When the Earth Gives up the Dead (2022) – Principle Photography has WRAPPED

When the Earth Gives up the Dead (2022) is a wrap – the live action sequences at least are now in the bag – this, the third film in my Lovecraft Trilogy (which includes ‘Markham’ and ‘At the Mountains of Madness’) is now moving into a heavy post production phase that will include loads of exciting SFX sequences as well as some knock-out old school Stop Motion animation provided by the Warehouse Transmedia Wrecking Crew.

Below are a few behind the scenes shots from our last day of shooting.

Keeping checking back for more exciting updates.  

Matthew Cooper has been a script writer for hire and UK script consultant for over 20 years. He’s written for most of the UK soaps, including writing award-winning episodes of Emmerdale, EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs and has been BAFTA shortlisted and Royal Television Society nominated as a script writer.

His directorial debut, the rubber reality horror thriller ‘Markham was released in 2020, his second feature film as director ‘At The Mountains Of Madness’ hit the screen in 2021. You can find out more about Matthew’s work as a director here.

You can find some of his broadcast credits on the IMDb.

Dark Eyes of London put their focus on Matthew Cooper director

David Dent is a horror and fantasy films critic who has set himself an incredible task of cataloguing every British fantasy film from 2020 onwards across on his blog Dark Eyes of London.

While doing this, David came across my feature debut as a director Markham (2020), which he was enthusiastic about.  He then followed this up with some very kind words about my second film At the Mountains of Madness (2021).

David has been so supportive that when he launched his Dark Eyes of London fanzine in print, he feature both films in the first issue, and myself and the team are really honoured to feature in the fanzine – because apart from anything, the magazine is a brilliant read.   

 
With the world wide web appearing many moons ago printed fanzines kind of died a death – but it’s so nice to actually have a printed copy of something (and I say this as a digital first person).


I remember buying horror fanzines like Deep Red back in the 80s and this magazine is along those lines.


If you want to buy a copy its £3 and you’ll have to track down the author on Twitter – David Dent – Dark Eyes of London – Twitter handle (@darkeyesofldn)


Also in the mag are directors Louisa Warren (Curse of the Scarecrow) , Tom Lee Rutter (The Pocket Film of Superstitions) and Charlie Steeds (Death Ranch).


I guarantee you’ll end up buying some DVDs or streaming some films you’ve never heard of – which is kind of the point.

You can buy Markham on VOD here. You can also buy At the Mountains of Madness on VOD here.

If you want to purchase either film on DVD click here.

Matthew Cooper has been a script writer for hire and UK script consultant for over 20 years. He’s written for most of the UK soaps, including writing award-winning episodes of Emmerdale, EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs and has been BAFTA shortlisted and Royal Television Society nominated as a script writer.

His directorial debut, the rubber reality horror thriller ‘Markham was released in 2020, his second feature film as director ‘At The Mountains Of Madness’ hit the screen in 2021. You can find out more about Matthew’s work as a director here.

You can find some of his broadcast credits on the IMDb.

PHASE IV (1974)

My feature debt as a Director confounded a few viewers–  when Markham was released in 2020, it wound up on a few torrent sites quite quickly- one person watching the film illegally gave it 5 stars out of 5 and left a message on the torrent board which read – ‘I’ve never seen another fucking film like it.’   Well, maybe that guy (or gal) might want to watch PHASE IV (1974)

Phase IV is a film directed by Saul Bass.  It’s a small contained sci-fi about ants taking over the world.  But this isn’t ‘Them’  (1954) – don’t expect to see stop motion creatures crunching on military hardware. Instead Phase IV is a visually stunning, cramped and claustrophobic film, that will make viewers uneasy and entertained in equal measure.

There’s not much of a plot to mention, and some of it won’t make much sense – but it will be compulsive viewing.

Saul Bass is a bit of a legend in the film world. He  was a graphic designer by trade, and somehow ended up designing the title sequences for many classic films – from Martin Scorsese’ Casino right back to The Seven Year Itch. Sometimes the title sequences of the films he worked on were better, more interesting and more creative than the films themselves.

So, Saul had a cult following and a reputation for being visually exacting and super creative, but Saul only ever directed one feature film, so PHASE IV is they only fully realised film we have from him, and it’s a trip – and hints at what a talent he could have been given further commissions.

But like my debut film Markham – some reviewers at the time had never seen a fucking film like it! And that kind of put a stop to Saul’s career as a director right there...

Over the 47 years since the film was made, its built up a big cult following. The trailer is below, and I’d recommend you see it, as soon as you can.

Matthew Cooper has been a scriptwriter for hire and UK script consultant for over 20 years. He’s written for most of the UK soaps, including writing award-winning episodes of Emmerdale, EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs and has been BAFTA shortlisted and Royal Television Society nominated as a script writer.

Matthew is also a director of feature films including the rubber reality horror thriller ‘Markham which was released in 2020. Matthew’s second feature film as director ‘At The Mountains Of Madness’ was released in July 2021.

You can find out more about Matthew’s work as a director here and find his broadcast credits on the IMDb here.

Tip of the hat to Phil – the genius behind Mad God

After the two low budget horror films Markham and At The Mountains Of Madness one of my upcoming projects requires a lot of old school stop motion effects and miniature work.  I’m looking forward to getting my hands dirty one-frame at a time – but any sort of stop motion work is a huge undertaking.

One of the last great practitioners of stop motion animation is Phil Tippett – Phil was the AT-AT man on Empire Strikes Back as well as the genius behind Robocop and Starship Troppers amazing special effects.

But almost in secret and in his spare time between Hollywood projects Phil has been working away on his own feature length stop-mo epic.  Mad God has been 30 YEARS! That’s right -30YEARS- in the making, but from the trailer below it looks like it will have been more than worth the wait.

I just hope that my project using these effects doesn’t take as long to finish.

Matthew Cooper has been a scriptwriter for hire and UK script consultant for over 20 years. He’s written for most of the UK soaps, including writing award-winning episodes of Emmerdale, EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs and has been BAFTA shortlisted and Royal Television Society nominated as a script writer.

His directorial debut, the rubber reality horror thriller ‘Markham was released in 2020, his second feature film as director ‘At The Mountains Of Madness’ hit the screen in 2021. You can find out more about Matthew’s work as a director here.

You can find some of his broadcast credits on the IMDb.

Pre-order ‘At The Mountains of Madness’ (2021) RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!

When super talented Hollywood big shot, Guillermo del Toro put together the proposal to film his long cherished ‘dream project’ – an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s ‘At The Mountains of Madness’ – the budget was over $100 million dollars.   With the kind of budget, you’re nearly talking serious money.

Unfortunately for Guillermo, the studio bean counters thought 100 mill was way too rich for their blood, and his project remains unmade.

When me and my team decided to film an adaptation of ‘At The Mountains of Madness’ our budget was below £2,000.  That’s probably not enough to cover the biscuit bill for a Hollywood production, but, myself and a select few dedicated actors and technicians completed our version of Lovecraft’s’ story in Feb this year (it was even shot during lockdown 2).

Pre-Order At The Mountains of Madness

You can now pre-order the low budget horror feature ‘At The Mountains of Madness‘ on Vimeo.   It’s out for all to see on 28 July.

The DVD will be available soon for fans of physical media.

You can pre-order on Vimeo below:

Watch At The Mountains of Madness (2021) Online | Vimeo On Demand on Vimeo

Matthew Cooper has been a scriptwriter for hire and UK script consultant for over 20 years. His short film script ‘Family Style’ won the first ever Lloyds Bank Channel Four Script Writing Challenge in the UK in 1993. The film was commissioned by Channel Four and starred a then unknown actor called Ewan McGregor.

Matthew went onto write award-winning episodes of Emmerdale, Hollyoaks and Eastenders (where he wrote the episode where ‘Alfie’ told ‘Kat’ he loved her for the first time). Matthew has been BAFTA shortlisted and Royal Television Society nominated as a scriptwriter.

In 2020, Matthews’s first film as a director, the low budget rubber reality horror film ‘Markham’ was released. The innovative independent production was nearly two years in the making, shot partially on Super 8mm film, and was almost entirely improvised by the actors.

