Venom star and Marcel The Shell With Shoes On co-creator Jenny Slate is set to star in and executive produce Mindful, an upcoming horror about a * checks notes * ‘possessed meditation app that begins to kill its followers.’
Deadline exclusively revealed the news today, along with the announcement that Perry Blackshear (They Look Like People, When I Consume You) will direct from a script by Emmy, Golden Globe and Writers Guild award winner Les Bohem (Taken, A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child).
Plot details for the self-help horror read as follows:
In Mindful, when her husband shockingly dies while meditating on the Mindful app, Angela (Slate), deeply suspicious of the new wellness craze, uncovers supernatural forces that have fused with the technology. As the app’s popularity spreads like wildfire, she is forced to confront her own demons and dive into a terrifying ‘out of body’ experience in order to save the ones she loves.
SNL alum Slate is best known for her comedy work, voicing characters in Big Mouth and Bob’s Burgers, and recently played the role of Debbie the obnoxious dog-mom in the Daniels’ 2022 mega-hit Everything Everywhere All At Once. Director Blackshear (whose original series Possession, with executive producer Mike Flanagan, also recently sold to Netflix) had this to say of the pair’s upcoming collaboration:
“I am delighted to be working with such a high caliber actress as Jenny, whose natural empathy will draw our audience inextricably into this terrifying tale, but also skewer with a straight face our collective obsession with technology and self-help culture.”
Deadline lets us know that UK sales outfit Architect have launched international sales, and CAA Media Finance will represent North American rights. The plan is to shoot in Q3, 2023, in North America, and additional casting is underway. Tracey Nyberg (Ready or Not) will produce and, alongside Slate, Aggregate Films are executive-producing.
Stay tuned for updates on Mindful as and when we get them!
