Looking to stay firmly in the horror genre is Demian Bichir, as Variety reports today that the actor, last seen in Alien: Covenant and soon to be seen in The Nun, has joined Sony’s upcoming reboot of horror classic The Grudge, which has been brewing in development for some time now.
On board to direct from his own script is Nicolas Pesce, while Black Mirror star Andrea Riseborough will headline alongside Bichir. Meanwhile, both Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert have climbed on board to produce, while Nathan Kahane and Erin Westerman will be executive producing for Good Universe alongside Schuyler Weiss, Roy Lee, and Doug Davison.
Speaking in a statement released earlier today, Raimi expressed his excitement for the project, saying:
“We are so excited about this new adaptation. We went back to the original source material to deliver a relentless supernatural thrill ride that explores the horrors of American suburbia.”
Little is currently known about the plot, but it’s safe to assume that Ghost House Pictures’ reimagining of The Grudge will chronicle the titular entity as it moves from one grief-stricken victim to another, leaving a trail of dead bodies and nightmarish terror in its wake. Plus, as Raimi says, they’re going back to the original source material, which sounds like the right move.
While it’s hard to ignore the fact that no one’s really asking for another Grudge movie, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that we’re getting one – money talks, after all. It does make us wonder, though, what this means for all those other early-2000 American versions of low-budget horror films.
Will we have another Dark Water, for instance? Also, how far back could this go, and for how long will it go on? Only time will tell, but we’ll be bringing you more on The Grudge as the project continues to come together.