Exclusives
‘Vacancy’ Writer Pens ‘Martyrs’, Latest John Hillcoat Thriller!
A few weeks back it was announced that Paramount had set up an untitled horror project penned by Mark L. Smith (Vacancy, The Hole 3D) with Platinum Dunes partners Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form along with Room 101’s Steven Schneider. The project was kept under wraps, so we caught up with Smith to see if we could get any nuggets of info out of him. During the interview, he revealed some HUGE news on some forthcoming projects, one of which is the eventual redo of Pascal Laugier’s Martyrs. Watch for the interview soon.
With the full interview forthcoming, below are a few morsels of info we received from writer Mark L. Smith.
When asked about future projects he told us about “The Revenant, which is a period action/revenge piece that Anonymous Content is producing,” he tells BD exclusively adding some huge news. “John Hillcoat (The Road) is attached to direct, and Christian Bale is in talks to star.”
He also reveals that he wrote the current draft of “Martyrs… a remake of the French horror film that I wrote for Wyck Godfrey (Temple/Hill) who’s producing the Twilight films among others.”
He also dropped the bomb on something super secret he’s developing for FX guru-turned-director Patrick Tatopoulos.
“There’s also an fantastic project I’m working on with Patrick Tatopoulos (Underworld 3, I, Frankenstein, The Colony). He’d kill me if I told anyone what it was about… it was Patrick’s idea/vision, and I was just lucky enough that he asked me to do it with him. He’s amazing.”
Lastly there’s a film called Trouble, “a thriller that Bold Films (The Hole) is making. Sidney Lumet and I worked on the script together, which was an amazing experience.“
A crime scene leads to horror in The Cycle, the latest from director Jordan Downey ( The Head Hunter, V/H/S/Beyond), and our exclusive first look introduces lead Deborah Ann Woll (“Daredevil: Born Again“, Escape Room) as she investigates the darkly personal case.
The Cycle will debut exclusively on Shudder on October 23, 2026.
The logline reads, “When the body of a man missing for thirty-six years is discovered at the scene of a horrific crime, it’s up to his estranged daughter to unravel his dark past.“
Also starring in The Cycle is Jeffrey Donovan (“Burn Notice“, Villains).
Jordan Downey wrote the screenplay with Kevin Stewart (The Head Hunter).
“We are so excited about The Cycle; Jordan has crafted such an original story that is gonna excite audiences. For us he has the ability to be the next great genre filmmaker and we can’t wait to make the movie,” said James Harris of production company Tea Shop (Obsession, 47 Meters Down). Peter Heller also produces.
Deborah Ann Woll rose to fame as the feisty vampire Jessica Hamby in HBO’s “True Blood” before becoming a fan favorite as Karen Page in Marvel’s “Daredevil” series. While horror fans recognize her from Escape Room and its sequel, Escape Room: Tournament of Champions, the versatile actress has captured gamers’ attention as Laufey, Kratos’ wife in God of War: Ragnarök. She’ll receive her solo spinoff game in the upcoming God of War: Laufey.
As for Jordan Downey, The Cycle will mark his long-awaited feature follow-up to the underseen gem, The Head Hunter, but the rising filmmaker also has sci-fi thriller Override on the way.
Stay tuned for more.