Rough Cut

Posted by Fabio 28 October 2013

Rough Cut, directed by London-based conceptual artist Jamie Shovlin, explores the making of the gloriously sleazy 1970s exploitation flick Hiker Meat, an imagined film by (fictitious) Italian director Jesus Rinzoli. While Hiker Meat is fated to remain unrealised as a complete feature, key scenes were filmed in the Lake District in June and feature in Rough Cut. These are contrasted with on-set footage and details of the development of Hiker Meat’s soundtrack, storyboards, design and models, to form a lovingly crafted feature-length work that remains true to the tradition of classic 70s horror.

Shovlin elaborates on what he calls his ‘meta-mentary’, saying, “We’ve adopted the exploitation genre’s collaborative approach to make our own feature, with the knowledge that we can’t possibly re-make a film like Hiker Meat – and don’t actually want to. Instead we’ve investigated where else we can go with it, and stripped back the making, unmaking and remaking of both the film and the idea, as a kind of ode to the power of imagination.”

Written by Mike Harte, with music by Euan Rodger, and produced by Cornerhouse Artist Film, the film is released across the UK on 6 December.

www.cornerhouse.org