The British Horror Studio Halloween Ball brought more than black-tie glamour to Kirkcaldy, with a three-year film agreement for Megan Tremethick, a slate of developing productions and new facilities for The B-Team among the evening’s announcements.
Filmmakers, actors and supporters gathered at the studio’s headquarters to celebrate six titles described by the team as complete or nearing completion, alongside the refurbishment of its round room and kitchen. The evening combined a review of the year’s work with a look at the projects and people shaping what comes next.
Among those attending were Tremethick, Ayvianna Snow, Isabella Bonfante and Julia Quayle, alongside familiar faces from the studio’s growing repertory. And once the speeches were over, there was still time for some decidedly enthusiastic karaoke.
Megan Tremethick signs a three-year film agreement
One of the evening’s principal announcements was a three-year agreement between Megan Tremethick and the British Horror Studio for a slate of films built around classic female protagonists from literature and history.
The planned adaptations will take the form of arthouse horror dramas, produced by The B-Team and Hex Studios within the British Horror Studio family. The agreement recognises Tremethick’s central place as a star of the studio while creating a framework for a sustained body of work.
The event also looked ahead to an imminent sequel shoot involving Tremethick, whose title remains under embargo, and a further film written and directed by her, scheduled to shoot in December 2026. These projects form part of a broader programme of work discussed during the evening.
Six titles complete or nearing completion
The studio’s review of the year celebrated six titles complete or nearing completion, reflecting progress across productions at different stages rather than six films all reaching release at once.
Among the achievements highlighted were the Romford Horror Film Festival premieres of Black Chariot, Spoiling You and Mr. Whispers. Tremethick’s award-winning directorial debut Spoiling You introduces Miss Mutter, the unsettling ASMR creator at the centre of the film.
The B-Team’s Meow and Chronicles of Depression were also recognised among the six titles complete or nearing completion. Dorian Todd’s work on Meow had included a work-in-progress screening at Romford, giving audiences an early encounter with the film.
The evening also acknowledged progress on The Slave and the Torturer, with its Kickstarter campaign approaching. Together, the films offered a picture of a studio moving projects through production, post-production and towards their audiences.
New directors and an expanding slate
The B-Team represents the avant-garde wing of the British Horror Studio, established to give original and unusual horror ideas room to develop. Its work also creates opportunities for artists who have worked with the studio to take on greater creative responsibility.
That ambition is reflected in Place of Execution, the directorial debut of Tom Stanton, starring Novarro Ramon, Callum Alexander Wright and Steve Budgell. The film was among the new B-Team productions celebrated at the ball.
Looking further ahead, Lawrie Brewster is set to direct Daguerreotype in March 2027. The project centres on postmortem photography, a subject with particularly rich possibilities for Gothic horror.
A new collaboration between Sarah Daly and Ayvianna Snow will mark Daly’s feature-film directorial debut. Its title remains under embargo. Snow recently launched Snow Pictures with the science-fiction horror feature The Nice Ones, a development covered in our recent report.
The plans discussed also included a tentative Amicus Productions film for summer 2027 and an additional B-Team feature to be directed by Dorian Todd in collaboration with Sam McMillan. Further details will be announced as the projects develop.
Documentary filmmaker Lewis Baillie was another welcome guest. His short Community Theatre has been shortlisted for the BAFTA Scotland Short Film and Animation award, an achievement recognised in a Scottish Parliament motion. The studio is looking forward to working with him on a future non-fiction project.
Other conversations concerned ideas still at the proposal stage. Andrew Gourley and Craig Seath are developing a project to pitch to The B-Team, while Brewster expressed enthusiasm for Julia Quayle’s comedy and writing. A possible pairing of Quayle and Tremethick, perhaps in a horror comedy with something of the spirit of Arsenic and Old Lace, remains an intriguing possibility rather than an announced production.
New editing suites and room to grow
The B-Team’s development extends beyond its films. Renovation work is continuing on a dedicated facility that will house post-production editing and sound-editing suites, giving the team more space to finish the work it creates.
At the main British Horror Studio building, the ball celebrated the completion of refurbishment work in the round room and kitchen. Exterior improvements had also been carried out, with plans announced to extend the work through all public reception areas.
