Exclusives
‘The Blair Witch Project’ Returns!? (Exclusive)
EXCLUSIVE: I’m hearing rumblings of some major happenings over at Lionsgate that I haven’t had a chance to confirm yet. But, now that you’re reading this, I’m officially poking the bear(s) in hopes of gaining clarity.
In a potential monstrous exclusive (please, no eggs to the face!), an insider is telling us that Lionsgate is already in production on a new entry to the The Blair Witch Project series!
Is it a remake? Is it a sequel? Is it a spinoff? We aren’t sure. BUT, it’s quite possible that the newly announced The Woods, which is being directed by Adam Wingard from a screenplay by Simon Barrett, is said film. We just don’t know for sure.
The Woods‘ plot is being kept very much under wraps, which only lends credence to this theory. What we know is that it does, “…involve a group of college students on a camping trip who discover they are not alone.” If that doesn’t sound like the perfect foundation for a new Blair Witch film, I don’t know what would!
If this story proves true, the new Blair Witch is being produced by Keith Calder and Jessica Wu of Snoot (You’re Next, The Guest), Roy Lee (Poltergeist, The Ring) and Steven Schneider (Paranormal Activity, Insidious). That’s quite a team!
Rumors about a third Blair Witch have been swirling for years. Back just this past January Blair Witch co-director Eduardo Sanchez said a sequel was inevitable.
The 1999 The Blair Witch Project made a whopping $248M at the box office, which had Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, the non-found-footage sequel in theaters by 2000. It was a huge flop and canned the series for the past 15 years. To me, a third Blair Witch is a no-brainer, and always has been. How exciting would this be?!
And…could we finally see “The Witch” this time around?!
I’m going to see what I can find out this weekend and update the story accordingly.
Exclusives
‘Family Dinner’ Director Peter Hengl Returns With Gothic Short ‘The Fated Hour’ [Exclusive]
Family Dinner filmmaker Peter Hengl is back with “The Fated Hour“, a nightmarish Gothic short film executive produced by Kier-La Janisse (Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror), and we have the exclusive first look.
“The Fated Hour” will begin its festival run this summer, with Severin Films handling the film’s North American release.
The synopsis: “Austria, 1810. Three days before her wedding, Florentine visits the grave of her younger sister Seraphine — brilliant, otherworldly, and gone too soon. As the ceremony approaches, Florentine finds herself unable to share in her bridegroom Bruno’s joy. Over dinner, she recounts to him the strange and melancholy story of Seraphine’s life and death — and of the dark legacy she left behind. Soon it becomes clear that Florentine is not merely mourning her sister…“
Alina Schaller (Breaking the Ice), Fanny Altenburger (Counterpart), Cornelius Obonya, and Daniel Holzberg (The Zone of Interest) star.
The short is a 19th-century period piece set in Austria based on Friedrich Laun’s short story “The Relationship with the Spirit World,” famously cited as a key influence on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
Shot on location in Austria, the film is produced by Hengl and Lola Basara of Vienna-based Capra Film with support from Stadt Wien Kultur (MA7) and the Lower Austrian Film Commission.
“The Fated Hour” was commissioned by Kier-La Janisse with Severin’s founders, David Gregory and Carl Daft, as Executive Producers.
“I’m very excited to have Peter Hengl’s Austrian ghost story joining our growing family of original gothic shorts,” said Janisse. “Especially with all the incredible heritage locations and rich period detail.“
Hengl added: “The oldest gothic dread is always the most modern: that fate cannot be outrun. I was fortunate to explore this timeless story alongside performers who understood completely that the past and the present are never truly separate—that some things bleed through. For the production, we used analog distortions like various lenses and mirrors not just to evoke a retro vibe, but also to represent the spirit world in the film.“
Check out the first images below, and be sure to watch Family Dinner on Screambox while we wait for “The Fated Hour”.
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