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‘Spider Island’ – Director Christopher Smith to Pit Deadly Spiders Against Influencers in Horror Comedy

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Arachnophobia spider
Pictured: 'Arachnophobia'

Horror Director Christopher Smith (ConsecrationBlack Death, Triangle, and Severance) is getting ready to unleash arachnophobia-inducing horror-comedy madness in Spider Island. The project was announced today by Protagonist Pictures’ CEO Dave Bishop.

Spider Island “follows a group of social media influencers going to the launch party of a new luxury resort on a beautiful island. With deadly spiders.”

The film is written by Christopher Jolley (The Price We Pay) and David Quantick (HBO’s “Veep,” “The Thick of It”). Vertigo Films will produce the film, and Protagonist Pictures is handling worldwide rights, launching sales ahead of the upcoming American Film Market.

While the specifics behind these lethal spiders remain under wraps, we at least know that they’ll be handled via VFX.

From the press release: “The state-of-the-art VFX will be handled by AUTOMATIK VFX, the visual effects studio responsible for the brilliant creature design on Monsters Dark Continent, ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘The Wheel Of Time.’  Seb Barker (Amazon Studio’s ‘The Wheel of Time,’ BAFTA nominee The Girl With All the Gifts) will serve as VFX supervisor.”

“For a while now, I’ve been searching for the perfect project to create another horror that strikes a balance between laughs and screams, with the potential to truly stand out,’’ says Smith. “The script for Spider Island checks all the boxes, and I can’t wait to bring the audiences on that rollercoaster with me!”

“We couldn’t be more excited to be partnering with world class distributors on this wild concept straight from the minds of some of the best genre creatives in the industry,” said Protagonist’s CEO, Dave Bishop. “Christopher’s remarkable ability to blend humor and terror will undoubtedly provide the perfect movie experience for horror-comedy enthusiasts around the world. We cannot wait to see Spider Island come to life…metaphorically that is.”

“We are thrilled to be working with Chris and serving up equal measures of scares and laughs all set on a magically exotic island. It will be a cinematic feast for all the senses!” added Allan Niblo, Co-founder, Vertigo Films.

Production is set to begin early next year in Mauritius.

Horror journalist, RT Top Critic, and Critics Choice Association member. Co-Host of the Bloody Disgusting Podcast. Has appeared on PBS series' Monstrum, served on the SXSW Midnighter shorts jury, and moderated horror panels for WonderCon and SeriesFest.

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The Birthday Murders: Viral Marketing Website Launches for ‘Longlegs’

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NEON has been absolutely slaying the marketing game for their horror output this year, and they’re kicking the Longlegs campaign into high gear with one more month until release.

A cryptic ad in The Seattle Times today (seen below) has led clever horror fans to discover TheBirthdayMurders.net, the brand new official viral marketing website for Longlegs.

The in-universe website details the victims of the serial killer known as Longlegs (Nicolas Cage), described as a “Satan-worshipping psycho” who has terrorized families throughout the Pacific Northwest for nearly three decades.

The website details, “A bloody trail of bodies here in the great state of Oregon attests to the depraved savagery of this one-of-a-kind serial killer. With over three dozen victims that we know of, LONGLEGS is one of the most prolific mass murderers ever to have graced the region, and his gruesome endeavors are the stuff of nightmares. At first, all of the killings appeared to be straightforward murder-suicides: the handiwork of average men who suddenly snapped and slaughtered their wives and children. But a series of eerie coded messages left at the crime scenes indicate that someone – or something – is influencing these horrific crimes. The cryptic letters are signed by someone calling himself LONGLEGS.”

“With thirty-eight kills to his name, LONGLEGS has torn apart the lives of eleven different families throughout the Beaver State. His victims were good people: honest fathers, decent mothers, innocent little children.”

The website is loaded with secrets, clues, and gruesome (faux) crime scene photos, and you might even find a mention of yours truly nestled in there. Poke around. Stay a while.

Longlegs arrives in theaters July 12.

The upcoming serial killer horror movie marks the return of director Osgood Perkins (The Blackcoat’s Daughter, Gretel & Hansel). Nicolas Cage stars alongside Maika Monroe, with Monroe playing an FBI agent and Cage playing a serial killer.

In the film, “FBI Agent Lee Harker (Monroe) is a gifted new recruit assigned to the unsolved case of an elusive serial killer (Cage). As the case takes complex turns, unearthing evidence of the occult, Harker discovers a personal connection to the merciless killer and must race against time to stop him before he claims the lives of another innocent family.

The film is rated “R” for “Bloody violence, disturbing images and some language.”

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