“A group of young women head to Marshall Woods, intending to blow off steam and find inspiration for their book about local ‘missing person’ lore and legends. They soon discover they are not alone and unwittingly begin a bloody fight for survival against a terrifying and unnatural antagonist.”
Footsteps is the first joint collaboration from Pipe Screams Productions and Tanis Development, Neil Marshall’s company. Marshall is EP on the short along with long-time supporter of indie horror, Lydia Hearst. Pipe wrote the ‘camping trip goes wrong’ short back in late 2019 and is thrilled to be bringing the female led, practical effects production to life.
Hot on the tail of Pipe’s first short film, HER comes Footsteps, which first appeared in the 2020 charity anthology Diabolica Britannica and was subsequently nominated for a Splatterpunk Award due to the extreme nature of the violence and use of menstrual blood as a plot-point. It is also featured in Pipe’s collection, Twisted: Tainted Tales (2021). Readers often praised the cinematic feel of the piece and it remained in the back of Pipe’s mind that maybe one day, it would be adapted for the screen. With nods to Carrie, Blair Witch Project and Evil Dead, it is a self-contained tale with potential to become a feature. Viewers won’t be left feeling cheated, but they will want more and Pipe has plans to fully explore the lore in the future.
Having collaborated with Marshall for her book Sausages: The Making of Dog Soldiers, the director has been eager to work with her mentor and friend again before they begin prepping for The Making of The Descent, set to release in 2025.
Footsteps boasts a women only cast and will showcase practical effects and a creature design worthy of a low budget homage EP Marshall. Other crew members so far include:
- James Perkins – Producer
- Rebecca Wilcox – First AD
- Sam Mason Bell – DoP
- Georgie Kerrsenbrock – SFX
Filming will take place in Pipe’s hometown of Swindon in September 2023 and her dream goal would be to have it premiere at London’s Frightest in August 2024.
Pipe and her team are hoping to fund the majority of the short via Indiegogo. Perks include a Special Thanks IMDb credit, an exclusive poster signed by Pipe and Marshall and producer status along with one very special edition – an original Dog Soldiers quad poster signed by Marshall along with Sean Pertwee, Darren Morfitt and Craig Conway.
Pipe adds, ‘Times are hard right now for many people and you may find that although you’d like to support a British women-driven indie genre production oozing with blood, you just can’t financially. But that doesn’t mean you still can’t be hugely beneficial in helping us by spreading the word and sharing the campaign wherever you can. And for that we will be massively grateful.’
You can support Footsteps HERE:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/footsteps-film-by-janine-pipe-ep-neil-marshall/x/29481106#/
