An Academy Award-winning filmmaker will help Blumhouse Productions usher in its newest horror original.
John Ridley–who picked up an Oscar statuette for Best Adapted Screenplay for 2013’s 12 Years a Slave–will write and direct an as-yet-untitled film for Blumhouse based on the recent magazine article Project Poltergeist, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
Ridley–who also created and acted as showrunner for the Emmy Award-winning ABC anthology series American Crime (2015-2017)–will helm this project, that will explore the true-life story surrounding unexplained happenings–including an alleged haunting–that terrified a young boy in a New Jersey housing project back in the 1960s.
Jason Blum will produce the feature film, with Matthew Pearl and Greg Nicholas of Truly*Adventurous (the magazine that published the original article) serving as executive producers.
Ridley described the story as “an incredible true-life narrative of a young man dealing with horrors–both paranormal and racially systemic–in a community scarred by hate, yet brought together by hope.”
Blum explained the appeal of tackling the project by saying that “the best scary movies are always based on a real event. We were compelled by the material this story is based on.”
Blum also praised Ridley’s ability to bring this tale to cinematic life. “John Ridley is as good as you get as a dramatic storyteller,” he said, “so we’re confident that infusing this story with John’s brand of drama is a great bet.”
No casting or production schedules have been announced at this time, so keep reading Horror News Network for further updates on this adaptation of Project Poltergeist.
