Exclusives
Leigh Whannell Might Not Write ‘Insidious 5’ [Exclusive]
Upgrade will be the second Leigh Whannell movie of 2018, as Insidious: The Last Key opened up the year the first weekend of January. During an interview with Bloody-Disgusting for Upgrade, Whannell said he has not begun writing a fifth Insidious, and he may not write one at all.
“I’m sure the second this film comes out I’m going to get a phone call from Jason Blum to say, ‘All right, Insidious 5,’” Whannell said. “I’m not sure if I’m going to be involved in all honesty. I love the films and the franchise and it’s been a good experience, but the question is always do I have anything to offer. Maybe a fresh set of eyes is the best thing for this franchise if they’re going to continue it. So we’ll see.”
The Last Key, the fourth Insidious film, brought the series back to the beginning with Elise (Lin Shaye) getting the call to help the Lambert family. Chapter 3 and The Last Key were prequels about Elise’s earlier paranormal investigations. Catching up may have been a way to ensure the next Insidious moves forward in time.
“I think it wasn’t deliberate but I felt like there are no more movies you could make within that loop,” Whannell said. “We’re all caught up now.
“That is a good expression to use. I think these Insidious movies are now a closed loop so if they’re going to continue, I think it should pick up in the future.”
Still, four Insidious movies is one more than Whannell wrote of the Saw franchise.
“With Saw, I was really done,” Whannell said. “After I wrote that third movie I was like I can’t, I’m out. To me, I felt the story was becoming about the gore and not about the story, which I’m responsible. I wrote the two sequels and I felt the sequels were getting more visceral, more violent. I felt that I didn’t have anything else to offer which was a strange feeling to walk away because then they kept making sequels. I wasn’t involved creatively so there was a weird detachment to look up and see a billboard on Sunset Blvd. and be like oh, that’s a movie that I created that now it’s its own thing.”
If it’s not Insidious 5, Jason Blum is sure to keep Whannell employed. Upgrade is being released by Blumhouse Tilt.
“Certainly there’s no ill will,” Whannell said. “Obviously I made Upgrade with Blumhouse so the relationship we have through the Insidious movies is good. I love working with them. I’ll hopefully work with them many more times but I don’t know about Insidious yet.”
Whannell is working on another original horror script he hopes to complete after Upgrade comes out.
“I’m writing a film right now, kind of psychological horror meaning not supernatural horror,” Whannell said. “So we’ll see how that turns out. If it turns out not terrible, I’ll direct it.”
Upgrade is out June 1 and we’ll have more with Whannell and star Logan Marshall-Green next week.
Exclusives
‘Late Night With the Devil’ – Exclusive Clip Begins the Supernatural Horror on Halloween 1977
The upcoming Late Night With the Devil is one of the most buzzed about horror movies of the year, currently 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and earning rave reviews from both Stephen King and Kevin Smith. King raves that the film is “absolutely brilliant,” adding that he couldn’t take his eyes off it. Smith comments, “I love it. It’s Rosemary’s Baby meets Network.”
David Dastmalchian (Dune, The Suicide Squad) stars as the host of a late-night talk show that descends into a nightmare in the Ghostwatch and WNUF Halloween Special-inspired film.
IFC Films & Shudder will release the hotly anticipated Late Night with the Devil theatrically on March 22 before it heads to Shudder exclusively on April 19, 2024.
Begin the horror with a brand new EXCLUSIVE clip below…
David Dastmalchian stars as Jack Delroy, the charismatic host of “Night Owls,” and the film traces the ill-fated taping of a live Halloween special in 1977 plagued by a demonic presence.
The energetic and innovative feature hails from Australian writing-directing team Colin and Cameron Cairnes (100 Bloody Acres, Scare Campaign).
The film premiered last year at SXSW. Meagan wrote in her review out of the fest, “Late Night with the Devil captures the chaotic energy of a late night show, embracing the irreverent comedy and stress of live television with a pastiche style. It’s a clever trojan horse for a surprising horror movie that goes full throttle on unhinged demonic mayhem.
“The ingenuity, the painstaking period recreation, a riveting performance by Dastmalchian, and a showstopper of a finale make for one Halloween event you won’t want to miss.”
Spooky Pictures founders Roy Lee (It, The Grudge, The Ring) and Steven Schneider (Pet Sematary, Paranormal Activity, Insidious), Derek Dauchy (“Al Kameen”) and Future Pictures’ Mat Govoni (“Lone Wolf”) and Adam White (“Lone Wolf”) and John Molloy are all producing.
Joel Anderson (Lake Mungo), Rami Yasin, and David Dastmalchian executive produce.
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