A FILM writer and director has released a new psychological thriller after giving up his job as a web designer a year ago.

Warren Dudley’s new project Cage follows character Gracie Blake, a Seattle based chat lines worker who, following the decision to meet a new client, finds herself waking up in a cage, in a warehouse, somewhere in America.

Lucy-Jane Quinlan, who plays Gracie, is the only actor on screen during the whole film and her character struggles to understand her situation, soon realising she needs to quickly escape her claustrophobic surroundings and kidnapper.

What follows is a tense and frightening thriller that leaves Gracie fighting her unseen foe, her growing hunger and struggling to maintain her own sanity.

Warren, 43, from Seaford, said: “It is something I was doing as a hobby for around 10 years, working on various short films and other projects, so to go full time is just great but a lot of work.

“The film really was guided by our budget of around £19,000 and having only one on screen actor and shooting the film primarily in one location, Newhaven Fort, meant minimising our expenditure.

“It is a fantastic location to shoot and it really suits the theme and genre of the film as a thriller.”

Speaking of the emotion involved in her character’s story, Ms Quinlan said: “Gracie grew and changed as I was lucky enough to be involved with the pre-production as the story was put together.

“I thought on many occasions about what I would have done in her situation and to be honest, I think I would have crumbled a lot sooner than Gracie.”

The actress said she has a good working relationship with Warren, having worked together on other projects over the past few years.

Cage also features the voice of Patrick Bergin, who plays Peter Karl Bradley, the kidnapper who offers Gracie $5,000 for a one night personal visit.

The director and scriptwriter added: “We are using Amazon to promote the film because of the ability to promote using a trailer and are hoping to get millions of views.

“This in turn will hopefully translate into fans of the full-length film.”