How director Paul Andrew Williams went from sensitive crime thriller London to Brighton to blood-drenched horror-com The Cottage...

It's freezing, it's the middle of the night, and Empire is standing in the courtyard of a dilapidated farmhouse somewhere on the Yorkshire Moors, cursing ourselves for not packing thermal underwear. Still, this nocturnal visit to the set of The Cottage, sophomore feature from much-lauded London to Brighton helmer Paul Andrew Williams, promises to be worth all the teethe-chattering. "Tonight", winks Williams, "is when the bloodbath begins.."

Sadly, as we're witnessing the final act, Empire can't go into all the gory details. Suffice it to say, it involves League of Gentlemener Reece Shearsmith plummeting out of a window and later brandishing a shovel: and former Brookside resident Jennifer Ellison coming face-to-ravaged-face with a machete-brandishing monster called The Farmer, who resembles an odd cross between The Elephant Man and Freddy Krueger. In all, it's not exactly what we'd expect from the follow-up to a Ken Loach-style low-key crime movie. The switch to gore-drenched comedy-horror doesn't, however, seem so strange when you consider that The Cottage was originally to be 34 year-old actor-turned-director Williams' debut, with Shearsmith and Andy Serkis first cast three years ago as a pair of "suburban gangster" brothers who kidnap a mob boss' mouthy daughter (Ellison, also on board from the start), only to find themselves trapped in the titular hell-house. But funding frustrations created a hiatus that wondrously birthed London to Brighton. Even so, Empire wonders, why a slasher-com?

"I would hope it's very different from other comedy-horrors," says Williams. He cites Fargo, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, From Dusk till Dawn and Straw Dogs as influences, and even admits to "not being a fan of horror at all!" "Well" he adds correcting himself, "I'm not saying I don't like horror - I used to like it a lot when I was younger, but now I just don't appreciate being scared. So I don't look at this like a horror, where you just jump, spook, scare and scream. It's more about the characters."

"The Cottage does defy genre", agrees Serkis. "I think the transition between the comedy and the horror elements works." He insists the main reason he signed on to The Cottage - twice - was the quality of the script. "It's funny, it's sharp. But also it's a bit toe-curling, which I really like. Also, the thing it has in common with London to Brighton is that you can't help but see all the characters' dilemmas and have compassion for them in some way - even The Farmer."

Perhaps the most challenging thing for Serkis was the fact his character, Dave, is the movie's 'straight man' (or its "Oliver Hardy", as Shearsmith quips). "I worked hard at trying to keep it real and be the sort of backbone of it. For once I wasn't playing a mad character figure," he laughs. "I think I look pretty sexy, actually." - The Cottage is out on March 14th.