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Hex Studios Announces Gothic Thriller ‘Automata’

Hot off the heels of their black and white noir The Black Gloves [which we reviewed at Frightfest Halloween] director Lawrie Brewster and writer Sarah Daly are back with another slice of Gothic horror.

Automata, the fifth feature from the duo, is a lavish affair with a vibrant colour palette that harks back to the giallos of Argento and Bava. The film tells the story of an antiques expert sent to authenticate a three-hundred-year-old clockwork doll with a notorious history, the ‘Infernal Princess’. He soon comes under its corrupting influence, and, along with his stepdaughter Rose, finds himself the target of dark forces beyond his control…

The film stars Hex Studios’ regulars Jamie Scott Gordon (The Black Gloves, Bonejangles) and Alexandra Nicole Hulme (Lord Of Tears, The Black Gloves), alongside Erich Redman (The Danish Girl, Woman In Gold), Jonathan Hansler (The Devil’s Business) and rising star Victoria Lucie (Dartmoor Killing).

Check out the first trailer below:

According to director Lawrie Brewster, “Automata is a wild, Gothic thrill-ride inspired by the decadence of Ken Russell’s Gothic the sensual expressionism of Argento’s Suspiria and Bava’s Black Sabbath. It’s by far the most ambitious film we’ve produced, with a truly epic story that switches between the 1700s and the present day to reveal the truth behind the curse of the ‘Infernal Princess’.”

Writer Sarah Daly alludes to the film’s edgy themes; “The film explores how someone’s idea of love can be perverted by experience, and how that corruption can echo through the ages. It goes to some very dark places, basically!”

The filmmakers have just launched a Kickstarter campaign offering pre-orders of the film, plush toys of their now infamous Owlman, credits, and other goodies to fund the post-production of the film. Check it out here.

Automata is an international co-production between Hex Studios and long-time partners Dark Dunes Productions, in association with Needle’s Eye Productions, and Executive Producers Nick Ford, Greg Orsi and Richard Pate. The film is set for release in December 2018.

Kat Hughes is a UK born film critic and interviewer who has a passion for horror films. An editor for THN, Kat is also a Rotten Tomatoes Approved Critic. She has bylines with Ghouls Magazine, Arrow Video, Film Stories, Certified Forgotten and FILMHOUNDS and has had essays published in home entertainment releases by Vinegar Syndrome and Second Sight. When not writing about horror, Kat hosts micro podcast Movies with Mummy along with her five-year-old daughter.

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