Social Mobility Foundation frights audiences with the horror of classism
The Halloween horror film ‘Stay Down’ spotlights the class pay gap in the second installment of Creature London’s work for the Social Mobility Foundation
Georgie Moreton
Deputy Editor, BITE CreativebriefThere are things out there more horrifying than ghosts and ghouls. This Halloween, the Social Mobility Foundation is releasing a film focused on the far more scary, far more real, everyday horror of classism. With the help of Creature London, ‘Stay Down’ has been created for the Department for Opportunities, the Social Mobility Foundation's advocacy and campaigning arm, to raise awareness of the Class Pay Gap.
Following on from the success of the Class Polish campaign which highlighted the absurdity of classism that manifests in the form of intangible requests, this campaign swaps out humor for horror taking a more sinister turn apt for Halloween.
At the heart of the campaign is a horror film titled, ‘Stay Down’, starring Michael Socha (This is England, Being Human, Chernobyl), Jo Hartley (This is England, Eddie the Eagle, After Life) and Jonathan Hyde (Titanic, Jumanji, The Queen).
Set in a run of the mill corporate office, the film follows a working class protagonist (Michael Socha) doing everything expected of him, yet still having to navigate constant subversive discrimination. Unreasonable requests and expectations are placed upon the lead and an all too familiar elitist boss is played by screen legend Jonathan Hyde.
The film dramatises the horrors of classism and captures its underlying sinister presence that means no matter how hard someone tries, societal barriers remain. The film brings this to life by holding the character back physically and mentally, while others around him are able to succeed with ease due to privilege. The recognisable story fits the horror genre with ease making it easy to imagine the concept as a full blockbuster hit.
“It’s not an exaggeration to say that the barriers faced by people from a working-class background are horrifying. With this campaign we’re not just pastiching the horror film genre, we’re dramatising people’s actual reality: and it's a reality that has never been more damaging, and unacceptable.” says Stu Outhwaite-Noel, Chief Creative Officer at Creature London.
The film's trailer acts as the ad for the campaign and follows all the usual tropes of a horror movie trailer. The film shows snappy shots of screams and sinister scenes to a spooky soundtrack cover of Radiohead’s No Surprises composed by legendary Icelandic artist Högni and performed by up and coming Scottish-Chinese singer songwriter Seil Lien, secured by Major Tom Music. At the end of the trailer the film cuts to reveal the campaign’s messaging, ‘Some Horrors aren’t fiction. Classism is still holding people down.’
The film will be released on the 1st November with an exclusive screening event at the Roundhouse. It will also be livestreamed and available to all by the Roundhouse, British Film Institute and the Department for Opportunities.
Some notable supporters of the campaign include director Ken Loach, the British Film Institute, the Sunday Times Film Critic, Kevin Maher, the Financial Times Film Critic, Danny Leigh, author, columnist Yomi Adegoke and rapper and political activist Akala.
The ad industry is also no stranger to classism and this film is instrumental in raising awareness and combating an often overlooked prejudice in the workplace. “The very existence of a class pay gap is horrifying. Our campaign is designed to shock employers into action, particularly the creative and arts sectors, which have so much work to do’, says Sarah Atkinson, CEO of the Department for Opportunities and Social Mobility Foundation.
As part of the campaign and to encourage more conversations about the class pay gap, the Department of Opportunities is encouraging people to share their own class horror stories on Twitter and LinkedIn using the hashtag #StayDownFilm.
By inserting the classist prejudices people face at work daily into the well known genre conventions of a horror, ‘Stay Down’ brings to life the atrocity of the class pay gap and sends shivers down the spines of audiences.