Welcome to another horror round-up! In this edition, we take a look at new posters for a pair of movies making their premieres in the Midnighters section at the SXSW Film Festival later this month: The Boy (which sounds a little like Stevan Mena's Bereavement) and The Invitation (the new film from Jennifer's Body director Karyn Kusama). We also have details on Descendant, a new spec script from the writer who penned the screenplay adaptation of Clive Barker's The Midnight Meat Train.
The Boy: "It’s the summer of 1989. 9-year-old Ted Henley (Jared Breeze) and his father John (David Morse) are the proprietors of The Mt. Vista Motel, a crumbling resort buried in the mountains of the American West. Since Ted's mother left, John has drifted into despondency—leaving Ted to fend for himself. In this isolation, unchecked by the bounds of parenting, Ted’s darker impulses begin to manifest. The arrival of a mysterious drifter, William Colby (Rainn Wilson), captivates young Ted and the two form a unique friendship - setting the stage for Ted’s final, unnerving metamorphosis. THE BOY is a chilling, intimate portrait of a 9-year-old sociopath's growing fascination with death."
Directed by Craig William Macneill off a screenplay he co-scribed with Clay McLeod Chapman, The Boy stars Jared Breeze, David Morse, and Rainn Wilson. A SpectreVision Production film from Chiller, The Boy will premiere as a Midnighters selection at the Alamo Ritz on Saturday, March 14th, at the SXSW Film Festival.
The Invitation: "Will and Eden were once a loving couple. After a tragedy took their son, Eden disappeared. Two years later, out of the blue, she returns with a new husband... and as a different person, eerily changed and eager to reunite with her ex and those she left behind.
Over the course of a dinner party in the house that was once his, the haunted Will is gripped by mounting evidence that Eden and her new friends have a mysterious and terrifying agenda. But can we trust Will's hold on reality? Or will he be the unwitting catalyst of the doom he senses?"
Directed by Karyn Kusama off a screenplay by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi (who also produce the project), The Invitation stars Logan Marshall-Green, Tammy Blanchard, Michiel Huisman, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Lindsay Burdge, John Carroll Lynch, Mike Doyle, Michelle Krusiec, Marieh Delfino, and Jay Larson.
A Midnighters selection, The Invitation will make its world premiere at the Alamo Lamar A at the SXSW Film Festival on Saturday, March 14th.
To see stills from The Invitation, visit:
Descendant: Deadline reports that Lotus Entertainment has picked up a script titled Descendant from Vinson Films and Jeff Buhler, who wrote the effectively disturbing feature film adaptation of Clive Barker's sensational The Midnight Meat Train short story. Buhler also scribed a segement in ABCs of Death 2. Here's the plot synopsis of Descendant, which is inspired by true events:
"The plot follows a couple who are overjoyed by the birth of their son. But as he grows older he begins to show signs of genius-level intelligence, which change him in chilling ways, leaving his parents and doctors wondering if his talents are natural or if there is some other force influencing him."
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
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