The world premiere of Bone Keeper brought an enthusiastic crowd to the Glasgow Film Theatre during FrightFest Glasgow, where The Fan Carpet spoke with director Howard J. Ford and members of the ensemble cast about making the claustrophobic creature feature.
Filmed in real caves in Wales, Bone Keeper embraces an old-school horror approach, combining practical locations, ensemble performances and a creature-driven story inspired by classic genre cinema.
The Fan Carpet, in association with Scotland’s own Shepka Productions, caught up with Ford and his fantastic ensemble cast including Tiffany Hannam-Daniels, Sophia Eleni and Louis James, led by Sarah Alexandra Marks as the haunted protagonist Olivia.
Lesley Russell led the interviews, with Nathan Shepka producing and Alistair Biggar operating the camera. Ford explained that authenticity was key to the film’s atmosphere. “I always want to work with real actors in real locations. With Bone Keeper we went down into real dark caves. There’s no green screen there — it’s all real people, all real places.”
He further explained that the production wasn’t without its risks. “These caves are dodgy places. Rocks can fall, you can fall down holes, you can get lost. We even found real animal bones down there. I needed the right team of actors who had that adventurous spirit.”
Ford also described the film as a love letter to classic creature features. “With Bone Keeper I wanted to do an old-school creature feature that tips its hat to films I loved — The Thing, the original Alien, and even The Descent.”
As with many independent productions, the director emphasised the importance of audience support. “It’s an indie movie, so if people pay to see the film instead of pirating it, that’s what enables more films to be made.”
Speaking to the cast, first up were actors Sarah Alexandra Marks and Louis James, who play Olivia and Ethan — two members of the group who venture into the caves.
Marks explained that Olivia’s motivation drives the story. “Olivia is really the heart of the film. She’s searching for her mother who’s gone missing in the caves, and her friends rally around to help her.”
James said working with Ford is always an easy decision. “Whenever Howard J. Ford wants to do something, you say yes before you’ve even read the script. You know it’s going to be an adventure.”
The actors also praised the film’s mix of horror and adventure. “It’s a throwback to the good old days of fun, entertaining movies. There are creatures you’ve never seen before — things you dream about and have nightmares about.”
Actors Sophia Eleni and Danny Rahim play scientists investigating the mysterious events in the caves.
Eleni described her character Nadia as someone determined to uncover the truth. “Nadia is very sceptical about the creature in the caves, but she’s on a mission to find out whether it really exists.”
Rahim explained that the shoot itself helped create the film’s realism. “We were down in real caves for about eleven days. It was humid and tough, but it brought the cast together.”
Eleni also revealed that some moments in the film emerged spontaneously. “A lot of the film was improvised. Those little unscripted moments brought a real authenticity to it.”
The wider ensemble cast also shared their experiences working on the production.
Tiffany Hannam-Daniels, who plays Annabelle, described the story as one built on friendship. “It’s a film about friendship. Olivia’s best friend calls the group together to help find her mum, and we all became really close off screen too.”
Sarah T. Cohen plays a mysterious hitchhiker known as the vlogger “Bitch Hiker” aka Ashley who helps introduce the audience to the group’s mission. “I’m kind of the outsider who gets picked up along the way, and the characters explain why they’re heading into the caves.”
Meanwhile Tyler Winchcombe said the experience created a strong bond between the cast. “We’ve become a little family. It’s been incredible working with everyone.”
With its real cave locations, ensemble cast and creature-driven story, Bone Keeper aims to bring back the spirit of classic horror adventures.
The film premiered at FrightFest Glasgow at the Glasgow Film Theatre, where audiences were among the first to experience Ford’s latest descent into darkness.
Watch the full interviews below in our playlist, and a massive shout out once again to Nathan Shepka of Shepka Productions for helping to facilitate our presence at FrightFest Glasgow. His latest film Death Among the Pines, starring Nicolette McKeown, has just been picked up by High Fliers Films for UK distribution later this year.
Bone Keeper had its World Premiere at FrightFest Glasgow and will be released digitally on April 6 by Plaion Pictures.