While I think Alexandre Aja is one of the genre's most interesting modern filmmakers, I do feel like his career has been weighed down a bit by an overabundance of remakes. Since his breakthrough film HIGH TENSION, he has been primarily in the remake business, directing and/or writing THE HILLS HAVE EYES, MIRRORS, PIRANHA, and MANIAC, all of which were based on existing movies in varying degrees. Recently he has been branching out into adaptations of novels, with 2013's HORNS and his latest film THE 9TH LIFE OF LOUIS DRAX, which is currently in post-production.
But Aja will be heading into uncharted territory with his next directorial effort. He has made a deal with Blumhouse Productions, the home of such franchises as PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, SINISTER, INSIDIOUS, and THE PURGE, and Ian Bryce Productions to helm an original film entitled SLEEPWALKER.
Yes, I can pretty confidently say that it has nothing to do with the Stephen King/Mick Garris movie SLEEPWALKERS. What exactly SLEEPWALKER is about, though, is being kept a secret. All that has been revealed is that the screenplay, written by Jonathan Hirschbein,
involves a sleep lab study.
That's a fine set-up for any number of horrific events. I'm all for seeing more Aja horror movies, especially ones with original stories. I will definitely be keeping an eye on this project.
PIRANHA's Riley Steele
