Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Antlers’ Influenced By ‘Halloween’ and ‘The Exorcist’
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Even though Stephen King is all the rage, John Carpenter films have become the hot new inspiration. In fact, Guillermo del Toro‘s next project is inspired by his Halloween.
Fox Searchlight recently acquired the supernatural horror script Antlers, written by Henry Chaisson and “Channel Zero” creator Nick Antosca. Del Toro then tapped Hostiles director Scott Cooper to helm the pic that follows a fourth-grade teacher who tries to help a troubled boy in her class, only to discover that he’s been hiding a nightmarish secret – something terrifying is coming for the boy, and she has to protect him.
Collider had the chance to speak with Cooper, who revealed that Antlers is not only inspired by Carpenter’s Halloween, but also The Exorcist.
“Well I’m currently developing Antlers,” he told the site. “I’m working with the writers now before I start writing on it, but I’m in the process of really developing that with Guillermo and it’s been a lot of fun, and very different for me.
“I was so influenced early on by the work of John Carpenter, like Halloween, or certainly The Exorcist which is a favorite of mine, or even Tarkovsky’s Stalker.
“So I’m able to bring all of that into one film which is exciting.”
Cooper says it’s his unfamiliarity with the horror genre that partially spurred del Toro to tap him for Antlers:
“[Guillermo] said I’ve obviously never seen you direct a horror film, but there’s a lot of horrific moments in your movies, so I’m more interested in someone who doesn’t work in that genre to step into it. Which is I guess a bit like Friedkin in a sense, having not directed in that genre before he took on The Exorcist. So I find that exciting, I’ve made my musical of sorts and my personal film with Out of the Furnace and my anti-gangster gangster movie, and then the Western… [Guillermo is] fantastic and so supportive and wildly imaginative, so it’s really been a great collaboration. I’m very fortunate that he asked me to do this.”
Watch this spot for more when Cooper and del Toro begin the casting process later this year.
It’s now been five years since the release of sequel Happy Death Day 2U, Christopher Landon’s sequel to the Groundhog Day-style slasher movie from 2017. Both films star Jessica Rothe as final girl Tree Gelbman, and director Christopher Landon had been planning on bringing the character – and the actor – back for a third installment. So… where is it?!
We’ve been talking about a potential Happy Death Day 3 for several years now, with the ball in producer Jason Blum’s court. Happy Death Day 2U scared up $64 million at the worldwide box office, a far cry from the first film’s $125 million. But with a reported production budget of just $9 million, that first sequel was profitable for Blumhouse. So again… where is it?!
Chatting with Screen Geek this week while promoting her new action-thriller Boy Kills World, franchise star Jessica Rothe provided a hopeful update on Happy Death Day 3.
“Well, I can say Chris Landon has the whole thing figured out,” Rothe explains. “We just need to wait for Blumhouse and Universal to get their ducks in a row.
Rothe continues in her comments to Screen Geek, “But my fingers are so crossed. I think Tree [Gelbman] deserves her third and final chapter to bring that incredible character and franchise to a close or a new beginning.”
Back in 2020, Christopher Landon had revealed that the working title for the third installment was Happy Death Day to Us, said to be “different than the other two films.”
In the meantime, Christopher Landon is directing a mysterious thriller titled Drop for Blumhouse and Platinum Dunes, along with a werewolf movie titled Big Bad for Lionsgate.
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