How Stephen King horror film director developed his passion for movie making in Shropshire
A film director who began his passion for movie making in Shrewsbury is behind the current big screen horror movie The Boogeyman.
Rob Savage's direction of the Stephen King story impressed the author so much he led the call for The Boogeyman to be shown in cinemas rather than go straight to streaming.
It is Rob's first movie for a major studio - 20th Century Studios and Disney.
The 29-year-old film director, now living in the US, grew up in Shrewsbury.
Watch The Boogeyman trailer:
"I went to Shrewsbury Sixth Form College, which is where I really started making movies with the help and encouragement of the staff - including the awesome Kirsty Warrow who still works there," he said.
"I made my first feature film when I was age 17, and we had a tonne of support from the local Shropshire community.
"Local business gave us free food to feed the crew, the local cinema gave our team free cinema tickets for a month and the college let us shoot there for free over the summer. The climax of the film even included a huge scene with over 100 extras, all local and recruited with help from the press, including The Shropshire Star."
That movie was called Strings and ended up getting Bafta shortlisted and winning a Bifa award, eventually being distributed by Vertigo Films and the British Film Industry.
"It was this film that allowed me to start working professionally in the film industry at age 19," Rob said.
"Ten years later, when I was 29, I was shooting The Boogeyman - my first movie for a major studio."
The Boogeyman tells of two young sisters trying to cope with the death of their mother. When someone shows up at their house, he leaves behind a terrifying supernatural entity that preys on families and feeds on the suffering of its victims.
The film had been due to go straight to streaming. However after it was seen by Stephen King in a test screening, the author said it would be idiotic not to go to the cinema.
"He wrote a lovely note about how much he loved the movie," Rob said, adding that he directed The Boogeyman for the big screen.
"It was shot and designed to be shown on the big screen," he said.
Rob said his previous film, Host, was designed for streaming as he knew that people would be watching on a laptop during lockdown.
"That was a very specific movie for a very specific time," he explained,
The cast includes Chris Messina and Sophie Thatcher.
The Boogeyman is in cinemas now.
