Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix) has joined the cast of Replacer, an upcoming psycho-sexual horror movie starring singer/songwriter Halsey and directed by Avan Jogia. The film, which also features The Neon Demon actor Karl Glusman and Red Rooms actress Juliette Gariépy, has recently wrapped production in Montreal.
As reported by Deadline, Moss is the latest addition to the cast of the film, which follows a troubled DJ whose encounter with an underground radio station leads to a terrifying transformation. Halsey plays Proxy, the DJ at the center of the story, in her first leading film role. She also co-wrote the screenplay with Jogia. Her previous acting credits include MaXXXine and Americana.
The full cast includes Halsey, Carrie-Anne Moss, Karl Glusman, Juliette Gariépy, Antoine Olivier Pilon, Landon Liboiron, Nhi Do, Gabriel Carter, Audrey Roger, Estelle Fournier, Joephillip Lafortune, and Martin Debreuil. Alex Ridha, better known as the electronic music producer Boys Noize, is also involved as the film’s composer.
What is Replacer about?
The official synopsis for Replacer reads:
“Stranded in Montreal, Proxy (Halsey), a troubled DJ, meets an alluring artist and his group of friends who run an underground radio station. The station’s broadcast becomes warped by a mysterious signal hidden deep beneath the city’s subway system. Proxy must escape before the sound turns her, and her new friends, into something raw, primal, and unrecognizable.”
Lilly Wachowski, one half of the filmmaking duo behind The Matrix, is among the executive producers. Wachowski was enthusiastic about the project when it was first announced, describing the screenplay as:
“A surreal hyper-dive into a twitchy, conspiratorial genre mashing snarl of horror/thriller/comedy, set against the grit and grime of a rarely glimpsed Montreal subculture.”
She also cited the influence of several filmmakers whose work appears to have helped shape the project’s sensibility, adding:
“I have the sense that Avan’s eyeballs have gulped down a steady diet of the films I grew up on — David Cronenberg, Alex Cox, Tony Scott, John Carpenter.”
Jogia offered his own description of the movie, calling Replacer:
“A bright and electric club horror mashed together with a vulnerable romantic story about belonging and community. Come together. Leave as one.”
Replacer is produced by Kyle Mann of Independent Edge, Isabelle Deluce of Soft Focus Films, and Olivier Picard and David Pierrat of Parce Que Films, with Damiano Tucci also producing. The production is in association with Doom and Gloom Inc, Anarchists United, Monarch Kaleidoscope, Aska Ventures, and Cray LA.
The executive producers are Lilly Wachowski, Colin Kelty, Ronnie Rouge, Anthony Li, Lawrence Mattis, Sarah Flores, Emily McCann Lesser, Keshi and Aaron Dadoo, Clay Epstein, Christopher Renteria, Nicolas Jacques-Bouchard, Antoine Chaume, Mathio Pellerin, Hugues Vaillancourt, Daniel Dubuc, Catherine Duguay-Blackburn, and Pierre Philippe Côte.
Boys Noize (Alex Ridha) will provide the score. His film and television scoring credits include the German thriller Who Am I and Oliver Stone’s Snowden. He also co-produced the soundtrack for TRON: Ares with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
UTA Independent Film Group and CAA Media Finance represent the film’s North American rights, while Film Mode Entertainment is handling international sales.
What do you think of the premise for Replacer, and are you interested in seeing Halsey take on her first leading film role? Let us know in the comments below.