Wheatley is perhaps best known for the genre-defying horror of Kill List and the high-octane spectacle of Meg 2: The Trench, as well as his bold literary adaptations: J.G. Ballard’s High-Rise, starring Tom Hiddleston, and Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, featuring Lily James. From low-budget cult hits to major studio productions, his work blends his work blends elements of dark comedy, horror and surrealism to form genre-blurring features often as unpredictable as they are unforgettable.
While BULK is being kept tightly under wraps ahead of its release, it’s been described as a return to Ben Wheatley’s “kaleidoscopic roots”—perfect for fans of In the Earth or A Field in England, or anyone looking to dive headfirst into something a little off-kilter.
Beyond its enigmatic title and lead stars, including local lad Sam Riley (Control, Maleficent) and Alexandra Maria Lara (Downfall, Rush), finer details around what BULK has in store remain deliberately elusive. What little we do know is just as unclassifiable: a journey through alternate realities, car chases, gunfights, sci-fi spectacle and surreal romance. By the sounds of things, it’s the kind of film to disorient and delight in equal measure.
If its debut spot as the opening feature for EIFF’s second ever Midnight Madness strand is anything to go by, BULK promises to be nothing short of a wild ride. According to Wheatley, it’s “a midnight film through and through”—bold, unpredictable and best experienced with an audience equally prepared to embrace the strange.
As part of the special partnership between Film4, Pictureville and Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, Bradford will be hosting the first screening of BULK outside Edinburgh, making this an unmissable chance to catch it, with the mystery still attached, ahead of its general release. The screening will also be followed by an exclusive Q&A with director Ben Wheatley, stars Sam Riley and Alexandra Maria Lara and producer Andy Starke—giving Pictureville audiences a unique insight into one of the year’s most intriguing and unconventional titles.