Movies
Dean Koontz’s ‘The Husband’ Goes Through Hell for His Wife
My understanding was that horror writer Dean Koontz was fed up with Hollywood and we wouldn’t be seeing an of his book adapted to film any time soon. I guess enough time has passed as the author of Phantoms, Sole Survivor, Hideaway and Mr. Murder will have his novel The Husband adapted for the big screen by up-and-coming horror director Ole Bornedal. Read on for the skinny.Focus Features has acquired the rights from Random House to Dean Koontz’s novel “The Husband,” about an ordinary working man whose love for his wife is put to a harrowing series of tests over a 60-hour period.
Deal comes out of Focus Features’ multi-year partnership with Random House’s film division to develop, co-finance and co-produce feature films.
Focus, which will keep worldwide distribution and sales rights on the project, has attached Danish helmer Ole Bornedal (“Just Another Love Story”) to direct. Bornedal will write a new draft of the script, which was originally penned by Glenn Gers.
Remake rights to Bornedal’s “Just Another Love Story” and “The Substitute” have both been acquired by Mandate Pictures with Sam Raimi to produce through his Ghost House Pictures shingle.
Focus creative executive Matthew Plouffe is supervising the project for Focus production prexy John Lyons and Random House Films’ prexy Peter Gethers.
The Focus-Random House pact was first announced in November 2005.
Projects being developed under the deal include an adaptation of Yasmina Khadra’s “The Attack,” about a middle-class Palestinian doctor working in an Israeli hospital who discovers his wife may have been a suicide bomber, and Bob Drogin’s “Curveball,” about an informant who offers deceptive information to the United States government about biological weapons in Iraq in order to justify an invasion.
Just three years after Evil Dead Rise set the box office on fire with a $147 million worldwide haul, Evil Dead Burn was unleashed into theaters this past weekend. Unfortunately, the opening weekend for Evil Dead Burn wasn’t quite as strong as the debut for its predecessor.
Evil Dead Burn debuted in 3,004 theaters across North America and scared up $13.7 million in its domestic debut, about $10 million less than Evil Dead Rise‘s $24.5 million opening.
Worldwide, Evil Dead Burn debuted with $27 million. Given the film’s production budget was somewhere in the ballpark of $20 million, all is certainly not lost for Evil Dead Burn. That said, Warner Bros. and New Line no doubt hoped that Burn would top or at least match the domestic opening of Rise, but instead we’re looking at a case of diminishing franchise returns.
The good news for fans? Next installment Evil Dead Wrath has already wrapped production for expected release in 2028, so there’s no danger of the franchise ending with Evil Dead Burn.
Evil Dead Wrath from director Francis Galluppi (The Last Stop in Yuma County) is currently set for theatrical release on April 7, 2028, though that could change in the coming months.
Will the Evil Dead franchise be taking a break after Evil Dead Wrath? That all depends on how Wrath performs at the box office. But for what it’s worth, the post-credits scene at the end of Evil Dead Burn suggests that the franchise’s creators are hopeful for a bright future ahead.
The critical reception for Evil Dead Burn was a bit less positive than the reception to Evil Dead Rise, with Rise hitting 85% on Rotten Tomatoes and Burn currently sitting at 71%. It’s interesting to note, however, that the “Popcornmeter” on Rotten Tomatoes is a bit higher for Burn than it was for Rise, with Burn‘s currently at 80% and Rise‘s sitting a tad lower at 76%.
The site’s “Popcornmeter” scores are decided by users, rather than verified movie critics.
Which do you prefer? Evil Dead Rise or Evil Dead Burn? Sound off below.
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