LOCK IN is a claustrophobic thriller about justice, family and revenge. Set in a run-down Birmingham boozer ready for regeneration, it sees hard-working barmaid Lucy and her landlord father Richard intimidated and threatened by a local thug seeking protection money. Trapped in their own pub the pair struggle to escape the violence around them and the secrets of the past. The film has a criminal element, but is not a gangster film – it’s less Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, more Mystic River. In terms of style and tone it is inspired by Roman Polanski’s British pictures like Cul-De-Sac, Repulsion and The Tenant.
LOCK IN will be directed by Nev Pierce, whose debut short, BRICKS – starring Jason Flemyng and Blake Ritson – is currently in post-production. Pierce is Editor-At-Large at Empire, the world’s biggest movie magazine. During more than 15 years as a film journalist, he has interviewed everyone from Brad Pitt to Jack Nicholson, Christopher Nolan to David Fincher. You can read articles at nevpierce.com.
LOCK IN has been written by Jamie Russell, author of acclaimed books Generation Xbox: How Videogames Invaded Hollywood (“fascinatingly detailed and revealing,” the Guardian) and Book Of The Dead: The Complete History Of Zombie Cinema (“The definitive history of the living dead,” according to American Werewolf in London director John Landis). He co-wrote Bricks and has several feature scripts in development.
The producers are Lee Brazer and Chris Hainsworth of Cinescope Entertainment – with experience of working for the likes of Working Title, Pathé and FilmFour – and Matthew James Wilkinson, who was previously a development executive at Working Title and recently produced his feature debut as producer, The Call-Up (currently in post-production).The team has a good deal of industry knowledge and experience to call on, without yet being established enough to pull ten grand out of the air to tell a story… Hence, we are after your help.
Your money will go towards location and equipment hire (lights, camera), subsistence, crew and cast expenses, andmore beer than it is humanly possible to consume costume and production design to ensure a polished, professional look for a hard-boiled thriller. “Nev is a strong, clear director – makes tough calls when needed and knows how to tell a great story,” says Jason Flemyng, who starred in Bricks. “I was proud to be in his first film and I’m excited to see what he does next. He’s proper.”
LOCK IN director Neville Pierce on the set of his first short film, Bricks, with actors Jason Flemyng and Blake Ritson.