Peterhead Prison has undoubtedly hosted some unsavoury characters over the years, from serial killers and drug dealers… to deadly zombies.
A blood-soaked battlefield, where the special forces dramatically swooped in to bring unruly, armed hoardes under control.
No, not the Peterhead Prison riot of 1987, but a zombie apocalypse which forms the plot of British horror action film Redcon-1.
Directed by Chee Keong Cheung and produced by Kevin Eastman, Carlos Gallardo and Rob Weston, Redcon-1 centres around a mission to save a scientist from death during a zombie uprising.
HMP Peterhead becomes bloody backdrop
Partly shot on location at Peterhead Prison, which closed in 2013, the north-east location doubles as a London jail in the gory film.
Known as Scotland’s ‘Alcatraz’, the bleak, bulwark of HMP Peterhead was deemed the ideal backdrop for the rise of the dead in the 2018 indy film.
Peterhead Prison’s starring role in Redcon-1 saw the Victorian fortress transformed into a battle zone where special forces fight to save humanity from a virus.
Set in the south of England, the movie begins with the unknown and terrifying virus escaping a prison and sweeping across the nation.
But that’s where the similarities with Covid end.
Instead, those unfortunate enough to become infected with the terrifying virus turn into zombies.
An Anglo-American special forces squad of eight soldiers is tasked with entering the quarantine zone to rescue Dr Julian Raynes, a scientist on whom all hopes of finding a cure are pinned.
Zombies capable of armed combat
Eagle-eyed fans might recognise the lofty gangways and long, uninviting corridors of Peterhead Prison, as the film’s main characters enter the jail in pursuit of the missing scientist.
The group of valiant soldiers enter the location on an assault craft via the River Thames, an action-packed scene actually filmed on the River Clyde in Glasgow.
A national lockdown perhaps would have been the answer to prevent the zombie virus spreading, but this is Hollywood, where the path to glory does not run smoothly.
And these aren’t just your regular zombies.
As the heroes enter the quarantine zone, it becomes apparent very quickly that this is a special variant of zombie.
Unlike your typical moaning, swaying, cumbersome, literally dead-behind-the-eyes zombie, these super zombies are intelligent.
And the clever corpses are also capable of hand-to-hand combat and bearing arms.
Apocalyptic scenes
With no scientist or cure in sight, the zombies soon make their bid for freedom onto the streets of London, overrunning a block of flats.
Again, the elusive scientist is nowhere to be seen and disaster strikes when one of the good guys gets bitten.
In a final act of courage, he turns his gun on himself to avoid zombification.
Matters only get worse for the special forces soldiers when vehicles of zombie soldiers – who have maintained their military capabilities – appear, kidnapping one of the main characters, Private Bernstein.
Tracking a signal from Bernstein, the elite soldiers are horror-struck to find themselves in the midst of a zombie army camp.
But as luck would have it, Bernstein is found alive in a container with other survivors – and the scientist.
Unfortunately for the heroes, the movie doesn’t end there, as the virus infiltrates their group, making for a gripping ride for viewers.
Although it has a viewer rating of 3.9/10 on IMDb, Redcon-1 has gained somewhat of a cult following, with a clutch of awards and nominations to its name – including Best Thriller at the prestigious 2019 National Film Awards, UK.
Real-life dramas eclipse those filmed there
As the film progresses, people might recognise other locations across the UK and Scotland, which were transformed into apocalyptic landscapes during filming in 2016.
As well as putting Peterhead Prison on the silver screen, film crews also pitched up in Glasgow and a disused chemical plant in Ayrshire.
But it’s not the first time Peterhead Prison – which is now a visitor centre – has featured on film.
More recently, prison series Screw was filmed there, although its real-life historic dramas eclipse those filmed within its fortified walls.
Peterhead Prison opened in 1888 as a convict prison where inmates would be sentenced to hard labour.
Decades later, it would house some of Scotland’s most notorious criminals including paedophiles, and serial killers like Peter Tobin.
The prison hardly had a good reputation, but its notoriety went international during a riot in 1987 in which prison officer Jackie Stuart was held hostage.
The incident was the only time the SAS have been drafted in to end a domestic siege in mainland Britain.
It’s no wonder HMP Peterhead earned nicknames like The Hate Factory and Scotland’s Gulag.
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