Elijah Wood and Leigh Whannell catch Cooties

Last Updated on July 23, 2021

Last year, we reported INSIDIOUS writer Leigh Whannell was working on COOTIES, a zom-com centered on infected school children. It seems now the film is getting some traction as Elijah Wood has signed on to star in and produce the film.

Wood will be producing under the banner of his horror-oriented production company The Woodshed. He'll be sharing this behind-the-scenes credit with PARANORMAL ACTIVITY franchise producer Steven Schneider. Leigh Whannell wrote the script with GLEE co-creator Ian Brennan and describes the genesis of the story:

"My friend Ian Brennan and I wanted to write a film about one of life’s most universal experiences — hatred for precocious, adorable children. And so we started work on Cooties, a film about a virus that turns school children into monsters and therefore makes it okay to beat them up with hockey sticks."

COOTIES is to be helmed by music video director Ace Norton and will begin production April 2013. Check out the full synopsis and what appears to be a collage of early poster concept art (dating back to 2010) below.

The film begins when a mysterious virus hits an isolated elementary school, transforming the pre-adolescent children into a feral swarm of mindless savages. An unlikely hero must lead a motley band of teachers in the fight of their lives against the monstrous pupils.