Slash, most notable for his killer guitar riffs, is following in the footsteps of fellow rocker Rob Zombie and expanding his creative talents into the horror genre. The former Guns N’ Roses guitarist announced at Sundance that he has launched a film production company, aptly called Slasher Films, and that he already has several projects in development.

Hit the jump to learn more about Slasher Films and its upcoming work with writer Steve Niles’ (30 Days of Night) Wake the Dead.

slash-image-1

Slash recently told Inside Movies that there are “four really great scripts” and that his newly-formed Slasher Films will “go into production with one right after another.  He explains that one project, tentatively called Nothing to Fear, will go into production later this year:

“It’s a really well-written demon story. It’s basically about a God-fearing Christian family who gets relocated to a small town in Kansas called Stull, which unbenownst to them happens to be one of the seven gateways to hell, and they’ve been lured there for an annual sacrifice [the townfolk] do for the demon that appears every year to satiate his bloodlust — otherwise he goes on a rampage. The ironic thing is that Stull is a real town that has this Internet folklore: It actually is supposed to be one of the gateways to hell, and the Pope won’t fly over it. I looked it up and was blown away.”

He briefly describes three other projects, including Niles' Wake the Dead, as such:

“There’s another script called Theorem that’s about a mathematician who figures out the equation for evil and then, of course, there’s the hell that comes along with it. Then there’s another one called Wake the Dead, which is basically a modern, young Frankenstein story about a brilliant college student who’s discovered how to animate dead tissue — but he’s a teenager so he goes overboard. The last one is The Other Kingdom, which is about a big metropolitan hospital where the patients are overcome by an epidemic that turns them into these savage killing zombie types and the staff gets stuck in there with them.”

For Niles' part, the writer texted Geoff Boucher of Hero Complex details about Wake the Dead, explaining:

“We want to recapture the quality of horror like they made them in the ’70s, horror where you care about the characters and story. With Wake the Dead, Jay Russell, Slash and I hope to make a horror movie that sticks with you long after you’ve seen it.”

In spite of having more experience in the medium, Niles comes off as mildly star-struck by the prospect of working with the legendary rock guitarist:

“When Jay and I met with Slash we immediately connected on our love of horror and the way we wanted to see horror films made. I never dreamed in a million years I’d get to meet Slash, let alone work with him. I’m thrilled. Thanks so much man!"

Wake the Dead will be jointly produced by Slash and Rob Eric of Scout Productions. Jay Russell (Ladder 49) will direct.

You can check out Slash's Sundance announcement via the video below: