Mottram takes centre stage in new British horror film

Mottram-based indie Angry Lynx Productions begins a one-week shoot at the village Community Centre on Saturday 23rd May for its first feature.

A horror comedy about a book club that picks the wrong book. From idea to cameras rolling in three months.

A book club. A village hall. A copy of an old, almost forgotten Mark Twain. Nothing should go wrong. Everything will. On Saturday morning, Mottram Community Centre swaps Toddler Group, Youth Theatre and coffee mornings for a film crew and a circle of six chairs, as cameras roll on Highly Recommended, the debut feature from local independent Angry Lynx Productions, in collaboration with Munin Entertainment.

Writer-director Steven James Griffiths has always dreamt of making his own film. After ten years working in TV & Film, Steven decided it was time to make his dream a reality. His inspiration? Mottram Community Centre! After supporting a volunteer day at the Centre, Steven was taken by the heritage and stories the 200 year old building had to tell. As an avid horror fan himself, he of course had to take his inspiration in a dark and terrifying direction.

From concept to writing this feature script, he has miraculously assembled a stellar cast and crew in just three months, and on a shoe-string budget. However, a tight budget doesn’t mean a lacking in quality. In fact, this production is being shot in cinematic quality on a Red Komodo 6K Camera.

Angry Lynx Productions, the Greater Manchester independent he founded to make distinctively British horror, has gone from a name to a feature production in a single season.

Highly Recommended is a horror comedy written and directed by Steven James Griffiths, from a story he developed with D.B Madden. The premise is a quiet one. The regulars of a Wednesday-night book club gather at their usual community hall to discuss this week's read. The book on their laps is The Mysterious Stranger, a strange, mean little novella that Mark Twain wrote at the end of his life and never quite finished. The book club will not finish it either, nor will they get out of the building.

Mottram, the Tameside village on the edge of the Peak District best known to locals for its dog walks and its commute, will be deeply itself and entirely unrecognisable in the finished film. The community hall most people drive past without looking at twice becomes, for one week in May, the setting of a sealed-room horror. A cast and crew of around twenty will descend on the building from Saturday 23rd to Friday 29th May 2026, then disappear back out of it.

The ensemble cast brings together familiar faces from British soap and stage. Neil Rowland (Coronation Street, Emmerdale Farm) plays the breathless, well-meaning Ronnie. Christine Walsh (Coronation Street, Hollyoaks) is Nicola. Wendy Patterson (Coronation Street, In The Flesh, Exciting Times) plays Dorothy. They are joined by Cal Bentley (The First Team) as John, Kelsea Knox (Departures, Blue Lights) as Lilly, and Alexi Papadopoulos as Jeremy.

Paul Morris produces. Daniel Kuptel is Director of Photography. Simon Chiu supervises VFX. Heidi Schofield is, single-handedly, the costume, set design, hair, make-up and SPFX department, an act of crew-list compression that is fully in the spirit of the production. Adam Zane is Casting Director. Executive producers are Steven J. Griffiths, Jo Booth, Carla Donato and Samantha Judd.

The Community Centre Trustees and Angry Lynx Productions are in conversation about a community screening once the film is complete, so that the people who live next door to the set can see what was being made on the other side of the windows.

Steven James Griffiths, writer and director said “Three months ago this film was a back-of-an-envelope idea. On Saturday, the cast and crew are walking into Mottram Community Centre with biscuits and bright ideas. None of it was supposed to be possible at this speed. It is happening because people who had every reason to be polite and busy said ‘yes’ instead. This project is centered around community…and horror, and comedy. Obviously.”

Lauren Moore, Trustee, Mottram Community Centre added “The Trustees were proud to vote in favour of hosting the production. It is a paid hire that supports our running costs, but it is also the kind of project that makes you remember why community buildings exist in the first place. We are looking forward to a community screening later in the year so that everyone in Mottram can see the Centre on the big screen.”

Carla Donato, executive producer quoted “We are making a feature film for the price of a second-hand car. That only works because the script is good enough for actors to want to play it, the village has thrown its doors open, and the team has been ridiculously generous with their time. We have had to be inventive about absolutely everything. That is half the fun.”

“What sold it to me was how British the script is. There is nothing more terrifying than a roomful of people too polite to admit something has gone badly wrong. That is the whole film, and that is the joke, and that is also the horror.” said Neil Rowland, who plays Ronnie

Finally Jo Booth Executive Producer and Marketing Director, Angry Lynx Productions says “This is the village I live in and in a building I love, and we are making our first feature in it. Audiences in Tameside and Glossop are going to recognise themselves and the place. That is exactly the point. Big horror, made small, made here.”