Movies
‘Spider Island’ – Director Christopher Smith to Pit Deadly Spiders Against Influencers in Horror Comedy
Horror Director Christopher Smith (Consecration, Black 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.
Andrzej Żuławski’s 1981 psychological horror movie Possession is getting a remake from Smile writer/director Parker Finn, and Deadline reports that The Batman actor Paul Dano has joined the cast.
No word at this time on character details, though.
The original film starred Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neill as a married couple in Cold War-era West Berlin whose relationship spirals into a supernatural nightmare. In Finn’s update, Margaret Qualley and Callum Turner will star as the turbulent couple in Finn’s Possession, and Adjani has officially given her blessing on Qualley’s casting.
Parker Finn is writing and directing the new take on Possession.
He’s also producing alongside Jonathan Fass via Bad Feeling, along with Roy Lee and Andrew Childs via Vertigo, and Robert Pattinson. Marc Bienstock is serving as exec producer.
Our own Brian Keiper celebrated Possession‘s 40th anniversary here on BD back in 2021, writing: “Few movies depict emotional turmoil as effectively and daringly as Andrzej Zulawksi’s Possession. It is a challenging and sometimes inscrutable film, both for the mind and the emotions. Zulawski struggles through a number of deep issues throughout the course of the film; issues that speak to some of humanity’s deepest pains and fears. In many ways it is about loss— loss of political ideals, loss of faith, and loss of innocence. But most of all, Possession is about the fear, pain, and anger that comes from the loss of a marriage.”
This will mark Dano’s first horror role. The actor previously appeared in sci-fi hits Looper and Okja.
Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neill in Possession
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