Peculiarly, horror movies about the end of the world have enjoyed a new lease of life during the pandemic.
In waking life, a deadly virus has been spreading across the planet and forced millions to take shelter in indoors. Yet viewing figures for the likes of Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion and Wolfgang Petersen’s Outbreak have skyrocketed.
It might seem strange that people would choose to digest pandemic-themed media when a global emergency is happening right outside their window. But there’s actually some interesting psychology behind it.
Watching scary films about the end of the world is a coping mechanism; allowing us to imagine – and come to terms with – a potential worst-case scenario.
Whilst audience have been lapping up dystopian cinema – lockdown has proven to be a fertile breeding ground for horror flicks.
ADVERTISEMENT
And one of the most exciting, upcoming apocalyptic productions is being shot right here in Manchester: Day of the Clones.
Billed as a mishmash of Dawn of the Dead and The Thing (shot with the methodology of Werner Herzog) – Day of the Clones is a twisty sci-fi horror about a scientist hiding in an isolated farmhouse with a group of survivors after the clones he created take over the world.
ADVERTISEMENT
The movie is the brainchild of Manchester-born director and Hollywood screenwriter Eric Steele – who is steering the film for Vamoose Productions.
Elaborating on the plot, Eric explains: “It’s all about a small group of people confined in a very claustrophobic space who are forced to get on with each other, something I’m sure a lot of people can relate to at the moment!
“I always found the idea of clones quite creepy, and human cloning is downright terrifying. But when the pandemic hit, I thought this would be a good project because it is contained and claustrophobic – ideal for shooting with a few actors and the minimum of crew.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Eric has called Day of the Clones his most ambitious project to date – with the movie starring a mixture of local amateur actors and some familiar professionals seen in the likes of Shameless, Peaky Blinders and Hollyoaks.
But perhaps the most intriguing performer on set is a robot – played by a “specially-built mannequin.”
Day of the Clones is Eric’s second feature film, with the director shooting the self-funded Boy #5 – a Manchester-based vampire flick – in 2019, which is currently playing the festival circuit.
Originally starting out in the movie business as a screenwriter and selling his scripts over the internet, Eric saw one of his works, The Student, picked up by the company that made Stephen King’s Creepshow.
However, it wasn’t until he met his producing partner Barry Morton that he decided to give directing a try.
ADVERTISEMENT
Last year, the pair set up their own production company, Vamoose Productions Ltd, and are now hoping to make many more films set in Manchester under this banner.
Eric found himself drawing on all kinds of cinematic influences for Day of the Clones; including the likes of Danny Boyle’s 28 Day Later, Alex Garland’s Ex Machina, Ben Wheatley’s A Field In England, and the classic Hammer Horror films of the seventies.
But his biggest source of inspiration has been Manchester itself.
“[Manchester] is such an interesting city,” says Eric.
“Having lived here all my life, I know its good sides and bad sides. There’s tremendous wealth and poverty. There’s lots of crime but also a thriving art scene.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Turn a street corner in Manchester and you’ll never know what you’ll find, from a giant mural to a Brazilian-themed restaurant to an ancient derelict factory.”
With its gritty aesthetic and surviving remnants of the industrial revolution, Eric calls Manchester a “horror filmmaker’s dream”.
“I think it’s that humdrum, everyday despair of the Industrial North,” he says.
“There are remnants of the city’s great past everywhere. Sometimes it feels like you’re walking through a graveyard dedicated to the industrial revolution.
“Mixed in with those amazing old mills are brand new high rise complexes that look surreal and futuristic. It’s a great combination of ancient and modern.
ADVERTISEMENT
“For our vampire film “Boy #5” we shot outside a pub with a glowing non crucifix on the wall, outside the abandoned abattoir and in the middle of the busy city centre on a Friday night!”
Day of the Clones has so far been largely self-funded – and now Eric and his production team are looking for donations to help complete the movie.
People will receive perks in exchange for contributions, with all money raised going towards props, postproduction facilities, securing named actors for cameo roles, and visual effects.
It’s a terrific opportunity to support the local arts – and watch a thrilling, terrifying horror film play out in your backyard as a result.
