British horror deserves
greater ambition.
A vertically integrated independent film studio. A repertory company. The cultivation of stars. A belief in cinema as a theatrical and romantic art.
The classic studio system, reborn.
The British Horror Studio is building a vertically integrated film company inspired by the studio system of the 1940s. Writers, directors, actors, designers and technicians work under one roof, with the studio developing, producing and distributing its own pictures.
Hex Studios, Amicus Productions and The B-Team bring their work into this shared company. Our repertory returns from film to film, accumulating experience, developing a recognisable style and giving artists the opportunity to grow together. Through BHS Picture House and our own shop, we are building the means to bring those films directly to audiences.
This is a radical ambition for British independent cinema: to put artistic development, production and distribution in the hands of a continuing creative company.
The making of stars.
We take an active role in training, nurturing and guiding our performers. That means developing their craft, creating substantial roles and working with them on the photography, costume and public image through which audiences encounter them.
Our collaboration with Megan Tremethick expresses this conviction. We champion the glamour, mystery and mythology of the early screen, alongside the discipline that makes a leading performance or a distinctive character actor memorable. Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh remain touchstones for the expressive possibilities of voice, gesture and presence.
The apparent intimacy of social media is itself a carefully constructed performance. We favour a more deliberate mythology, built with the artist through beautiful photographs and strong performances, leaving room for an audience’s imagination.
Theatrical cinema, without apology.
Our films begin with writing and acting. We make art house horror and stylised melodrama, embracing theatrical language, heightened emotion and the beauty of an openly constructed world. Ken Russell and Anna Biller offer examples of how personal and affecting such cinema can be.
We want to bring that ambition into contemporary independent film. Romance, sensuality, terror and sorrow deserve to be felt sincerely, without a knowing wink to excuse them. The Romantic Gothic describes the emotional life of our pictures: longing, desire, beauty and the extraordinary within ordinary experience.
Our roots lie in the cinema, theatre and performance traditions of Britain, and in the stories and folklore of Britain and Ireland. Our company draws artists from these islands and further afield, bringing their imaginations to the pictures we make together.
Meet the people.
Help make the pictures.
Join Lawrie and the team for personal stories from the studio: the films, the discoveries and the peculiar business of bringing them to life.
Join for free to follow public updates, or become a contributing member. Senior membership includes streaming through BHS Picture House.
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