After the apocalypse John Tanner survives in a remote, derelict shelter in the woods. There, he fights to protect his beloved, sick wife from the Shining Ones, demons who have possessed humanity and wear them like skin. The only clue to their presence is blue, burning eyes. The arrival of an enigmatic stranger brings new revelations that threaten to tear apart the safe world Tanner has built for them.

Here director/producer Carl Timms introduces the film and explains why its important we hit our goal:

James Cosmo, MBE - John Tanner

James’s acting career spans five decades, including major roles in Braveheart, Trainspotting, Troy, Highlander and Wonder Woman. He is also prolific on TV, starring as Jeor Mormont,  Commander of the Night's Watch, in four seasons of smash hit TV series Game of Thrones, and as Father Ashby on Sons of Anarchy. In a busy 2018/19, James will next be seen in the Netflix period drama, The Outlaw King, as Fader Coram in the highly anticipated BBC adaptation of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials and as Jorge in Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose. 

James is a prolific and versatile actor who's career started on TV in the 1960's, before making his film debut in the Battle of Britain with Michael Caine. He has over one hundred and ninety credits to his name. In 2011 he won Best Actor for the film Donkeys at the BAFTA Scotlands Awards, and in 2015 won the Best Actor award at the Edinburgh Film Festival for his role as a boxer tormented by his past in the powerful black and white drama, The Pyramid Texts.

Alison Steadman, OBE - Grace Tanner

British actress Alison Steadman OBE has established a career which spans over film, television, theatre and radio. Following critical acclaim as “Beverly” in Mike Leigh’s Abigail’s Party, she secured notable lead roles in Gavin & Stacey and Fat Friends, for which she received a Best Actress BAFTA nomination. Her work includes the fan favourite character Mrs Bennett in the BBC's Pride and Prejudice and has also starred in genre series Orphan Black and Inside Number 9. She can currently be seen starring in the BBC comedy series, Hold The Sunset. For her stage work, Alison received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress for her role as “Mari” in The Rise and Fall of Little Voice. In 2000, she was awarded for her dedication to the drama industry with an OBE.

Marc Baylis - The Stranger

Marc came to national attention in 2012 playing character Rob Donovan in the UK's longest running TV show, Coronation Street. He has gone on to appear in over 300 episodes of the show making tabloid national headlines in 2014 when Rob Donovan, described as "a bit of a rogue with a twinkle in his eye" was responsible for one of the Street's most brutal storylines: the murder of popular character, Tina McIntyre. This led to nominations for Best Serial Drama Actor (NTA's 2015), Best Actor (Inside Soap 2014) and Best newcomer (NTA's, Soap Awards, Inside Soap 2013).

Marc also has some genre credentials also, with films including recently released zombie film Redcon-1, 2016 sci-fi Arcadia, war drama Wounded and 2012's horror comedy Strippers versus Werewolves.  Marc’s other TV credentials include Misfits, Sirens, Law and Order, The Bill, Eastenders and Doctors. 

Kate Davies-Speak - Caitlin Rourke

Kate Davies-Speak has been a working actress for seventeen years, playing lead and supporting roles in; European touring theatre productions, numerous short films and independent feature movies. Kate is drawn to roles that offer interesting character arcs, gritty and emotional roles and parts that encourage her to keep her physically active. She is inspired by iconic action heroines such as Sarah Connor and Ellen Ripley and enjoys working out and practicing combat to use on screen. More recently Kate has had lead roles in a number of genre films including the upcoming projects The Barge People,  Dead Air  and Escape from Cannibal Farm. Kate also plays the role of Nicole in season 1&2 of Hanover Picture's multi-award winning sci-fi web action series Horizon.

Francis Quigley - George Rourke

Francis graduated from East15 Acting School studying the (BA) Acting in 2014, since graduating he has been involved in various shorts and film making projects. His credits as an actor vary from theatre to improv but predominantly remain in screen. His love for screen and comedy after graduating led him to write and produce his own works in which he regularly appears in himself. He has worked with leading charities in Mental health for young men and Channel 4’s Random Acts project. His short comedic film Contactless was not allowed onto the Channel 4 website due to sensitive content which was deemed high risk and not what the programme was about. Francis requested this be mentioned in his bio.

​We’re an independent film production company founded in 2017, specialising in exploring the dark corners of narrative through horror, sci-fi and dark fantasy. We have a number of short films and feature films in various stages of development.

Our debut short, horror comedy Still, written and directed by Carl Timms, won 9 awards and screened at 26 genre festivals and horror conventions in a successful festival run. It was picked up in July 2017 for commercial TV/VOD distribution by Hewes Pictures PLC, New York and screened twice over the winter on DirectTV. It was also selected to be a part of horror anthology BLOOD CLOTS,streaming on Amazon Prime. 

The film won praise from the horror community for its originality, a truly fresh take on a tired genre:

“A brilliantly funny short film...One of the best zombie short films that we’ve seen in a while" Zombie Research Society

"It's fantastic! Great job all round" Chris (host), Talking Dead Podcast

“This short film marks Timms’ directorial debut, and I think it shows a great deal of talent and potential” Horrorfuel.com

"A fun and enjoyable piece of solid film making with a perfect cast. 8/10” rottingzombie.co.uk 

The team behind Still reunited with Dark Matter Films for Off Grid, working with the UK's leading Special Effects Make-Up Designer, Stuart Conran. Carl and Stuart worked together on Still, winning awards for Best Special Effects, Best Gore and Best Hair/Make-up at various festivals. Stuart's CV is a glorious list of the best horror films of the last 20 years: Shaun of the Dead, The Descent, Eden Lake, Attack The Block, The Children, The Woman in Black - so he was the perfect person to handle the moments of violence and horror that punctuate Off Grid. 

We're seeking completion funding for Off Grid. The film is locked in terms of filming and is currently being edited.  A big part of the film's appeal to genre fans are the horror and thriller elements, key to which is our portrayal of the Shining Ones, demons who wear people like skin. This effect (blue burning flame emanating from their eyes) can only be achieved using CGI, so we require funds to help us see this through. We need top drawer effects to match the high quality bar set by the rest of this ambitious short. There are also some sequences that require some digital touching up to remove wires and tidy up backgrounds. 

We also require original music, a professional colour grade, and we hope to have a full Foley track created, along with sound design and final mix to capture the atmosphere of the terrifying circumstances the Tanners find themselves in.

In return for supporting us, we still have some great perks available for fans of the genre, or those who would like to give a horror fan a unique present. These include:

-  Become an executive producer and get your name on the credits as a major backer and IMDB executive producer credit, tickets to the premiere to hang out with the cast and crew, dinner with the writer and director to discuss the film and its production,  see an early cut for your feedback and be part of our journey around the festival circuit, including invites to festival screenings where possible. 

- Digital 4K download or DVD copies of the film with exclusive box art for perk pledgers only! This will be the only guaranteed way to see the film for at least two years post-completion! Also includes a copy of our first short Still

- Behind the scenes photos, photos of key cast, storyboards and a unique, one of a kind print signed by the writer and director

- High level donor rewards including tickets to a premiere screening, access to early cuts of the film for feedback, exclusive looks at the effects process and much more!

Carl Timms - Director

One of the founders of Dark Matter Films, Midlands-based Carl completed his fiction short directorial debut in 2016, the award-winning horror film, Still, which he also produced. Carl has twenty years indie production experience, having worked on a wide range of productions in many capacities and genres. 

Carl is a board member of The Producers' Forum, a network training and supporting film-makers in the Midlands and an advocate of professional standards in the region, including paying cast and crew for their skills when possible.

Mark Brendan - Writer

Mark Brendan is the other founder of Dark Matter Films. He is a writer and game designer, currently living and working in the New Forest.

He has worked on numerous games, both analogue and digital, for companies such as Games Workshop, Target Games, i-Kore, Climax, Codemasters, and Vivendi. Titles he's worked on include Warzone, Chronopia, Void 1.1, Celtos, World in Conflict, Age of Tyrants and others. He has also published games related fiction and magazine articles in White Dwarf, Chronicles magazine, and had short stories such as Tenebrae and The Chaos Beneath featured in anthologies from Black Library. Finally, he is the author of Son of Mars, a sci-fi novel about civil war on a Martian colony. Most recently Mark was narrative designer on Mythic Games' Solomon Kane board game, based on the works of legendary genre author Robert E. Howard.

