as a black person, your work will focus on race. She argued that it shouldn’t have to be this sort of “monolith.” Will agreed that there appears to be a lack of middle space where there would be room for all those things and more.
There is, however, a diminishing sense of “snobbishness” surrounding horror. Will said that, unlike other genres, horror has recognition and an audience; for this reason, it is a popular genre to explore and produce. At the moment, he claimed, “everyone and their mum” is making horror films.
Read about the other events at Headpress’ 35th anniversary extravaganza here.
