Movies
‘Extraterrestrial’ Directors Head to the ‘Temple’
The irony here is special.
Awhile back, Colin Minihan and Stuart Ortiz, directors of Extraterrestrial (pictured), slammed our V/H/S films on their Twitter account. We threw some jabs back and forth before hugging it out.
The reason I bring this up is because the duo are now attached to direct Temple, an old script (originally titled “Haunted Temple”) by Simon Barrett, who co-wrote two of the V/H/S films and directed the wrap of the sequel. That’s sort of funny, no?
It’s said to be in the vein of The Grudge and The Ring.
The screenplay was originally written for Hellbenders‘ JT Petty (who also contributed to the screenplay) in 2011, who exited the project some years ago. Barrett has gone on to write You’re Next, as well as The Guest and Lionsgate’s upcoming The Woods (allegedly the next Blair Witch film) for Adam Wingard.
As a tie-in with the film, a book of ghost stories surrounding various real temples in Japan will also be released. Written by Eiji Otsuka, the book will be featured in the film because one of the chapters focuses on the fictional temple in the project. Toei Animation will also create a 15-part anime series based on this book.
Shooting will take place in Japan.
Neal Edelstein of Hooked Digital Media, Shinya Egawa of Hemisphere Motion Picture Partners, Eric Bassett of Absurda and Mike Macari are producing while Toei Animation in Japan is financing.
A contemporary reimagining of H.P. Lovecraft’s short story Herbert West: Reanimator is on the way, and Deadline has unveiled the first look at the new Herbert West and the pathologist drawn to his orbit.
The original screenplay and storyline come from Jade Sandberg Wallis.
Michael Grossman (“The Originals”, “Pretty Little Liars”) directs.
The new images introduce star Joseph Morgan (“Vampire Diaries“), who plays “brilliant surgeon and scientist Herbert West, who is obsessed with creating a serum to reanimate the dead.” Katie Cassidy (Speed Demon) stars opposite as the pathologist with a troubled past who joins his efforts.
Together, they prove that conquering death may be the ultimate sin against life itself.
The film’s official synopsis: “As a child, Herbert West watches his father Peter reanimate his dead mother Judith in a secret basement lab — only for Judith to mortally wound Peter and nearly kill Herbert before Peter shoots her. The trauma leaves its mark on Herbert, but so does one final image: his mother’s finger, twitching after death. Thirty years later, Herbert West is a brilliant, secretive surgeon still chasing his father’s obsession.
“Pathologist Kate Locke arrives in town and is drawn into his orbit — first through a spark at a hospital fundraiser, then through his secret lab, where he reveals a serum capable of reanimating severed tissue. Kate, hiding a dark past of her own, is thrilled rather than horrified, and moves into West’s mansion to work alongside him. Their early experiments on a cadaver succeed only briefly. West concludes that dead tissue is the problem — they need something fresher.”
Supporting cast includes Scott Aiello, Ira J Amyx, Randall Newsome, Emma Reinagal, James D. Bryce, Kathryn A Bentley, Jack Lancaster, Amy Holland Pennell, John Pierson, Mindy Shaw, Eric Dean White, Tristan Wilder Hallet, Adrienne Lamping, Aaron Crippen, and Drew Patterson.
Makeup artist Jeff Lewis (“Star Trek: Voyager,” “Star Trek: Enterprise”) and cousin Roger Lewis are heading the production via their newly established Woodlake Entertainment.
Lovecraft’s short story, first serialized in Home Brew magazine in 1922, is the first among his works to mention the fictional Miskatonic University. It was most famously adapted into a 1985 horror movie from Stuart Gordon, starring Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West.
Herbert West: Reanimator is set in Alton, Illinois, where production is now underway.
Herbert West: Reanimator. Photo credit: Matt Lief Anderson
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