Joely Richardson praises the horror genre at the Glasgow premiere of Little Bone Lodge

The film premiered at the Glasgow Film Festival on Saturday, with the 58-year-old star playing the “really scary” matriarch the play is about.

Speaking ahead of the Glasgow Film Theater premiere, she said: “The amazing thing about the horror genre – because I did that film ‘Color Out Of Space’ with Nick Cage – is that it’s a pretty exciting genre because you can make it really big , and that’s always so extreme.

“So very, very challenging.”

The film is set in the Scottish Highlands on a stormy night where two criminals take refuge in a remote farmhouse.

But after capturing those inside, they soon discover that the house holds dark secrets of its own and Richardson’s character will stop at nothing to protect her family and the mysteries that surround her existence.

And Richardson, part of the Redgrave family acting dynasty, said: “Hopefully it will be a compelling thriller. It has a very good twist, I’ll say that.

“It’s an incredibly claustrophobic, tense psychological horror — but I can’t go into details.”

Director Matthias Hoene said: “At first you think it’s just a home invasion movie, but then as the story progresses and the secrets of this house and the people who live in it come to light, there’s a dark twist that… you can’t see it – and I think people will be really surprised.”

Little Bone Lodge premiered as part of the 19th Glasgow Film Festival, which concludes on Sunday.

And the actress spoke of the importance of events like Glasgow, which has become one of Britain’s top film festivals.

“I love film festivals, certainly in these post-Covid times, to come out and celebrate all the creative talent that’s out there, it’s very exciting,” Richardson said.

And Hoene said: “As this is the world premiere of the film I couldn’t be more excited to show it here in Glasgow as the film is set in Scotland. I traveled around for a few weeks last year, did all the pickup shots and fell in love with the country.

“I’m super excited, a little nervous, hope people will like the film.”