Winter Ridge | South West opening for tense psychological thriller filmed on Exmoor
“If you could die to save your wife, I’m sure you would,” ends the eerie and compelling trailer to Winter Ridge, which was dug into the darker side of an Exmoor setting and is getting a cinema run that kicks off in Somerset on September 7.
Winter Ridge is a tense psychological thriller, which is interweaved with issues around Alzheimer’s. And it was filmed mainly in Lynton and Lynmouth in Devon.
“I searched far and wide for a setting that didn’t feel like a lot of other cosy UK seaside towns and find something a bit more foreboding and foreign to it,” director Dom Lenoir told Caution Spoilers.
“I had a feeling Exmoor would work; Cornwall is distinctly British with its cobbled walls and didn’t fit the vision, and Scotland and Wales didn’t quite work either for different reasons.
Hullo. My name is Lee
Hullo...
Thank you for reading. We could do with your help to keep going. All our content is free... But if you can, you can support us to continue bringing you this coverage, these articles, interviews and reviews. This connection with real indie filmmakers.
It's here we encourage you to get out, watch indie films, support crowdfunders, go to your local venue.
And if you can, Pay What You Can to keep all this going. From £1 a week - £4 a month - a fiver, or whatever you can spare. Much appreciated.
“As soon as I saw the black rocks and the Canadian/Scandinavian feel I knew it had to be there. In the end I persuaded the town and the mayor to back the project despite it being in the middle of nowhere -the savings we made with their help made it feasible on a budget level. They were incredibly helpful as a town, too.”
That helpfulness is reflected in a short piece by Spotlight South West, which also reveals the location as the Valley of the Rocks.
Winter Ridge ‘tells the story of a young detective whose wife falls into a coma and, unable to accept her condition, throws himself into a case where he’s on the hunt for a serial killer’.
So far it’s picked up heaps of awards, and is well on the way to its international distribution.
The film stars Matt Hookings as Ryan Barnes and features Game of Thrones star Hannah Waddingham.
It was the way the film deftly dealt with the Alzheimer’s issues that attracted Hannah to the role, she told London Live.
Here’s Dom talking to Caution Spoilers again about some of the conditions explored in the film
“My grandma had similar symptoms as she got older and struggled a little with her memory; the writer Ross Williams had a similar experience in his family which is where the idea came from.
“I did a little research and so did several of the actors, but I aimed to capture more the mood and struggle than to go too in-depth and factual.”
One of the first screenings of Winter Ridge in the UK will be in Westlands Yeovil, Somerset on 7th September at 6.30pm. Book your ticket and support British Independent Film.
Read Sarah’s review of Winter Ridge on Caution Spoilers.
- Voices that reach further | Penwith Film Soc autumn season - October 3, 2026
- Experiences, dreams and challenges | Gwinyai Mparutsa takes the reigns of Afrika Eye - September 30, 2026
- Nuance, depth and a Devon landscape | Sense and Sensibility - September 29, 2026
Discover more from D&CFilm
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
