Young adult horror novel Dark Eden being prepped for the big screen

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Yes, another young adult book you’ve most likely never heard of is making news for its upcoming transition to the big screen… However, this one (refreshingly) doesn’t feature vampires, werewolves, angels, demons, trolls, elves or any of the other played-out cliches most of these YA novels deal with. Actually, it sounds pretty interesting.

The book in question is Patrick Carman’s DARK EDEN, which is currently in development with Dan Angel, of production company the Hatchery, on as a producer. The plan is to forge a series of movies with multimedia components.

Here’s the synopsis for DARK EDEN:


Fifteen-year-old Will Besting is sent by his doctor to Fort Eden, an institution meant to help patients suffering from crippling phobias. Once there, Will and six other teenagers take turns in mysterious fear chambers and confront their worst nightmares—with the help of the group facilitator, Rainsford, an enigmatic guide. When the patients emerge from the chamber, they feel emboldened by the previous night’s experiences. But each person soon discovers strange, unexplained aches and pains. . . . What is really happening to the seven teens trapped in this dark Eden?

There’s a potential for creepiness there; we don’t get too many legitimately scary teen-oriented films nowadays, so perhaps DARK EDEN will deliver. (Or maybe that’s just hoping for too much…)

No director or screenwriter has been announced yet.

Source: Variety

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Eric Walkuski is a longtime writer, critic, and reporter for JoBlo.com. He's been a contributor for over 15 years, having written dozens of reviews and hundreds of news articles for the site. In addition, he's conducted almost 100 interviews as JoBlo's New York correspondent.