Movies
Trapped in a Laundry Room with a Serial Killer
Barcelona’s Roxbury Pics, Colombia’s Dynamo Capital and Antena 3 Films will produce Callejon (Blind Alley), the feature film debut of Spanish screenwriter Antonio Trashorras. Spain-based Cuban actress Ana de Armas (The Boarding School, Sex, Party and Lies) will take the lead role, playing a young woman, Rosa, who — trapped in a laundry during a long and hellish night — attempts to escape from a serial murderer. Trashorras co-wrote the script of Guillermo del Toro’s chiller The Devil’s Backbone. He recently penned the Roxbury-produced Agnosia, Eugenio Mira’s period psychological thriller, which Filmax Intl. has sold worldwide save for the U.S., Japan and Brazil. Spanish-language Callejon, which rolls early 2011 in Spain and at Colombian studios, is “an action thriller that finishes up as a horror film, a lowish-budget film with a twist,” Faura told Variety. The project is in the vein of Gallic horror standouts High Tension or Them.
Hollywood is serious about landing the next Backrooms. Hot on the heels of a Siren Head feature announcement, Deadline reports that a new movie based on viral YouTube series The Mandela Catalogue is in development.
It also has some Hollywood heavy hitters behind it.
Amblin Entertainment’s Steven Spielberg, United Artists’ Scott Stuber (Frankenstein), and Amazon MGM Studios are set to produce, emerging victorious after a highly competitive 11-studio bidding war.
Launched in 2021, the YouTube series is set in the fictional Mandela County, Wisconsin which is “invaded by shape-shifting, nearly immortal creatures called Alternates. The Alternates are led by a false depiction of the Archangel Gabriel and their aim is to wipe out the human race by psychologically torturing them to the point of suicide. The Alternates are known for manipulating AV media, TVs, computers and GPS systems.”
The movie will be directed by the series’ creator, Alex Kister, based on a screenplay he adapted with Tyler Clifton.
The Mandela Catalogue has racked up an impressive 100 million views across its official episodes alone, solidifying it as one of the largest original analog horror franchises on YouTube.
Spielberg and Holly Bario are producing for Amblin Entertainment alongside Aaron B. Koontz for Paper Street Pictures and Stuber and Nick Nesbitt for United Artists. Kister and Clifton are also producing. Annie McCreery will oversee the project for United Artists. Maria Fortese will oversee for Amblin.
Get acquainted with The Mangela Catalogue below while we wait to learn more.