FILM & MUSIC: Martin Fuller
WORDS: Gareth E Rees
‘Terminal Zones‘ is my book of weird tales about climate change and social disintegration at the edges of town and country, published by Influx Press. in October 2022.
‘Fresh and disturbing stories mapping out the pressure points in the psychedelic everyday – Rees consistently reaches the places others do not.’
– Will Wiles, author of Plume
In this film by Martin Fuller, I investigate the location of the mysterious murder described in one of its stories.
“The girl from the farm found the dead cyclist on a single lane road to Rickney on the Pevensey Levels. He lay awkwardly, arms buckled beneath his torso, head twisted, eyes in a frozen stare across the tarmac. The girl was certain that he was a cyclist because he wore a luminescent yellow vest and Lycra shorts, but she could see no bike.”
The Levels.mp4 from Dinlochav on Vimeo
Terminal Zones is out in October – you can order it here.
‘Gareth E Rees propels us into a vast and uncanny future; showing us brief snatches of a world to come. A poignant message delivered with guile, wit and beauty.’
– Matt Wesolowski, author of Demon
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gareth E. Rees is author of Unofficial Britain (Elliott & Thompson, 2020) Car Park Life (Influx Press 2019), The Stone Tide (Influx Press, 2018) and Marshland (Influx Press, 2013).
I used to cycle these lanes as a Hailsham teenager – it felt like the emptiest place in the world. In late-teens/early-twenties a gang of us used to take turns to drive into Hastings where we’d drink on the cliffs under the castle before drinking some more and trying to pull in The Crypt, when it was a heavy metal/punk/alternative nightclub. Then we’d often drive back to Hailsham along these lanes to avoid being stopped by the police on the main roads. I have vivid memories of my mate reaching 100mph in his bosses red Vauxhall Cavalier SRI, me laughing, wasted, in the passenger seat, reeds swooshing past both wing mirrors.
Thankfully we never hit any cyclist. And though there was often a car to be seen upended in the cow-piss drainage ditches, it was never one of ours.
Hi Nick. Thanks for your comment. In my story, two teenagers use the cover of night to blow up a car on the levels. From my occasional visits it seemed that kinda place. They get their comeuppance via some angry anglo saxons. Cheers! Gareth
[…] the summer I made some short films with Martin Fuller, including this one on Hackney Marshes , this one in the eerie Pevensey Levels and this one beneath a crumbling cliff edge in Fairlight, East […]