Please note: No person under the age of 15 may be admitted to this screening.
THE LUXTON STORY - The Fold & Recluse
+ post-screening Q&A
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Please note this film has been rated 15 by the local Licensing Authority. No person under the age of 15 may be admitted to this screening.
On the morning of 23 September 1975, three siblings — Frances, Robert and Alan Luxton — were found dead at their isolated family farm near Winkleigh, mid-Devon, each with a shotgun wound to the head. As police investigated the apparent murder-suicide, a stranger story began to emerge: that of a family increasingly cut off from the outside world.
The Fold is a new one-hour documentary by Oliver Balaam, a distant relative of the Luxton family. Drawing on interviews with people connected to the events and previously unseen archival material, the film explores the tragedy at West Chapple Farm and its enduring place in local folklore.
Recluse is a half-hour drama inspired by the known events, filmed on the farm in 1978. Directed and produced by Bob Bentley, and written in collaboration with his lifelong friend Paddy Fletcher, both of whom grew up in Bideford, the film is an imaginative response to the tragedy rather than a reconstruction. Released in 1981 as a supporting short, it won that year’s BAFTA for Best Short Film, received international festival screenings and was shown twice on Channel 4.
After years in obscurity, Recluse was screened at The Plough Arts Centre in Torrington. Noticing that his remaining 35mm print had badly faded, Bentley donated it to the BFI National Archive for restoration. During the process, a 16mm location-rehearsal reel from 1976 — just a year after the deaths — came to light. Footage from this reel features in The Fold.
Writing in What’s on in London and his 1981 Annual Film Review, critic F. Maurice Speed praised Recluse as “a cinematic achievement worthy of notice”, commending its atmosphere and performances.
Together, The Fold and Recluse offer two distinct but complementary perspectives on the Luxton family and the tragedy that continues to fascinate the local community. Both filmmakers hope their films will serve as lasting tributes to Frances, Robert and Alan.
Oliver Balaam and Bob Bentley will attend a post-screening Q&A at The Plough Arts Centre, Torrington, on Thursday 12 November at 7.30pm.