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1960 ‘The City of the Dead’ Being Remade

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Welsh production company Pillay-Evans Productions announced today that it has teamed up with independent producer Adam Stephen Kelly to produce and develop a remake of 1960’s classic British horror film, The City of the Dead, known in the USA as Horror Hotel.

The film is to be written and directed by BAFTA member SJ Evans, who made his feature debut to critical acclaim with the documentary Tattoos: A Scarred History.

A young coed (Nan Barlow) uses her winter vacation to research a paper on witchcraft in New England. Her professor (Christopher Lee) recommends that she spend her time in a small village called Whitewood. Things begin to happen in earnest when she finds herself marked for sacrifice by the undead coven of witches Evans noted, “The remake of THE CITY OF THE DEAD will stay true to the original and concentrate on atmosphere and good old fashioned storytelling, instead of relying on gore or CGI to move the plot along. I grew up watching the classic Universal horrors and was inspired by how the likes of James Whale created this sense of dread and unease with just a look. I want to bring that style of filmmaking back to the big screen instead of another music video, quick-cut horror film. We are all very excited by the prospect of bringing one of the greatest witchcraft films ever made to a new audience and know that fans of the original will be satisfied with the effort we are making to honour this classic.”

Pillay-Evans Productions is fast becoming synonymous with British horror with the upcoming original features SHADOWS WITHIN, NEW YEAR’S EVIL, THE HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK PART II, directed by genre legend Ruggero Deodato, and the currently in-production DEAD OF THE NITE, starring horror icon Tony Todd.

Kelly, best known for his work with Ain’t It Cool News under the pseudonym Britgeek, added, “It’s our intention to take British horror back to its roots. With our film, we’re going back to what made the genre we love great. Over the last year or so, we’ve seen attitudes towards the genre changing and audiences are growing tired of being grossed out. They’re after the next big scare. With THE CITY OF THE DEAD, we aim to make a film that evokes emotion from the audience because of its characters, atmosphere and tension, rather than how much blood is spilled. We’re going to combine classic genre tropes with a classic story to create something that will take a 21st century audience for a ride.”

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

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‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’ Adds “Chucky” Actor Teo Briones and More to Lead Cast

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Chucky Actor Teo Briones
Pictured: Teo Briones in "Chucky" Season Two

The Final Destination franchise is returning to life with Final Destination: Bloodlines. With filming now underway, THR reports that three actors have joined the lead cast, including “Chucky” actor Teo Briones.

Brec Bassinger (“Stargirl”) and Kaitlyn Santa Juana (The Friendship Game) join Teo Briones, who played Junior Wheeler in season two of “Chucky,” as the leads in the sixth installment of the horror franchise.

Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein (Freaks) are directing the fresh installment that also includes Richard Harmon (“The 100”, Grave Encounters 2), Anna Lore, Owen Patrick Joyner, Max Lloyd-Jones (The Book Of Boba Fett), Rya Kihlstedt (Obi Wan Kenobi), and Tinpo Lee (The Manor) among the cast.

Production is now underway in Vancouver.

What can we expect from the upcoming Final Destination 6? Speaking with Collider, franchise creator Jeffrey Reddick offered up an intriguing (and mysterious) tease last year.

“This film dives into the film in such a unique way that it attacks it from a different angle so you don’t feel like, ‘Oh, there’s an amazing setup and then there’s gonna be one wrinkle that can potentially save you all that you have to kind of make a moral choice about or do to solve it.’ There’s an expansion of the universe that – I’m being so careful,” Reddick teased.

Reddick continued, “It kind of unearths a whole deep layer to the story that kind of, yes, makes it really, really interesting.”

Final Destination: Bloodlines is written by Lori Evans Taylor (“Wicked Wicked Games”) and Guy Busick (Scream), with Jon Watts (Spider-Man: No Way Home) producing.

Producers on the new movie for New Line Cinema also include Dianne McGunigle (Cop Car) as well as Final Destination producers Craig Perry and Sheila Hanahan Taylor.

This will be the sixth installment in the hit franchise, and the first in over ten years. Each film centers on “Death” hunting down young friends who survive a mass casualty event.

The latest entry is expected in 2025, coinciding with the original film’s 25th anniversary.

 

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