Bloody Disgusting learned this weekend that Roxy Shih (Dark/Web, The Tribe) will direct Painkillers, a dramatic thriller with major horror elements written by Giles Daoust.
After a terrible car crash in which his son dies, brilliant surgeon John Clarke, tormented by guilt, becomes prey to an unbearable physical pain. While his marriage starts disintegrating, John soon finds out that the only thing that can ease his pain is the taste of human blood. When he encounters Herb Morris, a man who claims he can help him get his life back, John embarks upon a nightmarish journey through which he will either have to come to terms with his pain… or become a monster.
Luke Barnett (Fear, Inc.) and Vincent Masciale will produce under their Lone Suspect banner alongside Giles Daoust and Catherine Dumonceaux on behalf of Title Media. Mike Macari (The Ring franchise) and Alain Berliner (Golden Globe Winner for “My Life in Pink”) are executive producing.
Roxy Shih is an internationally acclaimed Taiwanese-American director whose work has screened at an array of festivals such as The LA Asian Pacific Film Festival, SXSW, Toronto Independent, and Dances with Films. Her feature length debut, The Tribe, won multiple awards on the festival circuit, including Best Director at Other Worlds Austin. She most recently directed the first season of Dark / Web (Hannah Marks, Nicholas Brendon), a horror and sci-fi anthology series that explores the dangers of living in a totally connected world. The series is expected to come out fall 2017.
Lone Suspect also partnered with Title Media on their last film, Fear, Inc., which stars Lucas Neff (Raising Hope), Caitlin Stasey (A.P.B.), and Academy Award nominee Abigail Breslin (“Scream Queens”). Fear, Inc. premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival where it sold to Dean Devlin’s Electric Entertainment.
Title Media’s credits include Starry Eyes (SXSW 2014) and the upcoming films Radius (Diego Klattenhoff, Charlotte Sullivan) and Hostile (Xavier Gens).
Production is scheduled to start this summer.
