Silver Visage
Location: Farnborough, Hampshire
Bodies present: David Randell, Mike Varty, Mark Stalker, Sue Element, Henry Burrows

If the spectral psychedelia or the choking smoke doesn't turn your mind then the imagery certainly will.

That's the night that was with the cast from Foiled boldly going where no dream sequence has ever dared go before. All of this, of course, under the watchful eye of Foiled's creator and director Henry Burrows.

I arrived on the scene to find Henry sorting things out and beset by creative anxiety over the design of the dream set-up planned for that evenings filming. HENRY: "Needs to look surreal!" Concerned about making the best of perhaps the most startling dream sequence of Foiled, Henry put his foot down. Foil! he demanded ... and lots of it.

Scanner finds himself trapped by the alien Foil Man in their shared dream

But why, after having shot dream scenes of a more subliminal nature (featuring a shoe, wallet and watch hanging from the lounge wall!?!??), was Henry so wrapped-up (pun) in foil? Simple, at this point in the film Scanner has been possessed by the enemy and the sequence which occurs is dreamt by Foil Man.

Amid the presence of foil, bizarre lighting, foil, smoke (generated by some odd contraption ... Yes it's amazing what you can get your hands on half-an-hour before shooting) and more foil, the group pieced together an impressive scene where Scanner's mind is infected by an onslaught of foil distortions and images in a Scanner/Foil-alien hybrid dream presentation.

Mark and Sue lift the chair-bound Mike from the bean-bag he's just fallen onto

Amongst some of the images were a suspended foil visage (crafted from a foil impression over a dummy head ...Where does Mike get all this stuff?) and a chest-bursting, foil-formed, Giger-style alien making its way along a foil clad radiator. Hell, did I mention foil? ... Nevermind! To express, dreamatically, the alien possession of Scanner, Mike was presented chair-bound (with rope... no leather in this production ... probably lost some potential distributors now, eh Henry!) and gagged, powerless against the silvery terrors which confronted him.

The floating head watches Foil Man

After a long evening's work, there was just time for Sue to capture, on camera, the tired, light-burned, smoked-cured (and if your name is Dave Randell (Foilman)) thermal-blanket-oven-baked cast by the aluminium face which is now a permanent display at the house of Foiled. It was all great fun!