A glamorous film-shoot is taking place in Brighton this week, starring British television’s Terri Dwyer and Brian Capron.

The short film, The Left-Hand Path, is a supernatural thriller written by local author Louise Pennington, based on her erotic novel, Jessica’s Lover.

Ms. Pennington, also known by her official title Baroness Bentinck, author of six novels, said of the script: “It definitely has a feel of The Omen about it. I want it to leave you unsettled.”

Terri Dwyer, the former Hollyoaks actress and 60 Minute Makeover presenter, is playing the female lead role of Jessica. Mrs. Dwyer said: “It’s a great script, I really love it. Jessica's character, which is based on the book, was originally quite soft though, so I was quite bullish and went into the audition asking if I could make her more manipulative.”

Scenes are being filmed in the first-floor drawing room of 9 Eastern Terrace, Kemp Town, a regency townhouse with many period features and a panoramic view of the sea. The house was previously used in the film adaptation of Graham Greene’s The End of the Affair, starring Ralph Fiennes and Julianne Moore.

Mrs. Dwyer added: “The house is amazing. It’s beautiful, there’s a real character to it and it’s been great to film in. When you’re doing a film it’s particularly nice when a set contributes to the role, so it’s quite easy to become Jessica in this kind of ornate, grandiose room.”

Mrs. Dwyer, who lives in Chester, is no stranger to Brighton: “I love Brighton. I did quite a few 60 Minute Makeovers here and I’ll be back again soon to do The Vagina Monologues.”

The male lead, Zak, is played by Costa Chard, who recently finished a national tour of Macbeth. Mr. Chard said: “It’s a fantastic script and a great character to play. The opportunity to work with Louise Pennington and Tiger Dreams was too good a chance to turn down.”

Tiger Dreams is the production company behind the film. It raised its budget for the project on crowd-funding site, Indiegogo.com.

Ms. Pennington said: “Crowd-funding works because contributors get a perk for each donation they make, from a signed copy of the script to a credit in the film. The whole project is Brighton-oriented. All the locations are in Brighton and we’re employing several Brightonians, including Brian Capron. Plus we’re submitting it to the Brighton Festival.”

Brian Capron, who portrayed serial killer Richard Hillman on Coronation Street and recently appeared in Celebrity Master Chef, is playing Tom. He said: “I was attracted to the project because I like to support independent film production, particularly when it’s shot in Brighton. The location is superb, quite an extraordinarily grand living room with enormous character and fascinating artefacts.”

Director Tony Errico added: “When directing a movie, you have to expect the unexpected. Today’s highlight was the rain ruining our exterior scenes,” he laughed.  “But it’s okay, you have to deal with it. You have to be able to adapt, and this location is just amazing. It’s exactly what we were looking for."