British Council Logo UK Films Database
Project Detail

The Call Up

Synopsis

When a group of elite online gamers each receive a mysterious invitation to trial a state-of-the-art virtual reality video game, it's a dream come true and impossible to resist. Arriving at the test site, the group steps into hi-tech gear and prepares for a revolutionary, next-level gaming experience that brings modern warfare to life with frightening realism. At first it's a unique and exhilarating experience. But what starts out like a dream encounter with cutting edge technology quickly takes a turn for the sinister. Once the group is attacked by enemy combatants, they soon realise this is no game after all. Make a mistake here and you pay with your life. Now these masters of the shoot 'em up will have to fight for survival within a game gone bad, but this time it's for real.

Details

Year
2016
Type of project
Features
Running time
90 mins
Director
Charles Barker 1st Feature
Producer
John Giwa-Amu, Matthew James Wilkinson
Co-Producer
Isabelle Georgeaux
Executive Producer
Bob Benton, Andy Brunskill, Richard Holmes, Alan Martin
Editor
Tommy Boulding
Screenwriter
Charles Barker
Director of Photography
John Lee
Production Designer
Richard Campling, Byron Broadbent
Sound
Nigel Albermaniche
Composer
Tom Raybould
Principal cast
Max Deacon, Morfydd Clark, Ali Cook, Parker Sawyers, Tom Benedict Knight, Boris Ler, Douggie McMeekin, Adriana Randall

Genre

Action Horror Fantasy Sci-Fi

Categories

Fiction

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

Red & Black Films, Stigma Films

Red and Black Films

Sales Company

Altitutude Film Sales

34 Foubert's Place
London
W1F 7PX

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

Suggest amendments

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

Indecision Indecision

Director: Charles Barker

Year: 2005

Splitting up is never easy - Jack wants to end things with Sarah. Or does he? When he tries to finish his relationship, his life spins out of control (literally). Indecision is a short, quirky comedy that plays with the kinetics of cinema.

Comedy
Mini Cab Mini Cab

Director: Charles Barker

Year: 2000

Two girls catch a cab and decide to do a runner. They start talking to the cab driver, who confides that his girlfriend has been unfaithful. Feeling guilty, one girl confesses to the impending runner. He doesn't hear.

Pheasant Pheasant

Director: Claire Molloy

Year: 2026

A drama set in rural England amidst the backdrop of World War II exploring themes of identity, belonging, and the impact of war on personal lives - highlighting the human capacity for both empathy and cruelty in times of crisis. Martha, an 11-year-old mixed-race girl, is evacuated from London to the northern English countryside. Martha finds herself in the care of a gruff gamekeeper and his family. Feeling isolated and rejected due to her racial background and the community’s war-induced tensions, she tries to adapt to her new life, becoming captivated by the natural beauty of the countryside. Martha forms a secret friendship with Enzo, an Italian POW, whose gentle demeanour and shared sense of displacement draw them together. Martha also navigates a complex relationship with George, the gamekeeper's son, who is torn between his familial prejudices and his growing fondness for Martha.

Drama History Woman Director