Howard J. Ford, one of the UK’s most creative genre filmmakers, marks his 10th career movie with brutal kidnap thriller Escape which will be launched by GFM Film Sales at the forthcoming EFM in Berlin. The film stars Sarah Alexandra Marks, Sophie Rankin, Sean Cronin, Angela Dixon, Louis James & Glenn Salvage. Co-produced by Tamara Orlova, executive produced by Amir Moallemi & Fred Hedman.
Howard describes the film as ‘a total outlandish blast’. “I wanted to go back to films and filmmakers that had an impact on me growing up like Sergio Leone’s classic westerns with echoes of The Hills Have Eyes but with a completely modern twist”.
2023 also sees the release of Ford’s DarkGame, which centres on a Portland private detective, played by Ed Westwick, who heads up a task force investigating the case of numerous captives forced to play out a deadly reality game show on the ‘dark web’. The film also stars Andrew P Stephen, Natalya Tsvetkova, Lola Wayne and Rory Alexander. Produced by Tom George and written by Gary Grant & Niall Johnson. Howard commented: “Working with Ed Westwick was a thrill in itself He’s such a powerhouse performer. The whole cast and crew were a dream-team”.
Howard burst onto to the horror scene, alongside his brother, with their rampaging zombie epics, The Dead and The Dead 2: India, although he had already directed two distinctive thrillers – his debut, Mainline Run, starring Hugo Speer and Distant Shadow, with Shane Richie and Mark Little. With a penchant for fast-paced, tension-driven story-telling, he scored a slew of awards for his next film, harrowing action thriller, Never Let Go, shot in Morocco. He did not let the recent pandemic stop him either, creating The Lockdown Hauntings, a supernatural serial killer movie, shot entirely in lockdown without a crew, featuring the legendary Tony Todd (‘Candyman’) and then, in 2022, came his mountain-top pulse-pounder The Ledge, another suspense-filled, deadly cat and mouse game thriller that has recently garnered awards following it’s theatrical and streaming releases.
Howard reflected: “It’s been quite a rollercoaster ride to reach this milestone in my career and it’s taken me around the globe. There have been plenty of incredible challenges, at times life-threatening, but these have been far outweighed by the achievements and the fabulous talents I have worked with. My experiences as a commercials director have taught me how to think on my feet and get the best out of shooting in diverse locations. Plus, I owe my continuing longevity to never giving up, adapting to everything the film industry throws at me and remembering the most important word in movie-making: “Action”. Both on and off screen! Now with ten movies in the can and probably near three hundred commercials I feel the real adventure is just beginning. I’m already looking at new filmic adventures in far lands!”
Both Escape and DarkGame will be released later in the year.
