Academy Award nominee Vera Farmiga (“The Conjuring” franchise) is set to star in and executive produce “Inferno,” a supernatural horror film written and to be directed by Bryan Hill. Ara Keshishian and Petr Jákl’s ZQ Entertainment, along with Adrian Askarieh’s Prime Universe Films (“Hitman” franchise), will produce the film, the companies announced Monday.
Manifest Pictures is handling international sales and will introduce the film to buyers at the upcoming American Film Market. CAA Media Finance and UTA Independent Film Group will co-represent domestic rights.
Based on the long-rumored special division of Britain’s Scotland Yard that investigates the occult, Farmiga will portray a former detective whose pursuit of a killer forces her back into the “Black Branch” and on the trail of the paranormal terror she thought she had escaped.
“Inferno” marks Farmiga’s return to the supernatural horror genre since leading “The Conjuring: Last Rites,” which grossed half a billion dollars worldwide.
Through her portrayal of paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren in “The Conjuring” franchise, as well as leading roles in “Orphan,” “Joshua” and “Bates Motel,” Farmiga has established herself as one of horror’s most recognizable stars. Her genre filmography has generated billions of dollars at the worldwide box office. Her other credits include Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed” and Jason Reitman’s “Up in the Air,” for which she earned an Academy Award nomination for supporting actress.
The film is scheduled to begin production in late spring.
“Great horror films challenge what we believe about the world. With ‘Inferno,’ I want to create a terrifying mystery that stays with audiences long after the credits roll. Vera Farmiga is an extraordinary actor whose intelligence, emotional depth and commanding presence make her the perfect person to lead us into and through that darkness,” Hill said in a statement.
“‘Inferno’ is a sophisticated supernatural thriller that marries the investigative propulsion of a serial-killer procedural with the visceral terror of possession horror,” Yvette Zhuang, co-CEO of Manifest Pictures, added.
“We were immediately sucked into Hill’s script, which has unnerving procedural tension of ‘Manhunter’ and the emotional, performance-driven horror of ‘The Exorcist’ or ‘Longlegs,’” Zach Glueck, co-CEO of Manifest Pictures, added. “Hill’s work collaborating with incredible directors from Ryan Coogler to Sam Raimi, and his experience on shows like HBO’s ‘Titans,’ has prepared him for his role as a multi-hyphenate creator.”
Hill’s feature directorial debut, “Archangel,” is currently in post-production. The film is produced by Roy Lee and Steven Schneider of Spooky Pictures, Hill, Derek Dauchy and Julius Pryor of Kevlar Creative, with Image Nation’s Ben Ross and Spooky Pictures’ Rami Yasin serving as executive producers.
Hill’s work spans film, television, graphic novels and video games. His screenwriting projects include “Bitter Root” for Proximity Media and Legendary, “The Purgatory Game” for Lyrical Media, and Universal’s upcoming Prince biopic, which will be produced by Ryan Coogler. His comics work includes “American Carnage,” “Chariot,” “Blade: Evil Against Evil” and “Batman and the Outsiders.”
Farmiga is repped by CAA, Authentic Talent and Literary Management and Peikoff Mahan Law Office; Hill is repped by UTA, Heroes and Villains Entertainment and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hynick Jaime LeVine Sample & Klein.
Variety first reported the news.
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