IFI Irish Film Archive

Brady's Bargain - The Roy Spence Collection

Year1983 Duration22m 29s ProducerGothic Films

Brady has spent his life trying to outsmart the leprechauns and his big chance comes when he manages to capture one. Keeping the little man a prisoner, he starves the leprechaun until he reveals the secret of his wealth. Armed with this knowledge, Brady sets off across the moor to make himself a very rich man. Roy Spence is an award-winning amateur filmmaker. For the past 50 years, Spence has been making and screening a series of remarkable and sometimes eccentric films in his cinema in Comber, Co. Down. The films span many genres from sci-fi to horror to folk-life documentaries shot between 1965 and 1986. His collection of over 40 films (13 documentaries/non-fiction and 29 fiction feature films) is held and preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive.

A young man travels to his uncle’s lonely castle to give him a rare tractate. His uncle enlists his help in summoning up the ancient demon Cthulu, using secret rites of Black Magic which involve grave-robbing and murder. As the demon is summoned, the young man fears the worst and is forced to make a life changing decision. Shooting locations like Helen’s Tower and Tulynakill graveyard along with a shrill atmospheric soundtrack makes for a haunting experience. Roy Spence is an award-winning amateur filmmaker. For the past 50 years, Spence has been making and screening a series of remarkable and sometimes eccentric films in his cinema in Comber, Co. Down. The films span many genres from sci-fi to horror to folk-life documentaries shot between 1965 and 1986. His collection of over 40 films (13 documentaries/non-fiction and 29 fiction feature films) is held and preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive.

24m 39s

The Testament of Caleb Meeke - The Roy Spence Collection

Julien Meeke is left an old mansion in his uncle’s will, but soon realises that what he inherited is something much more sinister. Mysterious witchcraft rituals and visions of demons, darkness and death make this one of Spence’s more devilish depictions of the occult. Roy Spence is an award-winning amateur filmmaker. For the past 50 years, Spence has been making and screening a series of remarkable and sometimes eccentric films in his cinema in Comber, Co. Down. The films span many genres from sci-fi to horror to folk-life documentaries shot between 1965 and 1986. His collection of over 40 films (13 documentaries/non-fiction and 29 fiction feature films) is held and preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive.

15m 49s

Specimens - The Roy Spence Collection

Considered to be one of the most ambitious films made by the Spence Brothers, this stone-age alien extravaganza has everything a true sci-fi fan needs in spades. The mission is simple: aliens must capture and record living specimens from earth. However a violent earthquake forces the ship to take off whilst a giant robot, used to collect specimens, is swallowed up in the eruption. During quarry excavations in the present day the robot is re-animated, and the mission is still on. Roy Spence is an award-winning amateur filmmaker. For the past 50 years, Spence has been making and screening a series of remarkable and sometimes eccentric films in his cinema in Comber, Co. Down. The films span many genres from sci-fi to horror to folk-life documentaries shot between 1965 and 1986. His collection of over 40 films (13 documentaries/non-fiction and 29 fiction feature films) is held and preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive.

11m 06s

Along the Milky Way - The Roy Spence Collection

A comical documentary film by Roy Spence focuses on the various stages of a bottle of school milk. The commentary is given by a pint-sized cartoon character called Junior who appears on the milk-bottle cap. He explains the whole procedure to a little girl at school who has confused the words ‘diary’ and ‘’dairy’. This charming educational film was made for the Milk Marketing Board for Northern Ireland. Roy Spence is an award-winning amateur filmmaker. For the past 50 years Roy has been making and screening a series of remarkable and sometimes eccentric films in his cinema in Comber, Co. Down. The films span many genres from sci-fi to horror to folk-life documentaries shot between 1965 and 1986. His collection of over 40 films (13 documentaries/non-fiction and 29 fiction feature films) is held and preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive.

24m 51s

The Magic Man - The Roy Spence Collection

Winner of the World Amateur Film of the Year, The Magic Man stars Rowel Friers (Artist and Political Cartoonist) as Mesmero, a magician who tours with his wife around remote villages with their magic and mind-reading act. When three local thugs convince themselves that the magic man will reveal their crimes to the police, they hatch a plan to steal his mind-reading glasses. However, things go awry and the brutes get more than they bargained for. Roy Spence is an award-winning amateur filmmaker. For the past 50 years, Spence has been making and screening a series of remarkable and sometimes eccentric films in his cinema in Comber, Co. Down. The films span many genres from sci-fi to horror to folk-life documentaries shot between 1965 and 1986. His collection of over 40 films (13 documentaries/non-fiction and 29 fiction feature films) is held and preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive.

13m 15s

The Attack of the Saucer People - The Roy Spence Collection

Roger, a ciné enthusiast, enlists the support of fellow ciné-club members in the making of an amateur, sci-fi film. After inadvertently filming an actual alien spaceship, his group thinks he has upped his special effects budget and suspect nothing’s amiss. It won’t be long before Roger is paid another visit by the little green men, but will this be the end or will there be a sequel? Roy Spence is an award-winning amateur filmmaker. For the past 50 years, Spence has been making and screening a series of remarkable and sometimes eccentric films in his cinema in Comber, Co. Down. The films span many genres from sci-fi to horror to folk-life documentaries shot between 1965 and 1986. His collection of over 40 films (13 documentaries/non-fiction and 29 fiction feature films) is held and preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive.