Five FrightFest Facts with Stephen Staley and Natasha Tosini from ‘The Haunting at Jack the Ripper’s House’

Jack the Ripper has haunted imaginations for well over a century, but in The Haunting at Jack the Ripper’s House his shadow collides with the world of viral content and influencer culture. Written, directed, produced and headlined by Stephen Staley and Natasha Tosini, the film follows the Haunt Hunters, a team of YouTubers notorious for faking their paranormal investigations, who are dared by their followers to take on one of the most infamous haunted locations in the world. What begins as a ploy for clicks soon spirals into something far more sinister, blurring the line between performance and genuine terror.

Drawing inspiration from gothic classics like The Innocents and The Uninvited while filtering them through the lens of modern internet culture, Staley and Tosini’s debut feature takes a familiar urban legend and recharges it for the FrightFest crowd. Both filmmakers, who first bonded over podcasting before moving into movies, take leading roles in a story that mixes historical speculation with contemporary horror, where the pursuit of attention comes at a terrible price.

In this Five FrightFest Facts interview, Staley and Tosini share how their creative partnership developed, why they think indie voices deserve more festival spotlight, and what award they believe would capture the real fun of making horror. They also imagine the terrifying films their own lives might inspire — with answers as bold and unpredictable as their debut.

Stephen Staley, writer-director and Natasha Tosini, writer-director and star

1. Tell us about your film

Our film is a new take on traditional old school horror, taking inspiration from The Uninvited’ and The Innocence. We wanted to make a horror film we could enjoy, something that wasn’t all guts and gore, but more psychological! Our movie starts with a group of YouTubers called ‘The Haunt Hunters’, they go viral after faking and staging all of their haunts to make things more intense than they really are. Their audience starts to catch on to what’s really happening and call The Haunt Hunters out, telling them to visit Jack The Rippers Manor, one of the most haunted buildings on the planet – allegedly. Is it really haunted? Or is this all faked too?

2. How did you get into making movies?

We (Natasha Tosini and Stephen Staley) started our own podcast a few years ago as best friends, after a while we wanted to take on more of a challenge, so we decided… lets make a movie! Working together is always fun so we knew if we put our heads together we could do it, and luckily our movie seems to be getting the recognition it deserves!

3. What films would you love to see screened at FrightFest and why?

This is a hard question to answer! As we aren’t really horror crazy, our horror film knowledge is very limited. We would say however, a LOT of indie horror films being made are amazing, so we say give the indie filmmakers a chance! You never know what you’ll find!

4. If you could create your own award to give at FrightFest, what would it be and why?

Definitely ‘Best Outtakes’ after filming out movie we realised there’s so many funny moments that don’t make the final cut, as its a horror!
But making horror movies is massively underrated in terms of how funny it is! We had several takes ruined by actors not being able to keep a straight face (primarily us haha) but that’s what made it amazing!
Everyone had an amazing time on set because of that funny atmosphere and we think those funny behind the scenes takes should be awarded!?

5. If your life was made into a horror film, what would it be called and who would play the starring role?

Natasha: If my life was made into a horror movie, I’d call it Broken and it’d be on the verge between absolute death and destruction, and tragedy beyond comprehension! I think I’d play myself, because I’ve lived this life, so who better to bring it to secondary life, on screen!
Keep your eyes peeled, I might just go ahead and do it!?

Stephen: It would be called The Curse of Success Starring: Tom Hardy as me — because only he could capture the rollercoaster of going from broke to millionaire, marrying a top model, losing it all in a brutal twist, and rising again to reinvent myself in film. Lets go! 🙂

The Haunting at Jack the Ripper’s House trailer