Neil Marshall’s Halloween horrorshow Hellfest scores a new writer

Last Updated on July 23, 2021

It was brought to our attention last month that CBS Films’ had hired Neil Marshall (pictured above) to helm the Halloween-themed slasher HELLFEST, which sounds like a perfect pairing. For a refresher,
HELLFEST is about what happens at a Halloween theme park when one of the costumed characters is actually killing the patrons who think it’s all part of the show.

Impossible not to like where that’s going, as far as I’m concerned. According to The Wrap, CBS Films is looking to start shooting in the summer and wants to turn this baby into a franchise, but first the screenplay apparently needs a major touch-up, so the studio has given Gary Dauberman the task of re-writing it.

Dauberman’s credits include BLOOD MONKEY and SWAMP DEVIL. While that’s Syfy-type fare, he’s evidently establishing himself as a horror scribe to watch, having just re-worked the spontaneous combustion thriller BURST (which also has Marshall attached) for Sam Raimi and Ghost House. He’s also got the original horror tale CRAWLSPACE set up at New Line Cinema.

Gale Anne Hurd (“The Walking Dead”) is producing HELLFEST, which hopefully stays on track for its summer production. We’ll keep you in the loop as more info comes in.

Mari-Pier Gaudet, from the Dauberman-penned SWAMP DEVIL