Armageddon Gospels

Earlier this week I was privileged to watch a sneaky advance screening of Armageddon Gospels.

Armageddon Gospels from Foolish People is a new film written and directed by John Harrigan, in which a group of refugee gods, transposed to flesh and blood, attempt to enact a ritual to save England from the Bone King.

But this independent film is explicitly metaphor rather than escapist fantasy. The purpose of the ritual that these refugee gods need to enact is to dispel the racism and bigotry haunting Britain.

And the themes of racism and bigotry is integral from the start of the film, as the gods, clad in bright red life-preservers, struggle from the sea to the shore, echoing the many news scenes of refugees arriving by boat in Europe from the conflicts in Syria and the rest of the Middle East.

I don’t want to give too much away, but this really is a great film, exploring contemporary issues but hauntingly clad in the guise of old British myth and folklore featuring the May Queen and the Fisher King in addition to the refugee gods themselves.

If you’re familiar with my artwork and my background research into subjects such as Deep England and the English Eerie then I’m sure you can immediately understand why this film resonates with me. Some great direction, art direction, acting, and a wonderful score by Jo Burke make the whole experience fantastic in every sense.

Armageddon Gospels has received a Special Jury Commendation at this years Brighton Rocks film festival.

For details of future screenings (and hopefully DVD release!) keep an eye on the Foolish People website or by Twitter @foolishpeople. They also have a Patreon that can be found at www.patreon.com/FoolishPeople/overview.