EXCLUSIVE: Julie Benz (Dexter), Busy Philipps (Mean Girls), Ron Perlman (Hellboy) and Jim Rash (The Way Way Back) are to star in horror-comedy Horrified.
The film will see a down-on-her-luck scream queen (Benz) return to the horror convention circuit for fast cash, only to find the pig-masked killer from her old franchise weaponizing her cult legacy against her friends and fans, forcing her to confront past demons and fight for survival in a blood-soaked slasher showdown.
The project, which is due to shoot this summer, marks the feature debut of writer-director Michael Zara, a writer on three seasons of TNT drama Major Crimes.
Pic is being produced by Randy Wayne and Talia Bella under their production company Rebellium Films (40 Dates and 40 Nights) alongside Zara and his production company Ghost Bunni, in association with arts charity Art of Elysium, EB Studios, and producer Daniel Hall.
Executive producers are Julie Benz, Busy Philipps, Ron Perlman, and Tom Biolchini. Co-producers are Carl Reid and Enrico Natale of Redbird Entertainment.
Cinematographer is Adam Biddle (Crank). Helen Geier and Kendra Shay Clarke serve as casting directors.
Zara said: “The idea for Horrified came to me over twelve years ago while I was attending a Midwest horror convention, so finally seeing it become a reality with a killer (pun intended) cast and producing team is truly thrilling.”
Zara has developed original drama pilots It’s A Mystery for the CW and Kill The Lights for YouTube Originals. His horror-comedy Letters To Satan Claus aired on SyFy, and he is a writer on the Max series, Crime Farm, produced by Nicole Kidman.
Benz is repped by Paradigm, Stride, and Meyer & Downs. Philipps is repped by Range Media and Gang, Tyre. Perlman is repped by Gersh and Link. Rash is repped by CAA and Jeff Morrone Atlas Artists. Zara is repped by Echo Lake.
