One of my favorite novels of the last few years has been A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay. It’s told with such a deft touch, never careening into camp and walking that sort of ambiguous line that reminds me of The Exorcist. The finale is particularly chilling as it manages to recontextualize the unreliable narrator who has been telling us their story. Since 2018 there has been lots of movement in pre-production on a film adaptation, and this week we finally got a leading actress cast.
First, the directorial duties have switched hands since I last checked up on the film. Originally, Oz Perkins was attached, and I was extremely enthusiastic. Perkins, the son of Psycho’s Anthony Perkins, directed one of my favorite horror films of the 2010s, The Blackcoat’s Daughter. I thought Blackcoat was a fantastic display of atmospheric deeply human horror. No monster can be defeated, just a pallor of evil over the world.
Since 2018, the director has changed to Scott Cooper. Cooper’s newest film, Antlers, is set to come out in the next month and looks promising. Cooper doesn’t have a profound career in horror, but I see that as a plus. He won’t come to the project caught up in genre conventions and hopefully will see interesting angles to tell the story from. Margaret Qualley (The Leftovers, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood) has been cast, but her role has not been disclosed. Based on her age, I could see her playing an adult version of the narrator, or if they want to play her younger, cast her as the older sister. I am really hoping this is a great movie and not something middling because the story is so fantastic.
This eerie mini-series from director Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation) looks promising
Apple TV+ has brought Steven Spielberg into the fold for a revival of Amazing Stories.
Very interesting Netflix series, I Am Not Okay With This
I am mildly intrigued by this Pete Davidson film. He’s leaning into the type of person he’s perceived as and I am interested to see what he does with it.
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