Universal Buys Horror Spec GRIM NIGHT Based on Eerie Teaser Trailer

by Brendan Bettinger Posted 1 year, 233 days ago

grim-night-slice

The best premise for a horror movie is unique, but once heard, it’s surpising nobody has ever tried it before. In my opinion, that’s what Brandon Bestenheider and Allen Bey did with their spec script Grim Night. The premise: “Grim Night takes place once a year, where Grim Reapers come to Earth to collect souls.” I didn’t fully comprehend until I saw the eerie promo trailer that producers Bryan Bertino, Adrienne Biddle, and Marc Platt put together to spark interest it from the studios. It worked on me, fully tapping into my fear of the personification of death. More importantly, it worked on the studios. After a bidding war, Universal landed Grim Night with a deal in the high-six figure range (against seven figures). Watch the million dollar trailer after the jump.

The way the Youtube description is phrased makes it sound like Bertino, the writer/director behind The Strangers, shot the trailer. The report from Deadline lists Bertino only as producer, though, so I am curious to see if he will assume the reins or pass the job along to another director.

The video was uploaded on August 20, and the trailer warns that Grim Night is August 20, 2012. I don’t know if it will stick, but the filmmakers clearly have a release date in mind. One catch: August 20, 2012 is a Saturday. I would expect the date of Grim Night to line up with a Friday for marketing purposes. That said, if I saw Grim Night on October 19, I would not sleep that night. As you know, fright-induced sleeplessness is the goal of the horror film.

I’ll leave you with a few screencaps:

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Tags:

Adrienne Biddle, Allen Bey, Brandon Bestenheider, Bryan Bertino, Grim Night, Marc Platt, Universal

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Comments:

Strong Enough

But that doesnt make sense. Grim reapers collect souls of the dead every time someone dies right? that means they have to be here right now on this plane. Then them coming up here is not all that scary since there here right now. Why the hell are they collecting souls of people NOT dead? A grim reaper can’t just kill someone for the f**k of it. Thats just silly. I hope they gave us a reason for them killing people like this.
- Alex–
  
  They are obviously not THE grim reaper, but are something else, they are just called that.
  
  They no doubt will have their own mythology. I say their transdimensional aliens.
Nenad

I didn’t find the trailer scary… Maybe it’s just you Americans that feel it, maybe it’s a culture thing…
- deathon2legs
  
  Over the past 20 years or so we Americans have been forced to eat crap because that is the only thing that has been made available to us by the idiots with the money. Back in those days the crap was covered with delicious frosting. Well, now they just serve the crap without the frosting. And Americans still buy it desperately hoping for a tiny taste of that sweet icing. Some even convince themselves that they can still tatse it. So, they continue to eat it as fast as it is produced. Grim night is crap.
Relly

Reminds me of “The Gentlemen” from Buffy.
ingmar

Do they play chess?
james

If this happens one night a year, why are they acting like it’s a one time catastrophic event?
- Kitsune Hazard
  
  I’m going to assume that it only happened once so far or they’re showing footage as background material so we understand the impact the first one had…
Kahuna

I keep waiting for Billy and Mandy to pop into frame!
mick

are you kidding me? this looks like it was made by a waiter from the cheesecake factory! that handmade poster that says FEAR THEM made all of us laugh out loud…..they got it sold but for us….it was pretty ridiculous that this would sell for a million?!

no wonder the wheels have officially fallen off Universal’s wagon
- deathon2legs
  
  Hold on one second. Cheesecake servers are greatly talented and they know scary. For example, the Peanut Butter Cup cheesecake is scary good. “Fear them!”
Pingback: What the hell is this? HAARP Plasma weapon?
deathon2legs

I fully expected someone to yell, “Boo!” It isvery clear that the reaper “costumes” were the most expensive sheets on the discount rack at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Furthermore, the posters marked “Fear them” gave me the exact instruction that I needed when faced with a reaper. The High School students that filmed this Intro to Film class assignment know a thing or two about editing together shots of nothing and laying down a spooky audio track. Not since paranormal activity and the blair witch project has there been such implied fear while shot after shot of absolutely nothing happens.
Janie

I read this through a production company I work for. It was utterly HORRIBLE. The premise is great, but it does not deliver a single thing in the end. No question that is posed is answered. This needs about 80 rewrites to approach anything filmable.

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