Dark Vampire Comedy Gro(ceries), Co-Written by Sex Education's Chinenye Ezeudu-Sterling, Targets UK Shoot in Early 2027

A sharp, darkly comic horror feature with a genuinely original premise is building momentum toward a first quarter 2027 shoot in the United Kingdom, and the creative team behind it is one that working professionals in the independent film space will want to track closely. Gro(ceries) is a vampire self-identity comedy co-written by director Sophie King and Chinenye Ezeudu-Sterling, best known to international audiences for her breakout role as Vivienne Odusanya in Netflix's Sex Education. The project is currently seeking international financing and distribution partners at Fantasia Festival's Frontières Co-Production Market in Montreal this July, meaning the financing picture could sharpen considerably over the coming weeks.

Sophie King is both writing and directing, bringing a clear singular vision to the material. The film follows Gro, a lonely night-shift worker who was raised by vampires, only to discover she is adopted and will never transform into one of them. It is a premise that leans hard into questions of identity, belonging, and the lengths someone will go to in order to feel like they belong somewhere, wrapped in genre horror and played for dark comedy. Earlier in 2026, the project participated in Glasgow Film Festival's Funny Features Lab, where King and Ezeudu-Sterling worked with mentors including director Prano Bailey-Bond (Censor) and producer David Pope, a pairing that signals the project has been sharpening its voice with serious genre credentials behind it. Bailey-Bond in particular is a name that carries real weight in UK genre filmmaking, and her involvement as a mentor speaks to the tone this film is aiming for.

The producing team is split across two UK-based companies. Rosanna Eden-Ellis produces through Five By Five Films, and Catherine Joy White produces through Kusini Productions. Both are independent outfits operating in the UK indie space. More recently, two Paris-based companies, SCoT(T) and The Project, have joined as co-production partners, giving the film a Franco-British international framework that positions it well for European co-production funding streams, including support from the likes of the BFI, Creative Scotland, and potentially Eurimages, depending on how the financing structure ultimately takes shape. The Frontières Co-Production Market at Fantasia is one of the most respected genre-focused financing forums in the world, regularly connecting projects with sales agents, distributors, and completing financiers. Gro(ceries) being selected for that market is a meaningful signal that the project has professional traction and genuine commercial appeal within the genre space.

Production is targeting a Q1 2027 shoot in the United Kingdom, though a specific city or region has not yet been confirmed publicly. UK productions of this scale and genre profile frequently base in London, with additional shooting across the home counties or in cities with strong local crew bases such as Manchester, Bristol, or Edinburgh, particularly when Scottish or Northern English locations serve the story. Given the project's connection to Glasgow Film Festival's development lab, a Scottish element to the shoot is not out of the question. The UK's film tax relief, currently offering a 25 percent rebate on qualifying production expenditure through the Film Tax Credit, remains a strong draw for independent features at this budget level, and is almost certainly a factor in keeping the production UK-based. Crew based in the UK should be watching this one closely, as formal department head conversations are likely to begin in earnest once financing locks following the July market.

As a dark horror comedy feature, Gro(ceries) is the kind of production that benefits enormously from a strong art department and a production designer with a feel for genre world-building on a constrained budget. The vampire setting and night-shift grocery store premise suggest a production that will lean heavily on practical locations dressed to feel otherworldly, and a costume department that can walk the line between the mundane and the monstrous. VFX requirements are likely to be modest but targeted, with an emphasis on practical creature and makeup effects consistent with the tone of the project. Early casting conversations are already underway, which suggests the production is further along creatively than its financing status might imply and that a casting director is likely already attached or being approached.

For crew and industry professionals looking to get ahead of this one, ProductionList.com carries the full listing for Gro(ceries), including production company contacts, key crew details as they are confirmed, and scheduling updates. With financing conversations happening at Fantasia this summer and a cameras-up target less than a year away, the window between now and a formal crew-up is shorter than it might appear. Bookmark the listing, check back after the July market, and position yourself early on what looks like one of the more creatively distinctive UK genre features in the pipeline.

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