A NEW Scots horror movie launched on Amazon has been inspired by a chilling spirit world contact from the director's dead sister.
Dreaded Light, which was shot in Scotland has at its heart an encounter director Mark MacNicol's mother had with a psychic medium who had had contact with a lost loved one.
The movie, that does not see the spirit world as mumbo jumbo, features local cast and crew and was shot at various locations in Glasgow.
Having already received a four star reviews rating on Amazon, it follows the story of a grieving widower who turns to a medium after a daughter develops a terrifying daylight phobia.
The Scots director made the film after his mother Janis agreed he could use her real-life medium encounter as inspiration for his fictional feature film.
Mr MacNicol, the writer and director of the movie, revealed his mum was approached by a stranger who told her she was a medium and had a message from her eldest child.
Janis explained her eldest was Mr MacNicol and was very much alive.
But the medium responded that the message was from Angela, the name of a baby Janis had the year before Mr MacNicol was born and who sadly did not survive.
According to the medium, Angela wanted Mr MacNicol to know he had a big sister and guardian angel in the spirit world.
Among the locations for the movie is the site of the former Rottenrow maternity hospital where Angela and Mark were both delivered.
It is now a memorial garden containing a large safety pin sculpture that features in the film.
Mr MacNicol said he was 15 when his mother was approached by the medium.
“The medium claimed they had a message from a baby my mum lost the year before I was born. Mum spent four days in a coma and when she woke up discovered her baby was dead," he said.
“The medium said Angela wanted to let me know I have a big sister in the spirit world, that she’s my guardian angel and is always watching over me. "The idea of the baby growing up in the spirit world, and me having a big sister, the idea of continuation of spirit after physical death has never made me uncomforable. “My hope is that this film will cater for both fans of horror and spiritualists who care about the subject matter being handled with authenticity and sensitivity."
He says he did not think people talk about spiritualism enough.
The movie team have had more than 50 readings done by spiritualist and psychic medium to get an understanding of the subject matter for the movie.
The director said that as a result of this and other extensive research in the field, it hoped the film was "authentic" in the way it handles the themes of spirit and spiritualism.
"Ultimately this is a feature film, not a documentary, it will explore themes, spiritualism is one of them," he said.
When seeking funding for the movie, Mr MacNicol told would-be donors to put their beliefs to one side.
In his pitch he said: "A child dying at any time, including during pregnancy, is heartbreaking. I've experienced it and so has my mum. "Never mind what you believe, or don't, about spirits carrying on after physical death.
"My mum and I both believe Angela will always be part of our family, not simply a tragic event, but that she is still with us in spirit.
"That's just our personal belief. I don't think there is anything wrong with telling people what you believe. The problems come when you start telling others what they should believe and we're not doing that.
"I often reflect and take comfort from the idea that Angela is watching over me. With my mum's permission I am sharing a fictional story inspired by Angela and also the encounter mum had with the medium."
He added: "As fans of film, we saw an opportunity to do something we had never seen done before. This is our best effort at delivering something original."
He has admitted that they had encountered apprehension about the movie within the spiritualist community which he said was "totally understandable, due to the constant negative portrayals of spirit in film".
"We have set out to create a film that portrays spirit in a positive light. The film is inspired by a very personal story. In summary, We would never intentionally do anything that could be considered disrespectful or insensitive to spirit or spiritualism," he said.
The movie features Scottish screen and theatre actors Adam Robertson, Kirsty Strain and Rachel Flynn and an original score by Scots indie- pop band BMX Bandits.
The film itself tells the story of widowed father Duncan, played by Adam Robertson, who is struggling to cope with the grief of his eldest dying when she was a baby.
His youngest teenage daughter Michelle, played by Rachel Flynn, takes to keeping herself to herself and develops a fear of daylight. She endlessly watches Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu remake on repeat, while Duncan refuses to go upstairs in their house.
Duncan becomes unsettled when he meets psychic medium Jen, who seems to know more than she should. This soon sets off a chain of events that call into question his very sense of reality.
The movie has a long list of five-star reviews on Amazon.
One said: "Loved this! It was intense and had me wondering what was going to happen next at times, but also emotional hearing their story. The acting of emotions in the daughter were intense but just what you want in a thriller, A great watch! would recommend."
Another commented: "This movie keeps you in suspense right to the end. Whether or not you believe in spiritualism it has you questioning throughout and anyone who has lost a loved one will not fail to be moved to tears. Keep the hankies handy."
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