Filmmaker Neil Marshall wants to bounce back from his less-than-impressive Hellboy reboot of last year. And he hopes The Lair will be the vehicle to return him to the horror hierarchy.
The Lair–a horror/thriller that will be shopped to potential buyers at this year’s virtual American Film Market–will be written, directed and produced by Marshall, according to movieweb.com. Highland Film Group will handle the worldwide sales.
Marshall–who made a splash in the genre back in 2002 with his cult horror film Dog Soldiers–will helm the project, which has begun casting and is expected to start principal photography sometime next spring.
The Lair, according to the official synopsis, will follow Lt. Kate Sinclair of the Royal Air Force, a pilot who is on her final flight mission “when her jet is shot down over one of the most dangerous rebel strongholds in Afghanistan.” She finds refuge in an abandoned underground bunker “where deadly man-made biological weapons–half-human, half-alien and hungry for human flesh–are awakened.” Sinclair escapes, but the terrifying creatures–known as Ravagers–find their way to a nearby U.S. Army base. Let the mayhem begin.
Marshall compared and contrasted this most recent film with his earlier genre efforts–Dog Soldiers, 2005’s The Descent, 2008’s Doomsday and this year’s The Reckoning.
“If The Reckoning was a gothic drama (testifying) to the power and resilience of women,” Marshall said in a statement, “then The Lair is my true return to full-blooded horror and intense action in the style of Dog Soldiers, The Descent and Doomsday. I’m making something scary as hell, pulse-pounding and great fun.”
The film, he added, is “spectacular and loud–inspired by classic movies like Alien, Predator and The Thing and their incredible use of practical creature special effects. The Lair will be a snarling, ravenous beast of a movie. I’m going to get my hands bloody making this one.”
With casting and production locales still up in the air, keep reading Horror News Network for all updates on the progress of The Lair.
