By MICHAEL GINGOLD
An award-winning genre specialist is now tackling the nature-amok subgenre.
Variety reports that Christopher Smith (pictured above on the set of CONSECRATION), the British filmmaker behind films also including BLACK DEATH, SEVERANCE, TRIANGLE, DETOUR and THE BANISHING, will direct SPIDER ISLAND for Vertigo Films. Protagonist Pictures is handling worldwide sales on the movie, scripted by Christopher Jolley (WHISPER, THE GHOSTS OF BORLEY RECTORY) and David Quantick. According to the trade, “the film will follow a group of social media influencers going to the launch party of a new luxury resort on a beautiful island—one that is infested with deadly spiders.” Shooting begins early next year in Mauritius with a multinational cast.
“For a while now,” Smith says, “I’ve been searching for the perfect project to create another horror that strikes a balance between laughs and screams, with the potential to truly stand out. The script for SPIDER ISLAND checks all the boxes, and I can’t wait to bring the audiences on that rollercoaster with me.”
Protagonist CEO Dave Bishop says, “We couldn’t be more excited to be partnering with world-class distributors on this wild concept straight from the minds of some of the best genre creatives in the industry. Christopher’s remarkable ability to blend humor and terror will undoubtedly provide the perfect movie experience for horror-comedy enthusiasts around the world. We cannot wait to see SPIDER ISLAND come to life…metaphorically, that is.”
Vertigo co-founder Allan Niblo adds, “We are thrilled to be working with Chris and serving up equal measures of scares and laughs all set on a magically exotic island. It will be a cinematic feast for all the senses.”
