Cresswell Pele Tower and Newbiggin chosen as filming locations for horror-drama short movie

Cresswell-born Simon Manley, who now lives in Austria, chose Cresswell Pele Tower and Newbiggin as the two main filming locations for the horror-drama called Don’t Worry About Me.

The tower is literally a stone’s throw from the home where he grew up and where his family still lives, and the Manleys owned and ran the local butcher’s shop in Newbiggin for many years.

The plot revolves around a teenager called Stirling, who is bitten by a vampire on a family holiday.

Simon remembered that the 14th Century Pele Tower would make an ideal, atmospheric backdrop for some of his filming.

It was saved from near-complete ruin after the Cresswell Pele Tower Charitable Incorporated Organisation – a partnership of Cresswell Parish Council and Greater Morpeth Development Trust – raised more than £800,000 to repair and restore the Grade II* listed building.

Simon said: “I know both Cresswell and Newbiggin like the back of my hand, so it seemed right to set my film here.

“The Pele Tower was actually the icing on the cake because it oozed atmosphere and provided a horror-type backdrop, as well as adding production value.

“Making the film has been a steep learning curve because there have been so many different aspects to juggle like writing the script, casting the parts, organising the film crew and the locations.”

Simon caught the acting bug when he moved to London more than 10 years ago. Before that, after leaving Northumberland College he had worked as a test driver at the Nissan car factory in Sunderland.

In London, he found work on television and film productions before he and his wife Jenna moved to live near Salzburg in Austria when she got a job with the Red Bull energy drinks company.

Simon found acting work there, but has always also wanted to write and produce his own films.

He hopes that Don’t Worry About Me will be ready to have its preview in the North East in a few months’ time, so he is now looking for a venue as well as also aiming to get screen-time at a number of film festivals in the hope that it can be developed as a full-length film.