Michelle Garza Cervera (Huesera: The Bone Woman, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle) is set to direct an adaptation of Laura van den Berg‘s psychological horror mystery novel The Third Hotel, Deadline reports.
Isa Mazzei (Faces of Death, Cam) will pen the script, with FirstGen (The Testament of Ann Lee, Splitsville) producing.
The Third Hotel follows “Clare, a recent widow who travels to Latin America weeks after her husband Richard’s mysterious death, driven by the need to understand her role in his early passing. Lost in a new, unfamiliar city, she spots a man in the street, and it’s not just someone who looks like Richard, it’s him in the flesh.
“What begins as a skeptical pursuit of Richard’s double quickly devolves into an all-consuming obsession, unraveling Clare’s grip on reality and pulling her into a liminal nightmare where she is suspended between the living and the dead.”
“I’m so thrilled to work on an adaptation of such an eerie and brilliant novel alongside Isa Mazzei, whose work I’m a real fan of, and FirstGen, who have made films I love,” said Cervera. “I’m honored to be part of it.”
“The book is wonderfully surreal and deeply unsettling in a way that lingered with me,” Mazzei added. “I’m excited to be able to translate that feeling into a cinematic experience, and I feel lucky to be collaborating with such a thoughtful and talented team.”
“This is a wonderful creative team adapting a haunting and beautiful book,” commented Michael D’Alto of FirstGen. “We are honored to work with them to actualize their vision, and can’t wait for everyone to see this film.”
Published in 2018 by Picador, The Third Hotel was a finalist for the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award.
