Here's an announcement I like an awful lot -- James Wan is set to produce a horror movie titled The Troop from E.L. Katz, director of the demented indie movie Cheap Thrills.
Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald, who are writing WB's horror-flavored Aquaman spinoff for Wan, have been tapped to adapt the novel by Nick Cutter, which has been acquired by Wan's Atomic Monster label.
The Troop follows a group of teens on a remote camping trip who must fend for themselves when their adult chaperone falls prey to an aggressive otherworldly infection. It sounds like the stuff nightmares are made of, and I can't wait to see what the Katz-Wan collaboration yields.
The film will be a co-production between Atomic Monster, JS Entertainment (nice name!) and Starlight Media. Wan will produce alongside Atomic Monster's Michael Clear, while Judson Scott will oversee the project for the company.
Katz knows how to direct horror laced with dark humor, and not only am I a huge fan of Cheap Thrills, but I must be one of the few people who has a Cheap Thrills poster in their bedroom. He did a great job with that low-budget film, and I hope that Wan helps him get even more room to play here, because the idea of Katz working with a young ensemble could be genius, depending on how crazy this story gets. I don't know, but a cursory glance at a more detailed description of The Troop on Amazon has me envisioning glorious madness in his talented hands.
Next up for Atomic Monster is The Conjuring 3, which is set for release on Sept. 11, 2020. The company is also in pre-production on Mortal Kombat, with New Line slated to let Sub-Zero fight on March 5, 2021. Atomic Monster is also behind Patrick Brice's Netflix project There’s Someone Inside Your House for Netflix, as well as Wan's next directorial effort, which will see the Saw filmmaker him return to his horror roots.
Katz, who also directed Channel Zero: Dream Door, is represented by CAA and Jeremy Platt of Grandview, while Wan is repped by Paradigm and Stacey Testro International. Cutter is repped by UTA, while Gardner and Fitzgerald are repped by Tobin Babst at Kaplan/Perrone.
