IFI Irish Film Archive

The Attack of the Saucer People - The Roy Spence Collection

Year1981 Duration13m 15s ProducerGothic Films

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.

Inspired by the American Horror films from the late 1950s, in a remote American lake a fisherman dislodges a canister which has been jettisoned from a flying saucer. A teenager and his girlfriend manage to convince the police of the existence of an all-consuming creature that has emerged from the canister, but it’s not long before all hell breaks loose and the creature from space consumes everything in its path. 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.

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.

9m 03s

Maidens in Distress - The Roy Spence Collection

This delightful film documents a trip by ferryboat to the Maidens lighthouse on the little island of Magee, Co. Antrim, to deliver essential supplies to the lighthouse crew. Shortly after this movie was shot, the lighthouse became fully automated and the need for this service disappeared. 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.

26m 05s

The Tomb of Frankenstein - The Roy Spence Collection

Shot on location in Comber and Clandeboye Estate in Bangor, this Roy Spence classic is an homage to the classic Frankenstein story. A strange old hermit employs witchcraft to give life to the dead Frankenstein’s monster and uses the creature to take vengeance on those who wronged him previously. But will the creature stay loyal to his creator or seek his own revenge? 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.

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.