AV Pictures, the sales outfit launched by ex-Victor Film Company chief Vic Bateman and Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels co-financier Angad Paul, has launched genre label Erebus with three productions set to shoot back-to-back from October.

Erebus is a three-way joint venture between AV, Vaughn Mullady's production facility TwoPlusOne and Eliane Huss' production company Mercury Films.

"These films are horror more in the psychological sense," said Huss, who will produce all three titles. "These are not slasher films."

First to go is Dark Lulu, a paranormal investigation story written and to be directed by Dave Mitchell. Shooting hard on Dark Lulu's heels is the tentatively-titled teen horror The Mermaid, to be directed by Phil Claydon from a script by Claire Williams. The third title is Karen Bird's ghost story Hall Of Mirrors.