You can find out more about Matthew’s work on his website and follow him on Twitter and Instagram too.

https://www.instagram.com/matcoop23/

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1247639/?ref_=tt_ov_dr

http://www.matcoop.co.uk/

At The Mountains of Madness (2021)- trailer drop

Directed by Matthew Cooper – ‘At the Mountains of Madness’ will be released in July – here’s the first trailer drop.

At The Mountains of Madness (2021) Rough cut completed

At The Mountains of Madness (2021)

My second feature film as a director – the micro budget Lovecraft themed ‘At the Mountains of Madness’ had its first rough cut completed this week, and has been sent off to the composer to start work on the score.

A few clients in my day to day work as a UK script consultant, have asked how we could have possibly shot a feature film (on any budget) during the last 12 months – most of which were spent in Lockdown in the UK, due to the pandemic.

The answer is, it wasn’t easy.  But, making a feature film never is, and it often feels like trying to walk a very strong dog, which has ideas of where he wants to go.   You try and pull the leash, but a lot of time, the dogs superior strength means it gets to go exactly where he decides, however hard you pull.

At the Mountains of Madness’ is due for release later this year. I’m very pleased with the film and especially pleased with the effects work, nearly every shot in the film has had something done to it from a special effects POV, but it has retained its naturalistic black and white look, which at times was hard to do.

Keep checking back, as I intend to reveal more about the making of the film as we approach the release date.   

As well as being a freelance film director for hire, Matthew has also enjoyed a long career as a script writer for hire he’s written for most of the UK soaps, including writing award winning episodes of Emmerdale, EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs and has been BAFTA shortlisted and Royal Television Society nominated as a script writer.

Matthew’s directorial debut, the rubber reality horror thriller Markham was released in 2020.

You can find some of his broadcast credits on the IMDb You can find out more about Matthew’s work as a director here.

10 films every director needs to see – Matthew Cooper Director

I’m on my third week of post production on my second feature film as a director – ‘At The Mountains of Madness’ a moody little horror film based on the story by H.P. Lovecraft.  This is my second horror feature film as a director and this week, as I’m knee deep in horror, I’ve decided to list ten films that directors need to see – which are out of the horror or sci-fi genre.  A palette cleanser if you will…

These films aren’t in any order and are the first ten that came into my mind.  I’ve also avoided the usual films and directors that I talk about a lot.

The Last Detail – What a script! And what performances by all the cast.  Director Hal Ashby doesn’t get in the way of Jack Nicholson turning in the best performance of his life. A funny, sad and ultimately tragic tale, a road trip, not much happens but we learn everything about three sailors, two taking the third to the brig (prison).  It’s a shitty detail.

The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3 – one of the best heist movies ever made, when a group of colour coded professionals take over a subway train and ransom the occupants. The city of New York is a character we meet the Mayor, chief of police and these odd guys called transit cops, lead by a deadpan Walter Matthau.  It’s tense, funny, rousing and has one of the best scores of the 70s.  It’s also one of those films that shows a dirty run down 70s New York, a city on the skids reluctant to pay.   The remake is nowhere near the original

The Commitments – the best let’s start a band movie. Great characters, very funny, good music, but what it captures best is the feeling of aspiring to be something beyond the norm, and the bittersweet worry that it won’t go anywhere or last.  But better to be an unemployed sax player than an unemployed pipe fitter, right?

Breaking Away and Gregory’s Girl – the two best films about growing up.  One set in Glasgow, the other in Indiana. They both share the same spirit.

Margin Call – yes, it’s about the financial crash, but it focuses on the impact on one  company and one set of employees. It’s an eye opener and feels realistic and well researched. All employers will fuck you over eventually, but in this case, they fuck over the entire financial system too.

Bad Company – a western for young people.  But a REAL western never the less. Jeff Bridges and Barry Brown are cast as the two aspiring outlaws, and things don’t go well for them at all. Will they live, and survive the multiple ways young men could die in the west?  You must see it yourself.  Great original score too.

Hard Times / The Streetfigher – known under two different titles.  This depression era set tale of bare knuckle boxing is a top film by Walter Hill.  You’ve got James Coburn and Charles Bronson, which is all you’ll ever need.  It’s gritty and tough and you’d expect nothing less.