Mark formed Dark Matter Films with Carl, with whom he shares a passion for genre fiction and film, to write short films and features that approach the genres of horror, fantasy and science fiction in new and interesting ways. 

Pip Piper - Executive Producer

Pip is a multi international award winning film producer who has made several feature length films.

His award winning feature film The Insatiable Moon ; a NZ / UK production was co produced with Tim Sanders who produced Lord of the Rings.

He has also helped raised over 100k in crowd funding and delivered multiple films that way.

He knows how to ensure films get made on budget , on time and with maximum effect to reach their audience and gain wide attention.

Stuart Conran - Special Make-Up Effects Designer

Stuart has almost 30 years experience of working in special effects make-up for film & TV since beginning as a trainee on Hellraiser in 1986.

He has a wide range of skills and experience covering everything from life-casting, sculpting and mould-making to painting, finishing, make-up and prosthetic application, on various projects including The Madness Of King George, From Hell, Saving Private Ryan, The Tenth Kingdom, Messiah 3, Strange and Dr Who amongst others.

Stuart is a lecturer in make-up for Film/TV and teaches courses on Prosthetic and Creature Design.

Stuart's other credits include Peter Jackson’s Braindead (aka Dead Alive), Jane Campion’s The Piano, Stephen Daldrey’s The Hours, Edgar Wright’s Shaun Of The Dead, Oliver Stone’s Alexander, Neil Marshall’s The Descent, Doomsday and Centurion and Joe Cornish's Attack The Block.

Paul David Ullah - Director of Photography

Paul David Ullah was born in 1972 in Birmingham, England. From a very early age he became obsessed with movies and had early ambitions to become a projectionist. After studying photography at East Birmingham College he launched his career as a stills photographer. He spent all of his spare time watching movies and it wasn’t too long before his ambitions returned to the cinema. After retraining in video production Paul helped to arrange a number of workshops and training sessions in Cinematography in collaboration with the BKSTS. These classes were run by Cinematographers such as Paul Beeson, Gordon Hayman, Derek Browne and two time Oscar winner Freddie Francis. This led to jobs on the camera department of shorts and features. In the late 90s Paul moved into TV Production where his Camera Operating career took off.  Shooting video for TV and continuing to shoot Super 16 film for shorts and low budget features in downtime. It was during this period that Paul learned to edit on Media 100, Avid and Final Cut Pro. After a three year stint in the US where he worked on commercials, documentaries and corporate projects he returned to his native England where he has worked on music videos for N Dubz, Pendulum, The Stone Gods and local acts such as Misty’s Big Adventure & Dirty Old Folkers, Film projects such as Faintheart, Triple Hit, Townies, Mystic Highway and a variety of corporate projects and commercials. Paul also managed to take a year out of his schedule to realise his childhood ambition to become a projectionist before the transition to 4k digital.

On the back of a strong script described as a "feature film in 20min", we've assembled a stellar cast and highly experienced crew to make Off Grid an exceptional cinematic short. With its strong focus on character and a fully rounded story, we are expecting this to be a successful contender for the high end festival circuit such as Frightfest,  Edinburgh, LFF, Berlin, Toronto and Cannes. 

Off Grid will also serve as a calling card for Dark Matter Films's future projects, cementing our reputation as quality film makers.

Carl and Mark are also working on a feature length version of the film that has already attracted serious producer interest, based on the idea and the short script alone. The script is in its first draft and features an expansion of the world and ideas surrounding the film including ambitious sequences showing the downfall of society that leads them to the cabin,

Please help us build on Still's great start, and mark out Dark Matter Films as a new force in British genre film-making.

We absolutely need your financial support to make this high budget, cinematic quality short. However, if you feel you do not wish to or cannot contribute financially, please support the film by sharing this page to Facebook and Twitter, and spreading the word about what we are trying to achieve.

We'll be posting regular updates on here about how post production is progressing. So please follow us on Twitter, share our posts, like our Facebook page and spread the word about this campaign to help us achieve our goal. If everyone reading this knows five people who will spread the word or donate £1 or more we will easily achieve our target. 

There are numerous ways to engage with us: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darkmatterfilmsuk

Twitter: @darkmatterfilms

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darkmatterfilms

Website: darkmatterfilms.co.uk