Netflix film The Strays filmed in 'other-worldly' Lavenham

A picturesque village was chosen for the filming of a psychological horror movie because of its "other-worldly look", according to a film agency.

Lavenham is one of two Suffolk villages transformed into an English suburb for Netflix film The Strays.

It stars Ashley Madekwe as a woman whose life starts to unravel when two strangers appear in her town.

Jim Horsfield from Screen Suffolk, which helped source the locations, said filming took place in autumn 2021.

Kersey, the other Suffolk location used in The Strays, was also the main location for BritBox drama Magpie Murders,

The main square at Lavenham and Kersey High Street were closed for a number of days during production.

Mr Horsfield said there was "a fantastic range of beautiful villages in Suffolk" and Lavenham was chosen due to its "other-worldly look".

Lavenham has previously been used as a location for a Harry Potter film, scenes in the British horror movie Witchfinder General and John Lennon and Yoko Ono used the Market Place for scenes for a short film called Apotheosis, featuring a hot air balloon.

Lavenham is one of England's best-preserved medieval villages with more than 300 listed buildings, owing its wealth to the wool trade.

Nearby Kersey became prosperous at the same time through cloth-making.

Screen Suffolk is "a one-stop shop for all thing screening" and is funded by Suffolk County Council, West Suffolk Council, Ipswich Borough Council, Babergh and Mid Suffolk Council and East Suffolk Council.

More than 1,000 days of filming have taken place in the county since it was set up in 2016, including The Dig, The Personal History of David Copperfield and the Christmas 2022 special for BBC drama Detectorists.

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