Professional Reviews (Blacklist):

“…this is an action packed and tragic script, with an ever twisting plot, and an explosive third act… wonderfully written… unique and action packed premise. The lover story that involves the protagonist is gritty and has some nice arcs, leading up to a tragic finale….TROY meets THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN”

“…Cadeby” is a powerful and engrossing war epic, with a rich setting, a strong heart, and emotionally involving characters.The battle scenes are intense and gripping, especially because we are so invested in the characters. Somewhat reminiscent of “Braveheart”, the script presents a bloody and powerful portrayal of a lesser adapted conflict in history… this could stand out as a real winner among crowds and critics alike…”

Full Pitch:

Cadeby is a character based, touching, often uncompromising feature film screenplay – inspired by Zulu, The Magnificent Seven, Assault on Precinct Thirteen (seventies version) and Braveheart, while capitalising on the current audience thirst for all things Viking.

It is set in 425-450AD, during the violent period of post Roman British Dark Ages at the times of early Viking incursions along the coast.

The Romans have left Britain in a seemingly perpetual age of darkness. Everybody wants to be a king and in the power void, most men of a fighting age have been killed fighting petty battles.

A young boy, Faelan, witnesses his family being murdered by an early Viking raiding party. 20 years later the same Vikings are back and heading to Cadeby, a village filled with elderly and infirm villagers – can he help them save the village?

Essentially a love story, an adventure story and a war film rolled into one. The tension builds throughout the piece as the Vikings close in on Cadeby, a real fifth century village.

The villagers must defend the village from the Vikings to stop them from travelling south and wiping out all of the villages along the coast.

Our hero, Faelan, now 26, with the help of an unlikely and unprepared band of heroes (a Pictish girl, a blind priest, a dwarf, a one armed man, a lack-wit a middle-aged bar-maid a host of unwilling villagers), stands in the way of the invaders.

A story of heroism, tragedy, loss, love and what people do when odds are stacked against them.

Cadeby is a highly rated original piece of writing – it has modern parallels with many people in the UK currently scared of invasion and change but set in a time when invasion meant something completely different. It also has the angle that all of the main characters are vulnerable for different reasons – it also has a very strong female lead, which is long with historical truth but also the current positive trend for positive female heroes in Hollywood.

Most of it’s heroes are people that can be identified with. This isn’t a village filled with warriors – these are real people defending what’s theirs and protecting those they love.

It’s dark, brooding and filled with tension. There are no happy endings in the dark ages either… so don’t expect a feel-good ending – but there is light on the way, a few laughs, some romance (real heart) and lots of hope.