True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto is set to direct and write a horror movie with genre industry titans Blumhouse, it was revealed at Austin Film Festival this weekend.
Reporting from the event, Slash Film reported that Pizzolatto has a script written and ready to go for what he describes as “an occult detective story”, and that Blumhouse were interested in producing. The full quote reads as follows:
“Blumhouse contracted me to write and direct a horror movie, which I gave them the script for last week. It’s kind of an occult detective story. But I just took a meeting with them once and we just kind of shot the s*** and we had some common friends and we were wrapping up and Couper [Samuelson], the VP of Blumhouse, said, ‘Look, if you ever have an idea for a horror movie …’ And I go, ‘Actually, I have one idea for a horror movie and I’ve had it for 10 years,’ and I told it to him and he’s like, ‘Let’s go make this.’ I’ve got to see what they think of the script, but hopefully we’ll be doing that.”
As anyone who has seen the acclaimed first season of True Detective will surely attest to, Pizzolatto is pretty much a master of ‘occult detective’ thrillers – starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, the Southern Gothic first series of True Detective was an award-winning megahit that garnered critical acclaim.
Blumhouse continue to bless horror fans with a series of big-hitting horrors, breaking records just this week with Emma Tammi’s Five Nights at Freddy’s clocking in as their biggest global opening ever, following an already hugely financial successful spooky season as The Exorcist: Believer summoned millions. It’s probably safe to assume that a Blumhouse and Pizzolatto collaboration would go down a similarly successful route.
Pizzolatto is also currently handling rewrites on Marvel’s much-anticipated Blade reboot, reuniting him with True Detective Season 3 star Mahershala Ali who’ll be starring as the titular vamp hybrid.
Nothing’s set in stone as of yet, and further details including cast, title and plot remain a closely guarded secret. But you can be absolutely sure – as sure as time is a flat circle – that we will be bringing you all the updates on this exciting collaboration as and when we get them.
