Barry L. Levy to direct Boston Strangler film Stranglehold

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Albert DeSalvo

Barry L. Levy got his film career started by writing the David DeCoteau-helmed genre films THE BROTHERHOOD and WOLVES OF WALL STREET, following those up with the bigger budgeted thrillers VANTAGE POINT and PARANOIA. Levy is now set to make his directorial debut with a film inspired by the true crime case of the Boston Strangler.

Titled STRANGLEHOLD, Levy's movie will tell 

the untold true story of the Boston Strangler Task Force, which was assembled as a special unit by the Massachusetts Attorney General to stop the serial killer after more than a dozen unsolved murders in the early 1960s. What no one could have predicted was that this group, led by a disgraced Boston Police Detective and a Hollywood psychic, would unearth an even more heinous crime.

The Boston Strangler crimes were attributed to Albert DeSalvo, who confessed and was sentenced to life in prison in 1967. He was stabbed to death in prison in 1973.

STRANGLEHOLD is being financed by The Solution Entertainment Group, with Myles Nestel and Lisa Wilson producing the film alongside Todd Garner and Sean Robins of Broken Road. Stephen Emery serves as executive producer.

I don't know much about the Boston Strangler case at all, but the plot description for this film makes it sound like Levy is working with a very interesting story.

Casting on STRANGLEHOLD will soon commence, and given the fact that some of the movies Levy has written have featured impressive A-list cast members, I'm looking forward to seeing who he assembles now that he's behind the camera.

Paranoia Amber Heard

Amber Heard in PARANOIA

Source: Variety

About the Author

Cody is a news editor and film critic, focused on the horror arm of JoBlo.com, and writes scripts for videos that are released through the JoBlo Originals and JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channels. In his spare time, he's a globe-trotting digital nomad, runs a personal blog called Life Between Frames, and writes novels and screenplays.