| Strange Factories | |
| Director: | John Harrigan |
| Producer: | John Harrigan Lucy Harrigan Tereza Kamenicka |
| Starring: | John Harrigan Annalisa Astarita Rachael Blyth |
| Music: | Stephen Baysted |
| Cinematography: | Yiannis Katsaris |
| Editing: | Bettina Fung |
| Studio: | FoolishPeople |
| Distributor: | FoolishPeople |
| Runtime: | 132 minutes |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
Strange Factories is a 2013 British experimental horror film written, directed by John Harrigan and produced by the British immersive theatre and production collective FoolishPeople. The film is an example of interactive cinema, featuring a mixture of film and live performance.[1] It centers on a writer, who travels through a mysterious landscape filled with cultists, hallucinatory visions, and a mysterious factory that emanates a strange humming sound.
A tormented writer named Victor journeys through a mysterious, dream-like landscape in search of a group of performers from a theater that mysteriously burned down. As he continues through the landscape, he begins to uncover a bizarre cult under the hallucinatory influence of a nearby factory, and a sinister pact he once made with its owner. All the while he is tormented by visions and a strange humming sound that emanates from the factory.
Ain't It Cool News gave the film a positive review, writing, "Strange Factories may not be for the more literal-minded of horror fans. But fans of the theatrical side of performances, the technical side of writing, and the appreciators of the surreal and offbeat will find a lot of things to appreciate."[2] Sarah Stewart from The Londonist praised the film's atmosphere, suspense, and innovative blending of celluloid and live-action performance.[3] Rachel Simm from The Latest Brighton gave the film three out of five stars, praising the film's atmosphere, and suspense, calling it "eerie, unsettling and somewhat puzzling".