Horror Favourites – Jake West

Meet Cliff Twemlow – AKA Mancunian Man… Bouncer, Novelist, Composer, Screenwriter, Producer, Stuntman, Star. An unbelievable tale brought to the screen by talented director Jake West, this insane documentary has to be seen to be believed.

In 1980s Britain Twemlow was all of these and much, much more. For more than a decade, he was in fact Britain’s most prolific indie filmmaker and in his hometown of Manchester, he was – and remains – a bone-fide legend.

Between 1982 and 1993, he gathered a devoted team, including local doormen, martial artists, variety performers, club DJs, models, girlfriends, gym friends, family members and B-listers and created his own cut-rate Hollywood empire.

Perhaps best known for the ultra-violent G.B.H. (Grievous Bodily Harm) – which was banned as one of the notorious Video Nasties – Twemlow was a true trailblazer. Shooting with pioneering video technology, composing the music himself and working to almost non-existent budgets – he crafted movies of all genres, from gangster flicks to horror films, spy thrillers to sci-fi epics and beyond, with the help of his unlikely ensemble of misfits.

The somehow totally true story is brought to life by director Jake West and Severin Films through exclusive new interviews, insane film clips and rare behind-the-scenes footage. There’s only one real Mancunian Man, a true one-of-a-kind and legend.

Jake West is best known for his feature film work in the horror, fantasy & Sci-Fi genres. This includes Razor Blade Smile (1998), Evil Aliens (2003), Pumpkinhead: Ashes to Ashes (2006) starring Lance Henriksen, Doghouse (2009) starring Stephen Graham, Danny Dyer and Neil Maskell, Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape (2010), The ABCs of Death (2012) and Draconian Days (2014).

His scripts include the high-concept werewolf film Feral which he co-wrote with Spencer Wright, and thriller The Fate of Strangers with writer James Ruzika. Jake is also attached as director to the forthcoming underwater thriller Relics. He is co-owner of Nucleus Films alongside Marc Morris.

Following the hugely successful and critically acclaimed World Premiere of Mancunian Man at FrightFest in August, it’s time to experience the film on its home soil, where the cinematic magic first happened. Finally, the man, the legend can get finally get the kudos he truly deserves.

Severin Films is delighted to announce Mancunian Man is set to return to where it all began for bonafide legend, Cliff Twemlow, with its glamour filled Manchester Premiere on 12 November 2023 at Cultplex. Tickets available here: Cultplex

Horror Favourites – Jake West

Below the wonderful Jake West talks about some of his favourite scary movies:

“It’s always impossible to pick as I have so. many favourites – but taking a swipe of the machete into my brain here’s a bloody cross section of just a few of my all-time horror movies faves…

‘Phantasm’ (1979): Don Coscarelli’s splendidly nightmarish tale of interdimensional grave robber that introduced the classic horror villain ’The Tall Man’ deliciously played by the splendid Angus Scrimm.

With flying silver sphere’s that drill your head, sinister dwarf monsters, yellow blood, a finger that transforms into a hilarious flying beast, fortune tellers, friendship and the emotional story of a young boy who ’s lost his brother and dealing with death this set a new standard of imagination and was highly influential on later classics like ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’.

Also with a classic sound track by composer Fred Myrow! I first saw this on Video when I was 14 years old and still own the VHS tape that I brought from my local independent Video Store. Don Coscarelli was a teenager still when he made this and it was a big influence on me thinking it would be possible to make a film at a young age.

Evil Dead (1981): Sam Raimi’s seminal debut flick. With the unforgettable Bruce Campbell as the long-suffering Ash Williams! This bloody brilliant, gory and inventive low budget flick has such a sense of verve and energy, once again unlike anything else I’d seen at that time. This was absurdly banned as a Video Nasty in the early 80’s and my brilliant sister managed to do an under the counter hire of it from the local video shop! Needless to say, I was mesmerised and on later learning Sam was 19-years-old when he made it was another big inspiration for me as a filmmaker.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) – Wes Craven’s all time classic with one of the greatest horror story ideas of all time and introduces us to Freddy Krueger – introduces us to Freddy Krueger – a dead child murderer who stalks the children of his killers in their dreams. And if you get killed in the dream you die in real life.

With an absolutely superb script, inspired direction, great makeup and effects, surreal visuals and inspired casting that’s why this film is an all-time classic. The only thing that lets it down is the schlocky tacked-on ending demanded by producers New Line Cinema (who rightly sniffed a franchise – but didn’t allow the film to end with perfect story balance that Craven had given us in the final scene. ‘1, 2 Freddy’s coming for you…’

Suspira (1977) – Dario Argento’s masterpiece co-written with partner Daria Nicolodi (who was much more into the occult side), based on Thomas De Quinceys 1845 writing ‘Suspira deProfundi’ ‘ about the deviously dark forces of ‘The 3 Mothers’ namely Mater Lachrymarum, Our Lady of Tears; Mater Suspiriorum, Our Lady of Sighs; and Mater Tenebrarum, Our Lady of Darkness.

In Suspira dancer Suzy Bannion had a brush with Mater Suspiriorum at a German ballet school. This supernatural material brought the absolute creative best out of Argento and he creates a technicolour hallucinatory nightmare on film full of flourishes and remarkable set pieces with a jaw dropping score from Italian pro rock band Goblin!

This was also caught up in the Video Nasties debacle and though not prosecuted it was seized and was a ‘Section 3’ Nasty at the time.

Talk to Me (2023) – Michael & Danny Phillippou’s superb Australian horror movie with an outstanding and touching performance by super talented Sophie Wilde as Mia is not to be missed. The story of a group of kids making contact with dead spirits by holding a mysteriously symbolled, dead embalmed hand is elegant disturbing, violent and poignant. Mia is trying to overcome the loss of her mother and is literally pulled into the darkness as events spiral out of control with some terrific scares and boatload of emotion. For me this movie is the horror film of this year.”

Jake West’s Mancunian Man gets it Manchester screening on Nov 12th at Cultplex, then plays The Abertoir Festival in Wales (www.abertoir.co.uk), The Bristol Cube Cinema 20th Nov and The Derby Quad 24th Nov