A Fife film-maker is hoping his fundraising efforts won’t scare off backers.
Director Lawrie Brewster, who is from Kirkcaldy, is hoping to raise £40,000 to complete horror film The Unkindness of Ravens, which he describes as a cross between Apocalypse Now and The Evil Dead.
If the campaign succeeds, it would represent the most money ever raised through crowdfunding for a Scottish horror film.
He has raised about half of the money he needs, with time running out to the funding deadline.
The project has already gained attention from international industry figures such as Tom Holland, director of Fright Night and Child’s Play, who tweeted about the film, as well as Alex Gillis, founder of Oscar-winning creature effects company ADI.
Mr Brewster said the movie is an intense, psychological horror that tells the story of Andrew, a homeless veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Haunted by flashbacks, Andrew travels to a retreat in the Scottish Highlands. There, he hopes to overcome his fear of ravens, the dark creatures that trigger his visions, but, in the bleak wilderness, his nightmares take a form more terrifying than he could have ever imagined.
He said the film is a “terrifying thrill ride but with something important to say about the human cost of war”.
Veterans’ issues are central to the film and Edinburgh actor Jamie Scott Gordon, who plays Andrew, met Scottish veterans suffering from PTSD.
“To do justice to these brave men and women, I felt I had to do all I could to understand what they were going through, and the complexities of the condition,” he said.
“Although The Unkindness of Ravens is a horror film, it also shines a light on a section of society who are often forgotten.”
The film was shot on location in Fife, Edinburgh and Perthshire with a Scottish crew. “London or Los Angeles might present more opportunities to network and better film infrastructure, but Scotland has unique benefits, too, a rich pool of untapped creative potential and, in terms of locations, everything from ruined castles to grand houses, from bleak, brutal landscapes to quaint historic villages,” Mr Brewster said.
The project has attracted backers from all over the world, pledging anything from £5 for a copy of the script to £5,000 for an executive producer credit on the film.