Movies
Dogs Attack Adrian Garcia Bogliano’s ‘Late Phases’
MPI’s Dark Sky Films today announced that it has entered into a co-production agreement with producer Zak Zeman’s company Site B, to make the genre feature film Late Phases, which will be directed by rising star Adrian Garcia Bogliano (Penumbra, Here Comes The Devil). Best known for being the executive producer of the much talked about horror anthology V/H/S, Zeman will now lend his talents to this new production, which will be directed by one of the most creative young voices in filmmaking today. The script is written by Under the Bed‘s Eric Stolze and shooting is scheduled to start shooting in 2013.
The deal was negotiated at this year’s Fantastic Fest by Zeman, MPI Executive Vice President Greg Newman and Bogliano.
“‘Late Phases’ will tell the story of Ambrose McKinley, a blind war veteran, who moves into a community where the residents have been dying in increasing numbers – oddly, all have supposedly been the victims of dog attacks. But after barely surviving his own attack on his first night there, Ambrose discovers that the assailants are not just canines – they are entirely different and far more terrifying.“
Zak Zeman got his start as an executive producer on A Horrible Way to Die. In addition to being part of the producing team for the horror anthology V/H/S, he also produced the action thriller The Aggression Scale, and Steve C. Miller’s Under the Bed.
“I’ve always been drawn to the horror genre, and with a great partner like Dark Sky Films, we once again have all the right elements in place to create another successful hit,” said Zeman
MPI’s Greg Newman added, “Adrian’s vision has proven to be a repeated success while Zak’s creative voice and outstanding work has convinced us that his taste in film development aligns with our own. We’re confident that this partnership will make ;Late Phases’ another audience favorite.”
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with two of the most cutting edge producers in film today. Working with MPI on HERE COMES THE DEVIL has proven that our chemistry is unparalleled and I can’t wait to get started,” said Adrian Garcia Bogliano.
Recent successes from MPI and its Dark Sky Films brand include Here Comes The Devil, Ti West’s The Innkeepers, upcoming Hatchet 3, and the highly anticipated Frankenstein’s Army.
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
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