Zombie army to invade Capital for horror comedy

Zombie Billy Wilson is chased by nun Mags Henderson and priest Will Samson on the Royal Mile. Picture: Toby Williams

No, not tourists. An army of zombies is set to invade the Capital – but with a difference.

A Gothic zombie comedy will see actors playing a legion of the undead visit the Scott Monument this weekend. The scenes are for an episode of scary ten-part horror comedy Godhammer.

Writer and director Paul Bruce, who describes his project as a cross between Steptoe and Son and Red Dwarf, said the scenes being shot show zombies more interested in seeing the city’s tourist attractions than marauding people to munch their flesh.

He said: “It’s an offbeat comedy that’s quintessentially Edinburgh – it wouldn’t work anywhere else.”

The comedy is the work of Oaty Hill Productions, which has been making short films in and around the Capital since 2001.

Mr Bruce said he hopes to set up a link between the show and Edinburgh TV when the  network is launched next year.

The series, featuring a priest and a sociopathic nun, will also be shown online.

Mr Bruce, who lives in Musselburgh, said: “Web series are becoming much more popular now. It’s quite an obvious place to go from having done short films – you can really develop an audience whereas with a short film you have to find a new audience each time.

“And there’s a lot of marketing and sponsorship opportunities with a web series.

“I hope it will prove to be really popular – a lot of tourists come to Edinburgh for the Gothic tourism and the horror so perhaps we might even be able to link the films in to  tourism.”

Mr Bruce, 49, won backing to make the low-budget chiller following the success of a mini film he made last year.

He added: “The idea came from a short film we did last year called Nuns of Evil, a Hammer Horror spoof for the Festival circuit.

“There were two characters, Sister Beatrice and Father Walker, who I thought worked really well together but they weren’t on screen very much – it was very sitcom the way they bounced off each other.”

Godhammer stars experienced actress Clarisse Loughrey, who appeared in last year’s thriller Twenty8K, a film written by Paul Abbott – who also penned hit television dramas Cracker and Shameless.

It also stars local actress Mags Henderson, who jokes she put the gore in Gorebridge.

She said: “We do get some funny looks when we’re out and about filming our zombie scenes but usually people want to stop and watch. They’re  fascinated.”

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