In a move that seems all too obvious, Warner Bros. and Vertigo Entertainment have spawned a new production wing dedicated to low-budget, high-yield genre material. The venture is called Primal Pictures, headed by Roy Lee, John Middleton and Lawrence Grey. Of their upcoming slate of new movies, we’ve already written about a couple. Even so, there are a few new projects in the mix definitely worth keeping an eye on…
One such project is called THE CURE, a script by Beau Michael Thorne about a dying woman whose husband arranges for experimental medical treatment, only to discover the cure has horrific consequences.
Another new feature in the works is VIRAL, a Screen Gems thriller about a vengeful spirit that terrorizes a high school student after someone uses her Facebook account to leave cruel messages on a dead classmate’s page, with Tim and Matt Shechmeister directing an expansion of their UCLA short film.
Also headed down the pike is RISE, a Warner Bros action/sci-fi film that takes a fresh look at the war between robots and their human creators, which David Karlak (the short film The Candidate) will direct with Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunston writing the script.
Lastly is TAPE 4, a spec by Jeremy Slater that’s a horror film that incorporates Lovecraftian mythology into a modern setting. Laurent Briet, a music video and visual effects maven, will direct.
Of the four, the second and last are definitely the most found-footage friendly. Two other flicks we’ve written about, HIDDEN and THE VATICAN, will be part of Primal Pictures as well. While HIDDEN is the most expensive, even at $10 million, the thought here is to do INSIDIOUS, P.A., THE DEVIL INSIDE (above), CHRONICLE, PROJECT X type business.
More on each of these flicks as they move through production…
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