Earlier this year I caught wind of a promising indie that was about to play the Slamdance Film Festival; it was called Atrocious, and I remember thinking "Man, with a title like that, the movie better be decent. Film critics LOVE words like 'atrocious.'" Fortunately I have no problem enjoying "found footage" horror films, provided they add a new wrinkle to the sub-genre, and I wasn't alone in finding things to like about Atrocious. In addition to my own review (at FEARnet), our own Todd Brown dug the flick, as did Steve Barton (at Dread Central) and Ryan Daley (at Bloody-Disgusting).
So guess what? You heard it here at ScreenAnarchy first, an English-language version is coming.
Our sources are telling us that producers Jason Blum (Paranormal Activity) and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones (Insidious) were also impressed with Atrocious at Slamdance. Impressed enough, apparently, that they have picked up rights for an American remake. Blum and Kavanaugh-Jones have become frequent collaborators, having recently teamed up on Insidious, which was picked up Sony at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. Their next production is Rob Zombie's The Lords of Salem, which begins production this fall.
Helmed by first-time writer/director Fernando Barreda Luna, Atrocious plays like so: "In April of 2010, Spanish police reported the discovery of 37 hours of recorded evidence that shed new light on a gruesome murder investigation. The found footage documents a family of five spending their holidays at their summer house, where brother-and-sister Cristian and July Quintanilla pass the time investigating a terrifying local urban legend. As their investigation intensifies, strange occurrences in and around the house escalate rapidly, before culminating in unspeakable atrocities."
The original film has already been sold in most major territories by international sales agency Celluloid Nightmares, and we're also hearing rumblings about the arrival of the original here on American shores. Rest assured that ScreenAnarchy will bring you the new details on both films as soon as they become official!
Not directly tied to the remake but still relevant (or at least interesting) is word that Atrocious director Fernando Barreda Luna has signed on with L.A.-based management firm Principal Entertainment, more specifically Josh Kesselman and Danny Sherman, who also manage ScreenAnarchy favorite Ole Bornedal - currently shooting Dibbuk Box for Sam Raimi - so there could very well be an English language project or two in Mr. Luna's future.
So guess what? You heard it here at ScreenAnarchy first, an English-language version is coming.
Our sources are telling us that producers Jason Blum (Paranormal Activity) and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones (Insidious) were also impressed with Atrocious at Slamdance. Impressed enough, apparently, that they have picked up rights for an American remake. Blum and Kavanaugh-Jones have become frequent collaborators, having recently teamed up on Insidious, which was picked up Sony at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. Their next production is Rob Zombie's The Lords of Salem, which begins production this fall.
Helmed by first-time writer/director Fernando Barreda Luna, Atrocious plays like so: "In April of 2010, Spanish police reported the discovery of 37 hours of recorded evidence that shed new light on a gruesome murder investigation. The found footage documents a family of five spending their holidays at their summer house, where brother-and-sister Cristian and July Quintanilla pass the time investigating a terrifying local urban legend. As their investigation intensifies, strange occurrences in and around the house escalate rapidly, before culminating in unspeakable atrocities."
The original film has already been sold in most major territories by international sales agency Celluloid Nightmares, and we're also hearing rumblings about the arrival of the original here on American shores. Rest assured that ScreenAnarchy will bring you the new details on both films as soon as they become official!
Not directly tied to the remake but still relevant (or at least interesting) is word that Atrocious director Fernando Barreda Luna has signed on with L.A.-based management firm Principal Entertainment, more specifically Josh Kesselman and Danny Sherman, who also manage ScreenAnarchy favorite Ole Bornedal - currently shooting Dibbuk Box for Sam Raimi - so there could very well be an English language project or two in Mr. Luna's future.