User:Mr Kelly Smith/sandbox/Don't Let Him In (film)

Don't Let Him In (film)

Don't Let Him In is a horror film directed by Kelly Smith and produced by Coldwood Productions.

Plot

As London couple Paige and Calvin head off for a weekend in their holiday cottage in rural Devon, they reluctantly allow Calvin's younger sister Mandy to bring along Tristan, an arrogant city trader she picked up in a one-night stand. Stopping off on the journey, they encounter Emer, a gypsy girl living in the woods. She reads Tristan's palm and foresees something ominous. At the cottage, local police officer Sgt Utley warns them that a serial killer is loose in the area, dubbed 'the Tree Surgeon' for his grisly habit of hanging up his victims' dismembered body parts in the branches of trees. In the woods, Emer finds herself stalked by an unseen figure. She flees, only to be brought down by a hatchet. That night, the group are startled by the arrival of a stranger, Shawn, who has a bloody gash in his stomach. Emergency nurse Paige stitches the wound, saving his life. The next morning, Shawn explains that he was passing through the area when he was attacked by a stranger. Meanwhile, the group develop suspicions about Tristan, who reveals that he's familiar with the area, and seems to be relieved to have fled London. On a fishing trip, Calvin stumbles on Tristan's secret - that he killed his parents in a house fire to collect the money left to him in a Will. Tristan garrottes Calvin with a fishing line to stop him talking, and hangs up his body to pin the killing on the Tree Surgeon. That night, Shawn heads out to find Calvin and discovers his body. Back at the cottage, Shawn reveals what he found, but Tristan tries to place the blame on him. When that fails, Tristan resorts to violence, punching Shawn in the stomach and re-opening his wound, and stabbing Mandy in the back. Paige stabs him with a kitchen knife, but Tristan gets the upper hand. Just as he is about to finish her with a hand-axe, a revived Shawn slits his throat, killing him. Shawn appears to be dying, and begs Paige to call his wife so he can speak to her one final time. Paige searches his wallet for her number, only to realise Shawn's driving licence features a photo of another man - Shawn killed him and stole his ID. Shawn rises up behind her, revealed as the Tree Surgeon. He renders Paige unconscious and takes her to his lair in a hollow space beneath an old tree, where he dismembers Emer's body and injects Paige with ketamine. He then pursues the drugged Paige through the woods. She hides in a deserted farm, and unwittingly stabs Sgt Utley with a pitchfork, killing him. In the final confrontation with Shawn, the pair are both impaled on a spike used for hanging bales of hay. As they slowly expire, Paige sees fear in Shawn's eyes and allows herself a grim smile of satisfaction.

Cast

• Sophie Linfield as Paige
• Sam Hazeldine as Shawn
• Gordon Alexander as Tristan
• Gemma Harvey as Mandy
• Rhys Meredith as Calvin
• Esther Shephard as Emer
• Jason Carter as Sgt Utley
• Katie Don-Hughes as Schoolteacher

Production

The screenplay was written by Kelly Smith and Chris Andrews with the working title of 'The Hollow'. The film was shot on Super 16mm in late 2008 and early 2009, with locations in London and Buckinghamshire. The set for the Tree Surgeon's lair was constructed in an industrial space in Ruislip.

Film Festivals

The film was screened at The Festival of Fantastic Films in 2012.

Alternate titles

• Sulfures (France)
• Lass Ihn Nicht Rein (Germany)

Reviews

• The Kim Newman Web Site
• Starburst Magazine

External links

• [3] Don't Let Him In on IMDb [4]
• [5] Interview: Kelly Smith, Director of Don't Let Him In, Starburst Magazine, 2011.