Charlie Lyne explores horror in new feature film Fear Itself exclusively on BBC iPlayer
The BBC today announced that acclaimed filmmaker Charlie Lyne’s new feature film, Fear Itself, which is constructed entirely from existing horror films, will be released exclusively on BBC iPlayer on the 18 October.
Published: 1 October 2015
Charlie Lyne is one of the most exciting young filmmakers in Britain today and we’re absolutely thrilled to bring his feature film, Fear Itself, exclusively to BBC iPlayer.
Fear Itself takes viewers on a journey through fear and cinema and asks whether horror movies know us better than we know ourselves. Encouraging viewers to interrogate a diverse range of images and sounds sampled from a hundred years of cinema, Fear Itself informs and unnerves in equal measure, changing the way you watch horror movies for good.
Fear Itself was ordered by Victoria Jaye, Head of TV Content, BBC iPlayer, from Janet Lee, Executive Producer, BBC Arts, and it is produced by Daniel O'Connor, Catherine Bray and Anthony Ing.
Victoria Jaye, Head of TV Content, BBC iPlayer, says: “Charlie Lyne is one of the most exciting young filmmakers in Britain today and we’re absolutely thrilled to bring his feature film, Fear Itself, exclusively to BBC iPlayer. Charlie has seized all the creative opportunities iPlayer presents to bring his unique vision for this film to life. Fear Itself is a mesmerising, experiential exploration of how fear works, beautifully told through the archive of over a hundred years of horror cinema. You’ll be deeply moved, and at times terrified, by what Charlie has achieved.”
Charlie Lyne, Director, says: “I got about 20 minutes into the first feature-length commission from BBC iPlayer, Adam Curtis’s Bitter Lake, before I started fidgeting with excitement about what an incredible platform it had become for weird and wonderful art — art that wouldn’t quite fit anywhere else. About a month later I somehow found myself beginning work on Fear Itself, the second feature-length commission from BBC iPlayer. No pressure then.
"The last six months have been a whirlwind of experimentation, discovery and occasional terror, attempting to make a film that both evokes and scrutinises the effects of horror cinema at the same time. I’m thrilled (and more than a little anxious) to be releasing the film into the wilds of the internet, where it can finally be scrutinised in its own right.”
The film is narrated by Amy E Watson, an actor living in Glasgow and born in Canada. She grew up watching horror films, and has worked with Charlie on shaping the character of the narrator.
Fear Itself builds on the success of BBC iPlayer’s original commissions, which have attracted over 29 million requests in the last six months. BBC iPlayer is available on over 10,000 devices in the UK for free, from computers and smartphones to tablets and connected TVs. 2014 was a record-breaking year for BBC iPlayer and BBC iPlayer Radio, which saw 3.5bn TV and radio programme requests across all devices and the catch-up window extend from seven to 30 days.
Director’s biography
Charlie Lyne is a filmmaker and film critic living in London. His first film, Beyond Clueless, premiered at SXSW and was released in cinemas earlier this year. His second, Fear Itself, premieres on BBC iPlayer on 18 October. His third is in development.
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