THE former prison in Victoria Road, Douglas, is being used as the location for a horror film.

Preston-based Mycho Pictures hired the site as the main location for its production Slasher House, starring Eleanor James, and it is now nearing the end of three weeks' filming.

Producer Jonny Raw said: "It has been incredibly useful for us because the prison doubles as the Slasher House of the title.

"We'd been hunting for a suitable location for five months with no success and it was actually one of our actors, Adam Williams, whose mother lives here, who suggested it.

"In the end we put the production together in two and a half weeks and we are very grateful to the Department of Home Affairs for accommodating us."

Jonny explained the plot of the film: "Red, our heroine, wakes up in a cell in a sinister building with no memory of who she is and why or how she ended up there.

"She is soon released into a living nightmare as the other inmates, all notorious psychopaths or killers, are set free.

"Victoria Road prison forms the perfect backdrop for our tale, with only the small flashback sequences being filmed in our home county of Lancashire.

"When we return home we will be gushing about how supportive the Isle of Man has been to us and filmmakers in general and we'd encourage production companies of any size to seriously consider shooting here."

Mycho Pictures are hoping for a worldwide release of the film next autumn around Halloween.

Home Affairs Minister Adrian Earnshaw said: "I am pleased the former prison proved a suitable base for this production. The building has been empty for two years but it still costs a considerable amount to maintain.

"Fees paid by the production company will make a contribution to those ongoing maintenance costs."