IT IS a far cry from family-friendly fare such as Greyfriars Bobby, Gregory's Girl and Chariots of Fire.
But Scotland's film industry appears to be on the verge of a new boom - thanks to the horror movie genre.
Filming has begun in Edinburgh of an adaptation of the first in Clive Barker's Books of Blood series. The film will star Doug Bradley, who f
eatured as Pinhead in the Hellraiser series of movies.
It is the latest in a line of major horror films to be shot in Scotland in recent years, with a number of other productions in the pipeline. And experts believe the nation has huge untapped potential because of the natural landscape and atmospheric locations it can offer.
The number of horror films made in Scotland has been few and far between over the years. Since The Wicker Man in 1973 only Shallow Grave, 20 years later, has provided any real flavour of home-grown horror.
The new trend can be traced back to Neil Marshall's 2002 cult hit Dog Soldiers, the "combat horror" set in the Scottish Highlands. Marshall returned to Scotland to film The Descent, another huge hit, and horror fans are eagerly awaiting the release next year of his latest project, Doomsday. He spent ten days filming the £17 million post-apocalyptic horror film, which stars Bob Hoskins and Malcolm McDowell, at Blackness Castle in West Lothian.
Also expected to be a major hit is the zombie film Outpost, set in eastern Europe but filmed in Dumfries and Galloway and Glasgow.
Last year saw the filming in Edinburgh and Dumfries and Galloway of a low-budget horror about six women holding a sleepover party at a country mansion, produced by Jim Hickey, former manager of Edinburgh's Filmhouse Cinema.
And the short film The Island is to be shown next year on Channel 4 as part of its Cinema Extreme series, after being shot on location at the Firth of Forth.
Ewan McGregor and Jude Law are reportedly being lined up for a big budget movie based on the notorious Edinburgh serial killers Burke and Hare; filming is due to get under way in the West Highlands next year on a drama about a group of cannibals, and Robin Hardy, director of The Wicker Man, hopes to start filming in Scotland next year on the long-awaited sequel.
Book of Blood, which is being made by the US-based Seraphim Films, will be based on the introductory story in the initial volume of Barker's series.
It tells of a university lecturer who visits a supposedly haunted house with a young man who claims to have psychic powers. He fakes messages from the dead on the walls of the building.
Unknown to him however, the house is "a busy intersection on the highway of the damned". The dead take exception to his behaviour, and decide to tell their own stories and exact a terrible revenge for his misrepresentations.
Joe Daley, of Seraphim, said: "Once the idea of shooting in Scotland came up we jumped at the opportunity. Edinburgh is an amazing city. Every location we are using elevates this story to such an incredible level."
Rosie Ellison, spokeswoman for Edinburgh Film Focus, the city's locations agency, said: "Horror films are very much in vogue at the moment, and there's been a real growth in their popularity in the last few years.
"Somewhere like Edinburgh is virtually a ready-made set for a horror film, with its underground locations and twisty historic streets. There's real potential there for Scotland to attract more horror films."
Film writer and producer Mark Cousins said: "Scotland has a huge number of great gothic locations and visually stunning places.
"It's great for us to attract film-makers from overseas, but it would be lovely if we could have our very own horror film-making industry right here in Scotland. The good thing about horror films is that you don't need a big studio to make them in."
WILD VISTAS KEEP THE CAMERAS ROLLING
SCOTLAND is currently enjoying a mini boom with the filming of major movies here in recent years.
Several of the Harry Potter films were shot on location in Scotland, including sites in Glencoe and Glenfinnan. And Rosslyn Chapel saw a huge boom in visitor numbers after part of The Da Vinci Code was shot there.
Other major films in recent years have included Young Adam, starring Ewan McGregor, which was filmed at various locations along the Union Canal, and Dear Frankie, shot in Greenock.
This year's Edinburgh International Film Festival opened with Hallam Foe, set in and filmed in Edinburgh,
and the recently-released fantasy movie Stardust was shot on location in Skye and around the west Highlands.
Next year sees the release of the big-budget fantasy Waterhorse, partly filmed in Scotland, and shooting is also underway on Stone of Destiny, starring Robert Carlyle, which tells the story of the Scottish students who stole the coronation stone from Westminster Abbey in the 1950s.
