U.S. director and producer Robert Rippberger, who recently wrapped sci-fi thriller “Renner” with Frankie Muniz, is headed to the European Film Market in Berlin to launch the sales unit of his banner SIE Films. Its slate will be fronted by his next project, the horror thriller “Monstrosity.”
“Monstrosity,” which is currently in pre-production, is a creature feature that Rippberger will produce and direct. To create its titular monsters, Rippberger recruited concept artist Aaron Sims, whose work includes “Stranger Things,” “Ready Player One” and “Wonder Woman 1984.” Production on the film is expected to kick off later this year in one of the Morgan International full-service special effectsfacilities in Europe. Writer Sabir Pirzada (“Moon Knight,” “Ms. Marvel”) is producing “Monstrosity” alongside Rippberger.
“Monstrosity” opens on a young village boy who goes missing down a mine shaft. His father blames a strange family in the neighboring house, but of course far more is at play. “The family of misfits are actually a werewolf, a vampire, a zombie and Frankenstein’s monster,” reads the provided synopsis. “And they are all guarding the mine to keep evil barricaded behind a hell gate.”
“Like superhero films, monster movies have an avid fanbase,” Rippberger said in a statement. Similarly to “The Avengers,” “We are immersing the vampire, werewolf, zombie and Frankenstein’s monster into the 21st century,” he added, before going on to note that the idea is to “flip these characters and the horror genre on its head.”
SIE Films’s EFM slate includes sci-fi thriller “Renner,” which besides Muniz also stars Violett Beane (“The Flash,” “Truth or Dare”) and Taylor Gray (“Star Wars: Rebels”). There is also Austrian director Friedrich Moser’s previously announced feature documentary “How to Build a Truth Engine,” executive produced by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, which tackles investigative journalism and the fight against fake news by following award-winning journalists from the New York Times, the Associated Press and Austria weeklies Falter and Profil in their efforts to uncover corruption.
Rippberger was recently lead producer on stop-motion animated film “The Inventor” from “Ratatouille” writer Jim Capobianco. Starring Daisy Ridley, Stephen Fry, Marion Cotillard and Matt Berry, the film launched from France’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival and has been successfully released theatrically in the U.S. and France. He has directed docs “Public Enemy Number One” and “7 Days in Syria,” social drama “Strive” with Danny Glover and the 2022 horror-thriller “Those Who Walk Away” starring Booboo Stewart. Rippberger is represented by Established Artists and Millennial PR.
