In the Grip of Terror: Amicus UK Cinema Dates Announced

Amicus Productions returns to the big screen this autumn, launching a new theatrical programme from British Horror Studio Picture House.

In the Grip of Terror is coming to UK cinemas this October and November, bringing the first new Amicus horror feature in more than four decades to audiences in Romford, Sale, London and Southport. More venues and dates will follow.

The release also marks the launch of British Horror Studio Picture House, a new distribution division built to give original independent horror a continuing place on the big screen.

For Amicus Productions president and British Horror Studio founder Lawrie Brewster, this is a chance to turn the studio’s growing production programme into something audiences can experience together in a cinema.

In the Grip of Terror Brings Amicus Back to Cinemas

Starring Golden Globe nominee Jane Merrow, Laurence R. Harvey and Megan Tremethick, In the Grip of Terror continues the anthology tradition associated with Amicus. Readers can explore the film’s story, cast and production background in our earlier guide.

The new cinema engagements follow the release of the official trailer. The first announced screenings begin at Lumière Cinema in Romford in October, with Sale, Peckhamplex and Southport Bijou also joining the programme.

The return carries a particular significance for British horror. The original Amicus and Tigon operations ceased production as the studio landscape changed during the 1970s, while Hammer’s feature-film production entered a lengthy hiatus at the decade’s close. The BFI’s account of British horror after the 1970s provides background to that transition.

Today’s ambition reaches beyond reviving a familiar name. Under the British Horror Studio banner, Hex Studios, Amicus Productions and The B-Team are working towards an independent operation that brings development, production and theatrical distribution together.

Why British Horror Studio Is Building Its Own Distribution Arm

The studio reports almost ten features in production and a planned production rate of six films a year. Brewster argues that this scale of activity needs more screening opportunities than the UK horror festival circuit can provide on its own.

British Horror Studio Picture House is intended to create that additional route to audiences, handling films from the studio and its associated labels alongside selected outside titles.

“There are extraordinary filmmakers, writers and performers working in horror who rarely have the opportunity to see their work presented properly on a cinema screen,” Brewster said.

“We want to build a practical route into theatres for distinctive work that puts story, atmosphere and personality first. Beginning with In the Grip of Terror, our ambition is to create a growing home in cinemas for voices and visions that audiences might otherwise never have the opportunity to discover.”

That approach reflects Brewster’s belief that British horror should develop its own contemporary identity. He places writing, performance and theatrical craft at the centre of the studio’s work, and is critical of the tendency to follow successful American formulas or repeatedly turn to familiar public-domain characters.

Our sister publication, the British Horror Chronicle, has explored the studio’s broader independent filmmaking ambitions.

Black Chariot, Spoiling You and Mr Whispers to Follow

Following In the Grip of Terror, the initial Picture House programme will include Hex Studios’ Black Chariot, Megan Tremethick’s Spoiling You, and The B-Team’s debut feature, Mr Whispers.

Black Chariot stars Laurence R. Harvey and Megan Tremethick. Spoiling You features Tremethick, Harvey and Stephen Kerr, while Mr Whispers stars Tremethick alongside Novarro Ramon, Dorian Todd and Sam McMillan. Our earlier coverage introduced The B-Team and its first feature-film programme.

Plans are being developed to extend the distribution operation into North America during 2027. For now, the first step is here in Britain: getting these films onto cinema screens and giving audiences the chance to discover them.

In the Grip of Terror: UK Cinema Dates

More UK dates will be announced. Check the cinema websites for booking availability and confirmed screening times.

Watch the official In the Grip of Terror trailer.

---