Polterheist (2018)

Two gangsters are given 72 hours to discover the whereabouts of a stash of drug money stolen by their boss. There's only one problem...they just murdered him. Frantic to find the cash, the ... See full summary »

Director:

David Gilbank

Writers:

David Gilbank, Gemma Head

Stars:

Jo Mousley, Sid Akbar Ali, Jamie Cymbal

5 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Jo Mousley	...	Alice
Sid Akbar Ali	...	Tariq
Jamie Cymbal	...	Boxy
Pushpinder Chani	...	Uday
Kevin Curtin	...	Janek
Gemma Head	...	Tracey
Matthew Lewney	...	Trevor the scouser
Polly Lister	...	Wilkes
Amy Mountford
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hayley B.	...	Topless Polish dancer 1
David Berryman	...	Polish gangster
Huw Blainey	...	Myers
Ikram Butt	...	Cricketer
Peter Coleman	...	Canal ambulance man
Stacey Coleman	...	Dawn

Storyline

Two gangsters are given 72 hours to discover the whereabouts of a stash of drug money stolen by their boss. There's only one problem...they just murdered him. Frantic to find the cash, the hapless criminals kidnap a psychic medium and force her to contact the dead gang boss. Unfortunately for them, they only succeed in unleashing an evil spirit bent on revenge.

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Plot Keywords:

gangster | black humour | female nudity | splatter comedy | 

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Taglines:

They got screwed by a stiff

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Horror

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 September 2018 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£150,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

India Calling

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

12-Track Digital Sound

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

Polterheist actress and co-screenwriter Gemma Head passed away months before the film went on general release. Gemma won a posthumous award for Best Screenplay at the Unrestricted View Horror Film Festival, along with Paul Renhard and Dave Gilbank. She wrote many of the film's gags and the 'card scene' and is credited by director Gilbank for giving the film a 'greater emotional resonance'.

User Reviews

Locating the stolen money gets a little ... trickier!

Based upon the original short this feature length film shows the originality that UK independent film making can still provide. Taking the base premise of gangsters trying to locate missing money, the twists & narrative turns are layered well maintaining the films pace. Gritty shots of urban streets & explosive acts of violence show the influence of Get Carter (1971) The cast deliver good solid performances with Jo Mousley inhabiting the role of Alice Moon & the dead Frank exceptionally well. Sid Akbar Ali & Jamie Cymbal are a great pair of mid level gangsters. The character of Uday (played by Pushpinder Chani) is another level of deranged & outlandish violence; as such he is probably the least believable character. Gun, knife & cricket bat stand-offs pepper the drama with darkly comic dialogue & action (especially paying for parking ...) The visual effect of ghosts is particularly well conceived & executed. It is thanks to video-on-demand, Netflix, Amazon & other streaming services that smaller films like this can get the greater audience they deserve. And this is definitely a film that is worthy of viewing. It is to the great credit of the cast & crew that films like this can be made, & I look forward to seeing more from director David Gilbank. (I can only imagine what he could have done with just a tenth [£4 million] of the budget for the 2000 version of Get Carter!)