The facilities matter to the creative ambitions. The B-Team is being developed as somewhere new filmmakers can explore distinctive concepts and take their next steps, supported by the practical means to bring those films through production and post-production.
A new chapter in publishing
Sarah Daly is also preparing a book that would mark a return to publishing for the British Horror Studio and a move beyond horror. Its title and subject remain under embargo, but it was described at the event as a deeply personal work. Further details will follow when they can be shared.
Vintage glamour, with a villainous twist
Tremethick arrived in a striking James Bond villainess-inspired look, complete with an eye patch and pale fur. Cinematographer Michael Brewster had created a portrait set with lighting inspired by 1940s Hollywood, inviting guests to step away from the celebrations for photographs. More images of Tremethick’s costume from that session are expected soon.
Isabella Bonfante, an actress and filmmaker whom the studio met at the Romford Horror Film Festival, was among the guests who travelled to join the celebrations. Snow made the journey from London with her partner Daniel, while actress Sharon Puchot Diaz was another welcome visitor from farther afield.
Tia Maria brought a different kind of screen glamour in a vintage blue gown from the 1950s. She recently performed as a demonic creature in Sarah Daly’s Hypnos, a segment of Hex Studios’ For We Are Many 2. She attended with Charlotte Marshalsey, whose background in performance may yet bring her in front of the studio’s cameras.
A celebration of the people behind the films
The guest list mixed visiting artists with the people who keep the studio moving. Lawrie Brewster, producer Paul William Kelly, actor Callum Alexander Wright and cinematographer Michael Brewster paused for a group photograph before the room filled. Writer and filmmaker Sarah Daly joined the speeches, which acknowledged the work of colleagues across the past year.
Other familiar faces included Stephen Correll, whose credits include the Chancellor in The Reign of Queen Ginnarra; Andrew Gourley, affectionately compared by Brewster to Peter Cushing; actress Jordanna Stowe; and makeup and effects artist Rachel Gebbie.
Dorian Todd attended with fellow filmmaker Natasha Livingston, while Quayle joined the photographs and conversations between performances. Guests also included Novarro Ramon, Emma, Rhiannon Crothers and Carrie Todd, whose enthusiasm and local promotion had helped support the day’s screening of Amicus Productions’ In the Grip of Terror at Kirkcaldy’s Adam Smith Theatre.
A restored room and a late-night singalong
The setting reflected another substantial team effort. Guests entered through newly repainted doors washed in blue light, with framed British Horror Studio artwork, Victorian Minton tiles and a fairy-lit corridor setting the scene before they reached the round room. Outside stood Poppy, the Wolseley featured in Black Chariot, adding a suitably cinematic welcome. Kiwi Neil had brought the car out for the occasion.
Inside, a restored sideboard, a Green Man buffet cart with a newly fitted quartz-marble top, refurbished chairs and a vintage microphone completed the scene. Paul William Kelly, Big Irish Tom, Lawrie Brewster and Sarah Daly made the final preparations for the food and drinks. A neighbouring kitchen offered somewhere quieter to talk or take a break from the music and bustle, a consideration Brewster highlighted for the team’s neurodivergent members and guests.
The formal part of the evening featured music from classic cinema, including scores by Alfred Newman and Bernard Herrmann. Later came dancing and karaoke, with Callum Alexander Wright acting as MC and contributing songs by Elvis Presley. Carrie Todd and Jacklyn Calvard were among those who took to the microphone, turning a formal studio gathering into a rather more exuberant affair.
Alongside the celebrations came thanks for the people whose support makes the studio’s work possible, including Rhiannon Crothers, Nathan Wellers and his family, whose support, alongside that of others, recently helped restore its damaged roof. For a company built through sustained collaboration, the opportunity to welcome those supporters through the doors was part of the evening’s purpose.
Further project details and Michael Brewster’s portrait photographs will follow. Readers can keep up with the films at the British Horror Studio, explore the British Horror Chronicle, or join the studio’s Patreon community for a more personal look behind the scenes.
For the evening in a vintage newspaper style, with engraved artwork and monochrome press photographs, read Robert Guthrie’s companion report in the British Horror Chronicle.
Robert Guthrie
Arts Correspondent, Amicus Horror
