A director who released a film after 17 years says his dad “thought I was lying” about the movie appearing on Amazon Prime, after the streaming giant unexpectedly picked it up.
Coatbridge filmmaker Sean Wilkie, 43, finally released horror pic The Bench in July this year - 17 years after beginning filming. Shortly after its release, and much to Sean’s surprise, The Bench was picked up by Amazon Prime.
“When we heard it was going on Amazon, I couldn’t believe it,” Sean said. “It was amazing.
“It’s been quite a journey to get to this point. There were several times when I thought ‘this is never going to get finished.’
“So to finally have it released, and then for Amazon to pick it up so quickly, I was absolutely buzzing.”
A violent slasher film inspired by classics such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Bench was shot in a cabin near Renfrewshire’s Lochwinnoch. Though filming was meant to wrap up in 2007, all manner of obstacles led to the production being repeatedly delayed.
“Over the years, loads of different things went wrong,” Sean said. “Funding fell through, actors got jobs elsewhere. We had to recast some roles three or four times.
“The original editor left, so I had to take on that role. And by the time I’d got all the footage together, I realised that parts were missing.
“As things dragged on, motivation started to fade. You start to think ‘is it worth it?’ There were quite a few times when I thought ‘well, that’s been a waste of 10 years of my life.’”
Soldiering on with almost no budget, the film was more or less finished by 2016 - though by then, Sean had “no energy left” to do anything with it.
It would probably have remained forever unseen if Glasgow filmmaker Ryan Hendrick hadn’t approached Sean about remastering and finally releasing it through his company Magic Monkey Films.
That process itself took another two years, but eventually, the film was ready for a proper screening.
“I was nervous because it had been so long,” Sean said. “I didn’t know how people would react to it. But everyone was very positive.
“And the screening itself was a really cathartic moment. It felt like a weight had been lifted.”
Sean says one unplanned benefit of the long production delay is the “nostalgic” appearance the film now has.
“I wasn’t sure how dated it would look,” Sean said. “But it worked really well.
“It gave people a feeling of nostalgia because it had that 2000s feel - the BlackBerrys, the clothes, the hairstyles.
“Obviously, we never planned that at the time. But now, it makes it look like we had the budget for a period piece!”
When the film then rapidly made its way to Amazon Prime, Sean wasn’t the only one who found it hard to believe.
“I told my family, and I think my dad Terry thought I was lying,” Sean said. “He just said ‘alright then, ok.’ I thought he’d be a bit more excited.
“When it did go up on Amazon, he sent me a video of him watching it on his TV saying ‘oh my god! This is amazing! I can’t believe you’re on Amazon!’
“So I don’t think he believed me at first. But when it went up, he was so excited. He kept messaging me saying ‘I can’t believe this, I can’t believe this.’ So it was nice to get that reaction.”
Despite the prolonged pain of producing The Bench, the recent success has inspired Sean to go round again. He’s currently working on a new “elevated horror” script. He’s speaking to investors already, and feels upbeat about the new project - but has learnt not to get ahead of himself.
“It’s looking positive at the moment,” he said. “But I know that can change very quickly!”
The Bench is available to rent or buy now on Amazon Prime.
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