Director Joe Dante ventures into Labirintus

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Joe Dante has signed on to direct a new supernatural thriller. "Directed by Joe Dante" is really all I need to know to be sold on the project, it doesn't matter what it's called or what it's about, it's being directed by Joe Dante, so I'll be watching it. But let's dig further into the details anyway.

The latest genre offering from the director of PIRANHA, THE HOWLING, GREMLINS 1 & 2, THE HOLE, and BURYING THE EX is called LABIRINTUS. It tells the story of 

a paranormal investigator and psychiatric researcher who join forces to explore an abandoned subterranean Soviet research facility, hidden within Hungary’s Budapest Labyrinth, the dark twisting catacombs beneath Buda Castle. When supernatural forces confound and torment the group, they begin to question their own sanity. To escape they must quash their fears and lead their team to find and destroy the dark heart of the maze.

This sounds very promising. I have to admit, up to a point I found the "exploring catacombs" film AS ABOVE, SO BELOW to be very creepy, it just started to fall apart for me as it neared the ending. Since this deals with a similar scenario, I would love to see LABIRINTUS capture an even creepier tone and hold up all the way through.

LABIRINTUS is being financed and co-produced by Goldcrest, who will be handling global sales and are taking the project to the upcoming American Film Market. Its producers are Fabrice Lambot of Metaluna Productions, Lucy Mukerjee-Brown of Mukerjee-Brown Productions, Elizabeth Stanley of Elizabeth Stanley Pictures, and Jean-Charles Levy of Forecast Pictures. Nick Quested and Pascal Degove of Goldcrest executive produce.

The plan is for the film to enter production next spring.

Buda Castle