Our latest digital feature spotlights writer-director Ed Palmer, a rising voice in the world of indie thriller-horror. His 2018 debut, Hippopotamus, introduced audiences to his unsettling style with the story of a woman held captive and forced into a disturbing psychological game. Now, Palmer returns with a new film that once again proves how effective low-budget filmmaking can be in delivering deeply uncomfortable experiences for audiences.
Visceral Images, set to premiere this week at the Manchester Film Festival, continues that style, pushing audiences into uneasy territory, though in different ways. Remarkably, the film was shot in just 12 days, with Palmer himself completing the assembly cut in only two weeks—just in time to meet the festival’s submission deadline.
The film stars Imogen King (The Bay), Jemma Carlton (A Thousand Blows), Paddy Stafford (Doctors), Cathy Sole (Our Town), Vishnu Krishnan (Malam), Adam Long (Film Club), and Beca Barton (Changing Ends). Visceral Images follows Freya (King), who unknowingly opens her home to a group of radical activists on the eve of a planned stunt they are organizing. As the night progresses, she starts to fear their true motives may actually center on her vulnerable younger sister (Sole).
Palmer discusses his new psychological thriller Visceral Images, exploring its tense themes of personal vulnerability, online personas, and moral ambiguity. He also reflects on his collaborative approach with the cast and crew and shares his hope that the film will inspire other aspiring filmmakers to create boldly without waiting for permission.
How would you describe Visceral Images, its overall tone, and themes?
Palmer: Visceral Images follows Freya as she stumbles into hosting this group of radical activists on the eve of a stunt. We then learn about her younger sister, Clem, who is quite vulnerable, has mental health issues and is very easily led. As the night goes on, Freya becomes more and more concerned that there might be some sort of nefarious link as to why they’ve decided to come to her place specifically.
The tone is very tense and there’s an unsettling mystery element as the audience is put in Freya’s shoes. It deals with the tension of a very polite and sweet woman who struggles to assert herself, even in her own environment. You can see her throughout the film trying to find her voice to stand up for herself. The themes emerged organically rather than by design. A big one is the influence of being online, how it can kind of warp your persona and your perspective on the world. Another is the difference between optics and real world morality and ethics, and the difference between real or fake danger.
Not everything is spelled out for the audience. I’ve definitely done stuff very deliberately that I hope will provoke conversation. I’m hoping it’s the sort of film that when the lights are coming up at the end of watching it in the cinema, you turn to your friend and be like, here’s my theory.
How did the creative intentions and directing style of Hippopotamus compare to Visceral Images?
Palmer: Hippopotamus and Visceral Images are very similar in the way that they were both written with the intention of being doable with the resources that I have. Visceral Images was a decision that I wasn’t going to wait for permission to make my film. We shot the film for a micro-budget. And I think maybe sometimes people are reticent to say that. But I believe you can make great psychological-thrillers at any budget as long as the engine of the story is strong enough. The engine of this was the tension around a woman being uncomfortable in her own environment, and her trying to find her voice as much bigger personalities overwhelm her.
The directing style between Hippopotamus and Visceral Images couldn’t be more different. I’ve always loved being very precise with the way that the scenes are constructed: locked-off shots, carefully constructed compositions and restraint with camera moves. We simply didn’t have the time for that. Visceral Images is handheld, lit largely practically with lamps. I used to kind of think, oh, handheld, it’s not controlled, I don’t like it, it’s loose. But it was a real revelation. The freedom that you had with it. Some of the ways that you can construct a scene is fascinating, where you can constantly be changing frames and shot sizes within a single take, plus you can adapt quickly if things aren’t working.
Luckily, the film is still really well composed, because the DOP, Elliot Millson, is fantastic. I really can’t praise him enough. A great eye, plus he operated and pulled the whole thing! He never said no to my stupid ideas, travelling through multiple floors and rooms in a single handheld shot, and getting it in one or two takes. There’s barely a soft frame in the whole movie, it’s kind of miraculous, and he’s only 22!
Can you talk about collaborating with the cast and how they contributed to the overall story?
Palmer: I was big fan of Imogen from The Bay, which is an ITV show [in the UK], and I actually messaged her on Instagram, like, six years ago [saying] “thought you were great in the show, I would love to work with you one day.” And then when we put our casting call out on, her agents put her forward and I couldn’t believe it.
Jemma is not only a brilliant actress, but she also understands what’s helpful to us as filmmakers, which was a Godsend when working this fast. Adam was brilliant as well. There was quite a lot of pressure on him because he’s got one huge scene, and we had three hours to do it, but he just turned up and absolutely nailed it. Vishnu is fantastic. He’s got so much heart and soul to him. There are moments where his character could veer into being overly creepy or wet, but I think he manages to walk that line really gently. Becca, I love so much; she was in a short film I did, and she may end up being the Michael Caine to my Christopher Nolan, trying and get her in every movie that I do.
Cathy worked so well with Imogen. Their sisterly dynamic is the heart of the film, and when we did a chemistry read with them, you could feel it. It was tender and volatile, but really authentic. Paddy was on my radar since 2023 when I put a call out online. I was looking for actors for a project that never materialized, but his reels were ridiculously good. I told him, one day I’ll put you in something. He is unbelievably compelling as Zach. I can’t really imagine Zach being anyone else other than Paddy in retrospect. He’s one to watch for sure.
How do you hope your experience with micro-budget filmmaking will influence other filmmakers?
Palmer: I know a lot of people that want to make film, or want to have a career in film, but think “this will cost millions, I need to get funding, I need to wait to be greenlit.” If Visceral Images is as successful as I’d like it to be, I’d like it encourage people to think that they can make things at a micro-budget. It’s really hard, and there are sacrifices. The director and producers have to do an incredible amount of labor to get the film done. But I think it’s great to not have to wait. You can get things done at any budget. So, I’m toying with the idea of some sort of program to help people build up ideas that won’t cost millions, to get them one step closer to actually making a movie and stop waiting for permission.
_
Visceral Images will have its premiere on Friday, March 27 at the Manchester Film Festival, followed by a Q&A session with Ed Palmer and producer Jack Parr. Tickets can be purchased here.
Follow Visceral Images: Instagram
Follow Ed Palmer: Instagram