Judging by the trailer, South of Sanity is your typical no-budget horror movie, in which a bunch of spirited amateurs have a go at their very own The Thing ripoff. A bit of fun for all involved, but nothing too special.


Except those amateurs just happen be from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), which means their film features the most unique locations in cinema history. While documentaries have previously been shot exclusively in Antarctica, this is the first fictional film known to be shot entirely on location on Earth's coldest, southernmost continent. The movie is the brainchild of longtime BAS team member, documentary filmmaker, and mountaineering expert Kirk Watson, whose duties typically include helping the scientists navigate Antarctica's tricky terrain.

The film's cast and crew is entirely made up of BAS members, including marine biologists, geologists, and mechanics. In an interview with BBC News, Watson shared some of the awesome details of the movie's production — at the risk of giving away an entirely obviously spoiler, hypothermia was heavily involved in the making of South of Sanity:

"We filmed a couple of day scenes on a weekend and the rest was shot in the dark just to make the film darker. So our actors suffered a bit in the cold as we had people sitting outside for ages, or playing dead people lying in the snow. It became a bit tricky with the 'dead people' as they shivered, so they were carefully edited to get rid of the movement. We had several actors with mild hypothermia during the filming. The good thing was they had lived there for a year, so were pretty used to it."


The film will makes its UK debut this Halloween, and the film is currently looking for an American distributor. While the finished film is likely more curiosity than modern classic, the distinction of being the first film ever shot entirely in Antarctica is one hell of a cause for curiosity. [BBC]