Movies
‘How to Sell a Haunted House’ – Sam Raimi’s Ghost House to Produce Film Adaptation of Grady Hendrix Novel
Best-selling horror author Grady Hendrix’s latest novel, How to Sell a Haunted House, was released earlier this year, and an adaptation is already on the way.
Legendary Entertainment won movie rights, per Variety, and tapped Coming Home in the Dark filmmaker James Ashcroft to helm the adaptation.
If that’s not intriguing enough, Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert’s Ghost House Pictures will produce the film with Hendrix (My Best Friend’s Exorcism) and Adam Goldworm’s Aperture Entertainment. Romel Adam and Jose Cañas will oversee for Ghost House.
Hendrix will adapt his own novel for the screen.
Fans of Hendrix’s novel know this is no ordinary haunted house.
The novel’s official synopsis: “When Louise finds out her parents have died, she dreads going home. She doesn’t want to leave her daughter with her ex and fly to Charleston. She doesn’t want to deal with her family home, stuffed to the rafters with the remnants of her father’s academic career and her mother’s lifelong obsession with puppets and dolls. She doesn’t want to learn how to live without the two people who knew and loved her best in the world. Most of all, she doesn’t want to deal with her brother, Mark, who never left their hometown, gets fired from one job after another, and resents her success. Unfortunately, she’ll need his help to get the house ready for sale because it’ll take more than some new paint on the walls and clearing out a lifetime of memories to get this place on the market. But some houses don’t want to be sold, and their home has other plans for both of them…”
This premise doesn’t reveal, but book readers know well, that Hendrix’s latest introduces nightmare fuel in the form of Pupkin, a malevolent puppet with a severe grudge.
Hendrix’s blend of horror and heart continues, and it’ll be interesting to see how Ashcroft approaches it. Coming Home in the Dark, currently available to stream on Netflix, is the horror of the bleakest variety.
Stay tuned for more developments on How to Sell a Haunted House. In the meantime, an entire slate of Hendrix adaptations is in the works. Novels We Sold Our Souls and Horrorstör are set to be adapted for New Republic. Final Girl Support Group is also in development at HBO Max with It director Andy Muschietti and Charlize Theron among the producers.
Sunrise Films has announced the official North American release of William Bagley‘s horror comedy Hold the Fort, and it’s accompanied by an energetic new trailer.
Hold the Fort debuts on digital platforms on June 23.
In the film, “Lucas and Jenny think their life is finally coming together when the couple become homeowners. Little do they know that their new house comes with a big catch. Lucas and Jenny soon find themselves in a fight for their lives when they become trapped in a battle between their Homeowners Association and an onslaught of monsters from hell. The horror-comedy takes the timely concern of home-ownership and wraps this up in an entertaining action-packed thrill ride.“
Watch the new trailer below, which introduces one wild HOA gathering during an equinox. Things get bloody fast.
Chris Mayers (Adult Swim Yule Log), Haley Leary (“The Walking Dead”), Levi Burdick, and Julian Smith star.
William Bagley writes and directs, in addition to producing with Smith, Matt Dodd, Luke Williams, and Tim Reis (Adult Swim Yule Log).
Ahead of the release, Bagley said, “My goal with this film was to make a hilarious, fast-paced thrill ride while also telling a great story with heart. Hopefully, through all the blood, laughs, fights, and gags, you leave the film feeling inspired to tackle whatever life throws at you.“
Hold the Fort premiered at Fantasia last summer before going on to play FrightFest London, Toronto After Dark, and Beyond Fest.
I wrote in my review, “It’s an infectiously charming assemblage of jokes and monster vignettes bound together by a barebones plot with not much on its mind beyond delivering an entertaining time.”
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