Two local filmmakers have teamed up with Pinewood Studious to create a national competition celebrating vampires, werewolves and things that go bump in the night.

Tom Richards and Chris Edwards hope ghosts and ghouls will be out in force for their Halloween Monster Movie Challenge, which invites short filmmakers from all over the UK to submit a spinechilling short movie of no more than ten minutes.

Films can feature zombies, swamp monsters, and mummies or even a brand new creepy creation.

Tom and Chris, who run Darklight Film Productions, a Dudley-based independent film company which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, say they were inspired to create the competition by the recent fall from favour for monster movies.

Tom, who lives in Rowley Regis, said: “In our opinion some of the greatest movies ever have featured monsters - American Werewolf in London, Alien, The Thing - and we think it's a sad state of affairs that monster movies seem to be in a state of decline in the world of independent film.

“We hope by creating this challenge, it will inspire the filmmakers of tomorrow to continue this imaginative and highly entertaining tradition.”

Prizes for the competition, which is sponsored by icewhole.com, include cinema tickets, a tour of Pinewood Studios, a day at a top London post-production studio.

The deadline for the competition is October 10 and the top films entered will all be showcased at the Light House cinema in Wolverhampton on November 1.

For more information visit www.halloweenmonstermoviechallenge.com.