Head over to the crowdfunding page here to learn more.
You can also read about Day of the Clones via the film’s official Facebook page.
Feature
The best Manchester-based anime-style memes we’ve seen online as Ghibli craze takes over
Danny Jones
Now, the internet can be used for a lot of silly and pointless things – you might argue us sharing our favourite memes every morning is a prime example of that – but we have to admit, the second we saw a Manchester-inspired Studio Ghibli image on social media, we were hooked.
If you have absolutely no idea what we’re talking about, there is a current craze that has taken over the internet, which has seen recognisable memes and images recreated in the style of the iconic Ghibli anime films, created by legendary animator and filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki.
Once you’ve found one, you tend to start spotting them more and more frequently, and in the case of the chronically online like us, we’ve been inundated with them for weeks now.
People are using AIto create them in various different contexts, but it won’t surprise you to learn that our favourite Ghibli/anime memes are those based around Manchester. For example:
Bloody hell, the internet really is brilliant sometimes, isn't it? 😂 https://t.co/virpFx60u7
As it happens, this was the first and perhaps still the best we’ve seen to date, but it didn’t stop us from falling down an animated rabbit hole looking for others.
To be honest, we didn’t actually have to do much searching ourselves as they’re absolutely all over the algorithm at the minute, and have been for a good month or so.
‘Ghibli memes’ may be an overgeneralisation of what is a rather specific and famed art style, but this ongoing flood of anime-style cartooons is being created by users giving prompts to ChatGPT, the increasingly popular large language model (LLM) and AI tool.
Designed with OpenAI software, the artificial intelligence chatbot can do everything from write extensive study notes and flash cards to fixing blurry images, writing computer code, entire essays and quite literally countless other things.
In this instance, people are just reimagining moments from the zeitgeist and famous memes in this style by feeding the image to ChatGPT, along with an ‘in the style of Studio Ghibli’ prompt.
One for the Blues…And the Reds.All of these images have been designed using ChatGPT. (Credit: Eleventh Minute/centredevils via X)
Pretty cool, right?
You’ll find that footballer Twitter (sorry, X*), in particular, is absolutely full of fan accounts recreating iconic club scenes in the Miyazaki art style, giving their favourite players big ‘Chibi’ eyes (another unique aspect of anime) and so on.
It’s all just a bit of a laugh, after all; even we here at The Manc put ChatGPT to the test back in June 2023 and asked it to design ‘the perfect day out in Manchester’ – to varying degrees of success, we might add.
As ever with machine-learning, the more information you feed it, the better the result and although we know these are original pictures being reimagined, it still goes to show just how impressive and varied AI is becoming.
We’ve also enjoyed some that aren’t necessarily Manc but are quintessential British humour or simply more universal memes.
Exhibits E and F…
Even after all these years, we feel like we still see this in some context at least once a week – and it still makes us laugh.‘What a sad little life, Jane…’Credit: brandsynario (via Instagram)/No Context Brits (via X)
Despite these memes riding a real wave right now, the Ghibli portrait fad is just that; there are plenty of other aesthetics being toyed with, too.
Actually, it already has, as we’ve now started coming across people making action figure versions of themselves and/or famous people, full decked out with accessories inside blister packs and everything.
On the other hand, many people are understandably concerned about what this means for artists and although there is no substitute for genuine human expression, whatever form that may come in, lots of people are railing against it as the possibility of AI-based pop music has been posited.
With that in mind, maybe the best twist we’ve seen is our very own Stanley Chow subverting the trend and doing Ghibli stuff in his equally iconic style. We’ll take these geometric gems over computer-generated imitations any day.
For now, it’s just a bit of fun and we confess we’ve got some light entertainment out of it, but the increasing possibilities being thrown up by AI in terms of art do pose a lot more complex questions.
We’ll finish with one final example because let’s be honest, there’s only really one thing on our minds at the minute – at least until the summer finally rolls around…
Let us know if you’ve seen any other fun examples and what you make of the whole Ghibli meme trend down in the comments.
LF System on headlining Amber’s for ‘The Drop’, dancefloor anthems and more
Thomas Melia
Scottish DJ duo LF System are playing an intimate set in Manchester as part of ‘The Drop’, a special monthly event series for a very important cause.
