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Watch: Donegal thriller Spears lands back in top 10 films to rent on IFI at home
Donegal director Gerard Lough remembers: 'Spears could not have been released at a more difficult time as we were coming out of the pandemic era and a lot folks were still a little hesitant about going to the cinema'
Reporter:
Contributor
13 Feb 2026 3:09 PM
Email:
news@donegallive.ie
Spears, a mystery / thriller shot in Donegal, has returned to the top ten films to rent on the IFI@home platform.
Holding its own against the Oscar-nominatedOne Battle After Another, the independent Irish film is finding a new audience despite hitting cinemas almost exactly four years ago. As Donegal director Gerard Lough remembers, "Spears could not have been released at a more difficult time as we were coming out of the pandemic era and a lot folks were still a little hesitant about going to the cinema.
"The lack of new films on release at the time though, made it possible for me to get onto the big screen for a limited time. What has not changed is that it is still very hard for independent films with no big stars to reach a wide audience unless it has been supported with a well-funded awards campaign."
Spearstells a complex tale of revenge that focuses on three different men in different countries who all fall prey to an elaborate con by the same master criminal.
Back in Donegal, they team up to get even against their common enemy. In retrospect, Lough feels that the marketing itself was maybe a little too mysterious for its own good.
"It's the most common complaint about trailers that they just give too much away of the plot as they are desperate to get folks into the cinema. As I had complete control of the marketing, I was able to avoid that and protect the film's biggest plot twists. The downside was maybe some people just could not get a firm grasp of what the hell the film was actually about and were wary of watching it as a result.
"I've seen it many times with other films; some people like a mystery and puzzle to be solved as you watch it, others are frustrated and turned off by it. Some people need to know a lot about a film before seeing it, in a perfect world we would all go in cold. As is always the case with films and their marketing, you'll never please everybody. To be fair, even the titleSpears makes no sense until you see the film."
In the years since the release ofSpears, Donegal has also positioned itself as a viable location for productions as well as producing homegrown talent. "Just in the past few months alone, we have seen new films shot here hit cinemas such asAWant In Her as well as TV shows such asObituary. As limited an audience asSpears may have reached on its initial release, I like to think it did its bit to help promote Donegal as a destination as well as inspire new local filmmakers to get behind the camera."
IFI@home is a platform created by the Irish Film Institute that allows viewers to see the best Irish films at home as well new acclaimed titles from around the world.
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