Award-winning horror writer-director Christopher Smith will direct concept horror comedy “Spider Island.”
Written by Christopher Jolley (“The Price We Pay”) and David Quantick (“Veep”), 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.
Smith has won awards at Neuchatel for “Detour” and “Black Death” and at Bucheon for “Severance.” Most recently he directed HBO series “Spy/Master.”
The U.K.’s Vertigo Films (“Monsters,” “Britannia”) will produce the film. Protagonist Pictures is handling worldwide rights, launching sales ahead of the upcoming American Film Market. Automatik VFX (“Game of Thrones,” “Doctor Who”) will handle visual effects with Seb Barker (“The Wheel of Time”) serving as VFX supervisor.
Production is set to begin in early 2024 in Mauritius. The film will feature a multinational cast.
Smith said: “For a while now, 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, added: “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.”
Allan Niblo, co-founder, Vertigo Films, said: “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.”
