Movies
Sean Hood Brings Hauntings to ‘New York’
Genre writer Sean Hood (Cube 2: Hypercube, Halloween: Resurrection) has been tapped to pen The Haunting in New York, which follows on the heels of last year’s The Haunting in Connecticut and the soon-to-lens The Haunting in Georgia. Gold Circle is keeping the logline of the latest installment under wraps but said it will be based on a true story like the other two films (read inside for more). Hood posted an update to his blog this morning and added a few details. Haunting in Connecticut earned $77 million worldwide and spawned Haunting in Georgia, which Tom Elkins will begin helming in August. Gold Circle noted that neither Georgia nor New York are sequels to Connecticut and instead are self-contained films with unique characters.
We original posted last year that Haunting in New York is based on the life rights to “A Haunting: The Diabolical,” a TV documentary that ran in 2006 on the Discovery Channel. “The Diabolical” was the second episode in the second season on the ongoing series.
“Marie’s daughter suffers from a mental condition that keeps her from speaking. During the three years they’ve lived in their home, Marie has witnessed her communicating with someone she could not see. Marie was unworried, having decided it was positive angels. But upon his first visit, Marie’s boyfriend, Chris, feels a dark presence in the house. Using a Ouija board, the two unintentionally open up the home to a diabolical that is using Julie as a portal. A team of paranormal investigators soon decide the case is more serious than they can handle and arrange with the Church for an exorcism.”
More at Sean Hood’s blog.
Hollywood is serious about landing the next Backrooms. Hot on the heels of a Siren Head feature announcement, Deadline reports that a new movie based on viral YouTube series The Mandela Catalogue is in development.
It also has some Hollywood heavy hitters behind it.
Amblin Entertainment’s Steven Spielberg, United Artists’ Scott Stuber (Frankenstein), and Amazon MGM Studios are set to produce, emerging victorious after a highly competitive 11-studio bidding war.
Launched in 2021, the YouTube series is set in the fictional Mandela County, Wisconsin which is “invaded by shape-shifting, nearly immortal creatures called Alternates. The Alternates are led by a false depiction of the Archangel Gabriel and their aim is to wipe out the human race by psychologically torturing them to the point of suicide. The Alternates are known for manipulating AV media, TVs, computers and GPS systems.”
The movie will be directed by the series’ creator, Alex Kister, based on a screenplay he adapted with Tyler Clifton.
The Mandela Catalogue has racked up an impressive 100 million views across its official episodes alone, solidifying it as one of the largest original analog horror franchises on YouTube.
Spielberg and Holly Bario are producing for Amblin Entertainment alongside Aaron B. Koontz for Paper Street Pictures and Stuber and Nick Nesbitt for United Artists. Kister and Clifton are also producing. Annie McCreery will oversee the project for United Artists. Maria Fortese will oversee for Amblin.
Get acquainted with The Mangela Catalogue below while we wait to learn more.