Woody Norman (Cobweb, The Last Voyage of the Demeter) and Billie Piper (“Penny Dreadful“, “Doctor Who“) are set to lead Obey writer-director Jamie Jones’s supernatural horror Sketchbook, ScreenDaily reported late last week.
Production will begin in Wales in early 2027.
The supernatural horror film follows “a 14-year-old struggling to find his place back home with his mother after years in foster care. When a group of teenage misfits introduces him to a cursed sketchbook that makes anything drawn inside it come true, he finally finds a way to get everything he wants – friendship, attention and a chance to belong. But as the drawings grow darker and more dangerous, he discovers something inside the book is using him.“
“With Sketchbook, I want to create horror that feels immediate, grounded and impossible to escape,” said Jones. “The book starts as something exciting and irresistible, but also serves as a metaphor for bullying – the fantasy of turning the tables on your tormentor.
“As curiosity becomes obsession, the desire for revenge unleashes terrifying consequences. For me, realism starts with performance. As I did on Obey, I’ll work closely with young actors to create authentic relationships and group dynamics, grounding the horror in relationships and behaviour that feel completely real.”
“Jamie Jones is an incredibly exciting storyteller and has the unique ability to access something deeply human beneath the horror. Sketchbook taps into the adolescent experience in a profoundly moving yet unnerving way,” producer David Lancaster (Whiplash) adds.
Norman recently portrayed King Richard II in covert Robin Hood film The Uprising, while Piper appeared as music professor Isadora Capri in season two of Netflix’s “Wednesday”.
Stay tuned.
