A DARLINGTON student hopes to make a fan hit with a short horror film.

James Campbell, 31, a student at Cleveland College of Art & Design is gearing up to start production on his latest short film, which will be a part of his final year showcase.

The short film “Ripper” sees Jack the Ripper pitted against Batman in 1888 London.

Filming got under way at Preston Hall Museum, near Stockton, on Monday (June 15).

The film already has numerous professional actors on board from Broadchurch, Downton Abbey and Game of Thrones.

An American comic festival has expressed an interest in showing the film at their festival later this year.

Mr Campbell said: “I have been working on this particular project since the start of year with help from my producer and fellow film student, Adam Bouabda.

“Influenced by fan fiction, my inspiration is to make something I want to see first of all, then to create a piece of work that is a little different.

"My goal for Ripper is to bring fans of Batman, Jack the Ripper and Italian horror together for what will hopefully be the coolest fan film ever made.”

Ripper is still looking for funding and has a page set up on crowd sourcing site indiegogo, the film has so far raised more than £5,000 of its £10,000 target.

For more information, visit facebook.com/ripperfanfilm or igg.me/at/rippermovie/x/8848144