SOME families celebrated Mother’s Day on Sunday with gifts of flowers and chocolates. Others went down the route of eating out and a nice card. Ben Franklin chose Mother’s Day to release his latest short horror film ... called Mother Died.

Ben is creator, producer and editor at Bloody Cuts, a team of film enthusiasts making a 13-part horror anthology – the latest film is the fourth.

The 31-year-old, who lives with his wife and two young children in Stukeley Meadows, said: “It was a little bit disturbing to release it on Mother’s Day but we thought we’d take advantage of the marketing!”

The film received almost 2,000 views on its first day after being released on Bloody Cuts’ website and YouTube – including actor and writer Stephen Fry, who made a donation to the team.

He tweeted: “Have popped a little something in your hat. Keep up the good work.”

Ben and a core team of 15 people were assisted by industry insiders who donated their time and expertise for free.

He said: “We started doing the films in April last year. The best route was to make short films and it has skyrocketed from there.

“We started with a small-scale production, with about five people, but in the latest film we had 70 people on one day.

“The series is called Bloody Cuts and is a bit like Tales from the Crypt or The Twilight Zone. They are all stand-alone films but are part of the same series.

“The reason behind a horror anthology is there’s scope to have fun – if you told someone you were going to do a series of 13 romantic dramas I don’t think you would have the same reaction!

“Also, with horror you can do things with ghosts, monsters and all sorts of things.

“Some of the films are psychological and some are a bit silly. We play them straight but you come away from it smiling, not grossed out.

“We never wanted to make X-rated films. If they were shown in the cinema they would probably be given a 12 rating. Mother Died is more of an emotive film, it plays on your feelings.

“Ultimately, we want to make a feature film but at the moment the focus is on the series.

“We will keep going in the right direction, training ourselves as we go so when, if we get the opportunity to work with a bigger budget, we can do it seriously.”

Bloody Cuts describe Mother Died as “a haunting tale of grief, family and survival”.

It was written and directed by Neil Gorton, the BAFTA-winning co-founder of Millenium FX, which has supplied expertise and make-up to the Bloody Cuts team.

Sharon Barrett, credited as “finance/catering”, said: “We’re pushing the concept and limitations of low-budget horror to the max, with more than 30 extras and 10 Millenium FX make-up artists helping to create the finale seen in Mother Died.”

INFORMATION: To find out more about Bloody Cuts you can visit www.bloodycuts.co.uk