Aylesbury horror movie director releases 'self made' movie, Barbatchian

A NHS worker from Elm Farm has taken up an interesting hobby during lockdown, which has led to him releasing his first film.
The BarbatachthianThe Barbatachthian
The Barbatachthian

Ian Austin, who works at Stoke Mandeville as a ward clerk wrote, directed and performed in his own feature length horror film during the pandemic.

The Barbatchian, Ian says, is a love letter to film such a 'Bad Ben', a film that was made outside of Hollywood by the director, simply because they had the passion and belief that the film could work.

Ian AustinIan Austin
Ian Austin

Ian said he has been a fan of horror films for years, ever since he watched Evil Dead 2 when he was just 21 years old.

He said: "My interesting in scriptwriting came about after reading the video box for Reservoir Dogs in the old Apollo Video, and trying to reverse engineer a similar story from the sleeve description.

"I’ve been writing ever since and horror writing has mainly been this year, which is hardly surprising given what's been happening.

"It seemed the most apt genre to use to make a low budget film!"

Asked to describe the story, Ian said:

"It’s a story about an average guy who’s life is thrown upside down by the supernatural intervention of a being named Barbatchian, leading to revelations about his family history and an increasingly nightmarish understanding of just how haunted his house truly is.

Ian said that he had a few more irons in the fire following the release, including a sequel to the Barbatchian, called Barbatchian Returns.

He added that the film was already half shot.

Ian concluded: "There’s also a film called Kung Fu Island which is being shot in stages, but this is on hold for a while due to the pandemic.

"And plenty more. I have ideas for bigger productions, but they’re on hold until things get a little better in England."

Here's the blurb to the film:

"Chester Zerum is just an average guy living an average life, until he finds himself the victim of a monstrous entity known as Barbatachthian. What can one man do against an ancient being of immeasurable power?

"Find out in Barbatachthian, the first feature film by Ian Austin; a horror comedy thirty-six years in the making. Inspired by Paranormal Activity, Bad Ben, and an alternate version of The Shining shot in one location, it’s a low budget horror film full of laughs, suspense, more laughs, and maybe even some intentional scary moments and funny moments."