Black Book – Paul Verhoeven is simply one of the best directors still working.  He’s still very underrated by many.  Check out Black Book, shocking, rousing, engrossing and a film that will be talked about for years to come.

Bad Day At Black Rock – Spencer Tracy arrives in a small town looking for someone, it’s clear the town has a dirty secret.  The question is, will Spenser get out alive.  Ripe for a remake, outstanding actors, locations and camerawork (I didn’t count more than two or three close-ups in the entire film). It still stands up today.

As well as being a freelance film director for hire, Matthew has also enjoyed a long career as a script writer for hire he’s written for most of the UK soaps, including writing award winning episodes of Emmerdale, EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs and has been BAFTA shortlisted and Royal Television Society nominated as a script writer.

Matthew’s directorial debut, the rubber reality horror thriller Markham was released in 2020

You can find some of his broadcast credits on the IMDb You can find out more about Matthew’s work as a director here

Editing and Post Production on – At The Mountains of Madness – Matthew Cooper Director

Matthew Cooper Director

I’m one week into post production on my second feature film as a director – ‘At The Mountains of Madness’ (ATMOM) and already, the process is much smoother than on my first feature film Markham  which was released in 2020.

On ‘Markham’ we used improvisation, and never had a real script or storyline.  While this made ‘Markham’ a pretty unique film, it also made it hugely hard work.

‘ATMOM’ had a script, I didn’t entirely stick to it, but for the most part, the actors had set lines to learn, we had set scenes and a pretty strict structure too. And, that has made making the film and editing it soooo much easier.

As a  script writer for hire and in demand script consultant of course, I should know this myself.   Yes, everything works better with a good script – but it’s a gentle reminder to the director in me to get the script working before you do anything else – something I didn’t do with Markham, I almost attempted to write the film after we’d shot it. A mad idea.

ATMOM is already looking like a winner, like Markham it’s a horror film based on the writings of H.P. Lovecraft. It’s the second film in what will be a low budget trilogy of horror films based on Lovecraft stories.

All being the well, the film be finished very soon, for a late April release. Keep checking back more info.

As well as being a freelance film director for hire, Matthew has also enjoyed a long career as a script writer for hire he’s written for most of the UK soaps, including writing award winning episodes of Emmerdale, EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs and has been BAFTA shortlisted and Royal Television Society nominated as a script writer.

Matthew’s directorial debut, the rubber reality horror thriller Markham was released in 2020

You can find some of his broadcast credits on the IMDb You can find out more about Matthew’s work as a director here.

Wrapped – At The Mountains of Madness – Matthew Cooper Director

Boom, about a week ago we wrapped shooting on my new feature length horror film – ‘At The Mountains of Madness’ – which is based on the short story by H.P. Lovecraft.  This is the second film (after ‘Markham released August 2020) in a trilogy of micro budget Lovecraft adaptations.

Unlike Markham, we had a pretty solid script for this production although my actors Tony Coughlan, Ashe Russell and Gary Geeson still had plenty of room to improvise and play with their characters.  

The main shoot was completed in two intense weeks, where at times, we had to be really creative to get the scares and required atmosphere on a tiny budget.

ATMOM had exteriors shot in Greenland and Alaska, but the majority of the film was done on custom built sets in a studio environment.  Like Markham, ATMOM will be black and white and some of the film is shot on Super 8mm.  The most fun I had on the shoot involved fake snow and a snow machine – which resulted in me nearly breaking ankle – but hey, the shots looked great.

I’m looking forward to diving head first into post production, and the film will hopefully be released online in April 2021.

Obviously, Covid-19 made shooting the film a challenge and at all times we stuck to the Covid-19 film industry guidelines.

Keep checking back over the next few months as I detail the post production process and start releasing a few images and trailers from the film.

Matthew Cooper has been a script writer for hire, UK Script editor  and UK script consultant for over 20 years. He’s written for most of the UK soaps, including writing award-winning episodes of Emmerdale, EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs and has been BAFTA shortlisted and Royal Television Society nominated as a script writer. His UK script coverage service, Script reading service and script development service are highly sought after.

You can find some of his broadcast credits on the IMDb.

His directorial debut, the rubber reality horror thriller Markham was released in 2020. You can find out more about Matthew’s work as a director here.