PROTAGONIST PICTURES ONBOARDS CONCEPT HORROR “SPIDER ISLAND” FROM DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHER SMITH
VERTIGO FILMS WILL PRODUCE PROTAGONIST PICTURES LAUNCHES SALES AHEAD OF THE AMERICAN FILM MARKET
Visionary horror writer-director Christopher Smith (Creep, Black Death and Severance, and HBO’s 2023 “Spy/Master”) will direct Spider Island, it was announced today by Protagonist Pictures’ CEO Dave Bishop. The film is written by Christopher Jolley (The Price We Pay with Stephen Dorff, Whisper) and David Quantick (HBO’s “Veep,” “The Thick of It” starring Peter Capaldi). Vertigo Films will produce the film, and Protagonist Pictures is handling worldwide rights, launching sales ahead of the upcoming American Film Market.
Killer concept horror comedy Spider Island follows a group of social media influencers going to the launch party of a new luxury resort on a beautiful island. With deadly spiders.
The hybrid-genre film is produced by London-based Vertigo Films, the award-winning studio behind the BAFTA nominated Monsters, directed by Gareth Edwards and starring Scoot McNairy, Nicolas Winding Refn’s Bronson with Tom Hardy, the Oscar nominated Ajami, and number one box office hits, StreetDance 3D and The Sweeney. Vertigo has also produced high-end TV shows including “Britannia,” “Bulletproof” and “A Town Called Malice” for Sky, and “Mammals” for Amazon.
The state-of-the-art VFX will be handled by AUTOMATIK VFX, the visual effects studio responsible for the brilliant creature design on Monsters Dark Continent, “Game of Thrones,” “Doctor Who” and “The Wheel Of Time.” Seb Barker (Amazon Studio’s “The Wheel of Time,” BAFTA nominee The Girl With All the Gifts) will serve as VFX supervisor.
“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,’’ says Smith. “The script for Spider Island checks all the boxes, and I can’t wait to bring the audiences on that rollercoaster with me!”
“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,” said Protagonist’s CEO, Dave Bishop. “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.”
“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!” added Allan Niblo, Co-founder, Vertigo Films.
Production is set to begin early next year in Mauritius. While Spider Island will feature a multi-national cast, it will have a distinct British flavor that pushes boundaries of black comedy, while playfully subverting stereotypes.