‘The Drop’, sees the hitmakers joining two more greats, DJ Paulette and Turno, as headliners for this remarkable event all about raising awareness and funds for mental health in the music industry.
The mastermind partnership of Headstock and Skiddle, each event champions a charity which benefits including Music Minds Matter (Turno) and Nordoff & Robbins (DJ Paulette and LF System).
The first monthly set comes from the DJ duo behind one of the biggest UK club staples, ‘Afraid To Feel’, as LF System take over Manchester’s newest clubbing venue, Amber’s – who typically keep their lineups private – for an exclusive ‘Coffee Table Session’.
LF System, Conor Larkman and Sean Finnigan, outside their New York session venue.Credit: Supplied
LF System Interview
This event is in aid of Nordoff & Robbins: how important is this cause to you?
We feel like music should be enjoyed by. Anyone, no matter what. Nordoff & Robbins make that possible.
They help everyone, all ages through music therapy. It’s important to us that [this event] supports them. Everybody deserves a chance to have a go at music, it’s a great cause that allows people to have great opportunities.
You’re going to be playing Amber’s, which is one of Manchester’s newest clubbing venues, how are you feeling?
I’ve heard a lot of good things about it, so I just really want to get in there and experience it for ourselves.
It’s weird coming to Manchester at this time of year as well; we’re always here in winter, usually freezing and raining, so it’ll be quite nice to come down this April.
Amber’s nightclub has some very important rules, including a no-phone policy in order to bring clubbing back to its roots – how do you feel about this?
Oh, we’re all for that!
I think there’s been a bit of a problem recently, so anything that can be done to make clubbing all about the music and as immersive as possible the better. It’s about living in the moment. I think that’s a good thing.
I don’t think we’ve ever actually done anything with a no-phone policy before; somehow, they’ve always snuck them in. Exciting.
LF System’s Conor at a recent event in New York.The Scottish duo LF System, playing an intimate set in New York.Credit: Supplied
What can fans expect from your special set for the monthly music series ‘The Drop’?
It may be a bit different to what we usually do as it’s a coffee table session set-up, but there’ll definitely be good vibes and good music all night.
There’ll be a lot of unreleased stuff that we’ve been making recently, mostly from our new EP that’s coming, and it gives us a chance to play our new songs and see people’s reactions. So far, they’ve been good every time we’ve included them.
How come you’ve opted for a ‘Coffee table session’ rather than a huge rave vibe, especially considering how much your music gets crowds up on their feet?
We’ve never actually done a coffee table session in a club before, so that’ll be our first for us. It’s going to be electric and fresh.
You just get to showcase a lot more music than when what you do when you’re playing a club set, different BPMs.
[Coffee table sessions] still get people up and dancing, but it’s just a different type of night. It’s relaxed, happy dance music, you know what I mean? You don’t have, don’t have to go mad ‘fer it, just a nice chilled one.
As well-respectedDJs, it’s only fair we consult you on Manchester’s clubbing scene, so how would you rate the club culture and atmosphere in our city?
We always have a good time in Manchester and there’s always good crowds. It [Manchester] is just like that.
There’s a good culture to do in this city, so I think it’s a good place to bring this session too, and we’re looking forward to it.
It’s got a really rich history and you can always feel that when you’re there, it’s always a good time in any of [Manchester’s] different venues. Everyone always seems right up for it.
House music is known to improve people’s moods, and ‘The Drop’ is all about music and mental health, so to finish off, what’s your all-time favourite top three mood boosting house tracks?
Sean
‘Music Sounds Better With You’ by Stardust
‘Beautiful People’ by Barbara Tucker
‘In Love With You’ by The Paradise
Conor
‘Why Not?’ by Skate Bård
‘I Think I’ll Do Some Skipping On My Own’ by Sandy B (Opolopo Rework)
‘Night Walkin” by Mermaid S
LF System are bringing their bangers to ‘The Drop’ in Manchester.Spinning the decks just like they will at Amber’s in Manchester later this month at ‘The Drop’.
The Manc -
4th December 2020 
