Whelp, the first horror movie that can be described as timely has officially hit the market, with Don't Breathe director Fede Álvarez landing on a pandemic zombie film titled 16 States. THR reports that the script package, developed by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra, sparked a major bidding war when studios realized a terrifying, anxiety-inducing outbreak story suddenly became relatable. Lionsgate, who worked with Álvarez on Don't Breathe and the filmmaker's Evil Dead remake, won out in the end.

16 States follows a mother trying to reach her family at the center of a zombie pandemic. According to the report, the script has "shades of the Will Smith movie I Am Legend."

Most, if not all zombie movies are technically "pandemic movies", so it sounds like 16 States just happens to be the one that struck first while the iron is hot. But I'm just glad to see Álvarez returning to the horror genre. The Girl in the Spider's Web was stylish as all hell but overall the definition of just fine, but the director has worked magic with horror. Don't Breathe is a sparse, nasty thing—I'm very intrigued about the sequel—and the Evil Dead remake is one of the biggest shockers of the last ten years. Very few people on this Earth though it was a good idea to re-do Sam Raimi's splatter-masterpiece, but the 2013 Evil Dead not only topped expectations, but I genuinely think it's one of the decade's best horror movies.

For more on Fede Alvarez, here's the latest on another highly intriguing project he's attached to as producer - the Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot.